So I was reading this blog post and realized how I might be able to help with a few misconceptions about doping and how to actually make changes to your body.
Everyone takes some form of performance enhancing drugs at the elite level. Sorry to burst your sugar coated perception of reality but that is simply the truth. Synthetic testosterone offers a wide range of advantages that are just too good to not be using. Steroids are used in cycles, usually 12 or 16 weeks. After a cycle you have PCT which is Post Cycle Treatment, usually lasting 8-10 weeks. Athletes will just program their cycles to avoid drug tests. Every national team knows this. Basically anything that shows up on the tests is "dope", everything else is "supplements". Putting orals into food is very unlikely because there is no way to control dosage.
How to build a body NATURALLY and why you are not getting bigger.
Your body has one aim only and that is survival. Muscle is a luxury item. Your body will do EVERYTHING it can to stay alive. Only when the body is receiving constant, powerful stress and a steady stream of sufficient nutrients will it start to build muscle. You are essentially conning your body into thinking you are fighting bears and lifting boulders instead of sitting by your desk letting your ass mould itself to the shape of your chair.
What to do?
LIFT HEAVY
Go for compound lifts. See that guy doing bicep curls with 20lbs? Remember him 2 months ago? What was he doing? That's right, bicep curls with 20lbs. Go for the classics: Squat, Deadlift, Bench, Overhead Press, Rows, Chinups. Work more muscles per lift. You don't go to the buffet and take one shrimp, walk back to your table, eat it, then go back for another shrimp. By doing heavy compound lifts you are working multiple muscles at the same time. Go for 3x5. Most broscientists and gym rats will advocate 3x10 to death. This is a water pumping rep scheme and any mass gains will disappear quickly. 3x5 is for power. Do 3 warmup sets then do 3 sets of 5 reps at your heaviest weight. No one will be making fun of you when you start doing chinups with 45lbs strapped to you anyway.
EAT BIG
You should be getting 1gram of protein per 1lb lean bodymass per day. That's right, you've been eating nothing. People look at me in awe when I tell them I eat 10 eggs and 2 chicken breasts a day. Then again I'm deadlifting twice my bodyweight. Not giving your body enough protein is like not giving construction workers enough bricks. If you want to build anything significant you have to supply the material.
STRUCTURE
Remember what weight you did last time, and add a little more. 5 - 10lbs per session adds up to a lot over time. The key is constant progression. If you are not moving heavier weight, your muscles have no incentive to grow. Doing the same weight you did last month is bullshit. Either you are not eating enough to recover or you're a little girl.
SLEEP
This is probably the least feasible out of all the above. 8 hours is paramount. You don't get muscle by lifting, you get muscle by causing small tears in your muscle and then your body repairs it back stronger and bigger. When is the most efficient time for repair? You guessed it: sleep.
The routines you see in Men's Fitness Magazine is bullshit and do not apply to beginners or naturals. Anyone not benching bodyweight, not squatting or deadlifting x1.5 times bodyweight is a beginner. You are much better off doing a strength program than that horseshit isolation crap. If you are not getting compliments and questions like "where did you buy the roids bro?" within 3 months then you are doing something wrong.
Questions welcome.
This is all completely true.
However, if you're more focused on building lean muscle that will be with you forever, remember that diet is far more important than exercise. It's a simple equation: calories consumed calories expended .. and you'll be slender forever. If you want massive size gains, go ahead and follow the 'eat big, lift big, get big' mantra. I simply don't believe that's sustainable, however. With the hours we work, it's not gonna happen. Say you absolutely binge on working out for 4 months straight (highly improbable, but let's run with it). Then you get staffed on a live deal (or for traders, your market turns to absolute shit for whatever reason) and your hours spike up closer to that God-awful 100 mark. Your social life disappears (what little of it was left). Your gym time gets sacrificed. Three months later, you're screwed. You lost your mass, you lost your definition, and you're flabby because you trained your body to eat like an Olympian.
Cut carbs, exercise three times a week regularly with high intensity, and you'll straddle the size vs. definition debate beautifully. You'll fill out a shirt properly, and you'll manage to do it without having any fat hanging around too.
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