Hypertrophy (Beginners)
on this page you will find step by step information on the how to's and what to's of certain fitness goals
Hypertrophy: Best described as muscle growth. The opposite word for hypertrophy is Atrophy
Beginners Hypertrophy (Without a personal trainer)
In this section you will find everything you need to know on how to start working out, and making decent gains in a short amount of time. I've ordered the steps in numbers so they can be easily followed and understood.
- Figure out your fitness goals and write them down: Muscle building (Bulking up), Cardio-fitness (Build endurance), or weight loss (Burn fat).*when it comes to deciding on physically Altering fitness goals, you must choose depending on where you currently stand in the physical department. There are three body types: Ectomorph, Endomorph, and Mesomorph.
- Ectomorphs are skinny. They have a hard time gaining weight and building muscle due to their really high metabolism, they are usually referred to as "Hard Gainers".
- Mesomorphs are muscular and can easily gain muscle while keeping fat off. They have a moderate metabolism, and being Athletic comes to them naturally. They are referred to as "Genetic Freaks".
- Endomorphs are overweight due to their extremely low metabolism. Their body stores excess fat due to their genes, and or lack of exercise. They are usually referred to as "Big Boned"
A. If you are an Ectomorph, you can bulk up (gain muscle and weight).
B. If you are a Mesomorph, you can cut down (lose weight and tone up) or bulk up (gain Muscle and weight).
C. If you are an Endomorph, you can’t bulk up (gain muscle and weight). You must first Cutdown (lose weight and tone up) and then you can bulk up (gain muscle and weight). You must understand that you will gain lean muscle while you are cutting down, due tothe exercise.
2. Consult your doctor and let him or her know that you are beginning an exercise program.
3. Sign up for a gym depending on the outcome of your visit with your doctor. I'd advice shopping around for gyms with lowmonthly fees. Larger popular gyms will cost you more monthly, so find the smaller gyms in your area.
4. After you have found the right gym for you, purchasing a small notebook to record your activity is strongly advised. Thatway, you can always keep track of your workouts and daily diets.
5. You are now ready to plan your diet and workouts.
"Bulking up" refers to hypertrophy of the muscle, so this is where the High calorie/ protein diet comes in play. Most people don’t quite understand the function of protein in the body, what it is, and how important it is, so I’ll give you theBiology definition and then put it in simple terms.Protein: A macromolecule that contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen; needed by the body for growth and repair andto make up enzymes. Proteins are polymers of molecules called Amino acids.
Protein (in simple terms): Help build muscle, bones, and teeth they also strengthen the immune system and promote fast recovery.
Some protein foods: Chicken, eggs, potatoes, fish, ham, seafood, beef, pork, turkey, and steak.
For those of you wandering what exactly a calorie is, I’ll explain that to you also. First of all there are two types of calories;"calorie" and "Calorie" (they are differentiated by capitalization).
Calorie: the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 Celsius degree.
(What does that have to do with working out?....we'll just ignore that calorie and move on)
Calorie: term used by scientists to measure the energy stored in foods.
(Nowthat’s the Calorie we you need to be familiar with).
The main reason you'll need to consume more calories while bulking is because your body will need more energy to progress during your vigorous physical activity you must first decide how much muscle and weight you want to gain.
You will need to feed 200 to 300 calories for every 10lbs of muscle you have or desire, and you will also need to consume 1 gram of protein per lb for the muscle you have and want to gain, so let me put that in simple terms for you.
10lbs of muscle requires: 10 grams of protein and 200-300 calories daily
So if you want to gain 10lbs and you weigh 150lbs, you will need to consume 160 grams of protein and 3200 calories daily. You will need to check your weight regularly so you can increase your calorie and protein intake if needed.
Here’s a mathematical formula.
Goal=160lbs
Protein= 1gm X 160lbs=160gms
Calories=160lbs divided by 10lbs=16lbs
16lbs X 200Calories= 3200 Calories
Daily intake= 160 grams of protein/3200 Calories
Another simple way of calculating your daily calorie and protein needs is to follow this formula.
