If you are struggling to put on muscle as quickly as you desire, then here are some helpful muscle building tips that will have you packing on muscle and strength in no time.
1. Focus on compound movements
This is a muscle building tip you have probably heard many times before, but it is so important that I couldn't neglect to mention it here. Compound movements use more muscles than isolation movements, so they have a greater potential for packing on weight than isolation movements. Not to mention the hormonal benefits, training economy, and functional strength. If you increase your squat by 100 pounds I guarantee you will be much bigger, but if you increase your leg extension by 100 pounds it's not as likely you will have developed any appreciable amount of muscle mass.
2. Nutrition is your full-time job
You can only lift weights for so many hours per week. But your job is not finished when the workout is over. You should be eating something with protein in it every 2-3 hours if you are serious about packing on muscle. Lifting weights is a great start, but if you don't supply your body with ample amounts of the building blocks of muscle (protein, carbs, and fats) you will only get stronger and not much bigger. Simply put, you've got to eat big to be big.
3. Don't neglect your weaknesses
Whether it's only performing your favorite lift or only working a few select muscle groups, you are setting yourself up for poor gains and a lifetime of injury. Simply working the "beach muscles" (chest and biceps) or only doing bench presses leads to muscular imbalances that can take months to correct and may lead to some serious injuries down the road. Not to mention the fact that your body has protective mechanisms that prevent you from getting one muscle group much stronger than another. So if your bench press hasn't been increasing like it used to, you may need to incorporate more back work in order to balance your muscles so that your chest can continue to grow.
4. Liquid calories
By far the biggest complaint I hear from guys trying to pack on muscle fast is that they have trouble eating every 2-3 hours. If that's the case for you then liquid calories are the secret to getting in more calories every day. You can start with a simple protein shake between meals and if you need more calories you can add a variety of things to the shake such as natural peanut butter, fruit, heavy whipping cream, ice cream, olive oil, etc. You can easily make a 1,000 calorie shake if that is what you need. This is cheaper than buying a pre-packaged weight gainer and you won't be full when it's time for your next meal. This is one of the most powerful muscle building tips you will ever hear.
5. Focus on your strengths
This may seem in opposition to muscle building tip number 3, and while you need to pay attention to your weaknesses you also need to make your strengths even stronger. For example, if you can pretty easily increase the weight on your bench press every week then go ahead and milk it for all it's worth! You will want to make sure to also get some work in for your weaknesses as well, but the focus should be on your strengths.
6. Supplements
I get hundreds of questions every month from my website visitors, and probably 70% of them are about supplements. Look, I love supplements as much as the next guy. It's cool to think that something as simple as taking a pill or powder will give you an edge. But the problem is that I know for a fact that most of the guys who ask supplement questions have no rhyme or reason to their training and nutrition program. The bottom line is that I've never seen a supplement put more than 5 pounds on anyone in a 12 week period, but my trainees routinely put on 20 or more pounds of muscle in that same time. People neglect the importance of a proper training and nutrition program because it's not as easy as taking a pill, but it's much cheaper and much more effective. So the next time you're about to shell-out your hard-earned cash for the latest supplement, just think for a moment if you wouldn't be better served using that money for a training and nutrition program designed by a professional that has guaranteed results.
|
