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Are you sick and tired of picking up that latest body building
magazine off the shelve, opening it to the latest program on the current
bodybuilding star and discovering that he is using a six day split program that
has you in the gym for four hours and day!!
What it won't tell you is that the guy is a professional and probably doesn't
have to hold down a steady job, pay off a mortgage or raise a couple of kids.
The thing is you don't have to train like an athlete to put on muscle, all you
need to do is follow these action ideas below and you will start making big
gains fast without spending all your time in the Gym.
Lets have a look:
1/ Back to Basics - To build muscle you must train short and with intensity,
you only have a limited amount of energy per session. Tests reveal that blood
sugar levels drop dramatically after 20 minutes, so exercise selection is
crucial.
Compound multi-joint movements have to be used as these offer more training
stimulus, are more functional and heavier loads can be lifted. Examples of
compound movements include squats, bench press, dips, and chin-ups. Performing
three to four exercises with high intensity during a session are what is needed.
All the main structures of the body are worked hard during this time,
remembering that as you get stronger in your upper body exercises i.e. Dips, Lat
Pull downs, you will also add size to your upper arms as well as your shoulders.
Working on these big compound movements has a knock-on effect throughout the
whole body; there is no need for specialization techniques or isolation
movements.
The thing is, the whole body is worked hard, rest and recuperation is allowed
to take place and at the next exercise session we push out a few more reps than
before with the same weight, then we have gotten stronger i.e. more muscle.
2/ Perform One Set Per Body Part - Having performed one set of an exercise to
total failure then it should be near on impossible to generate the same force
and intensity for another set. If you are able to generate the same force and
intensity for this second set then the first set was not worked hard enough.
If you give the first set 100% effort and work it to total failure (You
cannot move the bar after the last rep) there is no more requirement for further
stimulation. Therefore you need to do one set per exercise, remembering to
complete the training session in 20 - 30 minutes so to have the most stimulus as
possible and then move on to the next exercise.
Current research shows that single set training is as beneficial as multiple
set training, decreasing the chances of over training and saving energy for
other lifts required during the workout. Because you are doing one set per
exercise, you will have to work it hard and to total failure.
3/ Cycle Your Strength Training - The development of muscle and strength is
interrelated so the exercise session will have to be designed so that increases
in strength are equal to increases in functional muscle. Cycling intensity
through changes in repetitions and poundage's throughout your training program
is an effective way to maintain progression and avoid training plateaus.
4/ Don't Train To Long - Training itself causes the breakdown of muscle
tissue. When a person trains very intensely cortisol is released into the blood
stream, which causes the breakdown of muscle tissue. The amount of cortisol
released is highly dependant upon the length of training time.
Therefore to minimize this effect training should be completed in the
absolute minimum time required which is no longer than 20 to 30 minutes max.
Your blood sugar levels are also dropping by this time, so do what you have to
do in this time and get out of the gym, go home and grow.
5/ Don't Cheat - Do not cheat on your reps! Every strength-training trainee
runs into this problem sooner or later and it will grind your gains to a stand
still. There are many ways to increase the intensity of your sets and the
weights used in order to maximize results. Cheating to increase your weights
actually takes strain off your muscles and places it on your joints, which is
counterproductive.
Now that you are armed with this information, you wont need to spend all of
your time in the gym, by all means workout hard while you are in there but when
you are finished go home and grow and enjoy life.
Gary Matthews is the author of the popular fitness eBooks Maximum Weight Loss
and Maximum Weight Gain. Please visit http://www.maximumfitness.com right now
for your 'free' muscle building e-course. |