Desired weight divided by 10=answer X 200=Daily calories
Desired weight divided by 1=Daily protein grams
Now let’s get back to bulking…
You must eat breakfast everyday because breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and if you skip breakfast your metabolism will slow down, and cause your body to store more fat.
You will need to consume six small meals throughout the day (2-3 hours apart), and also make sure that they are sufficient for your daily calorie needs.
Now lets move on to the workout…
Since you are bulking up(trying to gain muscle), it is important that you lift heavy with low repetitions, that way you can train the fast twitch muscles in your body. Fast twitched muscles are the type of muscles in your body that can hypertrophy to a very large extent. Your workouts will take place 3 to 4 times a week, you can either workout 3 straight days or alternate every other day.
To make sure your workouts are effective, you must learn how to pair muscles and you must also figure out your one rep maximum for each large muscle group.
Large Muscle Groups Muscles to pair
Chest Neck/Traps/Shoulders
Back Back/Biceps/Forearms
Legs Chest/Triceps
Abs Legs/Abs
Now that you know how to pair muscles, you must now figure out what your one rep maximum is for your major lifts.
Major Lifts
Bench Press
Squats
Dead-lifts
To figure out what your one rep maximum is, you must try to lift as much as you can on your first day in the gym(you definitely need a spotter!!!!!!!). The first thing you’ll need to do when you get to the gym is to stretch your entire body. After you stretch your entire body, you must now decide on which major lift you want to figure out a max for, so when you do decide, you should put weights on the bar that you are sure you can rep 10 times, because this will be your warm up set. After you have completed your warm up set you should rest for two minutes, you will need to do a post warm up set which will help you prepare to max out, so you will need to put on heavier weights than your warm up set(10 lb increase), and rep it 8 times(rest 2 minutes). After your post warm up set is completed, you are now ready for your first one rep maximum attempt.
Your first one rep maximum attempt should be a 10lb increase from your post warm up set (make sure you have a spotter!!!!!!!!). If you successfully and easily execute your first attempt, then this means that you need to add more weight and attempt another one rep max, but if you fail then this means that your one rep maximum is 5lbs in-between your post warm up set and your one rep maximum attempt.
Example: one rep max attempt=170lbs
Post warm up set=160lbs
170lbs-5lbs=165lbs
165lbs= your one rep maximum.
(For those who are successful) you will need to continue maxing until you get to a weight that you lifted all the way but was hard for you to complete. That is your one rep maximum.
*The Whole point of figuring out your one rep maximum is to help you know the amount of weight you should lift while training large muscle groups. Your last set for each Large muscle should be 10lbs under your max, and you should always max out every 2-3 weeks.*
That concludes Bulking…
Protein (in simple terms): Help build muscle, bones, and teeth they also strengthen the immune system and promote fast recovery.
Some protein foods: Chicken, eggs, potatoes, fish, ham, seafood, beef, pork, turkey, and steak.
For those of you wandering what exactly a calorie is, I’ll explain that to you also. First of all there are two types of calories;"calorie" and "Calorie" (they are differentiated by capitalization).
Calorie: the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 Celsius degree.
(What does that have to do with working out?....we'll just ignore that calorie and move on)
Calorie: term used by scientists to measure the energy stored in foods.
(Nowthat’s the Calorie we you need to be familiar with).
The main reason you'll need to consume more calories while bulking is because your body will need more energy to progress during your vigorous physical activity you must first decide how much muscle and weight you want to gain.
You will need to feed 200 to 300 calories for every 10lbs of muscle you have or desire, and you will also need to consume 1 gram of protein per lb for the muscle you have and want to gain, so let me put that in simple terms for you.
10lbs of muscle requires: 10 grams of protein and 200-300 calories daily
So if you want to gain 10lbs and you weigh 150lbs, you will need to consume 160 grams of protein and 3200 calories daily. You will need to check your weight regularly so you can increase your calorie and protein intake if needed.
