Most Honest Advice For Building Muscle (As a Natural)

Summary

In this fitness journey reflection, the speaker shares hard-earned insights on muscle building as a natural lifter. With over a decade of experience, he emphasizes the importance of realistic expectations, consistent effort over years, and the pitfalls of staying too lean. He discusses the fragility of muscle growth, highlighting the need for recovery and lifestyle balance. The video aims to equip viewers with knowledge to avoid common mistakes and achieve better results in a sustainable way.

Takeaways

• 🏋️ Consistency is key in building muscle, requiring long-term dedication and effort.
• 📈 Initial muscle gains can be slower than expected, with the first year yielding less than anticipated.
• 🔄 The process of muscle growth involves ups and downs, with patience being essential for long-term success.
• 🤔 Adjusting expectations is crucial, as rapid transformations seen in some cases are not the norm for natural lifters.
• 🕰 The feedback loop for muscle growth is long, requiring time to see the results of consistent training and nutrition.
• 💪 The importance of not being overly lean during muscle building phases to prevent stunted progress and potential health issues.
• 🚫 Avoiding the 'perma-cutting' mindset, which can limit muscle gains by not allowing the body to enter a prolonged anabolic state.
• 🤹 Balancing lifestyle and training intensity is vital for recovery and muscle growth, as excessive stress can hinder progress.
• 🧘‍♂️ Recognizing individual recovery levels and adjusting training and lifestyle accordingly to maximize gains.
• 🏃‍♂️ Incorporating low-impact activities like walking can support muscle growth without compromising recovery.
• 📉 Understanding that muscle growth can become fragile as one approaches their genetic potential, necessitating careful management of recovery and stress.

Q & A

What is the speaker's current weight and height?

The speaker is currently around 172 pounds (78 kg) and is five foot 10 (178 centimeters) tall.

How long has the speaker been involved in consistent training?

The speaker has been consistently training for more than 10 years.

What were the speaker's initial expectations regarding muscle gain in the first year of training?

The speaker initially expected to gain about 10 to 20 pounds of muscle in the first year of training.

What was the actual muscle gain the speaker experienced in the first year?

In reality, the speaker gained about four or five pounds of muscle in the first year.

Why was the speaker focused on fat loss during the initial phase of training?

The speaker was focused on fat loss to get over the excess body fat that he had.

What is the speaker's advice on the importance of time and consistency in muscle building?

The speaker emphasizes that muscle building requires not just effort, but sustained effort over a long period of time.

What is the speaker's perspective on the comparison between muscle growth and the stock market?

The speaker compares muscle growth to the stock market, stating that both require a long-term approach and patience with delayed feedback loops.

What were the two major mistakes the speaker made regarding staying lean during his fitness journey?

The first mistake was going down to 6-7% body fat, which negatively affected his health and well-being. The second mistake was being paranoid about gaining body fat and not allowing for long-term gaining momentum.

Why did the speaker feel that staying at a very low body fat percentage was a mistake?

Staying at a very low body fat percentage led to health issues such as low testosterone levels, lack of libido, fatigue, and poor sleep quality.

What is the speaker's view on the sustainability of staying lean year-round for natural lifters?

The speaker believes that staying lean year-round is not sustainable for most natural lifters and suggests that it's better to spend the least amount of time in a calorie deficit to accumulate lean mass.

How does the speaker describe the fragility of the muscle building process?

The speaker describes the muscle building process as fragile, especially when one is training intensely and adding other intense activities can lead to a lack of recovery and hinder gains.

What is the speaker's recommendation for those who are stuck in a 'perma-cutting' mode?

The speaker recommends allowing oneself to accumulate a decent amount of lean mass at a higher body fat percentage, which is more sustainable and will make it easier to get leaner in the future.

How does the speaker relate the need for recovery to the progress in muscle building?

The speaker emphasizes that as one gets closer to their genetic potential, the need for recovery becomes more critical, and not being able to recover can lead to a halt or reduction in muscle gains.