The Basics of Muscle Building
Most guys want to build the 10th floor of the building before they have built the first floor. Regardless of your goals, this is your first step.
You have no freaking business using weights if you can’t stabilize, control and move your own body weight.
Yet so many people ignore this. Probably because it looks better to Lat Pull-down 150 pounds with a violent pull than struggle with 3 or 4 chin ups…
Unless your bodyweight is overly obese, then get use to bodyweight exercises. Don’t worry, the heavy weights will come soon!
Vince makes a really good point here. If you really want to get started in the gym, do it properly! Learn how to control your body first, then start to build your body. Here are some of the goals that he recommends you shoot for with body weight exercises (This doesn’t mean you have to be able to do these numbers before you start going to the gym, but you should at least be well on your way to hitting these numbers to see some good control and progress in the gym):
60+ Pushups
20+ Wide Grip Pullups
40+ Dips
20+ Chinups
Focusing on doing these reps in one set of bodyweight exercises will really help you to build a good foundation for your muscle building goals.
Here’s a link to the full article: The Basics of Muscle Building
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This is so true you must build the foundation even before you can start to build the building. Nice little find.
I am working on the chin/pull-ups numbers right now. My approach is to slow down the rest of the training routine when I am doing specialized training. What do you think?
Hi,
I too am a follower of Vince DelMonte. In fact, I recently wrote a blog post that highly complements what you just wrote here. Check it out:
http://www.muscle4hardgainers.com/how-to-get-muscles-build-muscle-mass
Building with those exercises will build an incredible base. 60+ Pushups, 20+ Wide Grip Pullups, 40+ Dips, 20+ Chinups - those numbers are no easy accomplishment. Most of these I could do with multiple sets.
I can do 18 kipping pullups and am slowly building.
Do you expect to see these done in multiple sets?
You can actually injure yourself severly if you don’t start small, stretching is a good idea also.
While changing your training variables is an integral part of the success of your training program, your workouts shouldn’t be drastically different every single time. If you are all over the place on each workout and never try to repeat and improve on specific exercises for specific set and rep schemes with specific rest intervals, then your body has no basis to improve on its current condition.
Fantastic article about body muscle building. Vince DelMonte is a really smart guy!!! This site is all about exercises and pec workouts. I advise you to check it out Pec workouts