Scrawny to Brawny: The Complete Guide to Building Muscle the Natural Way - Softcover

Mejia, Michael; Berardi, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594860882 ISBN 13: 9781594860881

Verlag: Harmony/Rodale/Convergent, 2005

Inhaltsangabe

A state-of-the-art weight-lifting and nutritional blueprint for "skinny" guys who want to pack on muscle

Let's face it, naturally skinny guys are at a distinct genetic disadvantage when it comes to building muscle mass. But with the proper advice, these "hardgainers" definitely can realize their fitness goals. In Scrawny to Brawny, the authors draw on their years of practical experience as private strength and nutrition coaches to provide hardgainers with: 

   • A progressive, state-of-the-art program that optimizes results with shorter, less frequent workouts that maximize compound exercises 
   • A unique, action-based perspective on nutrition that shows how to prepare quick muscle-building meals and snacks-and how to take advantage of several critical times in the day when muscle growth can be stimulated by food intake 
   • Vital information on how to identify and fix any weak links in their physiques that may be precursors to injury 

Designed not only for frustrated adult hardgainers but also--with its strong anti-steroid message--a terrific book for the large teen market, Scrawny to Brawny fills a significant gap in the weight-lifting arsenal.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

MICHAEL MEJIA, exercise advisor and contributing editor to Men's Health magazine, is a strength and conditioning coach who owns and operates his own training facility in Long Island, New York. Coauthor of The Home Workout Bible, he designed the workouts for the popular Testosterone Advantage Plan.

JOHN BERARDI is a strength and nutrition specialist whose company specializes in designing strength and nutrition plans for elite athletes and recreational fitness buffs. He currently resides in Toronto, Canada.

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1 THE SKINNY ON HARDGAINER TERMINOLOGY

Before we really start to get the ball rolling, the first thing we should do is define a couple of terms. Let's start with the three terms that popped up in the introduction, terms that you can bet your bottom dollar you'll see again. These terms are hypertrophy, ectomorph, and hardgainer. Let's start with hypertrophy. Hypertrophy is just a fancy way of speaking of muscle growth. So if we call you hypertrophy-challenged, that is simply our politically correct way of saying that you have a tough time building muscle.

Next, let's discuss ectomorph and hardgainer. Contrary to popular belief, these two terms are not interchangeable. The term ectomorph refers to a particular somatotype: a method for classifying different body types based on specific physical characteristics. The word hardgainer, on the other hand, is a contrived term that's used in the iron game to describe someone who has a difficult time gaining muscle mass. Because of their inability to make progress with more conventional training methods, most ectomorphs just automatically assume that they're hardgainers. When in truth, the very notion of even being a hardgainer is as fabricated as the term itself.

We realize that last statement comes as a bit of a shock. Not only does it fly in the face of just about everything you've ever been told about your inability to make appreciable gains in size and strength, but it also robs you of the best excuse you ever had. After all, it's much easier to throw around some cool-sounding gym lingo than it is to admit that you have no clue how to eat or train properly to reach your goals. Ouch, that had to hurt! But before we shatter your belief system by debunking this whole hardgainer myth, it might help to provide you with some insight into how the idea of body typing came to be in the first place and whether or not it actually holds any merit. At the very least, it will help you gain an understanding about why people respond differently to various forms of diet and exercise.

ENDOS AND MESOS AND ECTOS, OH MY!

There are three different somatotypes commonly used to classify the human body: endomorphs, mesomorphs, and ectomorphs (see below). Not that it's really that cut-and-dry; few people fit neatly into one specific category. Most of us exhibit characteristics of more than one somatotype at once. This somewhat crude form of genetic stereotyping is the brainchild of a psychologist by the name of William H. Sheldon, M.D. Back in the early 1940s, seeking to draw connections between body type and temperament, Sheldon studied the photographs of more than 4,000 college-age men. Based on his findings, he actually identified several different body types but later consolidated them, reasoning that everyone could be classified as some combination of the three we still use today.

