Train very hard, eat very carefully, they stay thin, can't get bigger, follow various training plans and diet menus, and even want to give up on themselves too ...... If this is you yourself, you might be better equipped to respond by knowing these details today!
i'm skinny, so i can't build muscle?
It's not impossible for a lean physique to gain muscle, it's just more difficult, requires a more careful approach and a bit of skill, because the goal is not just to gain weight, but to train muscle.
When training muscle becomes the goal, it is not possible to do a normal strength training programme. There are many different forms of approach, cardio oriented such as crossfit and strength oriented such as the 5×5 training method. These are all great ways to train and they are not designed to maximise muscle growth. Workouts designed specifically for muscle building are known as muscle building workouts.
leaner physiques are able to resist fat gain rather than muscle building. So when planning to do bulking workouts while stimulating muscle growth, the body's excess calories will be used for muscle growth rather than increasing the metabolic rate to stop fat gain.
The leaner physique will burn off unnecessary calories. So, if our training routine stimulates a lot of muscle growth, we need to consume extra calories.
if training makes the body desperate to build muscle and appetite rises, this is actually better too - after all, the feedback mechanism of appetite is designed to prevent weight gain, and if the body is doing positive correlation growth with health, then it will not respond. If we send the body a signal to gain muscle as the primary signal, the appetite will rise in response.
This will not last forever. There may be no appetite for a few months and the body will try to find a new set point. When the body has gained 2kg, 5kg or 10kg, it may want to take a break from overeating. But a good muscle building training programme can improve appetite, at least for a while.
when more than a certain amount of food is consumed, the excess calorie portion is synthesised into fat. We generally keep quite a distance from this amount unless we follow a good muscle building program and consume enough protein. For leaner physiques, a weight gain limit of 0.5kg a week would be appropriate.
Muscle building exercises help us to use the excess calories to build muscle before they are used up by the metabolism. Plus, a good strength training programme usually whets our appetite!
lose your appetite when you're stressed?
A small appetite, high insulin sensitivity and a fast metabolism make it difficult for leaner physiques to eat enough throughout the day. What about when we are tired, busy or stressed? The worse most people's lifestyles are, the fatter they get. But strangely enough, lean body types have the opposite emotional response.
Eating causes the release of dopamine, which brings an intense feeling of pleasure. It is the body's instinct to encourage us to do those things that are conducive to survival and reproduction. Calorie intake helps survival, so the body associates calorie intake with pleasure.
therefore, when people feel tired or stressed, they habitually eat more, subconsciously craving an increase in dopamine. A typical scene is that of a sad girl after a breakup hugging a snack and crying while eating it.
But for the leaner physique, the situation is a little different. Firstly, because they are so sensitive to insulin, a very small amount of cold snacks can comfort the heart. Secondly, lean physiques don't snack to ease their sadness. When feeling stressed, sad or tired, they usually lose their appetite completely and often even forget to eat.
there are several reasons why thin pals become thinner during extraordinary times.
Food brings less pleasure: Different peeps get different levels of pleasure from the food they eat. Eating brings less pleasure to most thin partners.
For example, are less likely to use the snacks they eat as a source of pleasure. In times of hardship, they often find themselves lighter. For example, if you have a fight with your girlfriend, she may rush out, open the fridge and go on a binge, and you won't even remember that the fridge is there.
periods of high stress generally lead to a loss of appetite: When stress levels are particularly high, it makes sense that short-term needs take precedence over long-term needs.
In an article "Why zebras don't get ulcers" The analogy is made in the image that if we are being chased by a lion, this is not a good time to eat or digest food. Not only does the appetite go down, but the digestive system stops. Sometimes, there is even diarrhoea. This is why it is harder for leaner physiques to gain weight when they are stressed.
there are things we can do to reduce stress. Some peeps choose to meditate, others take stress-reducing supplements. All of these work and are worth a try if you are suffering from stress.
There are three other ways to effectively reduce stress while training your muscles.
Muscle building training can reduce stress: Numerous studies have found that strength training can reduce stress and that moderate intensity training (about 12 reps per set) appears to have the greatest stress-reducing effect, and this range of reps is most commonly used in muscle building training.
active exercise reduces stress: The second way to reduce stress is to train (study) regularly, either aerobically or with strength training, but if stress is high it is recommended to do both.
The most effective way is to do strength training about 4 times a week, followed by relaxing aerobic exercise (e.g. A 30-minute walk outside) 2-3 times a week. If you can go out for a walk in the morning and get some sunshine, even better. This not only reduces stress, but also helps us recover from more strenuous strength training.
improve sleep to reduce stress: A final way to reduce stress while training your muscles is to improve your sleep.
If you don't get enough sleep, levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, can rise the next morning, leading to higher stress levels throughout the day. Improving your sleep will not only reduce stress, but you will build muscle 30% faster, grow fat slower, have more willpower and perform better in training.
the beauty of all these stress-reducing techniques is that they work collaboratively: Strength training reduces stress and makes it easy to get a good night's sleep. A good night's sleep gives the body more energy to train, accelerating muscle growth and making training better. As we become stronger and healthier, the quality of sleep improves even more, and each benefit is interconnected.
The same goes for staying active. Going for a walk not only reduces stress, it also stimulates melatonin production, making it easier to fall asleep. So any small improvements in lifestyle have the potential to bring more benefits over time, and changes can affect many areas.
it is important to have regular training, control stress and to sleep well when building muscle. Not only does it increase appetite and improve digestion, it also helps us to gain lean body mass faster and better.
sorting out your lean body mass is not impossible to gain muscle and understanding that diet, training and sleep go hand in hand, so are you starting to feel more confident and responsive to yourself?