muscle

Love me some Athlean-X. I mean, what a transformation that "little ole Jesse" just did, right? I am with Mr. Laces....there is one way to find out. I would suggest that starting with a 25lb plate might be the way to go at first. I will explain my thought process.

So, I used to do powerlifting (Squats, Deadlifts and Bench). I can do some back squats. I like to mix things up a little bit and try things so I tried front squats. Let me tell you.....I am so glad that I tried with light weights the first time. I mean, I did some with just the bar. That was easy. I want to say that I put 25lbs plates on (so, 95lbs total) and MAN! Just about fell on my face. Huh? Yes, the bar is in a VERY DIFFERENT positioning (with respect to back squats) and the motion is very different. With back squats, we all have our own motion (bio-mechanically) and as long as we are doing things properly - for our specific body - then all good. I happen to have a more pronounced lean forward. Just how things are for me. With front squats you have to be essentially erect....meaning, not any forward lean. Otherwise....well, what I almost did! SPLAT!

My long-winded point? Having the weights hanging from your hips [making the assumption that you will have some belt and chains (no, folks...did not say "whips and chains"! Settle down, everyone)] and this is going to throw off your center of gravity (I have never done weighted pull ups....so I do not know from experience but it seems like that would happen.....and I do pull-ups, not chin ups....but to each his own, right?).

Try it.

The hanging for 15 seconds will improve your grip strength, too! So, added benefit there.

You could try changing the pace. 1 second up, 3 seconds down, or something along those lines. Or a machine/cable pull down and up the weight. If I remember right, jeff also recommended a wider grip for more lat activation which makes it a bit harder. My gym gets a bit crowded so belts always seemed like a bit of a hassel to change out time wise.

Keys to building muscle:

1. Proven, progressive lifting program
2. Slight calorie surplus, 250 to 500 calories over maintenance per day
3. Adequate protein, 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of LBM

Norjope wrote: »

Yes. Thank you. Will I gain muscle slowly?

Define slowly. For a male with both the training and nutrition dialed in, you can gain about 1/2 lb per week under optimum conditions. Most of us, short of having a coach and a nutritionist, don't gain muscle quite that quickly.

Some additional factors are training history and quality of program for you goal. If you are a newbie to training, you will gain more initially and then taper off.