Using a numerical system as a means of quantifying how much of each somatotype a person displayed, Sheldon introduced a unique three-digit code. Setting an order of endomorph, mesomorph, and ectomorph, Sheldon used a scale of 1 to 7 (the closer the number to 1, the less relation to the somatotype; the closer to 7, the greater) to assign values to each. So, for example, a true endomorph would be assigned a number of 711, a mesomorph 171, and an ectomorph 117. And no, 007 was not James Bond's somatotype; it was his agent number. Of course, since few people fit into one specific mold, numbers such as 541 (a combination endomorph and mesomorph), 246 (a combination ectomorph and mesomorph), and 153 (a combination mesomorph and ectomorph) are much more common.

As you might imagine, Sheldon's findings were widely criticized, mainly because he based his assertions solely on visual inspection of photographs without any hard physiological data to back them up. Many other scientists argued that a person's body-type score shouldn't be based on something as easily altered as appearance. After all, would dropping 50 £ds change someone from an endomorph to an ectomorph? In Sheldon's system, probably. Therefore, researchers were interested in linking body type to some unchangeable physical features. Otherwise, as indicated, a poorly fed endomorph could wind up being classified as an ectomorph after losing a whack of body mass sweatin' to the oldies with Richard Simmons.

WHAT'S YOUR TYPE?

ECTOMORPHS: The typical ectomorph is a person who exhibits low levels of strength and size prior to training. They're usually tall and thin, with relatively low levels of body fat and small, narrow bones. Although their smaller joint structure often serves as an impediment in strength and power sports, they do tend to excel in endurance activities due to what is typically a higher-than-average proportion of slow twitch muscle fibers. Their fast metabolisms often make it difficult to gain weight of any type when following a more conventional dietary approach. Sheldon classified ectomorphs as being introverted, socially anxious individuals who tend to excel at mental tasks.

ENDOMORPHS: The endomorphic body type is considered to be the least desirable of the three major body types. Although endomorphs do tend to exhibit impressive levels of size and strength through training, they have a difficult time shedding body fat and gain weight rather easily. Sheldon believed endomorphs to be more focused on food and pleasure than physical activity. According to Sheldon, endomorphs typically have more jovial, easygoing personalities.

MESOMORPHS: These are the oft-referred-to genetically gifted individuals. They tend to exhibit low levels of body fat and impressive muscular development even prior to training. Their thick, wide bone structure is more conducive to building muscle, giving them a decided advantage in strength and power sports such as football, wrestling, and Olympic lifting. According to Sheldon, most mesomorphs are outgoing, adventurous individuals with action-oriented mentalities.

With Sheldon's system showing real weaknesses, two anthropometrists (that's a fancy term for a scientist who studies body measurements and dimensions), J. E. Lindsay Carter and Barbara Heath (1990) came up with a more scientific system for determining somatotypes. In their system, a skin-fold- thickness measure was used to determine the degree of endomorphy; a height/weight ratio (termed the ponderal index) was used to measure ectomorphy; and the measurement of elbow joint and knee joint width as well as arm and calf circumferences was used to determine mesomorphy.

Carter and Heath's system was a good attempt but still a bit off the mark. True, they did attempt to link body type to actual anatomical characteristics. But, as with Sheldon's system, some of their choices were also changeable characteristics. Okay, maybe not height, but changing one's weight in relation to his height would certainly alter the ponderal index, just as it would alter skin fold thickness. So, although somewhat more objective, Carter and Heath's system was still essentially flawed. In our humble opinions, they should have turned their attention to something that was more finite, such as bone structure. Unlike muscle and fat mass, the overall dimensions of a person's bone structure don't change much once they've reached maturity.

NO BONES ABOUT IT

The ironic thing is that when using skeletal features as a means to assess body type, some of Sheldon's subjective assessments actually correlate rather well. For instance, Sheldon identified ectomorphs as being tall and thin with long limbs, mesomorphs as being broad-shouldered, and endomorphs as having a softer, rounder base. When comparing these descriptions with the skeletal method, we see that ectomorphs are represented by a more rectangular shape. Rectangles tend to be tall and thin, just like ectomorphs with their narrow shoulders and hips. Mesomorphs are depicted as...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Harmony/Rodale/Convergent
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2005
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1594860882
• ISBN 13: 9781594860881
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 256
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar