Building muscle is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process that requires not only an effective mass training program, but also a set of actions, from nutrition to sleep. As simple as it may seem, many people actually fail to get results for one of two main reasons - they either try to overcomplicate the process, or they don't really understand the fundamental principles of bulking. It is important not just to know how many approaches and repetitions you need to do to gain mass, but how to help your muscles grow as much as possible through proper recovery - rest and nutrition.
Relief training: what's the point?
Perhaps now we will upset you, but there are no special training “for relief”. “The essence of achieving relief lies in a calorie deficit, with the help of which we get rid of fatty tissue, and thus the relief becomes visible,” explains Alexey Bolyaev , personal trainer at the women's fitness studio Women Secrets in Tsaritsyno .
“Relief most often means a low percentage of subcutaneous fat, against which muscle fiber stands out more clearly,” explains X - Fit gyms in Russia.
In other words, working on relief is only part of a balanced exercise and nutrition program, where there is a place for both training aimed at muscle growth and training, the purpose of which is to “outline” this muscle. Moreover, often the “mass” and “relief” training programs are similar: in fact, you will perform approximately the same exercises for the same muscle groups. “The difference between training for relief and training for mass is not much different from each other. With work on relief, you can use smaller weights, while for mass, as a rule, significant weights are needed,” says Alexey Bolyaev.
The key difference between working for relief and mass is nutrition programs (with a calorie deficit or surplus). “A low percentage of subcutaneous fat suggests training in a calorie deficit: when fewer calories are eaten than burned. In this case, weight is lost, including due to the fat component,” explains Ivan Ermolaev.
It is also worth considering the nuances of classes with a “light” menu. “Training in a calorie deficit has some peculiarities. You definitely need to include cardio in your training cycle, plus take into account daily activity - take at least 12-16 thousand steps every day, says Ivan Ermolaev. — The training plan needs to be drawn up so that there is enough strength load. Those. do not try to do only circuit training or only cardio, strength training should be at least three times a week so that in conditions of deficiency a person does not lose a lot of muscle mass.”
To recap, terrain training involves lifting light weights (often high reps), doing cardio, and using a reduced-calorie eating plan.
It is also worth understanding: working on relief is one of the stages of the training process; usually for athletes it lasts no more than one or two months. It is impossible to constantly be in this mode of training and nutrition: gradually, along with the fat layer, the muscles will also decrease. Therefore, for example, bikinists (for whom relief is very important) alternate periods of “mass” and “drying”.
Post-cycle therapy (PCT)
When using steroids and experiencing side effects, it is necessary to use drugs that will reduce them to a minimum. Another goal of PCT is to restore your own hormones after the course. This section will outline only general principles and schemes, but the approach here should be individual, you need to take into account the characteristics of your body, the composition and duration of the course. Ideally, PCT should be prescribed to you by an experienced sports doctor or coach with experience.
As a rule, side effects (if any) appear already during the course. One of the most common phenomena is gynecomastia. Here you need to figure it out, since it can be caused by drugs with estrogenic (methane, testosterone) and progestogenic activity (deca, trenbolone).
If you have only one class of steroids, then it is already clear what you need to fight. If both are present, it is necessary to take tests for estrogen and prolactin to figure out which hormone is outside the normal range. Please note that there is no need to set these indicators to zero - the lower level of the reference value will be sufficient.
Estrogens need to be combated with aromatase inhibitors (letrozole, anastrazole), tamoxifen is also suitable, which, along with Clomid, is often used AFTER the cycle for 1-3 weeks. Dostinex, also known as cabergoline, helps to cope with prolactin.
If the course lasts more than 8 weeks, it is necessary to add gonadotropin, which is given precisely while taking steroids, and not after it. The goal is to eliminate the possibility of testicular atrophy. The dosage is selected individually.
