Why Your Muscles Won't Get Any Bigger

Summary

This script debunks the quick-fix promises of social media fitness influencers, highlighting the discipline and effort required to achieve a 'ripped' physique like Brad Pitt in 'Fight Club' or Cristiano Ronaldo. It emphasizes the importance of proper diet, adequate sleep, and consistent workouts for muscle growth, acknowledging that genetics and age can influence results. The video offers practical advice for those seeking to build muscle, including calorie intake, workout routines, and the reality of being a 'hard gainer'.

Takeaways

• 💪 Building significant muscle mass is not easy and requires dedication, discipline, and the right approach.
• 💰 Beware of social media influencers who promise quick muscle gains for a price, as they may not deliver on their promises.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Emulating the physiques of celebrities like Brad Pitt in Fight Club or Cristiano Ronaldo requires extreme effort and lifestyle changes.
• 📈 The 'Fight Club physique' is often considered the ideal male body type, characterized by low body fat and high muscle mass.
• 🍽️ Diet plays a crucial role in muscle building; a balanced intake of protein, carbs, and fats is essential for muscle growth and recovery.
• 🔢 Understanding your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and adjusting calorie intake accordingly can help in gaining or losing weight effectively.
• 🚫 Avoid fad diets and focus on consuming whole foods that are high in protein and low in saturated fats for muscle development.
• 💤 Adequate sleep is vital for muscle recovery and growth; insufficient sleep can hinder muscle development and even lead to muscle loss.
• 🏋️‍♀️ A well-structured workout routine that targets different muscle groups and includes a mix of compound and isolation exercises is key to muscle building.
• 📝 Keeping a record of your workouts and progress can be a powerful motivator and help you make necessary adjustments to your routine.
• 🧬 Genetics can influence muscle growth potential, but environmental factors and personal actions can override genetic predispositions.

Q & A

What is the common claim made by fitness influencers on social media about achieving a muscular physique?

The common claim is that by following their specific method, which only they and select others know, one can achieve a muscular physique similar to a Marvel superhero in a short amount of time, despite the actual difficulty of such a transformation.

Why do some people fail to achieve the muscular physique they desire despite following online fitness advice?

Some people fail because they might be misled by false promises, lack the necessary discipline and effort, or they may not be following a comprehensive approach that includes proper diet, exercise, and lifestyle adjustments.

What is the significance of Brad Pitt's physique in 'Fight Club' and how does it relate to the 'Fight Club physique'?

Brad Pitt's physique in 'Fight Club' is considered the 'gold standard of male physicality' by GQ magazine, and it represents the 'Fight Club physique' that many men aspire to achieve, characterized by washboard abs, toned arms, bulky shoulders, and a streamlined chest.

What is the average body fat percentage for adult males in the US according to the National Institutes of Health?

The average body fat percentage for adult males in the US aged 20 to 39 is 32.2%, which is significantly higher than the 5% body fat Brad Pitt achieved for his role in 'Fight Club'.

How does Cristiano Ronaldo's diet and lifestyle contribute to his 'ripped' physique?

Cristiano Ronaldo's diet mainly consists of salad, plain white chicken, and water, with no juice. His lifestyle includes regular exercise like swimming, sauna, or kicking a ball around, which all contribute to his low body fat and high muscle mass.

What is the recommended daily calorie intake for adult males according to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans?

The recommended daily calorie intake for adult males ranges from 2,200 to 3,200 calories, depending on various factors such as age, activity level, and metabolism.

Why is it important to consume extra calories when trying to gain muscle mass?

Extra calories are important for muscle gain because they provide the necessary energy and nutrients for muscle repair and growth after workouts. Without sufficient calories, the body may not have the resources needed to build muscle.

How did Christian Bale drastically change his weight for various movie roles, and what can we learn from his approach?

Christian Bale changed his weight by manipulating his calorie intake and adjusting his diet according to the role's requirements. His approach shows the importance of a tailored diet and commitment to achieving a specific physique.

What is the recommended macronutrient ratio for gaining muscle, and why is it effective?

The recommended macronutrient ratio for gaining muscle is 30% protein, 50% carbs, and 20% fat. This ratio is effective because it provides a balance of nutrients needed for muscle repair, growth, and energy.

