So you've been working out for a while, but you haven't seen any results? Or maybe you've never lifted weights before, but you want to get the best results? Do yourself a favor and read the whole article. Repetition and Sets Our primary focus will be increasing muscle volume. This means you'll need to do reps of 8~12. Common mistakes include focusing on doing reps of below 4, which focuses on strength training and doing reps above 14, which focuses on endurance. Complete at least 3 sets per exercise. The 4th set can be an extra to give your muscles an extra boost. Work your larger muscles hard, then isolate out the smaller muscles. You won't want a disproportionate body (large arms, no chest is common). When you tear your muscles, your muscles get bigger during the healing process. Breathe hard. In the end, you should always reach the point where you want to give up. In the end, you must always grind out 1~3 more reps. This is what makes your muscles go past the plateau and actually gain size. Even if you have to take 3 deep breathes between each rep, do it! If you can lift the weight more than 12 reps, move up a notch. Repeat the process. Exercising isn't much of a rocket science, and chances are you probably knew that last paragraph. Let's move on to working your core and legs. The Core and Legs If you want to get ripped - wide pecs and lats, boulders for shoulders, and nice cut arms - you also need to work out your core and legs. If you don't, you're limiting yourself. I don't consider doing crunches and sit ups as a core exercise. Core exercise is more like doing dead lifts and squats. Your core is the foundation of your body's muscles - the stronger you core, the stronger your other muscles become because all your muscles are connected. Your core exercises - the dead lift and squat - should be compound exercises; isolating your upper body (after the compound ones) will give you that ripped look but compound exercises will give you strength as well as volume and that is what you're striving for. Your core will support all your other muscles for further growth. Your core and legs limit how strong and big your upper body can get. This is why it is important to work your core and legs - by doing compound exercises, you are allowing your entire body frame to grow bigger, and thus gain more upper body muscle. Now that we've covered the work out portion of gaining muscle, let's talk about the nutrition portion. Diet and Nutrition Proper nutrition is the foundation for good health. But we won't be focusing too much on nutrition - so let me briefly list some conclusions: 1. Watch out for eating too much simple carbs like high fructose corn syrup. Too much causes an insulin spike and a subsequent insulin crash that, in a nutshell, promotes fat storage. 3. Your protein supply in your blood stream depletes every 3 hours, so it's important to have a meal - a complex carb and protein - every 3~4 hours. 3. Avoid saturated/trans fats but get your supply of essential fats. I personally like natural peanut butter with Silk's soy milk; they've got the protein and the essential fatty acids. 4. Avoid ice cream; it's got both simple carbs and saturated fats. It's a recipe for becoming fat. 5. Increase your calorie intake by approximately 20% but eat your food in smaller more frequent meals every 3~4 hours. 6. By calorie, make your meal around 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fats. Here's a brief summary of what we've covered: rep 8~12 for volume gain, use compound core exercises to increase your frame limit, and get your protein and complex carb in smaller more frequent meals. So Now What?
Gaining muscle and building a fit body doesn't have to cost a fortune. In fact, it's very easy to learn how to gain muscle on a budget. One of the things I love most about weight training and bodybuilding is that no matter how many different "revolutionary supplements" that come out or what celebrity endorses the newest fancy workout equipment, building muscle will always work best when you keep it simple, stick with the basics and use good old fashioned timeless equipment like barbells and dumbbells.
So if you are worried that it will cost you a lot of money to gain muscle then go ahead and throw that notion right out the window. Here is all you need to build quality muscle just like anybody else: a gym membership, some protein powder, a multi-vitamin, a pad of paper and pencil, athletic clothing, groceries that fit the specific intent of gaining muscle, and a good solid workout program. Now, let's break down each item in the list and see how we can make it as affordable as possible:
Gym Membership: This will probably be your most costly investment. However, do some research in your area and chances are you will find a pretty good deal. Usually there are gyms in most areas where you can get a membership under forty dollars a month and some of them much cheaper. A quick side note is although this may be costly for some, it is well worth having a solid gym that has everything you need to workout. Remember that you are trying to gain muscle and trying to shortcut by not having all the weights, benches, and equipment you need will never prove worth it in the long run.
Protein Powder: The first place I would recommend is getting a big tub of protein at Costco if you have a card. For around twenty bucks you can get enough to last you all month and perhaps longer. However, never forget that protein powder is a supplement, and is meant to supplement your regular protein intake. Therefore, if you really want to save money then you can even count the amount of grams of protein in your food on a daily basis and skip the protein powder altogether. Try to eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, and make the majority of your protein from meat and dairy foods.
Multi-Vitamin: Whether you are trying to gain muscle or not, a good multi-vitamin is essential for maintaining good health. Any major name brand multi-vitamin will do for muscle building purposes.
A Pad of Pencil and Paper: You will be using this to record your workouts. Since you are trying to build muscle it is important that you keep a written record of everything you do: exercises, weight, reps, and sets.
Athletic Clothing: Most people have this requirement already; just make sure you have good shoes that aren't flat footed, running or tennis shoes will be fine.
Groceries: Since you are trying to build muscle, it should be obvious to make your grocery shopping specific for this. Basic, cheap foods you can get that are good for building muscle are steaks, chicken breasts, vegetables, fruits, milk, peanut butter, ground turkey, eggs, rice, pastas, potatoes, spinach, oatmeal, and tuna. These and a few others are the cheapest groceries that most people consume anyway, but your goal is to focus most of your food consumption on these and to get enough protein and calories.
Workout Program: This will cost you nothing but the right information and hard, consistent work. Learning how to gain muscle on a budget is simple, and so should be your workout program. Focus on compound exercises such as squats, bench presses, overhead presses, barbell rows, pull-ups, weighted dips, and deadlifts both regular and stiff-legged. You can do a few isolation exercises such as curls and tricep-extentions, but don't get too carried away. You can either do a full body workout 2 or 3 days a week or you can do a split routine. Work hard, stay consistent, and focus on adding weight every week and you should be building some quality muscle within the first couple of weeks.
If you look at everything listed above, you will see that it is a very low monthly cost altogether. Most people have most of the necessary requirements already, so many of these things won't even be an additional investment. Never forget that building muscle doesn't have to be complicated, and should never be too costly, it just takes hard work and consistent effort coupled with the right diet and workout program.
Both Amadeus Toskolitz & 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.
Amadeus Toskolitz has sinced written about articles on various topics from Build Muscle. Now you know the basics. But you'll eventually need a more structured program. You'll also need to know how to lower your body fat into the 5~9% range where your six pack will show. Check out this. Amadeus Toskolitz's top article generates over 1900 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 inf. Derek Manuel's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.