Building Mass
A Simple Bodybuilding Routine for Building Mass
Build Mass
If you are looking for a good bodybuilding routine for building mass, then I have a good one for you. There are so many routines out there, especially with the internet, that it is very easy to get confused about what works, who to listen to, how many sets, how many reps, how to to rest, the list goes on and on. However, notice that the title of this article is a simple bodybuilding routine for building mass. That is because if you have read any of my articles before, then you know how much I like to simplify things.
With that said, I have presented here a time-tested and time-honored bodybuilding routine for building mass that will guarantee results for anybody with the guts to work hard enough at it and finish it. It follows the old fashioned 5×5 system. If you have heard of it before but have never tried it, then now is the time.
This system has worked wonders for hundreds and probably thousands of weight trainers and bodybuilders alike in both building muscle and gaining strength. No matter how long and how fast bodybuilding will evolve, the 5×5 system will ALWAYS be a proven way to stack on gains like nothing else.
Here’s how it works: pick an exercise, and because compound exercises work the best, we will pick squats. Start off by doing 5 reps with relatively light weight to warm up. Next, add some more weight, and do another 5 reps. Now that you are warmed up, jump to your working weight that you can do for 5 reps and do 3 sets with this weight. Since you are looking to gain more mass, then keep your rest periods between 1 and 2 minutes; if you were looking to build more strength, then 3 minute rests would be more fitting.
Now, next time you do squats, add 5 more pounds to both your warm-up sets and your 3 working sets and do it again. The key is to keep adding five pounds each workout until you can’t complete 5 reps for one of your sets. What you would do is stay at that same weight until you can complete the 3 sets of 5 reps in good, clean form.
Remember to always keep your reps no higher then 5, even if you can do more. Staying with the 5×5 system is one of the best proven methods for building size and strength as fast as possible.
Now that you know how to perform the exercise in the 5×5 system, here is the whole bodybuilding routine for building mass that you can follow:
Monday/Wednesday/Friday
1) Barbell Squats
2) Bench Press
3) Barbell Rows or T-Bar Rows
4) Overhead Barbell Shoulder Press
5) Stiff-legged Deadlifts
6) Barbell Curls
Start off doing all of the following exercises three days a week, and as soon as you feel the weight getting heavier and harder to manage, you can switch to two days a week with two to three days in-between workouts for more recovery time. These are the granddaddy of muscle mass building exercises, and just because the routine looks simple doesn’t mean it will be easy, but most importantly, it will produce RESULTS.
Stay on this program for 2 to 3 months and as long as you are continuously adding weight and getting progressively stronger, your muscle mass will follow. Arthur Jones once stated long ago, “When you can curl 200 pounds for ten reps in perfect form, your upper arms will be as large as they need to be for any purpose associated with any sport just short of wrestling bears.”
Keep this concept in mind when you are on your journey to building muscle mass, for the stronger you are, the more potential you have for building muscle mass, and the 5×5 system is one of the best of its kind for building size and strength.
9 Simple Ways to Build Mass
Muscle mass is the epitome of true bodybuilding. There are three components involved in mass building, they are: balanced dietary program, anaerobic and proper weight lifting.
There are 9 simple ways in which you can increase your body mass.
1. Concentrate on the Eccentric
Muscle growth occurs as a result of muscle contraction when you are lifting the weight. Many people pay most attention to concentric phase when you are lifting and the muscle contracts. However hypertrophy can also be caused during the eccentric phase as the muscle increases in length.
Concentrating on the eccentric phase is a simple way to overload the muscles and in the process cause an increase in muscle mass.
2. Eat red meat & fish
Fish and red meat contains the essential omega 3 fatty acids. These fatty acids are crucial for the simple fact that they sensitize the muscles to insulin absorption. They assist amino acids to enter into the muscles while at the same time help in the preservation of glutamine stores.
3. You should take more Sodium in your diet.
Although most people oppose taking more sodium in the diet as it could lead to high blood pressure, for a bodybuilder sodium is quite vital. This is due to the fact that it contains essential minerals that are useful during muscle growth. Sodium also helps by enhancing the storage of carbohydrates and the absorption of amino acids. It also sensitizes the muscles to respond to insulin. The only disadvantage to body building is that it can lead to water retention.
4. Forget aerobic exercises
Aerobic exercises damage your chances of muscle building. This is because it burns up branched chain amino acids and essential glycogen in the body while at the same time messes with your strength gains. If you want to improve on your resting metabolic rate (RMR) so as to burn more calories then adding mass is the best way to go about it.
5. Emphasize heavy and intense lifting
The amount of growth your muscle acquires is largely affected by the stress your muscles experience during your heavy lifting. Therefore in order to increase the stress in your muscles which will lead to muscle-tear, you have to train with weights intensely.
6. Increase your calories
If you are on a low calorie diet, you will never acquire a proper nitrogen balance. This is the key ingredient necessary to support muscle recovery. This should however be restricted to a two day period, to avoid unwanted fat.
