06-14-2012, 12:15 PM
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#32 (permalink)
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| Member
Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Henniker, the only one on Earth
Posts: 3,160
|  Re: How to build muscle?
Quote:
Originally Posted by meson  Quite simply you build muscle by stressing it through use and then feeding it enough to build it. Providing enough protein is essential for building new muscle. There is an optimum window of 20-30 minutes after muscle use where the absorption of protein to build and replace muscle is most effective.
What is not essential is weight training. One can build muscle through any sort of activity that stresses muscle. Homemaker is completely correct in that body weight exercises are an effective way of building muscle. The real question is what do you want to do with your muscle? If all you want is to collect muscle bulk then weight lifting is probably the way to go. If you need muscle to perform specific activities like dance, gymnastics or climbing then you need to manage your exercises to avoid over building bulk by focusing on exercises that stress fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers in the appropriate ratio for you activity.
There is nothing wrong with weight training but it is not the only way. | When I was younger I was an EMT and in the military. Instead of weighing 103 I weighed 120 and I had a lot more bulk in my legs. I needed to be able to carry a 60 pound pack or at least half of a person on a litter or in a real emergency someone across my back. Legs were thus important. I also trained in extreme heat, running in the Phoenix suburbs on a track in the middle of the day in the summer, that's when your sweat evaporates and don't wipe your face because you'll scratch yourself with the salt crystals. When my kids were younger I used to carry them too in a Burley trailer with their friends, so 70-80 pounds going biking, or up to 40/50 pounds with equipment in a ski pulk cross country skiing or my favorite orienteering running through the woods off-trail with a 30 pound kid in a backpack plus water and emergency gear (plus diapers, etc.)
I do think the best way to train is with a goal in mind. You never know when you want to have some fun by running up a mountain and then free-climbing at high speed the open face rock summit and doing some pushups at the top just because you are getting along in years and enjoying it while you still can!
I went kayaking last Sunday and was in some little bit of whitewater, only Class 1, but it was nice to have core strength and upper body/arm strength otherwise it would have been tiring, instead of fun.
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