Why is sleep important for muscle growth, and what can happen if you don't get enough sleep?

Sleep is important for muscle growth because it is during rest that the body repairs and builds muscle. Insufficient sleep can disrupt protein synthesis pathways, leading to muscle loss and hindering progress despite hard work.

What role do genes play in muscle growth, and how can one's genetic predisposition affect their ability to gain muscle?

Genes can influence muscle growth by affecting muscle fiber composition, the body's response to exercise, and even motivation and discipline related to diet and exercise. Some people may have a genetic predisposition that makes it easier or harder for them to gain muscle.

Outlines

00:00

💪 The Myth of Quick Muscle Growth

This paragraph discusses the misleading promises made by fitness influencers on social media, who claim that with their method, one can achieve a superhero-like physique quickly. It highlights the reality that building muscle is a challenging and disciplined process, contrary to the false promises of easy results. The paragraph also emphasizes the importance of hard work and dedication, as exemplified by celebrities like Brad Pitt and Cristiano Ronaldo, who maintain their physiques through rigorous training and diet regimens.

05:05

🍽️ The Role of Diet in Muscle Building

The second paragraph delves into the dietary aspect of muscle building, explaining the importance of consuming the right amount of calories and the right types of food to support muscle growth. It discusses the concept of Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and how it varies depending on factors like age, size, and activity level. The paragraph also touches on the challenges some people face in altering their weight through diet changes and introduces the idea of adding extra calories to support muscle gain, using examples from actors like Christian Bale to illustrate extreme weight fluctuations for movie roles.

10:11

🏋️‍♂️ The Importance of Exercise and Hydration for Muscle Growth

This paragraph focuses on the workout routines and the significance of hydration in muscle development. It suggests strategies for effective muscle gain, such as consuming protein shakes, eating balanced meals, and the importance of post-workout nutrition. The paragraph also emphasizes the role of water in muscle health and the necessity of replenishing glycogen stores after exercise. Additionally, it provides tips on workout routines, including the separation of muscle groups across different days and the importance of progression and variety in exercises.

15:12

💤 Sleep and Recovery in Muscle Building

The fourth paragraph discusses the crucial role of sleep in muscle recovery and growth. It explains that inadequate sleep can hinder muscle development by affecting protein synthesis pathways and potentially leading to muscle loss. The paragraph also addresses the importance of maintaining a workout log for motivation and the concept of rewarding oneself for progress made, while cautioning against overindulgence that could counteract gains.

20:16

🧬 Genetics and the Challenge of Muscle Building

This paragraph explores the impact of genetics on muscle building, acknowledging that some individuals may find it more challenging to gain muscle due to their genetic predisposition. It discusses the role of specific genes, such as ACTN3, in muscle growth and the influence of environmental factors and personal behaviors in overcoming genetic tendencies. The paragraph also addresses the myth of body types and emphasizes that while genetics play a part, consistent effort and adaptation are key to achieving one's fitness goals.

🔬 The Science of Muscle Building and Genetic Factors

The final paragraph delves deeper into the scientific research surrounding muscle growth and the genetic factors that influence it. It references studies that highlight how genetic predispositions can affect muscle development and recovery. The paragraph concludes with an encouragement to embrace the challenge of muscle building, accepting that while some may have a natural advantage, perseverance and effort can lead to success.

Keywords

💡Muscle Mass

Muscle mass refers to the amount of muscle tissue in the human body. It is a key indicator of physical fitness and is central to the video's theme of body transformation. The script mentions that muscle mass can be increased through exercise and a proper diet, as illustrated by the examples of Brad Pitt in 'Fight Club' and Cristiano Ronaldo, who both have a high percentage of muscle mass compared to the average person.

💡Body Fat Percentage

Body fat percentage is the ratio of fat to total body mass, and it is a significant measure in assessing health and fitness levels. The video discusses the importance of low body fat percentages for achieving a 'ripped' appearance, citing Brad Pitt's 5% body fat during 'Fight Club' and the average adult male's body fat range as contrast.

💡Workout Routine

A workout routine is a structured plan for physical exercise, designed to achieve specific fitness goals. The script emphasizes the importance of a varied and progressive workout routine to build muscle effectively, mentioning Brad Pitt's six-day training regimen for 'Fight Club', which included different muscle groups on separate days.

