It seems almost every guy wants to know how to build muscle but barely anybody ever reaches their goal. There are so many different theories out there it can become almost impossible to sit down and look at the proven facts. That is exactly what we are going to do today.
Make no mistakes about it, though, you will not be able to get results if you don't have any kind of structure to you workout routine. The three principles laid out below will teach you this.
* Learn how to focus your workouts on compound exercises.
* You don't grow in the gym, you grow while resting.
* Do not, under any circumstances, neglect your diet.
By following these three principles you will be able to experience a new realm in strength and size. If you have been training for a while and have perhaps hit a plateau, these principles will help you to overcome it. Starting with the first rule, which talks about multi-joint exercises, we are going to run through what each point means in a little bit more depth for you.
The best exercises to build size are the old classics. We call the multi-joint movements and this category includes all of your big lifts. We are talking about bench press, squat and deadlift as well as a few others. They involve more muscle fibers and therefore promote more gains, whereas exercises which isolate one particular group such as a bicep curl will only enhance that particular body part.
Of course, the smaller movements are also good for building you up and they will round out each session quite nicely but make no mistake about it, the main focus of your entire session needs to be on the exercises which are going to get you to where you want to be. You're not going to hit a new max on the bench press if you have already exhausted your chest on a series of isolation exercises.
That alone will be enough to get even the most hard gainers on the right road to success. But once you start seeing positive results, going to the gym can become slightly addictive. That is particularly true for those who have been struggling to get results and all of a sudden find that they are finally getting somewhere. As people we naturally assume that more means better, but in terms of adding lean tissue it is not true.
Resting is highly important to your success, particularly when aiming to build size and strength. Despite popular belief, you do not build while you are training in the gym. The process actually occurs while you are sat at home resting and if you neglect to allow your sufficient time you won't get the benefits of your hard training.
The third and final rule covers diet. That's correct, even though your goal is size you still have to watch what you eat. After all, there is a difference between adding good size and bad size, I'm sure you understand exactly what we mean there!
You can work out how many calories per day you should eat by simply taking your current body weight in kilo's and multiplying it by twenty five. That's your basal metabolic rate and you should add a further 50% to that target to allow you to get a good building plan established.
In order to ensure those calories are coming from the best possible sources of food you should try to split it between 30% from protein sources, 50% from carbohydrate and the final 20% from fats.
If you have been struggling to get results for a while not don't worry, confusion is everywhere in the gym. In fact, if you ask people for tips on how to lose weight you will notice the same confusion reigns over that area as well. You now have the three proven rules behind a good routine which will teach you how to build muscle and retain it.
About the Author:
About today's writer: Russ Howe PTI is the UK's most subscribed personal trainer. If you need to learn how to build muscle or how to lose weight our easy proven guides will help you achieve more in the gym.