Every single day as a Personal Trainer I am asked how to build muscle by guys looking to pack on some additional size. Some have struggled for years, others are just starting out. Either way, this is an issue which has the vast majority of gym users confused.
Today, we end that.
Before you start you need to work out your overall goal. Do you want to lose body fat or do you want to focus on size and strength? Most guys want to have both benefits but we'll explain today why you need to make a choice so you don't get stuck in that awful middle ground where you don't fully commit to either and, as a result, don't get the results of either.
If you have had long history of gym training already you will know it's very hard to get both weight loss and strength results simultaneously, which is why you need to set this goal at the start. Those beginning on their fitness journey will be able to enjoy perhaps 2-3 weeks with the results of both fat loss and tissue building, but once the body gets used to your new training lifestyle you too need to make the choice.
Why? Because you cannot do both at the same time long-term. The general rule is that in order to build you need to work at a calorie surplus, whereas to cut you need to operate at a calorie deficit. So doing both becomes somewhat impossible, you see?
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 set your goal, in this case to get bigger otherwise you wouldn't be reading this article, we can get your diet in place and begin looking at the following aspects of your gym routine:
* Which exercises are best?
* How often should you train?
* How many reps and sets are optimal?
When it comes to strength and size there is one type of resistance exercise which stands above all others by a long, long way. We're talking, of course, about compound exercises. That's right, the basic exercises such as bench press and squat still reign supreme when it comes to muscle mass. Don't waste time isolating the lower half of your forearm, focus your time on big exercises.
Furthermore, understand the importance of rest. When training for size your body does not grow while your are in the gym. On the contrary, it grows while you are at rest. Try not to perform more than 4 sessions per week and you will see a great return in gains. It's hard to stay away when you get into training, but it is very important.
When trying to figure out how many reps you should do to add size and strength this simple system will help you on every exercise you perform. Your reps should land between 8-12, the ideal zone for hypertrophy (growth). Good for you if you can perform 100 reps on a bench press with a certain weight, but it will not make you any bigger. Once you can push beyond twelve the resistance should be knocked up.
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 end that.
Before you start you need to work out your overall goal. Do you want to lose body fat or do you want to focus on size and strength? Most guys want to have both benefits but we'll explain today why you need to make a choice so you don't get stuck in that awful middle ground where you don't fully commit to either and, as a result, don't get the results of either.
If you have had long history of gym training already you will know it's very hard to get both weight loss and strength results simultaneously, which is why you need to set this goal at the start. Those beginning on their fitness journey will be able to enjoy perhaps 2-3 weeks with the results of both fat loss and tissue building, but once the body gets used to your new training lifestyle you too need to make the choice.
Why? Because you cannot do both at the same time long-term. The general rule is that in order to build you need to work at a calorie surplus, whereas to cut you need to operate at a calorie deficit. So doing both becomes somewhat impossible, you see?
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 set your goal, in this case to get bigger otherwise you wouldn't be reading this article, we can get your diet in place and begin looking at the following aspects of your gym routine:
* Which exercises are best?
* How often should you train?
* How many reps and sets are optimal?
When it comes to strength and size there is one type of resistance exercise which stands above all others by a long, long way. We're talking, of course, about compound exercises. That's right, the basic exercises such as bench press and squat still reign supreme when it comes to muscle mass. Don't waste time isolating the lower half of your forearm, focus your time on big exercises.
If you don't know how to build muscle today's interview will assist you a lot.
Furthermore, understand the importance of rest. When training for size your body does not grow while your are in the gym. On the contrary, it grows while you are at rest. Try not to perform more than 4 sessions per week and you will see a great return in gains. It's hard to stay away when you get into training, but it is very important.
When trying to figure out how many reps you should do to add size and strength this simple system will help you on every exercise you perform. Your reps should land between 8-12, the ideal zone for hypertrophy (growth). Good for you if you can perform 100 reps on a bench press with a certain weight, but it will not make you any bigger. Once you can push beyond twelve the resistance should be knocked up.
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 Coach: Russ Howe PTI is a popular fitness coach. See how to build muscle with our new video guide showing the five principles to a more muscular body and the best shoulder building exercises.
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