💡Diet and Nutrition

Diet and nutrition are critical components of body transformation, as they provide the necessary energy and nutrients for muscle growth and maintenance. The video script discusses the need for a balanced diet with adequate protein, carbohydrates, and fats, and how Christian Bale's dietary changes for various movie roles illustrate the impact of nutrition on body composition.

💡Caloric Intake

Caloric intake refers to the amount of energy consumed through food and beverages. It is essential for understanding how to gain or lose weight. The script explains how adjusting caloric intake can influence muscle gain, suggesting an increase of 500 calories above maintenance levels for those looking to build muscle.

💡Protein Synthesis

Protein synthesis is the process by which cells produce the proteins necessary for growth and repair. In the context of the video, it is highlighted as a vital process for muscle building, which can be hindered by insufficient sleep or poor nutrition.

💡Homeostasis Theory

The homeostasis theory, as mentioned in the script, suggests that the body tries to maintain a stable weight despite changes in energy consumption. This concept is relevant to the video's discussion on the challenges of weight and muscle gain, where the body resists changes to maintain its equilibrium.

💡Progression

Progression in a workout routine means gradually increasing the intensity, weight, or complexity of exercises to continue challenging the muscles and promote growth. The script advises viewers to change their workout every four to eight weeks and to keep pushing themselves to ensure continuous improvement.

💡Compound Exercises

Compound exercises are multi-joint movements that work multiple muscle groups simultaneously. The video script recommends incorporating compound exercises into a workout routine to effectively build muscle mass, using examples like chin-ups and press-ups.

💡Isolation Exercises

Isolation exercises target a single muscle or muscle group, allowing for focused strengthening. The script contrasts these with compound exercises, suggesting a balance in a workout routine but emphasizing the importance of compound movements for muscle growth.

💡Genetics

Genetics play a role in determining an individual's physical traits, including muscle growth potential and body type. The video script acknowledges that while genetics can predispose some people to gain muscle more easily, environmental factors and personal actions can significantly influence one's physique.

Highlights

Social media is flooded with misleading fitness promises, often requiring financial investment with little return.

Achieving a muscular physique similar to celebrities like Brad Pitt or Cristiano Ronaldo requires extreme discipline and effort.

The average male's body fat percentage is significantly higher than that of elite athletes like Ronaldo.

Pitt's transformation for 'Fight Club' involved an intense workout and diet regimen, emphasizing the importance of both for muscle development.

Genes and body type can influence muscle gain, with some individuals being 'hard gainers' due to genetic predispositions.

A balanced diet with the right amount of protein, carbs, and fats is crucial for muscle growth, not just increased calorie intake.

The recommended daily calorie intake for adult males varies greatly and should be adjusted based on lifestyle and physical activity.

The homeostasis theory suggests that the body tries to maintain a stable weight, making weight loss or gain challenging.

Proper rest and sleep are essential for muscle recovery and growth, as the body repairs itself during rest.

Age can significantly impact the ability to build muscle, with the process becoming more difficult as one gets older.

Christian Bale's drastic weight changes for movie roles demonstrate the importance of diet and exercise for body transformation.

A structured workout routine focusing on different muscle groups each day can be effective for muscle development.

Maintaining proper form during exercises is crucial to prevent injuries and ensure effective muscle engagement.

Mixing compound and isolation exercises in a workout can provide a balanced approach to muscle building.

The timing of meals and snacks around workouts can impact muscle recovery and growth, emphasizing the importance of post-workout nutrition.

Recording workouts and setting achievable goals can help track progress and stay motivated on the path to muscle gain.

Accepting that some individuals may have a genetic advantage or disadvantage is important for setting realistic expectations and maintaining motivation.

Transcripts

You’ve all seen the videos on social media. You’ve  been inundated by them. There’s some hunk with a  

body like a Marvel superhero telling you in a  short amount of time, if you do what he says,  

you can look just like him. It’s easy, he  says, but only if you follow his method,  

the right method, that only he and  select others know. There’s a catch,  

of course. You have to inject your hard-earned  cash into his very muscular bank account. 