Here’s a mathematical formula.
Goal=160lbs
Protein= 1gm X 160lbs=160gms
Calories=160lbs divided by 10lbs=16lbs
16lbs X 200Calories= 3200 Calories
Daily intake= 160 grams of protein/3200 Calories
Another simple way of calculating your daily calorie and protein needs is to follow this formula.
Desired weight divided by 10=answer X 200=Daily calories
Desired weight divided by 1=Daily protein grams
Now let’s get back to bulking…
You must eat breakfast everyday because breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and if you skip breakfast your metabolism will slow down, and cause your body to store more fat.
You will need to consume six small meals throughout the day (2-3 hours apart), and also make sure that they are sufficient for your daily calorie needs.
Now lets move on to the workout…
Since you are bulking up(trying to gain muscle), it is important that you lift heavy with low repetitions, that way you can train the fast twitch muscles in your body. Fast twitched muscles are the type of muscles in your body that can hypertrophy to a very large extent. Your workouts will take place 3 to 4 times a week, you can either workout 3 straight days or alternate every other day.
To make sure your workouts are effective, you must learn how to pair muscles and you must also figure out your one rep maximum for each large muscle group.
Large Muscle Groups Muscles to pair
Chest Neck/Traps/Shoulders
Back Back/Biceps/Forearms
Legs Chest/Triceps
Abs Legs/Abs
Now that you know how to pair muscles, you must now figure out what your one rep maximum is for your major lifts.
Major Lifts
Bench Press
Squats
Dead-lifts
To figure out what your one rep maximum is, you must try to lift as much as you can on your first day in the gym(you definitely need a spotter!!!!!!!). The first thing you’ll need to do when you get to the gym is to stretch your entire body. After you stretch your entire body, you must now decide on which major lift you want to figure out a max for, so when you do decide, you should put weights on the bar that you are sure you can rep 10 times, because this will be your warm up set. After you have completed your warm up set you should rest for two minutes, you will need to do a post warm up set which will help you prepare to max out, so you will need to put on heavier weights than your warm up set(10 lb increase), and rep it 8 times(rest 2 minutes). After your post warm up set is completed, you are now ready for your first one rep maximum attempt.
Your first one rep maximum attempt should be a 10lb increase from your post warm up set (make sure you have a spotter!!!!!!!!). If you successfully and easily execute your first attempt, then this means that you need to add more weight and attempt another one rep max, but if you fail then this means that your one rep maximum is 5lbs in-between your post warm up set and your one rep maximum attempt.
Example: one rep max attempt=170lbs
Post warm up set=160lbs
170lbs-5lbs=165lbs
165lbs= your one rep maximum.
(For those who are successful) you will need to continue maxing until you get to a weight that you lifted all the way but was hard for you to complete. That is your one rep maximum.
*The Whole point of figuring out your one rep maximum is to help you know the amount of weight you should lift while training large muscle groups. Your last set for each Large muscle should be 10lbs under your max, and you should always max out every 2-3 weeks.*
That concludes Bulking…
The term “Weight Loss” refers to a decrease in Body mass,weight, and body fat. In order to lose weight you must cause an energy imbalance in your body, which means you have to consume high protein, low carbs, and less calories than you burn daily.
Let’s go over nutritional terms…
Protein: A macromolecule that contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen; needed by the body for growth and repair and to make up enzymes. Proteins are polymers of molecules called Amino acids.
Protein (in simple terms): Help build muscle, bones, and teeth they also strengthen the immune system and promote fast recovery.
Some protein foods: Chicken, eggs, potatoes, fish, ham, seafood, beef, pork, turkey, and steak.
For those of you wandering what exactly a calorie is, I’ll explain that to you also. First of all there are two types of calories;"calorie" and "Calorie" (they are differentiated by capitalization).
Calorie: the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 Celsius degree.
(What does that have to do with working out?....we'll just ignore that calorie and move on)
Calorie: term used by scientists to measure the energy stored in foods.
(Now that’s the Calorie we you need to be familiar with).
