Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Four Key Ingredients To A Successful Muscle Building Routine

By Arnold Sylvester


Asking for advice on how to build muscle can seem rather daunting. This is largely due to the severe jargon which surrounds unfamiliar new techniques like body weight workouts and high intensity interval training but it is also something which needn't be so confusing.

Yet, the basic principles which were true 30 years ago during bodybuilding's heyday are still true today. We haven't actually improved greatly on the hypertrophy process.

They include:

1. Focusing on compound lifts is imperative.

Exercises such as the lat pulldown, bench press, squat and lunge remain key figureheads in any size and strength routine.

Any compound exercise will recruit more muscle fibers than an isolation move, therefore you'll gain more size over a shorter period of time.

2. Learn how many reps to perform.

While high rep training has it's own benefits, you should be aiming for the 8-12 range if your goal is muscular hypertrophy. This is backed up by years of key studies from medical research studies carried out on the subject.

You'll be stronger on some exercises, naturally, but you can begin using your rep range as a guide to tell you if you are going too light or too heavy.

3. Adapt your program to your new strength gains.

Consistency is the worst mistake made on the gym floor.

Consistently doing the same routine or lifting the same figures will lead you to a plateau. In order to build a better body you need to give your body a physical reason to grow. This can only be done by giving it weights which it finds hard to deal with.

4. Sleep to grow.

Muscles are broken down and torn in the gym. They don't start rebuilding until you recover after your workout has ended.

If you try to get eight to twelve hours of sleep on a consistent basis, it is a guaranteed method to increase your size and strength. That's because the body releases growth hormone and testosterone at this point, so neglecting this phase of the day is not advised.

This could be compared to leaving the cement to set on a brick wall, but returning the following day and trying to build on it even further. You're basically knocking yourself down all the time and going nowhere.

If your goal to learn how to build muscle has so far proved fruitless, these tips will help. It is a very common trait in the fitness industry to over complicate matters and go overboard with unnecessary scientific jargon, as you will easily see by looking for tips on high intensity interval training or drop-set techniques. But these proven principles are simple, yet time-tested.




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