Certainly there is a lot to be learned if you want to know how build
muscle and weight training. However, just like almost every other
subject there are certain principals that make up the foundation of all
that there is to be learned.
We'll start, as usual, by just
giving'em to you straight and simple and then we'll take a little bit
of time to expound. They are 1) Nutrition 2) Training 3) Rest.
Sound too simple to be true? Simple maybe but not necessarily easy.
Nutrition
is so necessary we can't stress this point enough. Let us tell you, if
you want to stack on massive amounts of lean muscle you are going to
have to get a second job; eating like a horse. Let us give you some
point form rules to obey if you want to stack it on.
1) 16
times your body weight in calories per day (eg. 200lb man = 3200
calories per day). If you find you are gaining more than 2 lbs per
week dial it back by 200 - 250 calories per day until you are gaining 1
- 2 lbs per week. Anymore than this and your stacking on some fat
along with the muscle you are building. If you are gaining less than 1
lb per week up your calories by 200 - 250 per day until you are gaining
1 - 2 lbs per week.
2) 3 - 4 grams of carbohydrates per day
per pound of body weight. Contrary to the low carb hype and fad that
is popular today, being sure to include a healthy amount of
carbohydrates in your diet is necessary for maximizing results.
Carbohydrates not only provide your body with the energy necessary to
really kick some butt in the gym, they also allow your body to better
utilize the protein in your diet for muscle repair and development.
Try consuming simple carbs from whole grains. Oatmeal and whole grain
breads should become a staple in your daily diet.
3) 1 gram
of protein per pound of body weight is all that is necessary. This
probably seems low in comparison to many of the claims of supposed
"know it all's" but any more is simply unnecessary. Your body is
incapable of processing and utilizing more protein than this so you are
just wasting your money on expensive lean protein to go beyond this
point. Egg whites are a very highly beneficial source from which to
get your protein. We also recommend cottage cheese. Not only is it's
protein levels high it is a slow digesting and absorbing protein which
makes it a great choice for a bedtime snack. It's benefits will last
throughout the night while your body is repairing and growing as you
sleep.
4) Eat plenty of essential fats. It is not common
knowledge that eating the right kinds of fat is very necessary to
building massive amount of lean muscle. Extra virgin cold pressed
olive oil, flax seed oil, hemp oil, extra virgin cold pressed coconut
oil and fish oils are incredible sources of essential fats your body
needs for proper health and developing muscle.
5) Always eat
a big breakfast. You will short change yourself for the entire day if
you compromise your first meal of the day. It should be the biggest
meal of the day.
6) Never go more than 3 hours without
eating a meal. You'll need to eat when your not hungry yet. You'll
need to eat when you don't feel like it. You'll need to eat when it is
very inconvenient to do so. You need to turn your body into a nutrient
absorbing machine.
7) Lastly, you should try downing a fast
absorbing protein shake 20 minutes before you train and then eat a meal
immediately after you train. Like we said, simple but not necessarily
easy. Chances are your biggest challenges will be in the area of
proper nutrition. This is where most people fail and where most people
make the biggest and most consistent mistakes.
Let's talk about
training for minute. Following the outline that we began above, let's
go through some basic rules that will help you create a training
program that will force your body to respond with tremendous gains.
1)
High weight and low reps. You should find out what your maximum lift
ability is for each exercise that you bring into your workout routine
and then take 80% of that amount for your reps (eg. 200lbs max = 160lbs
for reps). This should put you into a zone where you can do 4 - 6 reps
of each exercise.
2) Multi-muscle group exercises. Squats,
dead lifts, clean and presses, clean and jerks, dips, rows, bench
presses, military presses and chin / pull ups are the kinds of
exercises we mean. Exercises that incorporate multiple muscle groups
into one movement. This does some very important things. First it
trains your muscles to work together. This makes for a much more
functional strength. That is the benefits of your training are much
more usable in every day life from work to play. It also builds a more
explosive strength. It is the kinds of exercises that gymnasts and
Olympic and competition weight lifters use to train.
3) Your
training should take no more than 35 minutes and you should only be
training 3 times per week with at least one rest day in between
workouts. Your bodies muscles develop and grow during rest and not
during training. You must allow time for your body to recover.
4)
To help get in, get done and get out of the gym faster we like to
utilize super sets. Try combining exercises that work different muscle
groups in your super sets (eg. squats and chin ups). Do three super
sets with very little rest in between sets. After a super set is
complete take a couple minutes to recover and then start your next
super set. 3 or 4 super set exercise combinations is all you need to
do, especially if you are more of a novice to muscle building.
Lastly
is rest. Let me communicate its importance with a short story. There
was a trainer that put out a challenge to pro body builders. He told
them that if they flew to his gym and stayed in a hotel he will help
them grow their arms by 1 full inch in one week (an incredible claim).
If he can't help them do this he will fund their entire trip. The gym
was in a pretty nice area of the U.S. so either you were gonna get a
free vacation or an extra inch on your arms out of the deal.
There
wasn't a ton but a good number of pro body builders took the trainer up
on his offer and flew to his gym. When they landed he met them at his
gym measured their arms and sent them back to there hotels. One day,
two days, three days go by and the trainer didn't have these guys do a
thing in the gym. They of course became super anxious because they
were missing there precious gym time.
If I remember correctly
it was 5 or 6 days of waiting for this crazy trainer to get back in
touch with them. Finally the trainer brought all of the guys into the
gym, not for a workout but to measure their arms. A whole week of
sitting around their hotel rooms had gone by but guess what, every one
of their arms had grown an inch. This wise and not to mention witty
trainer knew that these guys were probably not getting near the amount
of rest time they needed to maximize the benefits of all their time in
the gym. He simply forced them to rest and allowed their bodies to do
the rest.
Now we wouldn't recommend that you take a week off
because you're probably not a pro body builder and therefore did not
spend nearly the time in the gym that these guys did before this
happened. It does prove however how important rest time is if you want
to maximize the benefits of your hard work in the gym. These guy's
bodies were just waiting to explode with growth. They just needed the
recovery time to do so.
Gregg, welcome to search warp. Your article was very informing and especially interesting to me. I am "older" but have started working out in the gym 2-3- times a week. a few months ago. I began to gain weight (I have gained about 5 pounds) but my clothes fit really good. However, I sure would like to weigh less (although everyone says I look good).
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