Best way to build muscle

Archive for April, 2010

Starting your muscle building path can be very daunting, especially with the mass of information that is available on the subject, it’s very easy for people to become confused and misguided and this usually results in them giving up or just poor results! So because of that I’ve composed a nice easy five step guide to muscle building. Follow this guide and you will have everything you need to succeed in your muscle building quest.

Lift – That’s right, the obvious step but perhaps I should go into a bit more detail. Pick a routine and stick to it, at least for six weeks. You can workout twice, three times, four times or even five times a week depending how you split your routine, as a rule of thumb when you’re starting out I would recommend working out three times a week using a full body routine. A full body routine is simply a routine that works your entire body, to do this we can either pick 10 or so different exercises that work individual muscles OR we can do the clever thing and use compound movements to work multiple muscles at once. If we do this then we can pick three or four exercises per workout and still ensure we’ve covered the entire body. Try and pick things like Deadlifts, squats, bench press, pull ups, rows, things that recruit multiple muscle groups.

Eat – Probably more important than the above, why? Because you can have the world’s most amazingly organized workout plan but if you don’t eat properly you will not gain any muscle, PERIOD. On the other hand you could have a half-ass routine but if you’re eating correctly you will still see results. I really recommend getting into the habit of calorie counting, it makes life a lot easier, especially when in a month’s time you still haven’t gained any weight, because then you can adjust your calories accordingly and keep track of it! Always try and eat smaller meals throughout the day, aim for at least four meals a day, five or six if possible. Be sensible with your diet and ensure your getting enough high quality protein, don’t neglect carbs though! Especially if you’re on a bulk.

Rest – If you’re working out hard then your body is going to need time to rest, remember that muscle is not built in the gym, it is built outside when you’re resting. Always aim for at least seven hours sleep a night, if you can get a couple more then that’s even better.

Be consistent – The above three steps are the real important ones, but without consistency they count for nothing. If you can do the above three religiously for the next year then I absolutely guarantee you will see results! Building muscle takes time, it doesn’t come in a matter of days or even weeks, but the more you can stick to your training and diet the better!