I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked this question. Many hardgainers feel that they can gain weight or build muscle mass by taking “extra vitamins”. Well, can you or can’t you? To answer this question take step back and think about it. When it comes to eating to gain weight what have I always said is the bottom line? Eating extra protein? No. Upping your fiber? No. Making sure you get your monusaturated fats or fish oils? No. In order to give your body the nutrients it needs to put on muscle mass and gain weight in the form of lean tissue the bottom line is and always will be overall calories. So, what you need is to eat an amount of calories that will allow your muscles to recover, recuperate, and grow.
So, how many calories are in vitamins? None. Zero. Nada. Vitamins are one thing, and calories are another. Yet, they are not one and the same. Vitamins help certain body functions, but they aren’t calories. So, you can take all of the multi-vitamins in the world but you won’t gain one ounce of muscle mass or gain any weight because they aren’t calories…period. So, to answer the question, will taking extra vitamins allow you to put on some size and bulk up?…….only food will.
Sure, you’ve heard it a thousand times, “You need to get your sleep so that your body can recover and you can gain weight and build muscle mass”. However, a recent article no sleep and muscle building in IronMan magazine provided some hard hitting and concrete studies that really hit home with this information.
In the article of the magazine it said “Lack of sleep interferes with testosterone even more. In a study published last year, 12 healthy men…had their testosterone levels monitored after a night of sleep. The less sleep the men got, the lower their testosterone…A study of young men found that sleeping during either the day or night led to more testosterone release. When young men are deprived of sleep, their testosterone levels plummet rapidly…A lack of REM sleep appears to have a particularly potent blunting effect on testosterone release”.
So, hurry up and get to sleep if you want to keep the muscle building, weight gain wheels in motion.
According to a recent research column in Muscular Development magazine, and I quote, “Bud Winter, the legendary track coach of Olympic athletes such as John Powell, Lee Evans, Tommy Smith, and John Carlos, used to to give his athletes “Bud Winter super pills” to improve performance. Winter claimed the pills helped his athletes run faster, even though they were made from sugar. They were nothing more than placebos that worked by the power of suggestion…..Placebos show the importance of positive thinking for success in bodybuilding and sports”.
As I’ve always written, many, of not most supplements aimed at muscle building and gaining weight, such as shakes, pills, powders, and bars, are not what will help you build and gain muscular weight. The big factors in accomplishing this will always be having the right workout routine and eating the correct amount of calories, week in and week out. How many people do you yourself know that takes every bodybuilding supplement known to man, yet don’t ever seem to gain any weight, or build any more muscle mass? What about prisoners? They don’t take any of those nutritional supplements, yet they’re bigger than your average gym rat? Kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
Many popular workout routines and programs have been taking mainstream gyms and exercise enthusiasts by storm. But when it comes to pure muscle building or gaining weight, are certain regimens efficient, such as Pilates? Sure, Pilates may enhance your stretching capacity or your range of motion, aka ROM. However, just because you can stretch further or hold a position for longer periods of time doesn’t necessarily mean that it will stimulate muscular growth and development.
In order to cause hypertrophy in your muscles you have to cause certain things to happen during your workout program. Things such as tension, time under tension, intensity, muscle flow, lactic acid accumulation, etc.,must all take place to cause your muscles to become physically bigger. Does your current Pilates routine cause these mechanisms to go into motion to help you with your muscle building / weight gain goals?