You do it, and six months later,  rather than look ripped, your buddies  

are telling you you’ve been ripped off! Breaking out in massive muscles isn’t easy,  

even if you think you’re doing everything right. Some of you will know this already. You’ve tried,  

and you’ve failed. You’ve thrown buckets of  money down the black hole of the internet, you’ve  

followed the instructions to the letter, you have  a shelf stacked with supplements, but rather than  

look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club or Cristiano  Ronaldo when he takes off his shirt post-match,  

you could quite easily be cast as one of the Three  Little Pigs – the lazy one, of course, that elects  

to use straw for the foundations of his house. You’re not alone. Many of us have fallen  

for the internet’s magical solutions tricks. Today, viewers, we have your back…and your legs,  

chest, and stomach. We hope in about 20  minutes' time, you’ll feel confident you  

will never again answer to one of those wolves  at the door who come knocking on social media. 

Ok, so we just mentioned Brad Pitt and the  fact he looked in great shape for Fight  

Club. We’ll also discuss Ronaldo in  this section. We aren’t talking about  

just improving muscle mass a bit here; these  guys are extreme examples of male physiques,  

but their discipline and effort show us what  direction we should go in if we want to build  

muscle. We’ll talk about normal people later. Even though Fight Club is now 24 years old,  

there are hundreds of videos on TikTok  that have amassed millions of views,  

each employing #workout with the promise  that with hard work and dedication, you can  

look like Pitt in this movie, what GQ magazine  called the “gold standard of male physicality.”

The Fight Club physique is apparently what most  men want. We’re told this is the Holy Grail of  

body types: washboard abs, toned arms,  bulky shoulders, and a streamlined chest  

that looks like Porsche designed it. We know you already know that Pitt’s  

body here would have taken a lot of  work to achieve. Like Ronaldo now,  

Pitt would have made his body his life’s work.  The 35-year-old Pitt in Fight Club had a body  

very similar to Ronaldo in his mid to late  30s. That is what we call the “ripped” body. 

It takes determination, a lot of it. A friend of  Ronaldo’s, the French soccer player Patrice Evra,  

once joked, “I would give advice to anybody, when  Cristiano invites you for lunch at his house,  

just say no.” He said feeding time at Ronaldo’s  house would usually consist of “salad and plain  

white chicken.” Water, no juice, followed by  swimming, sauna, or kicking a ball around.

The ripped look takes discipline. In Fight Club, Pitt weighed around  

155 pounds (70.3 kilos) while being five feet  eleven (180 cm). He got down to about 5% body fat,  

which is highly unusual. According to a paper in  the National Institutes of Health, the average guy  

in the US has 32.2% body fat when aged 20 to 39. The CDC says a normal body fat count for an adult  

male of all ages is between 18.5% to 24.9%.  15% to 17% body fat might mean you are really  

into fitness, while 6% to 13% body fat could mean  you’re an athlete. When Ronaldo recently played  

soccer in Spain for Real Madrid, his body fat was  7%, compared to the average other player of 11%. 

Ronaldo also had a 50% muscle mass, compared  to the average of 46% for the other players.  

Muscle mass is simply the amount of muscle in  your body which can go up or down depending on  

exercise. You can also change your bone density  through a good diet, healthy living, and exercise,  

but what you also want to concentrate on is  turning some of that fat mass into muscle mass. 

Nonetheless, anyone telling you that you can  look like Tyler Durden or Ronaldo with just a  

bit of working out and laying off deep-fried  pizza - shame on you, Scotland - is lying to  

you. Being shredded for humans is like juggling  for dogs. It’s an elite thing, being shredded,  

and it takes elite effort to achieve it. You already know some things about Ronaldo’s  

strict lifestyle. For Fight Club, Pitt  also acted like a professional athlete. He  

trained six days a week, doing weight-bearing  exercises and weight lifting for muscle mass  

and two days of cardio to keep his weight down. He worked on a different muscle group each day.  

Mondays were his chest day, Tuesdays his back  day, and Wednesdays were for his shoulders.  

On Thursdays, he was all about arms (biceps and  triceps), and then he had his two days of cardio  

and a rest day. He also implemented a very strict  diet, eating things such as protein shakes and  

various whole foods that help gain muscle. Most of you people out there just wouldn’t  

have time to implement this kind  of monkish devotion to your body,  

but some of you aren’t expecting miracles. You  just want to gain some muscle, but never mind how  

much you’ve tried, you can’t seem to do it. The next part of the show is the good news,  

the things you can do, and the last part is  the bad news, the things you’re stuck with. 