Carbohydrate: major source of energy for the human body.
When it comes to weight loss, you have to eat less and work harder. Weightlifting doesn't really apply much to weight loss, what counts the most is Cardiovascular Exercises (Cardio)
Here are the weight loss steps to follow
1. Pick your desired weight.
2. For your desired weight you must consume the number of lbs in protein grams daily.
Example: Desired weight=135lbs
Daily protein consumption will =135gms
3. You will need to consume less Calories/carbs/fat daily. To find your weight loss calorie needs, here is an easy way to get it:
Desired weight divided by 10=x
x times 200= maintenance calories
Maintenance calories-500 calories= what you need to consume
4. Remember that you must burn more calories than you consume.
5. Pick one of these and do it. Always Stretch your entire body before any form of Exercise.
7. Eating every 3 hours keeps your metabolism going at a fast rate(You must do this to be successful).
Eating Rules
Ice Cream
Fast Food
Pizza
Fried Chinese food (Steamed vegetables are allowed-no white rice)
Candy
Chocolate bars
Chips
Doughnuts
Pop-tarts
Toaster Strudels
Hot Dogs
other junk foods
Let’s go over nutritional terms…
Protein: A macromolecule that contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen; needed by the body for growth and repair and to make up enzymes. Proteins are polymers of molecules called Amino acids.
Protein (in simple terms): Help build muscle, bones, and teeth they also strengthen the immune system and promote fast recovery.
Some protein foods: Chicken, eggs, potatoes, fish, ham, seafood, beef, pork, turkey, and steak.
For those of you wandering what exactly a calorie is, I’ll explain that to you also. First of all there are two types of calories;"calorie" and "Calorie" (they are differentiated by capitalization).
Calorie: the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 Celsius degree.
(What does that have to do with working out?....we'll just ignore that calorie and move on)
Calorie: term used by scientists to measure the energy stored in foods.
(Now that’s the Calorie we you need to be familiar with).
Carbohydrate: major source of energy for the human body.
When it comes to weight loss, you have to eat less and work harder. Weightlifting doesn't really apply much to weight loss, what counts the most is Cardiovascular Exercises (Cardio)
Here are the weight loss steps to follow
1. Pick your desired weight.
2. For your desired weight you must consume the number of lbs in protein grams daily.
Example: Desired weight=135lbs
Daily protein consumption will =135gms
3. You will need to consume less Calories/carbs/fat daily. To find your weight loss calorie needs, here is an easy way to get it:
Desired weight divided by 10=x
x times 200= maintenance calories
Maintenance calories-500 calories= what you need to consume
4. Remember that you must burn more calories than you consume.
5. Pick one of these and do it. Always Stretch your entire body before any form of Exercise.
- Run at least 5 mph for 20-30 minutes.
- Jump-rope at a heart raising pace for 20-30 minutes.
- Use the Elliptical at a heart raising pace machine for 20-30 minutes.
- Indoor cycling for 35 minutes, no lower than 16 mph.
- Outdoor cycling at a heart raising pace for 1 hour.
- Swimming laps for an hour.
7. Eating every 3 hours keeps your metabolism going at a fast rate(You must do this to be successful).
Eating Rules
- Breakfast is a must, you cannot skip it.
- You must eat every 3 hours.
- You must drink 1 gallon of water a day.
- You must rest your body on time.
- You will drink green tea with almost all of your meals (Splenda, no sugar and don't overdose on the splenda)
Ice Cream
Fast Food
Pizza
Fried Chinese food (Steamed vegetables are allowed-no white rice)
Candy
Chocolate bars
Chips
Doughnuts
Pop-tarts
Toaster Strudels
Hot Dogs
other junk foods
Gaining endurance is pretty easy to think about, but hard to do. When training to improve cardio, you just need to pick up the pace at whatever you are doing, and you'll be able to last longer the next time you try it.
2009 Team-Hypertrophy.
2009 Mesomorph Magazine.
Copyright
2009 Mesomorph Magazine.
Copyright