q&a section specializing in all kinds of muscle building problems
1. Can muscle gain and fat loss be achieved simultaneously?
Before answering this question, let's first discuss the main differences between muscle gain and fat loss:
Muscle gain involves a positive energy balance, meaning energy intake is greater than energy expenditure.
It generally focuses on high-intensity resistance training, emphasizes nutritional intake, increases testosterone levels, and promotes muscle growth.
Fat loss involves a negative energy balance, meaning energy intake is less than energy expenditure.
It generally focuses on moderate to low-intensity endurance training, controls diet, increases cortisol levels, and to some extent inhibits muscle growth.
If muscle gain and fat loss occur simultaneously, it means a person's total muscle mass increases while total fat mass decreases, which is clearly impossible. Therefore, absolute muscle gain and fat loss cannot happen at the same time.
However, relative muscle gain and fat loss can occur simultaneously. Specifically, during the muscle gain phase, a small amount of fat loss training can be done to burn fat, but the intensity and frequency must be controlled. During the fat loss phase, moderate strength training can be done to slow down muscle loss while ensuring the rate of fat loss is faster than muscle loss.
2. Can multiple body parts be trained in one day?
Yes, multiple body parts can be trained in one day, but it is important to allow muscles sufficient recovery time. Large muscle groups generally require 48-72 hours to recover, but the specific time depends on individual feelings.
Therefore, under the premise of sufficient training intensity, it is reasonable to schedule training plans so that the same body part is not trained again within 48 hours.
3. Why do you feel particularly tired the day after training?
Feeling tired after training is mainly due to delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which is primarily caused by the accumulation of lactic acid and minor damage to muscle tissues.
During training, muscle tissues are slightly damaged, and muscle fibers are slightly torn. After training, with nutritional supplementation and muscle rest, muscle fibers gradually recover and heal, becoming stronger than before. This is the theory of supercompensation, which is also the principle of muscle growth.
The second day after training often feels more tiring than the first day because it is the period when muscle fibers heal the fastest and need to fully absorb nutrients, making the soreness more noticeable than on the first day. However, if there are additional symptoms such as lethargy and difficulty concentrating, it may indicate that the training intensity was too high and exceeded the body's capacity. In this case, it is advisable to reduce the load and focus on post-training nutrition and rest.
4. What should you do if you have a muscle strain?
Muscle strain is a common sports injury, and its treatment mainly involves:
1Immediately applying ice to the strained area
Ice can effectively reduce swelling, relieve pain and spasms. Additionally, it can increase blood viscosity, thereby reducing the amount of blood flowing to the injured area.
2Applying compression bandages to the affected area
This can effectively reduce swelling, stop bleeding, and relieve pain. However, the bandage should not be too tight to avoid obstructing blood flow, and it should be removed after about two days depending on the situation.
3Applying heat to the affected area about four days after the strain
Heat can accelerate blood supply to the affected area, helping the injured muscle to recover and relax. Heat can be applied 3-4 times a day for 15-20 minutes each time.
4Moderate massage of the affected area in the later stages
This helps relax the muscles and speed up recovery. Note that massage should be avoided in the early stages of the strain as it can worsen the injury.
5Ensuring rest for the strained muscle
After a strain, the affected muscle should not be subjected to excessive force, as this can worsen the strain or lead to more severe consequences. Activities should be gradual and should not cause pain. Only after full recovery should related training be resumed.
5. Can you continue to exercise when experiencing muscle soreness?
Firstly, as a common fitness question, there is no rigorous scientific evidence to back this up, but based on experience, muscle recovery time is about 48-72 hours. This means that the same body part should not be trained again within two days. After this period, if the soreness is not severe enough to affect proper form or training intensity, you can continue to exercise. However, if the soreness is so severe that it affects normal movements or significantly reduces performance, or if there is pain, you should stop training and rest.
Additionally, if a training plan causes continuous muscle soreness that is difficult to alleviate over a period of time, it indicates that the body cannot adapt to the training intensity, or there may be insufficient nutritional intake or rest. In such cases, the training plan should be optimized, or adjustments should be made to diet and sleep.
6. Do you need to take protein powder to gain muscle?
First of all, protein powder is just a protein supplement, nothing more. Normal people can consume it without demonizing it. As long as it is a product from a reputable manufacturer, it can be consumed normally without any side effects.
The significance of supplementing with protein powder is:
The efficiency of protein powder supplementation is higher; what you consume is what you get. This is not the case with food. For example, 100g of meat contains 20g of protein. If you need to supplement 100g of protein, you would need to eat 500g of meat, which is a large amount. However, it should be noted that protein powder can only serve as an auxiliary protein supplement and cannot replace food. Protein from food should be the main source, with protein powder as a supplement.
For those looking to gain muscle, whether you need protein powder depends on your needs and goals. If you are an ordinary fitness enthusiast with moderate training intensity and a high-protein diet, the protein from food is sufficient to meet your body's needs, and additional protein supplementation is not necessary. However, if you are a professional fitness enthusiast or aim for bodybuilding and have high training intensity, then supplementing with protein powder is necessary.
7. Can you eat a lot of egg yolks?
This question indeed troubles many people. Firstly, eggs are important for fitness enthusiasts: they are cheap, portable, and have a high protein absorption rate, making them an excellent source of protein.
However, because egg yolks contain cholesterol, many people are wary of them (cholesterol in the blood is believed to play a significant role in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases). But it is important to clarify that this refers to cholesterol in the blood, not dietary cholesterol. The cholesterol in food does not directly translate to cholesterol in the blood; they are not the same.
Therefore, egg yolks do not significantly affect blood cholesterol levels in healthy adults (note: healthy adults without underlying cardiovascular diseases). Eggs, as a high-quality protein source, are safe for normal consumption. However, there are no studies or experiments to determine how many whole eggs a person can eat daily or the effects of consuming many whole eggs.
Recommendations:For those looking to gain muscle, 3-4 whole eggs per day are recommended, with the rest being egg whites, as egg whites are the primary source of protein. For those looking to lose fat, 1-2 whole eggs per day are sufficient.