Some athletes are not going to use steroids and want to train naturally. Find out why nutrition is the main anabolic in bodybuilding. As you can already understand from the title of the article, it will focus on natural training. Even today, in the era of steroids, this topic continues to be relevant. If you are doing for yourself, then it is quite possible to do without AAS. Thus, now we will tell you how to make big muscles without sports nutrition and steroids.
Differences between natural training and steroid training
The main difference lies in the effect of information cells on DNA. When using steroids, this process simply proceeds much faster and more actively, which leads to the following benefits:
- The rate of recovery of damaged fibers increases;
- The genetic limit is being crossed.
The use of AAS allows the athlete to train more often, and muscle mass is gained faster, since the receptors necessary for this process are stimulated more actively. With strength training, hormonal levels increase, which leads to an increase in the anabolic background. Steroids greatly enhance these processes.
When a person reaches his genetic limit in gaining mass, then progress stops. However, natural athletes also have a way out of this situation, and it is called periodization.
How to overcome genetic limitations without anabolic steroids?
First of all, this will require either increasing the level of hormones or taking a break and continuing to work. Let's see how all this can be implemented in practice.
How to increase anabolic hormone levels?
Anabolic hormones are synthesized under the influence of power loads. More precisely, the rate of their production increases, which leads to an increase in the concentration of these substances in the blood. Basic movements are most effective in this regard, since they require a large expenditure of energy. The harder the movements, the more muscles are involved in it, which leads to a stronger hormonal response of the body.
Thus, a straight person must first of all pay attention to basic movements. The duration of the training also affects the rate of hormone production. However, in pursuit of progress, you can overdo it and get the opposite result. For this reason, it is necessary to carry out hard, but relatively short workouts, the duration of which ranges from 40 minutes to one hour. For most athletes, 45 minutes is optimal, but this is still an individual indicator and you should pay attention to your condition.
Periodization
If you have reached your ceiling in muscle development, then you need to use periodization to overcome the genetic limit. The thing is that the body is not able to synthesize a large amount of hormones for a long time in response to high physical activity. He should rest for a while, after which you can start progressing again.
You can use a large number of types of periodization and now you need to understand the essence of the method itself, in order to use it effectively later. First of all, it must be said that periodization does not imply a straight forward movement, but a wave-like one.
You can use any time frame when creating your training cycles. If you alternate between light and heavy workouts, this is called a micro-cycle. When the duration of periods is calculated in weeks or months, then this is macro-periodization. Let's take a closer look at the practical implementation of macro and micro periodization.
Let's start with micro-periodization, the meaning of which is to alternate between light and hard exercises for each muscle group. For example, if in the last lesson, when working on the chest muscles, you used large weights and from 6 to 8 failure repetitions, then for the next workout, reduce the weight by 30 percent, and increase the number of repetitions to 10. Then return to work with more weight, after which again to the small.
In doing so, you should draw your attention to one very serious mistake. Even during light training, many athletes continue to complete sets to failure. This greatly reduces the effectiveness of your training. During a light session, you should work with a headroom in the number of repetitions. Macro periodization is very effective when done correctly. All professional athletes in a variety of sports use this technique in preparation for the biggest competition. There is a lot to do with micro-periods and you need to stretch the step back in time. Let's say your progress has stalled, and there are no ways to help you overcome the plateau.
In this situation, give the body a few days of rest and do not exercise. Then reduce the weight by 40 or 50 percent. In this case, the number of repetitions in the set can be left unchanged or slightly increased. Of course, your training at this stage will seem very easy, but this is the whole point of periodization. You should work in this mode for the time you set and gradually increase the working weights.
As a result, having reached your past maximum, you will not even notice how you overcame it. The more you reduce the load at the beginning of a new cycle, the more often you can do it. As you get closer to your past high, increase the rest time between workouts. It is very important that you stick to your plan. If you hurry up and start using a lot of weight ahead of time, then all your work will be lost.
Let's take an example. Let's say you squatted 140 pounds for six reps and at this point, progress has stalled. Rest for 7 days and start working with 60 kilograms in 15 repetitions. Then the following scheme can be used:
- Weight 60 kilos with 15 repetitions;
- Weight 75 kilos with 15 repetitions;
- Weight 85 kilos with 15 repetitions;
- Weight 95 kilos with 12 repetitions;
- Weight 105 kilos with 10 repetitions;
- Weight 115 kilos with 10 repetitions;
- Weight 125 kilos with 8 repetitions;
- Weight 130 kilos with 6 repetitions;
- Weight 135 kilos with 6 repetitions;
- Weight 140 pounds with 6 repetitions;
- Weight 142.5 kilos with 6 repetitions.
Note that the rate of weight addition slows down as you approach past highs. This is a very important point.
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