Ok, so let’s imagine you don’t actually need  to lose weight. Maybe you’re on the thin side,  

or maybe your weight falls into what  the internet tells you is normal. 

What’s normal? The average height for  

a male in the US is five feet nine (175.2  cm). If you look at weight charts online,  

which will tell you if you’re overweight, for a  5’9 adult male, they say you can weigh from 142  

pounds (64.4kg) to as much as 176 pounds (79.8  kg). There’s a big distance between high and low  

just because humans have different body frames. With these differences in mind, the 2020-2025  

Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends  a daily adult male calorie intake of 2,200  

to 3,200 calories, which is close to one of  Cheesecake Factory’s Breakfast Burritos (2,730  

calories). The number of calories you should eat  depends on various factors. You will obviously  

burn more calories if you work as a laborer on a  construction site than if you sit all day like an  

Infographics Show writer. Such writers might  only need to consume 1,500 to 2,000 calories  

daily to maintain their body weight. Age, hormones, how big you are,  

and what medicines you might take can also play  a part in what your ideal calorie intake is,  

aka, basal metabolic rate, to maintain the  body you have. We imagine a lot of you have  

tried altering your calorie intake to lose  or put on weight, and there’s been no change. 

You’re not alone, internet forums are full  of these very frustrated people. Some of them  

put forward the homeostasis theory, which says  your brain tries to maintain your weight even  

if you make energy consumption changes. It’s not  certain that’s true, but it makes sense since your  

brain doesn’t want you to waste away and die. Even so, all those people in history who have  

become malnourished in prison camps are proof  that fewer calories mean a leaner body. As you  

can see by watching any of those obesity-focused  TV shows, if you eat like a hippo, you start to  

take on the proportions of a hippo. Your brain  can only do so much to keep you at your weight,  

but many health scientists agree; losing weight is  not always as simple as carloies in, calories out. 

Still, if you want to put on muscle, working out  won’t work out if you aren’t consuming the right  

number of calories. If you’re on the slight  side and can’t put on any muscle, you can use  

a BMR calculator to see how many calories your  body needs to maintain your weight, and then you  

can add another 500 calories to your daily diet.  You’ll actively be working out, of course. These  

extra calories are extremely important. You can’t  put meat on the bones without them. That would be  

like expecting your car to move without any gas. You’ve all seen how the actor Christian Bale (6  

feet, 183 cm) has gone to extremes in movies when  he altered his weight. In the deeply foreboding  

movie The Machinist, where he looked like he was  close to death, he weighed 116.8 pounds (53kg).

In Batman Begins, which he played six  months after his role in the Machinist,  

he was 187.3 pounds (85kg)  and certainly didn’t look fat.

For The Dark Knight, he was a very muscular  220 pounds (99.7 kg). He later said that in  

order to get skinny for The Machinist,  his diet often consisted of one apple,  

a tin of tuna, and a black coffee every  day, with plenty of cigarettes to suppress  

his appetite. He was on about 200 calories per  day, which can be very dangerous. Don’t do that,  

folks. The smoking isn’t a great idea, either. When Bale wanted to look fat for the movie  

American Hustle, and when he played former  Vice President Dick Cheney, he said he put  

on the pounds, 40 or 50 extra than his normal  weight. He once said, “I ate lots of doughnuts,  

a whole lot of cheeseburgers, and whatever  I could get my hands on.” To play Cheney,  

he said he ate pies; he ate all the pies,  as the British like to jokingly say. He  

was talking about meat pies, but he also ate a  lot of American pies, the calorie-dense pizza. 

But to put on muscle, not fat, he was actually  very watchful of the types of food he ate. This  

is because it’s not just about extra calories  but consuming the right calories. He said to  

play Batman, he “would eat smaller meals every  two or three hours.” He added, “Each meal,  

I would aim for a balance of lean proteins,  carbs, and good, healthy fats.” That’s what Brad  

Pitt did, and it’s what Ronaldo does right now. After being fat for American Hustle, Bale had to  

achieve another perfect body physique to play  Moses in Exodus: Gods and Kings. To accomplish  

that, he said he ate healthy foods again and  engaged in a “grueling” fitness regime consisting  

of swimming, running, and what Men’s Health  called “a three-day power weightlifting routine.” 