7. Rest
Give your body ample time to rest, so that your body can recover and add on mass. Rest allows your body time to increase anabolism and restore glycogen level.
8. Take a meal in the middle of the night.
For anabolism to take place you calories have to be in excess. Therefore in the middle of the night you should try and take a protein drink so as to stimulate additional growth. Read more
Muscle Mass
3 Factors + 3 Steps to Build Lean Muscle Mass Quickly
gain muscle mass
How to build muscle mass fast is just like a sport involving muscles building activity. Building body mass is a great experience involving a perfect blend of discipline and technique. Adding mass muscle is not a one time job though, instead you need more efforts to retain the achieved shape of muscle. Some people think that adding mass muscle will increase their fat also which is totally wrong. After getting some experience, you can do many fat burning workouts without affecting your muscle shape. Some people also think that building body mass at the young age will stop their overall growth but it is also a myth.
There are 3 factors that you MUST HAVE in order to build muscle mass and quickly at that. And here they are:
#1 – More Protein
If you want to build muscle mass quickly then this is a “must”. Just remember, the only thing that can build muscle in your body is Protein. So if you’re not consuming enough protein it’s IMPOSSIBLE to build lean muscle mass and stack on the pounds.
In order to maintain your weight, you should be consuming 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight. So if you’re a 150 lb. guy then in order to maintain your muscle mass at that weight you need to consume 150 grams of protein each day. And if you want to build muscle mass, you’re going to have to consume “more” protein, to not only maintain the muscles you have now but to build more.
So if you want to build muscle mass quickly and safely a general rule of thumb is to consume 1 – 2 grams of protein for each pound of body weight. So if you’re a 150lb. guy you’d want to consume at least 150 grams of protein upward to 300 grams of protein a day.
#2 – More Carbs
Despite what Dr. Atkins said, for all us skinny guys “Carbs are GOOD”. We need carbs as a source of energy. But you don’t want to consume just any ‘ol carbs. You want to consume a lot of complex carbs rather than simple carbs.
In other words, you still want to stay away from the sweets and simple sugars that are found in a lot of our junk food, and you want to consume more complex carbs like those found in whole wheat bread, brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole grain cereals, yams, spinach etc.
Why complex carbs? Because unlike simple carbs (sugars) it’s virtually impossible to turn complex carbs into fat – which means more energy to burn (work out with) and less fat to deal with in the end.
If you want to build muscle mass fast, ideally you’d want to consume 2 – 3 grams of carbs for each pound of bodyweight a day.
#3 – Heavy Weight Training
You cannot build muscle mass without “Heavy weight training“. Let’s just put it this way “the more stress (heavy weight) you put on your muscles, the more it will grow”. And it’s simply because when you put extreme stress on your muscle by lifting heavy weights, your body responds (builds more muscle) so that next time it won’t be as hard or strenuous on your body to lift the same weight.
Ideally, if you want to build muscle mass – lean muscle mass to be more specific, you’d want to lift weights that allow you to do 6-8 reps and no more.
Of course there’s a whole lot more to building muscle mass, but if you follow these 3 key ingredients you’ll be on the road to building lean muscle mass quickly and a whole lot easier than you ever thought possible. Good luck and grow “Massive”.
3 Simple Steps to Gain Muscle Mass Fast
Despite all the hard work, protein shakes, gym visits, calories of chicken and tuna are you still struggling to gain muscle mass fast? Well lucky for you I have discovered 3 of the best ways to gain muscle mass quickly. Follow these simple steps and you will start building big muscles all over your body. So let’s get started.
1. Squats and Dead lifts. These 2 big “animal exercises” are crucial for gaining muscle mass quickly. In fact squats and dead lifts workout over 75% of your musculature, including your back, shoulders, arms, gluts, hams, calves and core muscles. Truly an all in one workout exercise. Moreover these 2 exercises also result in greater levels of growth hormones being produced which means you will gain muscle mass fast all over your body. This is because squats and dead lifts have a strong level of intensity which other exercises don’t. This is particularly relevant for skinny guys and hard gainers. The best way to gain muscle mass.
2. Focus on compound exercises such as squats, leg presses, dead lifts, bench presses, barbell rows, pull ups, chin ups, over head presses, and dips. These exercises are must do’s if you want to gain muscle mass fast because they focus on the strong muscles. A lot of people who want to know how to gain muscle mass quickly focus on things like calves and arms and wonder why they never get really bulked up. Focus on weak muscles and that’s exactly what you will get.
3. Time your rest periods. A key aspect of gaining muscle mass quickly is using a stopwatch and timing your rest periods properly. The higher the number of reps, the shorter the rest period and the lower the number of reps the longer the rest period. If you are training for maximum strength then you need to take between 3-5 minutes break between each set. If you are taking a shorter period then you are not working out properly. Further if you are trying to get maximum muscle gain this requires shorter break times of 30-90 seconds. Also if you rest times are not the same, you cannot monitor your true improvement. Read more
