If you have gotten to the point in your training where you want to actually start gaining weight by increasing muscle size, you have to take a lot of things into consideration. Nothing in personal training ever comes easy, but putting on muscle mass is especially tricky. If you want to make sure you keep progressing towards you goal of looking ripped, be sure you are following these basic guidelines.
1. Protein, Protein, Protein
Foods packed with protein are the building blocks of muscle growth. Yet a surprisingly large number of trainers get sufficient amounts of this vital macronutrient. Make sure you get protein in every one of your meals, aiming for around 1 to 1.5 pounds per pound of body weight. It shouldn't be too much more than that, though.
2. Don't Forget Your Fats
Fats aren't just what give fast food eaters big guts. They have a bunch of different essential functions in the body. One of which is the maintenance of testosterone levels. If you testosterone drops too low, you are going to have a much more difficult time getting the body you want. Try to make the majority of the fats you eat the "healthy" kind, like polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. You can get these by eating fish, olive oil, avocado, and certain kinds of nuts
3.Pay Attention to Your Calories
Large muscles need a lot of calories to maintain. If you were trying to lose fat before, you might have to adjust your thinking about caloric intake. A lot of people who are frustrated with their progress simply need to eat more.
4. Get Smart About Cardio
Cardio is essential for any good fitness program. Besides giving you physical endurance, it also burns fat, which helps give you that "cut" look. But you are already lean, you risk letting your cardio burn your muscle as well as your fat if you do it too often and too heavily. Still make sure cardio is a part of your fitness routine, but consider cutting back if your main goal is building muscle.
5. Make sure you are progressing
Doing the same exercises with the same weight every week will just keep you where you are. Instead, throw a workout that isn't a normal part of your routine every once in a while. It will work your muscles in different ways, which will encourage them to grow. Also make sure your weights are steadily increasing. This can be tricky, as you don't want to add weight too soon or too late, but steady progress is a must for continuous muscle growth.
6. Sleep
This one is unfortunately neglected most often. It can be tough to do everything you need to do during the day, plus train, plus get a solid eight hours every night. But if you want to make the most of your training time, you need make sure you body has adequate time to recover and grow muscles. Try experimenting with your daily schedule to see what you can do to sleep more. Even and extra hour or half and hour can help you get larger muscles, faster.
How To Increase Muscle Size
Their training techniques differed very much from the ones we know of today, though most of the ones they used then are far more effective. The difference about their training was that they understood the importance of lifting heavy weights to build muscle. Because when you build strength, you are building the foundation for size. Some strength exercises focus on building muscle mass better then others, while others have more of an effect on gaining weight.
Not only did the old time bodybuilders train with different exercises and programs then what we mostly see today, but the way they trained was completely different altogether. They trained HARD. Back then most of these bodybuilders worked out in basements or garages of their own homes. They didn't have all of the pads, machines, and fancy gym equipment that make training easier and more luxurious that we have today.
In fact, many bodybuilders trained without any racks whatsoever, so in order to do most exercises, they first had to clean the weight off the floor and then get it into position (a clean is an Olympic exercise in which you pick the weight up off the floor and pull it up and get your elbows under it in one quick motion). Can you imagine that before beginning to squat say, 200 pounds, you first had to pick it up off the floor, lift it over your head and then lower it onto your shoulders? Now that's hard work.
Gyms back then were more like dungeons, and you would only go in for one purpose and one purpose only: to lift weights. The old timers would go in there, concentrate fully on their workout, train hard, and get the heck out. For most bodybuilders back then, there were probably no easy days in the gym. You either give it all you got, or you don't workout at all.
Since they understood the importance of lifting heavy weights to build muscle on most if not all compound exercises, this made easy workouts virtually impossible. They HAD to concentrate on what they were doing. They HAD to work hard on each rep of each set of each exercise. If they didn't, they wouldn't get any stronger, and if they didn't get any stronger then they knew they wouldn't get any bigger.
There were few if any supplements back then and steroids weren't even heard of yet. They didn't have machines or pulleys or cables. But what they did have was more then average successful weight trainers.
Gains of 10 pounds a month for hardgainers was not uncommon, and many gained 20 to 30 pounds of muscle within just a couple of months without much of a thought. Why? Because they weren't exposed to the same bunch of garbage that is out there today. They trained with the right knowledge and loads of hard work and common sense.
If you really want results from your workouts, you have got to change your attitude and thinking towards your training. Think of how the old timers trained next time you hit the gym. Go there with a single purpose in mind, and never let your mind stray from your workout. Your results will triple by focusing your mind while at the gym. If you're just an "average" gym member, you're going to get average results.
If you really want to know how to build muscle size and add some raw strength, then keep your workouts simple, focus on the compound exercises, and workout with 110% intensity. Next time you're at the gym, think about how the old timers trained, and your results will improve tenfold.
Both Chris McCombs & Derek Manuel are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Chris McCombs has sinced written about articles on various topics from Yoga Practice, Fitness Program and Metabolism. Chris McCombs and his team are known as the . Chris owns Positively Fit Inc. which helps people all over Orange County lose fat and. Chris McCombs's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.
Derek Manuel has sinced written about articles on various topics from Build Muscle, Bodybuilding Supplements and Build Muscle. Derek Manuel is the author of the best-selling, How to Gain Weight and Build Muscle for Hardgainers. If you want to learn how you too can gain 20 to 30 pounds of solid muscle in as short as 8 weeks, or if you just want more quality information on how to g. Derek Manuel's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.