If you want to look like Christian Bale, you  might have to act like Christian Bale. By the way,  

he said it’s gotten harder doing these body  transitions as he’s gotten older. We’ll  

come to this topic of aging later in the show. What and how much you eat is very important if  

you want to gain muscle. The problem with those  diet plans you find online is that they often  

ask you to eat specialist foods, something like  black-footed albatross eggs with a side of organic  

Indonesian rutabaga. We’re joking here, but those  plans do often contain a lot of non-regular foods.  

Forget those finicky diets. You can eat normal  stuff, too, just foods that are not sugar-laden,  

are high in protein, and low in saturated fats. The average American wouldn’t find it difficult  

to get these foods, such as eggs, tuna, fish,  chicken breast, and lean meats such as turkey  

and lean beef. We’re not going to go through all  the right foods to gain muscle. You can find many  

articles online. All we’ll say here is you don’t  have to be a monk or wealthy person to get the  

right calories. Just cut out the crap and replace  it with something half-decent. You won’t start if  

the diet looks too oppressive, so don’t overthink  it. You should generally stick with the 30/50/20  

plan to gain muscle, which means 30% protein, 50%  carbs, and 20% cigarettes…just kidding, 20% fat. 

Bale also said he spread his meals out,  perhaps to 5, 6, or 7 meals a day. This  

doesn’t mean you have to prepare and cook food  all day long. Eat healthy snacks, or what many  

people do when trying to gain muscle, is have  protein shakes to replace some of the meals. 

By the way, drink plenty of water. You’ll need  to if you want to gain muscle. Water delivers  

the materials you need for your body’s  protein and glycogen structures, which  

you require for muscle gain. Muscle hydration  is a thing, as they are 70 to 80 percent water.  

Feed them like you’d feed a beloved plant. It also helps a lot to eat after you work out,  

replenishing your body’s glycogen stores to aid  recovery. Ideally, if your objective is indeed  

solely to build muscle, you’ll want to replenish  the protein, creatine, and glycogen that have been  

depleted during your workout. Shakes can do  the business, and then maybe you can wait an  

hour or two and have a proper meal containing  plenty of protein, complex carbs, and fats. 

Still, you ideally need a combination of protein  and carbohydrates before a workout to have high  

energy levels and also to build muscle. We  hope we are not making it sound confusing  

and difficult right now. Our intention today  is to make things easier for you. Basically,  

if you want to build muscle, it might be better to  eat before and after a workout, but to be honest,  

just eating right and getting those extra  calories in a day is much more important  

than the timing. We know plenty of people who are  incredibly muscular who don’t live like robots. 

Ok, we know many of you are now thinking,  “Well, I’ve done all that already,  

and nothing has changed.” We know. We  feel your pain. You still look like one  

of the Three Little Pigs, or maybe have the  body of Norville “Shaggy” Rogers. Zoinks!

So, now, let’s talk about your workout routine.  What you can do in a gym or in the safety of  

your own home to build muscle is endless,  so we’re not going to tell you exactly what  

exercises you should be doing. Resources  are free online. It’s not rocket science,  

but there are some tricks of the trade. Like Brad Pitt for Fight Club, work out  

your different muscle groups on separate days.  You can keep the same routine for several weeks,  

but you should also switch things up now  and again, especially if you’re finding  

something too easy or it looks like there’s  no progress. There are endless things you can  

do for the same muscle group. Find out what  they are and spend several weeks doing them  

before you change to another. Many people  do a change-up after four to eight weeks. 

Progression is the operative word here.  You have to keep pushing yourself. No pain,  

no gain. Keep a log if you can. There are  plenty of free apps for that kind of thing.  

You should be trying to get better constantly,  so now and again, add reps or more weight. 4-6  

workouts per week would be ideal. If you’re  overweight, throw in some cardio workouts. 

