I would rather listen to Paul Carter (lifteunbang on IG) than Mentzer advice, if you want to maximise muscle gains. He promotes high intensity, low/ optimal volume, who seems to get it right.
High volume is wrong, but Mentzer was wrong too. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

4-6 hard sets per muscle group, to failure, per workout, twice weekly frequently will maximise muscle gains.
That’s like doing 2 exercises per muscle group, in a workout.

On a chest and shoulders workout, you’re doing 4-6 sets for chest and 4-6 sets for shoulder. A total of 8-12 sets total for a workout. That’s perfectly sustainable.

4 workouts per week is optimal, maybe 5 if you really love training. 3 if you’re doing for general health and maintenance.

@Pooooop

That would be IGF-1, which is anabolic, and not GH. Insulin increases IGF-1 levels and fasting increases GH levels

@Uncover yeah thats gotta be other labs trying to shit on them. i have purchased and personally ingested/injected their products for years and its all legit. just order for yourself and you'll see. the orals like dbol and adrol and superdrol give you indigestion like they should given that they are oral steroids lol. inject the testosterone and you will get big, trust me lmao.

@patriarch yes. you should do a couple easy warm up sets to get blood flowing into the muscle. But yeah a single working set. Once 12 reps become easy you can slowly add a pound every week to a weight belt. In a couple years you could be doing 100 pounds added.

Slow and steady wins the race. Gym rat routines with 5 workouts a week with lots of volume are really unnecessary if your goals is just slowly building muscle mass and strength and in most cases counter productive.

Don’t eat less but better. If you eat less than what you mentioned, you’re going to lose muscles.
There isn’t protein enough: in 3 or 4 takes (with a shake for the 4th).
We should try to optimize the level of carburation (impact / target towards thyroid)
Your breakfast is too weak in protein.
Example
Jordan’s oat 50-60 g (Simply crunchy - Honey baked granola)
With Hazelnut milk 240 ml (or soja milk, if you don’t like hazelnut). No rice nor almond milk. No yoghurt if you want to optimize glycemia (insulin spike). Not now.
Pecan nuts 6 halves (or 8 macadamia nuts if you want to avoid 1.5 g PUFA. But taken apart because hard to bite).
Coconut shredded (very thin sliced) 4 big tbsp.
A protein: Gouda cheese 1 slice (45 g) (vit K2) or ham 50 g.

Note1: when eating PUFA, coconut oil is required (SFA). 1 tsp.
Note2: If you aren’t hungry for the breakfast, change your evening meal.
Note 3: for 220 lb / 110 kg, you need as protein:
At least 1.2g x 110 = 132 g protein (=> 4 x 30-35 g)
Recommended level: 1.8 – 2.2 g x 110 (=> 200 g – 240 g). Not realist without an enzyme supplement and a shake with protein powder.
Note 4: you’ll need a potassium supplement and progressively enough fibbers (30 -40 g)

FYI
https://bioenergetic.forum/topic/3708/impacts-of-protein-quantity-and-distribution-on-body-composition

@the_black_jew, right, not all of them have one. Ys with one can be located via their website:

https://www.ymca.org/find-your-y?distance=175&type=branch&facilities[]=75

About 16 years ago when my spine collapsed and I was relearning how to walk, I joined the Y down the street from me to use their pool as part of my rehabilitation and they had a climbing gym that they had recently built. I’m not sure if they still do this but at the time, the Y gave a discount on membership fees for those who were disabled and low income.

@Luke I get good sleep, hasn't made a drastic impact on my weight though

@cokefiend Yeah I agree, focusing on reaching your energy requirements with lots of carbs is the main thing. For muscle building there isnt really any reason to go over 1-1.2g/kg

@ATP do you use BCAA?

@Cezar4911 The former part of message is good point. When it comes to the latter part I have to say that Thailand is a weird place. There have certainly been some retarded cases. You can buy and blast steroids like crazy but importing is a different thing here. They are suprisingly strict with it. They started interogating me for buying aniprin aspirin. Im sure I must definitely been unlucky regarding that though...

Also freedom is so important to me that I just see people not caring for it like its a baby crazy or unknowledgable haha (altough I have been risktaking regarding this before so I still get how its possible to think that way, but I regret that.). I worked so much without sleep just to escape the 9-5 and I am not willing to lose this fooking freedom after all that. But I am not willing to not take my hormones either slurp 😋

Soon I will be able to buy anything zero risk though hehehe... (Im totally joking cough cough) 😜 ... Or am I du dudu dudu🕺

@grymsky90210 one of the earlier ones I'm not certain

@sneedful said in mysofascial release, foam rolling, lymphatic massage, massaging etc:

I get immense benefits of relaxation and anxiousness relief from rolling on various shape and hardness balls and rollers.

Me too.

@onliest said in Weight gaining:

@cokefiend I'm not touching whey anymore. I think brotein up to 1g/lb is a meme. Had much more success upping my carbs.

Second this! Eating over 200g of protein a day was wrecking my digestion and making me feel fat / full all the time. Been doing high carb low fat med protein lately and I feel like a superhuman. Ample protein is needed to put on some size but it’s not the end all be all

Olympic lifts

Sprinting

Plyometrics

@ricksaban I found that 20-25mg post workout helps with muscle building. Its not anything ground breaking mind you, but I seemed to put on muscle slightly faster than if I were not taking it.

Looking for ways to lower serotonin and cortisol may be useful. Belly fat is highly associated with increased cortisol (e.g. Cushing disease as the extreme).

@Beach-Stud wtf how can you eat around 10% fats with daily raw milk, oily pastas, beef and eggs? if i eat like that the fat % goes much higher, cant keep it low.

@jamezb46 Thanks. I wouldn't have guessed right.

@Pooooop 2014, I am about to turn 27