|
MUSCLE
BUILDING TIPS
Train smarter - not harder!
Here are some golden muscle building tips.
- Resistance training is probably the easiest and most common form of exercise to increase muscle. No brainer I guess!
- Allow enough recovery. That
means get enough rest, and allow enough time between workouts for your
muscles to repair and grow. Again, experiment around as to what will be
the best recovery time. Anywhere from 2 days to 1 week before training
the same body parts again is common.
- Split days up to fit in more.
You can split days up into different body parts if you like. It
allows you to do more on each body part in each session and shortens
the time you spend in the gym. The catch is that you’ll have to visit
the gym more often to cover the whole body.
- Focus on compound exercises involving large muscle groups and movement by 2 joints rather than isolation
exercises that concentrate on specific and smaller muscles and
movements over one joint. For example, bench presses are better than
the pec deck for building muscle. Squats are better than leg extension.
- Added
to the point above, you may not need to spend too much time with
isolation exercises such as bicep curls and tricep pushdowns. These
muscle building tips don't get mentioned very often, and far too often
we see people doing as much for their biceps and triceps (which are
small muscle groups) as they would for their chest, back and legs (the
bigger, major muscle groups. Not only that, but when performing
exercises for the large muscle groups, you work the smaller ones at the
same time. So effectively, you could be doing more for your smaller
muscles, than you do for you bigger ones when you start to isolate! Now
that doesn’t make sense does it??
- Keep workous short and intense. One
of the classic muscle building tips. 45mins is an ideal time to spend
on a weights only workout. Obviously if you have more body parts to
cover in a session it may take a little longer, but 1hr is HEAPS. It is
fine to spend half an hr to 45 mins. In fact I recommend. Not only is
it a scientific fact that workouts of this duration are ideal for
muscle growth, but it also aids as a mental bonus when you know all you
have to do is spend 45 mins in the gym. A lot easier to have an intense
workout for 45 mins than it is for 2 hrs!
- Don’t neglect your abs and lower back (your core)!
It is especially common to leave abs and lower back until the end of a
workout as an after thought. Your body works in synergy and that
includes your core supporting your body in motion. If you are getting
stronger at the extremities (arms, legs) and your core can't support
because it isn't strengthening at a similar rate as the rest of your
body, then something has to give, usually it’s a slipped disc!
- Guys, don’t neglect your legs!
Not only will it keep you in proportion, but it helps the rest of your
body’s ability to grow muscle. Shapely legs look great as well!
- Take time off.
Take a week off every 8-12 weeks. One of the hardest muscle building
tips to abide by... Your mind and body both need time to rejuvenate.
Sometimes taking time off is one of the hardest things to do, but when
you push through it, you’ll find it will give you great recovery,
longevity with training, and mental rest.
- You’ll
read a lot of conflicting information as to what is the best amount of
reps or sets to do to build muscle. Well here’s the best piece of
advice I can give… EXPERIMENT! Try reps of 4-6, 6-8, 8-12 and 12-15.
What’s more important is to keep making progressive improvements over time.
You do that by increasing the weight, or increasing the reps or sets.
Your body will naturally increase in strength and muscle, and you will
be forcing it to do so by making gradual changes!
- Careful when following professional bodybuilder muscle building tips and routines. In
many circumstances (many many!!) professional body builders can train
differently to the average person because certain artificial substances
aid in recovery and growth. If you are not eating, recovering, possess
the same freakish genetic gifts, and doing the same substance program
that they are doing, why would you follow the same training advice.
Training will compliment everything else (including genetics), so train
within your means. Experiment and see what works.
- Proper eating to compliment your training is crucial.
That statement right there is one of the best muscle building tips I
can give you. To consistently put on lean muscle, and avoid putting on
fat or not putting on any weight at all, take control of your eating
habits. Don’t let you hard work in the gym go to waste. To learn for
about calories and nutrition click here.
|
Need
help with
FAT LOSS?
Fat loss tools:
Meal calorie planner
Goal weight progress chart
BMR calulator
Fat burning zone calculators
Exercise log worksheets
|
