Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., is an exercise science professor at CUNY's Lehman College and a former sports nutritionist for the NHL's New Jersey Devils, yet he doesn't come across as stuffy. Instead, Schoenfeld comes across as a highly knowledgeable gym trainer, which he was once—until the appeal of researching all those "gym questions" that trainees would ask prompted him to pursue a career in exercise science.
The veteran natural bodybuilder has been able to delve into the weeds as a professor, co-authoring the main textbook on the Science and Development of Muscle Hypertrophy as well as his exercise manual The M.A.X. Muscle Plan (now in its second edition).
Men's Health wanted to see whether Schoenfeld could give us as many definitive answers as he could in a single interview because his list of research articles covers so many of the problems that come up in fitness circles. This is how we did it.
So you're going to settle all the major controversies, all the important fitness issues, right?
Without a doubt, no. Some of these questions have no conclusive solutions, while others could take hours and hours to fully answer... I'll do everything I can. In my previous life, I worked as a personal trainer for several years. I'm now answering the questions I wished I'd known the answers to when I was training others.
Let's start with the basics: as a trainer, where did you go wrong?
There are a lot of things to consider. For starters, I used to believe that in order to gain muscular mass, you had to lift heavy. I've always been a "go-to failure on every set" type of person. According to new research, going to failure every time can have harmful consequences in various cases. Of course, there are certain advantages to failing to succeed. So, as you can see, it's a bit difficult. While researching this, I discovered that many of the solutions are more complex than a phrase or two. A lot relies on what you're hoping to achieve as a trainee.
So, here's the million-dollar question: How do I get rippling abdominal muscles?
I have a straightforward response to this. It's the "push-away" exercise when you push the food away from you. The kitchen is where abs are made. High-intensity ab exercises won't help, there's no secret ab routine, and you don't need to attend hour-long "power ab" classes. By reducing your body fat, you'll be able to see your abs. By their very nature, abs are difficult to hypertrophy [enlarge the size of the muscle tissue]. Additionally, when muscles are hypertrophied and "sliced" to the point where they are visible, each person's muscles will appear slightly different.
So you're saying you can't use secret training methods to get your biceps to "peak" or your calves to "pop"?
No, you'll have a God-given shape, and your muscles will hypertrophy in the same way they always do.
Are there anybody types that are better suited for certain activities than others?
Yes, some exercises aren't as effective for certain body types as others. There are no exercises to be completed. Some powerlifting trainers will tell you that you must perform the squat, bench, and deadlift, however, this is only true if you are training for powerlifting. Many various exercises can be used for hypertrophy. People with long legs and short torsos have a harder time squatting.
What is the best way for a trainee to figure this out?
Learning how to conduct motions properly and then selecting routines that match your physique is all part of the training process. Yes, there are some "functional" exercises, such as the squat, but you don't squat down with a barbell on your back in real life. Getting your body strong enough to be functional is the first step. Depending on your goals, you could use machines to train and become functionally strong. This type of thing is always unique to the person. "Many roads lead to gains," I say. "My way or the highway" is ridiculous. 'There must be five sets of these three workouts.' This is not the case. Bodybuilders, for example, have won major competitions using a variety of training methods and techniques.
Even if everyone can improve their strength, not everyone improves at the same rate.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no It's intriguing to observe some people build muscle 25% faster than others, as someone who has conducted dozens of research studies. There is undoubtedly a link between genetics and lifestyle in this case, but our research can only provide a general explanation.
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