Whatever you do, make sure your form  is right when working out, otherwise,  

you could give yourself an injury. If you’re  doing an exercise that, at the end of your rep,  

makes you lose your form, do less until that  doesn’t happen. The exercise should be hard,  

but not so hard that other people in the gym  start fearing for your life or making you a viral  

star on TikTok. Don’t be a Shaggy in the gym. It  might cause an injury that isn’t easy to get over. 

You should mix compound exercises with isolation  exercises. Often, people choose to do two or three  

compound exercises for every isolation exercise.  Compound exercises are the ones that strengthen  

more than one muscle, such as a chin-up or a  press-up. Isolation exercises are something like  

a biceps curl. They isolate a particular muscle.  So, remember, more compound than isolation. 

Some people say you don’t need isolation exercises  or even weights or weight machines. Plenty of  

famous hunks only do bodyweight-based workout  routines, but if you want to get muscular fast,  

the machines and free weights might work  out better for you. Evidence shows the  

latter may help you to build muscle faster,  though it’s often a bit more expensive. 

Right, so now you have some basics. We imagine  a lot of you are now feeling just a little  

bit frustrated as you’ve heard all this  before, and you’ve done all these things,  

and you still haven’t built much muscle. Then it’s time we talked about the outliers that  

can sometimes override your workout discipline  and your cutting back on the Scooby Snacks. 

One outlier is sleep. It’s no good working out  like a madman and not letting your body recover.  

The growth is in the recovery as much as it is  in the working out. Your body needs sleep to  

repair. Building muscle is all about repairing.  If instead of getting seven or eight hours of  

quality sleep a night, you’re getting up after  four hours and downing three double expressos  

before running out of the house contained in a  giant ball of stress, your body is being abused. 

Scientific studies have shown that insufficient  sleep affects the protein synthesis pathways in  

your body and causes degradation of those  pathways, which can lead to muscle loss! A  

National Institutes of Health paper explained,  “Chronic sleep loss is a potent catabolic  

stressor, increasing the risk of metabolic  dysfunction and loss of muscle mass and function.” 

All that hard work, and you mess it  up ‘cos you don’t get enough Zs. Sure,  

lack of sleep alone won’t override all your  hard work, but it will make a difference. 

There’s also the mind stuff that goes on. Some  people give up too easily. Everyone is different  

in this regard, but we find that keeping a record  of your workouts is really useful for motivation.  

You can’t always see the progress, but you can  always see the data. You might have weeks you  

don’t progress at all, but you will progress at  some point. When you do, give yourself a little  

reward, maybe just one nibble of a food you’ve cut  out. Call this R&R: records and rewards. A nibble  

won’t upset your progress, but don’t go overboard  and spend a week mainlining Double Whoppers. 

Moving on. Do you recall us mentioning the  bad news earlier? There’s always bad news,  

and the reason for that is life is  ultimately bad news. We all die. 

The End… Just kidding, well,  

only slightly because your body does gradually  break down. The older you get, the harder it  

gets to build muscle. There’s a reason you  don’t see many hunks after age 50 or 60,  

although some do keep their ripped bodies, likely  with a good number of performance-enhancing drugs. 

The podcaster Joe Rogan, who is 56 and looks  like one of those pink MUSCLE-MEN figures, freely  

admits to taking all kinds of supplements on top  of a bit of testosterone replacement therapy.

The latter, he has said, gives him an  energy boost. There’s nothing wrong with  

this. We are just saying that being ripped  after 50 gets much harder. This is why: 

When we work out, our muscles get bigger  through a process that involves damaging  

our muscle fibers. With rest and the right  nutrients, they repair and get bigger,  

and we get stronger. This enlargement  process is called hypertrophy. 

The process involves chemical changes in your  body. Receptors on the surface of each of your  

muscle cells detect muscle movement. This is  how more proteins get into your muscle fibers  

and why your muscles increase in size. There  are also special genes that code for specific  

proteins to make this happen. In short, and we are  simplifying here, the biochemical processes for  

triggering muscle growth slow down when you  age. On top of that, researchers have found  

that gene expression changes in older men. The  Conversation said in an article on this topic: 

“Using a technique that allowed us to  measure changes in thousands of genes  

in response to resistance exercise, we  found that when younger men exercise,  

there are changes in the expression of more than  150 genes. When we looked at older men, we found  

changes in the expression of only 42 genes.” We’ll just add that this doesn’t mean older folks  

should give up on exercise. Countless studies  have shown that even light exercise can reduce the  

chance of becoming disabled in later life and can  improve posture. A European Society of Cardiology  

study recently found that even light walks every  day significantly improved the chance of having  

a longer life for South Koreans. We should add  that the study said “associated” with having a  

longer life since walkers and non-walkers  might have different lifestyles. Still,  

even a bit of regular exercise will almost  certainly bestow dividends when you get older. 