To summarize, during the course it is necessary to monitor the condition of the body and take the necessary actions to minimize side effects. There is no need to constantly add antiestrogens if you do not have problems with gynecomastia, increased blood pressure or water retention. The only drug that is necessary in any case for long courses is gonadotropin. After finishing taking steroids, it is advisable to take tamoxifen (about 20 mg daily at night) for 1-3 weeks, as well as tribulus and various vitamin complexes that will help restore your own hormones.
Relief work: is it different for men and women?
What will differ is not so much the work on relief (as we found out, there is only one mechanism: creating a calorie deficit and balanced training), but rather the physiological characteristics and predisposition to this.
“The differences lie in the potential ability to perform strength training. Those. on average, women, as a rule, lift less weight and, accordingly, tend to gain less muscle mass,” notes Ivan Ermolaev. — Training for men and women is approximately similar, the main thing is to choose suitable working weights, taking into account individual characteristics. Those. perhaps a man can already potentially work with free weights, and a woman will work in machines, but both will perform strength exercises where strength training is supposed to be done. "Both will do cardio, but maybe one will do it on a bike and another on the treadmill or using other cardio equipment."
Thus, you can create a program for relief in almost any conditions: both for training in the gym and at home.
Steroid composition
Steroids are substances of animal or plant origin that have biological activity. Steroids are formed in nature from isoprenoid components. A feature of their structure is the presence of a tetracyclic condensed gonane system. In steroids, the gonan core can be saturated or contain a number of alkyl and some functional groups.
Steroid hormones take part in the regulation of material metabolism and some physiological functions. A number of synthetic hormones, for example, prednisolone, have superior effects on the body to their natural counterparts. The category of steroids includes cholesterol found in the human body along with bile acids, which are compounds that have a carboxyl group in the side chain. For example, cholic acid. Steroids also include cardiac glycosides from digitalis, lily of the valley and strophanthus, which regulate cardiac activity. In glycosides, steroid fragments are connected by glycosidic bonds to an oligosaccharide.
Without which terrain training will not work?
Firstly, without regular classes. The program should include both strength training and cardio several times a week.
Secondly, without proper nutrition. “Even well-planned workouts will not work if the diet is not followed. If a person is in a calorie surplus (eats more than he burns), then he will not have results in terms of weight loss. The coach’s task is to create a program so that a person loses weight not through muscles, but through the fat component,” notes Ivan Ermolaev.
Therefore, your main task (if you dream of sculpted muscles) is to eat right and not skip classes. “If we are working on relief, the only thing we don’t need to do is switch to a calorie surplus,” adds Alexey Bolyaev.
But trainers have a negative attitude towards taking supplements to improve muscle definition.
Flavoring
Under the influence of the aromatase enzyme, testosterone is able to convert into estradiol, hence the process called aromatization. Interestingly, the molecules of testosterone and estradiol differ only slightly, namely in the absence of one methyl group and several hydrogen atoms. In the male body, estradiol is a derivative of testosterone. This means that, as a rule, increased estradiol is a consequence of increased testosterone, excluding individual special cases, which are not the rule.
Let's figure out what estradiol is and why we need it. Estradiol, as we defined at the beginning, belongs to the group of female sex hormones, estrogens. This hormonal substance in a man’s body performs a number of important functions, for example: active participation in the process of ejaculate secretion, improving oxygen metabolism, regulating the functioning of the nervous system, increasing blood clotting, stimulating metabolism, etc. It is believed that in excess quantities the hormone can lead to to such side effects as female-type fat deposition, nervousness, decreased libido and erectile dysfunction, gynecomastia, etc. In other words, to simplify, we can say that in excess estradiol harms a man, turning him into a woman.
Testosterone norm for men Estradiol (E2) 3–70 pg/ml
So, we found out that excess and deficiency of estradiol are harmful, a golden mean is necessary.
Example of training for terrain
Much of your terrain training program will depend on your training experience. We asked Ivan Ermolaev to draw up a rough schedule of classes.
