As a Personal Trainer I am asked how to build muscle on a daily basis by guys who have been confused by the amount of different advice from individual trainers or fellow gym members over the years. Whether you're just starting out on your journey in fitness or you've been trying to get fit for years, this issue has probably affected you at some stage.
Now we're going to end this nonsense and nail down the basic, proven rules.
The first thing you need to do is figure out what you actually want. Too often when we ask guys what they'd like to achieve, what type of body they wish to own, they tell us their goal is to lose fat but also get bigger.
If you have had long history of gym training already you will know it's very hard to get both weight loss and strength results simultaneously, which is why you need to set this goal at the start. Those beginning on their fitness journey will be able to enjoy perhaps 2-3 weeks with the results of both fat loss and tissue building, but once the body gets used to your new training lifestyle you too need to make the choice.
To put it simply, you either want to lose fat or you want to grow. It's one way or the other. To grow you need to consume more calories per day than you currently do, whereas to lose fat you need to consume less than you do now. So it makes sense that you cannot realistically do both at the same time.
Of course, if you are an athlete with a quality sports nutrition program and a lifetime devoted purely to your fitness you can structure a plan to achieve both simultaneously. But for most of us, who go to the gym to get fit and also have busy jobs and family lives, that is unrealistic.
Once you have set your goal, in this case to get bigger otherwise you wouldn't be reading this article, we can get your diet in place and begin looking at the following aspects of your gym routine:
* Which exercises are best?
* How often should you train?
* How many reps and sets are optimal?
Put the focus of your workouts on big, compound movements. These multi-joint movements require the most muscle fibres to perform, therefore resulting in greater size and strength gains, too. Bench press, squats and other compound movements are simple yet ideal. Don't spend too long working small muscle groups by themselves, i.e. there is little point in performing five sets of an isolation exercise for your forearms...
Furthermore, understand the importance of rest. When training for size your body does not grow while your are in the gym. On the contrary, it grows while you are at rest. Try not to perform more than 4 sessions per week and you will see a great return in gains. It's hard to stay away when you get into training, but it is very important.
When trying to figure out how many reps you should do to add size and strength this simple system will help you on every exercise you perform. Your reps should land between 8-12, the ideal zone for hypertrophy (growth). Good for you if you can perform 100 reps on a bench press with a certain weight, but it will not make you any bigger. Once you can push beyond twelve the resistance should be knocked up.
Now you know the basic rules of how to build muscle in the gym, we recommend you take some time to apply the tips to your own individual routine and you will be amazed at the results you can achieve!
Now we're going to end this nonsense and nail down the basic, proven rules.
The first thing you need to do is figure out what you actually want. Too often when we ask guys what they'd like to achieve, what type of body they wish to own, they tell us their goal is to lose fat but also get bigger.
If you have had long history of gym training already you will know it's very hard to get both weight loss and strength results simultaneously, which is why you need to set this goal at the start. Those beginning on their fitness journey will be able to enjoy perhaps 2-3 weeks with the results of both fat loss and tissue building, but once the body gets used to your new training lifestyle you too need to make the choice.
To put it simply, you either want to lose fat or you want to grow. It's one way or the other. To grow you need to consume more calories per day than you currently do, whereas to lose fat you need to consume less than you do now. So it makes sense that you cannot realistically do both at the same time.
Of course, if you are an athlete with a quality sports nutrition program and a lifetime devoted purely to your fitness you can structure a plan to achieve both simultaneously. But for most of us, who go to the gym to get fit and also have busy jobs and family lives, that is unrealistic.
Once you have set your goal, in this case to get bigger otherwise you wouldn't be reading this article, we can get your diet in place and begin looking at the following aspects of your gym routine:
* Which exercises are best?
* How often should you train?
* How many reps and sets are optimal?
Put the focus of your workouts on big, compound movements. These multi-joint movements require the most muscle fibres to perform, therefore resulting in greater size and strength gains, too. Bench press, squats and other compound movements are simple yet ideal. Don't spend too long working small muscle groups by themselves, i.e. there is little point in performing five sets of an isolation exercise for your forearms...
Furthermore, understand the importance of rest. When training for size your body does not grow while your are in the gym. On the contrary, it grows while you are at rest. Try not to perform more than 4 sessions per week and you will see a great return in gains. It's hard to stay away when you get into training, but it is very important.
When trying to figure out how many reps you should do to add size and strength this simple system will help you on every exercise you perform. Your reps should land between 8-12, the ideal zone for hypertrophy (growth). Good for you if you can perform 100 reps on a bench press with a certain weight, but it will not make you any bigger. Once you can push beyond twelve the resistance should be knocked up.
Now you know the basic rules of how to build muscle in the gym, we recommend you take some time to apply the tips to your own individual routine and you will be amazed at the results you can achieve!
About the Author:
Coach: Russ Howe PTI is a trusted personal trainer. See how to build muscle with our free video guide showing the five steps to a more powerful physique and the best shoulder building exercises.
