INTRODUCTION BEGINNER’S GUIDE
From how long each workout should last to the difference between fat and muscle tissue, this handy guide busts some myths and shares the straightforward answers to your FAQs around all things strength training
If you’re just getting started in the world of strength training, a million and one different questions are bound to be floating around in your head. Whether you’re looking to burn body fat or build a six-pack, it can be tricky to know where to start.
1. Why am I not building muscle?
If your efforts to build muscle have been unsuccessful in the past, that had nothing to do with your body being fundamentally resistant to exercise and everything to do with your approach. In other words, you didn’t have a focused plan, didn’t set realistic, achievable goals or didn’t eat the right foods – or some combination of the three.
Anyone can make positive changes to the way they look, but that’s not going to happen overnight. Going to the gym once or twice a week won’t give you a radical transformation, especially if you don’t work hard or aren’t eating well.
2. Can I turn my body fat into muscle?
Fat and muscle are two totally different types of tissue, so it’s impossible for one to turn into the other. Muscle is active tissue that burns calories, while fat tissue stores excess energy. When you train hard, you burn away fat and build muscle, giving an appearance that one has turned into the other, but that’s not actually the case.
3. How often should I work out to build muscle?
Less frequently than you might think. And it’s certainly not the case that more is better. That’s because it’s actually when you’re recovering that your muscle size and strength increases. If you don’t take the time to recover sufficiently, you won’t see improvements.
It’s not just your muscles that need time to recover; your nervous system is working hard to recruit your muscles – something it’s not used to doing – so it needs time to recover, too.
4. How long should each strength training workout last?
The perfect workout should take less than an hour to complete, including the warm-up. Research suggests that your levels of the growth hormone testosterone peak around 45 minutes into a workout and then quickly subside as your levels of cortisol – the stress hormone that breaks down muscle tissue and damages cells – rise. So keep your workouts relatively short but effective.
5. How quickly can I build muscle?
Don’t expect overnight success. You need to lift heavy weights regularly to stimulate the muscle into growing, eat a diet of high-quality protein and carbs with no junk, and get plenty of sleep. It’s a big commitment.
6. Do crunches build six-pack abs?
You can perform hundreds of crunches every
