muscle

You’re never going to look the way you want if your diet isn’t in check. That’s just a fact, and the first step to mastering your nutrition is to figure out how many calories to eat. Then, you can start figuring out how much of each macronutrient (protein, carbs, and fats) to consume. You know...

The progress that women, especially in western culture, have made since the latter half of the 19th century is amazing. This is especially evident when you look at parts of the world that have not gone through this evolutionary change. For example, where they are denied an education, freedom of...

Many of us are probably thinking the same thing: When our gym reopens and we get under that barbell, the heavy weight we lifted easily just a few months ago will feel like it can break us in half. Sets of squats with 400, 300, and even 200 pounds will be a thing of the past — welcome to the new...

Calves represent quite a dilemma for many when it comes to creating a complete and balanced physique. They’re among the most difficult muscles to develop. This is in large part because of the difference in calf structure among different individuals. Everyone’s calf structure goes from the knee...

With the growing demand for plant-based options on menus everywhere, it was only a matter of time before the trend spilled over into other aspects of the fitness arena. While botanically-derived supplements are hardly new (check out our Top 10 Natural Anabolics for more on that), there are some...

The Basics: Muscle Fiber Type and Athletic Ability Human muscle fibers can be classified into two categories. Slow-twitch (red) muscle fibers und fast-twitch (white) muscle fibers. The predominance is determined by our genetics. The ACTN3 (Alpha Actinin) gene is active only in fast-twitch...

Go into almost any gym and you’ll see people doing exercises like sit-ups and leg raises. They believe these are the best exercise for abs. But they’re not — it’s crunch exercises. Here’s an experiment. Stand up and hold onto something for balance. Put your other hand on your abs. Now, raise...

Over the past few years, there’s been a raging debate over whether elite athletes — such as bodybuilders and Strongmen — can compete while eating a plant-based diet. People like Nimai Delgado and Patrik Babamouian seem to be proof that you don’t need ground beef and scrambled eggs to find...

Dropsets are a great way to increase muscle mass, as they’re a quick and easy way to increase blood flow into the muscles, get the heart pumping, and most importantly, fatigue the muscles to ensure hypertrophy. What are dropsets? Dropsets are essentially a technique where you perform an...

Jay Cutler

is is the book I wish I could have studied when I started out in bodybuilding. I was so naive, gullible and misinformed, just like most trainees are today—even those who have been training for years. is book would have spared me all the frustration, heartache, injuries and sham advice I had to...

Michael Buckner / Variety / Shutterstock When actor Zack Schor read the script for Hunters, an Amazon-produced show about Nazis living in 1970s New York, he didn't think about how the role could further his career—he thought about his grandparents, and how he wanted to tell the story as...

Per Bernal / M+F Magazine We love the barbell bench press as much as you do, but just because you’ve been doing it every Monday night since high school doesn’t mean you can’t change it up every once in a while. Pressing with dumbbells is safer for your shoulders and activates more pectoral...

Article I found, who doesnt like positive? Introduction Do you engage in endurance sports and wish to improve on your performance? Have you heard about using anabolic steroids? These are fascinating drugs that mimic the natural hormones within one’s body. If you are planning to become more...

Microgen / Shutterstock Using electrical muscle stimulation, also known as EMS or e-stim, for rehabilitation, pain management, or performance isn’t a new concept—Bruce Lee was an early adapter. But its use has picked up in the last few years as high-tech methodologies have found their way into...

Bob Gardner Courtesy of Weider Health and FItness / M+F Magazine [RELATED2] QUESTION Pro bodybuilders talk about adding “quality muscle.” Is that basically mass and definition, or is it something more? ANSWER Adding “quality muscle” to your frame is the result of the consummate art of...

Per Bernal / M+F Magazine It’s not efficiency for efficiency’s sake. Getting in and out of the gym in 25 minutes wouldn’t be an attractive proposition if your gains had to be shortchanged in the process. After all, we believe most M&F readers are like us, and we don’t mind spending a long time...

Tauseef Asri / M+F Magazine Olympic and professional athletes have them. So do bodybuilders, longshoremen, lumberjacks, and pretty much anyone we innately identify as a pillar of strength. In fact, of all the muscle groups, it is the one that most clearly distinguishes a longtime athlete from a...

Artem Varnitsin / EyeEm / Getty Gaining size isn’t as easy as it sounds. Your body is built to survive, not to look like an Olympia competitor, so putting on—and holding on to—muscle mass is a complicated, multilayered affair that can vary from person to person. But one thing everyone can do to...

You can’t put on the amount of muscle that’s advertised by celebrity trainers who say that their clients gained 20 to 30 pounds of mass in three months for whatever superhero film is set to release this month. “I’d say a pound or two pounds of muscle is very attainable to do naturally,” says...