But since most of our viewers are yet to get  to that stage in life when they realize that  

this gig doesn’t go on forever, we’ll move  on to some different bad news. It’s something  

you can’t change unless you can go back in  time and somehow get a pair of new parents. 

Some people in the world of working out fall into  the category of “hard gainers.” These are the  

folks who say they do all the things we’ve talked  about in this show and still can’t gain muscle.  

Word on the web is these people actually aren’t  doing what we’ve discussed, that they are lying. 

For example, this is what one guy  on a forum said about hard-gainers: 

“You can pick these guys from the crowd. They  aimlessly play with the machines, don’t have  

a plan, carry around colorful sport drinks, wear  gloves, never use the squat racks or the deadlift  

pad but hang out around the bench-pressing  station and the mirrored dumbbell rack.” 

That sounds a little cruel to us, especially  if you believe that there are three body  

types in the world: Mesomorph, Ectomorph, and  Endomorph. According to the theory, Ectomorphs,  

the long and lean people of the world, who  generally have less fat and have a hard time  

gaining weight and muscle. Endomorphs (more  body fat) and mesomorphs (solid and strong)  

might find it easy to gain fats from food and  might also find it easier to build muscle. 

These classifications, it’s often said, are not  scientific. They’re a myth, say most experts,  

but you only need your own eyes to see  when children of average weight mature,  

they seem to grow into a certain kind of body  structure. Nonetheless, these days, scientists  

will usually say what this scientist told GQ  magazine, “No one is hopelessly predetermined  

to either be fat, muscular, or thin.” We think he’s absolutely right. 

Even so, no scientist would disagree that  a person’s genes will play a part in what  

they look like as an adult. You might have genes  that help you grow muscle or make you want to eat  

a lot. Scientists these days often talk about  “obesity genes.” The CDC said in one article,  

“Genes are the basis for the signals and responses  that guide food intake, and small changes in  

these genes can affect their levels of activity.” Even so, your environment and, more importantly,  

your actions in that environment can override any  kind of genetic predisposition. You might be born  

with genes that draw you toward alcoholism, but  you might have also worked that out, so you’re  

careful not to succumb to mortal boozing. You  won’t become obese from a standard healthy diet  

and regular exercise, but you might be born with a  higher chance of becoming obese than someone else. 

It’s the same with muscles. Some people’s genes  can help them grow muscles faster than others,  

such as the ACTN3 gene that affects fast-twitch  muscle fibers. The Scientific American in 2012  

cited research in which scientists performed  genetic manipulation in mice, turning them into  

what they called “Schwarzenegger mice” that  were 30% stronger than the mice that weren’t  

doped with muscle-building genes. So genes matter to some extent. 

A paper in the Nature Journal in  2023 discussed something similar,  

concluding that some people are “genetically  inclined to build muscle.” Citing another study,  

NBC News wrote, “The ease with which you develop  muscle mass… is a highly inherited trait.” 

Some genes help muscle growth potential  and better muscle recovery than other  

genes. Genes might help to make you more  motivated to work out or more disciplined  

to eat right. The playing field of life is  not completely level. The game is rigged  

from the start, but rather than wallow in  the can’t-do world of genetic determinism,  

we should accept that in some aspects of life,  we may have to put more effort in than others.  

The hard part is knowing what kind of  body you have and what is best for it. 

This would be an ideal time to try to sell you  one of those health DNA testing packages, but we  

have nothing to sell. What we will say is try to  do the things we’ve talked about today. If you do,  

you will 100% see some improvement, but you also  have to accept that some people might have a head  

start on you. Remember the eighth rule of  Fight Club: You have to fight! If you do,  

you’ll get there in the end. Now you need to watch “How An  

Erection Works.” Or, have a look at  “Why is Inbreeding Bad? Explained.”