If you walk into any gym and ask somebody how to build muscle the chances are you will hear a different answer for every person you ask. There is such confusion surrounding the muscle building process. As any trainer will know, there are three fundamental rules to building a more powerful physique.
Despite the millions of different theories put forward, there are three very simply principles which will help you to reach your goals in the gym. Sometimes going back to basics is the best way to get results.
* The old classic compound exercises remain the key movements for building lean mass.
* You don't grow in the gym, you grow while resting.
* You won't get far without a solid nutrition plan backing up your effort in the gym.
If you are due to hit the gym tomorrow, we want you to do it with a new-found confidence in your ability. You're going to learn exactly how to get the results you want to achieve with these three basic rules. The first of which discusses how to focus your workouts around the exercises which will encourage your body to grow.
The best exercises to build size are the old classics. We call the multi-joint movements and this category includes all of your big lifts. We are talking about bench press, squat and deadlift as well as a few others. They involve more muscle fibers and therefore promote more gains, whereas exercises which isolate one particular group such as a bicep curl will only enhance that particular body part.
There are still benefits to be had from isolation movements, of course, it's just about learning when to perform them and how to structure your workout session according to your overall goal. If your goal is strength and size then you need to attack your big compound lifts while your body is still at full energy, then round out your session by adding a few isolated movements afterwards.
Even those who have spent years struggling to put on size find that the task becomes easier when you have a well structured workout laid out ahead of you which allows you to hit the big moves while at full strength and rack up some new personal best records. Be sure not to get carried away with your success though, you don't want to train every single day otherwise you'll only make it more difficult for yourself.
Your efforts in the gym deserve physical results and those results happen during periods of rest. If you go to the gym every day you'll notice it becomes more difficult to see any results because your body isn't being given the recuperation time that it needs. This is easily the most overlooked aspect of training for those looking to get bigger.
The third and final rule covers diet. That's correct, even though your goal is size you still have to watch what you eat. After all, there is a difference between adding good size and bad size, I'm sure you understand exactly what we mean there!
Working out the number of calories per day you need is simple, for those who don't know simply multiply your weight in kilograms by 25 and then add another 50% to the total answer.
Getting enough calories is one thing, of course, but it's another thing entirely to get them from the best possible places. All calories are not created equal and you need to pay a little attention to your intake of the three macro nutrients to get the most from your daily eating plan. Try to obtain 30% of your calorie intake from protein, 20% from fat and 50% from carbohydrates.
Thousands of gym members tend to use over complicated theories on how to lose weight or how to build muscle when in truth it's actually very straightforward. That being said, of course, you cannot expect to get results without putting in the work.
Despite the millions of different theories put forward, there are three very simply principles which will help you to reach your goals in the gym. Sometimes going back to basics is the best way to get results.
* The old classic compound exercises remain the key movements for building lean mass.
* You don't grow in the gym, you grow while resting.
* You won't get far without a solid nutrition plan backing up your effort in the gym.
If you are due to hit the gym tomorrow, we want you to do it with a new-found confidence in your ability. You're going to learn exactly how to get the results you want to achieve with these three basic rules. The first of which discusses how to focus your workouts around the exercises which will encourage your body to grow.
The best exercises to build size are the old classics. We call the multi-joint movements and this category includes all of your big lifts. We are talking about bench press, squat and deadlift as well as a few others. They involve more muscle fibers and therefore promote more gains, whereas exercises which isolate one particular group such as a bicep curl will only enhance that particular body part.
There are still benefits to be had from isolation movements, of course, it's just about learning when to perform them and how to structure your workout session according to your overall goal. If your goal is strength and size then you need to attack your big compound lifts while your body is still at full energy, then round out your session by adding a few isolated movements afterwards.
Even those who have spent years struggling to put on size find that the task becomes easier when you have a well structured workout laid out ahead of you which allows you to hit the big moves while at full strength and rack up some new personal best records. Be sure not to get carried away with your success though, you don't want to train every single day otherwise you'll only make it more difficult for yourself.
Your efforts in the gym deserve physical results and those results happen during periods of rest. If you go to the gym every day you'll notice it becomes more difficult to see any results because your body isn't being given the recuperation time that it needs. This is easily the most overlooked aspect of training for those looking to get bigger.
The third and final rule covers diet. That's correct, even though your goal is size you still have to watch what you eat. After all, there is a difference between adding good size and bad size, I'm sure you understand exactly what we mean there!
Working out the number of calories per day you need is simple, for those who don't know simply multiply your weight in kilograms by 25 and then add another 50% to the total answer.
Getting enough calories is one thing, of course, but it's another thing entirely to get them from the best possible places. All calories are not created equal and you need to pay a little attention to your intake of the three macro nutrients to get the most from your daily eating plan. Try to obtain 30% of your calorie intake from protein, 20% from fat and 50% from carbohydrates.
Thousands of gym members tend to use over complicated theories on how to lose weight or how to build muscle when in truth it's actually very straightforward. That being said, of course, you cannot expect to get results without putting in the work.
About the Author:
Author: Russ Howe PTI is the UK's most followed fitness instructor. If you want to know how to build muscle or how to lose weight our free video guides will help you get the most in the gym.