“Let’s take an average man who has six months of training experience. He will have approximately 3 strength training sessions per week, 2 workouts on cardio equipment, or in the group program room,” says Ivan Ermolaev. — Strength training can be divided into muscle groups, i.e. work your legs on one day, work your back and biceps with rear deltoids on another, and devote a separate day to your chest, triceps and anterior deltoids. This is a classic option."
Another option (it is also suitable for women), a program with 3 strength training sessions per week. “For example, one day - fullbody with an emphasis on functional training, the second day - strength exercises for the legs, the third - strength exercises for the upper body,” advises Ivan Ermolaev.
Both options work, provided that you have a properly formulated diet and an optimally selected load with the ability to recover well between workouts. “If a person trains too much, he will not have results, and if a person does not comply with the given caloric intake, then he will also not get the necessary effect from the training,” sums up Ivan Ermolaev.
Follow these expert recommendations, exercise regularly, and you can improve your muscles.
Post-cycle therapy (PCT)
Post cycle therapy
– a set of measures aimed at the speedy transition of the body to the off-course operating mode. First of all, this is the restoration of your own testosterone production, improvement of liver function, and cleansing of the body. Since steroid courses for beginners are easy and practically free of side effects, only one additional drug is enough for them - tamoxifen.
Tamoxifen,
At its core, it is a hormone that attaches to estrogen receptors, but it itself is much weaker than estrogen. Thus, it blocks the action of estrogen. The body responds to this by increasing testosterone production by 40% after 10 days of taking 20 mg per day. And with long-term use – up to 80%. This occurs due to stimulation of the production of luteinizing hormone. Tamoxifen also lowers the level of “bad” cholesterol.
Side effects of steroids
Steroid drugs may not be as dangerous as some people think, but anyone who uses them is at least experimenting with their health.
Research shows that some side effects of their use are reversible and some are not. For example, reversible changes include:
- testicular atrophy
- acne (acne disease)
- oily hair and skin
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
- increased aggression
- decrease in sperm count.
- Irreversible consequences include:
- male pattern baldness
- heart dysfunction
- liver diseases
- gynecomastia (enlarged mammary glands).
Another major disadvantage of steroid drugs is the risk of physical and psychological dependence. The table below is taken from Wikipedia and illustrates the risks of the 20 major known recreational drugs.
The big picture
Every boxer wants to have impressive performance and superiority over his opponents. Often, huge loads during training seriously exhaust the body. And the athlete wants to perform large programs, but his physical capabilities are limited. And he can use steroids to expand them.
However, these drugs should be used extremely carefully, and have a clear idea of which drug is useful for developing strength, which one is useful for endurance, etc. You should consult your doctor before using them.
The athlete must realize whether the need for such doping is so great and what the consequences of its use may be.
Side effects
The use of the drug may cause the following side effects:
- Iron-deficiency anemia,
- development of atherosclerosis,
- dyspepsia (vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain),
- peripheral edema,
- development of leukemoid syndrome (leukemia, pain in long bones),
- impaired liver function and hypocoagulation with a predisposition to bleeding.
Long-term use of the drug can lead to:
- hepatonecrosis (darkening of stool, breathing problems, headache, vomiting with blood);
- renal purpura (urticaria, darkened urine, hemorrhagic rashes on the mucous membranes and skin, pharyngitis, sore throat, discoloration of feces);
- hepatocellular carcinoma;
- cholestatic hepatitis;
- increased activity of the sebaceous glands;
- deterioration of libido;
- diarrhea;
- convulsions;
- flatulence;
- sleep disturbance.
In prepubertal men, after using Methandrostenolone, the following may be observed: acne, priapism, penis enlargement, formation of secondary sexual characteristics, idiopathic hyperpigmentation of the skin, slowing or cessation of growth. In the post-pubertal period, the use of the medication can cause deterioration in sexual function, mastodynia, priapism, gynecomastia and bladder irritation.
In elderly patients, the drug can provoke prostate hyperplasia and carcinoma.
Women may develop hirsutism, hoarse voice, steroid acne, clitoral enlargement, hypercalcemia, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea and oily skin.
