Every day at work as a Personal Trainer I come across guys who want to know how to build more muscle but are so confused at the conflicting advice in the fitness industry that they literally don't know which way to turn for results. This affects both gym newcomers and seasoned veterans.
Today we answer this question for you. Right here, right now.
The first thing you need to do is figure out what you actually want. Too often when we ask guys what they'd like to achieve, what type of body they wish to own, they tell us their goal is to lose fat but also get bigger.
Having two very different goals makes your task more difficult in every way. Sure, if you are just starting out in the gym or have had a long lay off you may enjoy both fat loss and hypertrophy within the first few weeks but only up to a point. then you need to decide.
Most people assume what they do in the gym will determine whether they get bigger or lose fat. This is incorrect. This mainly comes down to diet. In order to get bigger you must eat more than you do now each day, whereas to cut you'll need to eat less. So this is why we must make a choice, depending on our individual goals.
Of course, if you are an athlete with a quality sports nutrition program and a lifetime devoted purely to your fitness you can structure a plan to achieve both simultaneously. But for most of us, who go to the gym to get fit and also have busy jobs and family lives, that is unrealistic.
Once you have simply decided what you want to achieve, you can begin dieting for that specific goal and then we're ready to begin looking at your actual workout routine. We'll cover the following aspects here:
* What exercises will allow you to get the quickest results?
* How many days per week should you use the gym?
* Are you doing too many or too few reps?
Put the focus of your workouts on big, compound movements. These multi-joint movements require the most muscle fibres to perform, therefore resulting in greater size and strength gains, too. Bench press, squats and other compound movements are simple yet ideal. Don't spend too long working small muscle groups by themselves, i.e. there is little point in performing five sets of an isolation exercise for your forearms...
Another common mistake is to train too often. When you're trying to build there is a great need for rest. Training no more than four days per week is best, and you should also be splitting each day to hit a different muscle group than the one before. You may wish to train every day once you begin enjoying the buzz from working out, but this leads nowhere. Rest days are in fact growth days.
When it comes to repetitions, this easy-to-follow system will keep you on the right track for building lean mass and keep you progressing at a good, constant pace. Your target zone is 8-12 reps. This is the fundamental training zone for growth. Start with a weight you can push out eight repetitions with and as your strength increases you'll notice you can get more reps out over the coming training sessions. Once you can push out more than twelve, increase the weight and return to eight reps. This progressive stance will keep you from reaching any kind of plateau.
The world of fitness is an often over complicated one. If you ask five trainers for tips on how to build muscle you will probably get five different answers. The tips above will help you to get down the basics!
Today we answer this question for you. Right here, right now.
The first thing you need to do is figure out what you actually want. Too often when we ask guys what they'd like to achieve, what type of body they wish to own, they tell us their goal is to lose fat but also get bigger.
Having two very different goals makes your task more difficult in every way. Sure, if you are just starting out in the gym or have had a long lay off you may enjoy both fat loss and hypertrophy within the first few weeks but only up to a point. then you need to decide.
Most people assume what they do in the gym will determine whether they get bigger or lose fat. This is incorrect. This mainly comes down to diet. In order to get bigger you must eat more than you do now each day, whereas to cut you'll need to eat less. So this is why we must make a choice, depending on our individual goals.
Of course, if you are an athlete with a quality sports nutrition program and a lifetime devoted purely to your fitness you can structure a plan to achieve both simultaneously. But for most of us, who go to the gym to get fit and also have busy jobs and family lives, that is unrealistic.
Once you have simply decided what you want to achieve, you can begin dieting for that specific goal and then we're ready to begin looking at your actual workout routine. We'll cover the following aspects here:
* What exercises will allow you to get the quickest results?
* How many days per week should you use the gym?
* Are you doing too many or too few reps?
Put the focus of your workouts on big, compound movements. These multi-joint movements require the most muscle fibres to perform, therefore resulting in greater size and strength gains, too. Bench press, squats and other compound movements are simple yet ideal. Don't spend too long working small muscle groups by themselves, i.e. there is little point in performing five sets of an isolation exercise for your forearms...
Another common mistake is to train too often. When you're trying to build there is a great need for rest. Training no more than four days per week is best, and you should also be splitting each day to hit a different muscle group than the one before. You may wish to train every day once you begin enjoying the buzz from working out, but this leads nowhere. Rest days are in fact growth days.
When it comes to repetitions, this easy-to-follow system will keep you on the right track for building lean mass and keep you progressing at a good, constant pace. Your target zone is 8-12 reps. This is the fundamental training zone for growth. Start with a weight you can push out eight repetitions with and as your strength increases you'll notice you can get more reps out over the coming training sessions. Once you can push out more than twelve, increase the weight and return to eight reps. This progressive stance will keep you from reaching any kind of plateau.
The world of fitness is an often over complicated one. If you ask five trainers for tips on how to build muscle you will probably get five different answers. The tips above will help you to get down the basics!
About the Author:
About the Writer: Russ Howe PTI is a trusted personal trainer. See how to build muscle with our free video guide showing the five steps to a more muscular physique and the best shoulder building exercises.
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