Muscle Building

How many reps do I need?

How many reps you need to do depends on your goals. As a guideline try and stay within 2 to 6 reps for strength and power, 8 to 12 reps for muscle size and 15 to 20 reps for endurance. If  our goal is to build muscle then your reps range should be around 8 to 12 reps i.e. the weight should be heavy enough to allow only 8 reps, actually you should only be able to get 6 reps with great difficulty on the 6th, but you need to continue on to fight for those last 2 reps, it should be an absolute struggle to get those last two reps. That’s where the muscle growth is. You always need someone there to watch over you when you are performing reps like these. On your next visit you should aim for 9 reps, then 10, 11 and 12, these reps should also be a struggle. When the time comes that you can force out 12 reps with great difficulty, it’s time to up the weight.

How many sets for muscle growth?

Not counting warm ups, 1 good heavy set is enough to induce muscle growth, if done correctly to total muscular failure, however, very few people can or know how to use the 1 set principle correctly so 2 to 3 heavy sets is usually better to ensure muscle growth stimulation. Anything above 3 sets per exercise is usually a waste of time and recovery energy.

How many days a week should I workout?

You should workout 2 to 4 days a week and no more. You simply cannot fully recover and grow when you are working out 5 and six days a week. It usually takes 48 to 72 hours for a muscle group to recover from an intense weight training session. Only until after full body recovery will muscle growth happen. An every other day routine is good.

What exercises should I be doing for muscle mass?

You should be doing the heavy basic exercises like squats, dead lifts, and basic presses. These are the exercises when done correctly and safely will produce the best results for muscle mass. The “simple” isolation exercises can be added on later when you have gained a respectable amount of muscle from the basics. Don’t waste your energy doing isolations if your goal is muscle mass fast.

How much rest between sets?

As much as you need. You should allow your body to recover between sets and let your breathing return too normal. Usually 1 to 2 minutes sometimes you’ll need 3 or more minutes to recover, it depends on the exercise and how hard you pushed yourself.

Should I warm up?

Yes you should warm up, it is very important that you do, but just don’t spend half the day doing so. A few light muscle stretches followed by a couple of light sets of the first exercise you are going to do that day. Then stretch again in between those light sets.

Should I stretch between sets?

You should stretch between sets on your first exercise only. Don’t over do the stretching, the idea is to loosen up muscle for heavy lifts, not burn out muscle before you execute heavy lifts.

Should I workout at home or join a gym?

It’s a matter of personal preference really. Do you like the gym atmosphere or would you rather the privacy of your own home. 3 questions to consider: Can you really concentrate at home to lift really heavy? have you someone there to help? Have you got enough weights and  equipment? If you’ve answered yes then maybe you could train at home for a while and see how you get on, otherwise I think the gym would be a better option for you.

Do I need a fitness trainer?

You could consider a fitness trainer if you find that no matter what you try to do, you are not getting the results you desire. If you find that you cannot concentrate on your workouts then you could consider hiring a personal trainer for a time.

What supplements do I need for muscle building?

If your diet is perfect then you don’t really need supplements to support muscle building, but whose diet is absolutely perfect? When it comes to supplements I find that the basics are great like Whey and casein protein powders, creatine, multivitamin/minerals, vitamin c, Vitamin e and zinc. There are “super supplements” available that you could try out for 8 to 12 weeks but I like to stick to the basics. How far you want to take supplementation depends on the individual’s goals.



muscles workout

If you are looking for a great muscle workout, you might be surprised to know that many body building professionals agree that you should work on 1 muscle group at a time. Usually, this involves focusing on a muscle group for a period of 1 week. Then, you can move on to the next muscle group. There seems to be some debate among training professionals as to whether it is more effective to do it by single group muscle, or an over all body work out 3 times a week. However, there is a significant amount of these professionals who agree with the 1 muscle group at a time plan.

An effective and safe muscle workout will be designed for maximum muscle growth in a minimum of time spent working out. You should keep your repetitions to 12 and your sets to a minimum. This is because natural bodybuilders need to avoid over training. Your muscles need to be stimulated to their maximum in as short a time span as possible.

Some rules to remember include:

• Work each body part once a week.
• You should also workout 5 times a week, choosing the days that work best for you.
• Workout times should never be more than 45 minutes.
• In lifting, you should lift for 1 -2 seconds and lower for 2 seconds per repetition.
• Another very important thing is to be sure to rest one and a half to two minutes between each set.
• In your muscle workout, you should do at least 6 sets, but not more than 9 sets for each muscle group.
• While you can choose the days to perform your workout, there are some things to keep in mind. Your workouts should be prioritized in order to get the most from them.
• On the days you have chosen to work out 2 body parts, you will work the part of your body where you want the most growth first. You should do this because the second body part will be a bit tired and will not perform fully.
• Give the body parts you want to focus on a day where you work only those parts.
• When you do only single body part workouts, go through the full 9 sets.
• Warm ups are important in a muscle workout. You should do one warm up set prior to exercising each body part, using half the weight you will use for the first real set. Do 12 – 15 repetitions and rest for one and a half to 2 minutes before beginning the first set.

Now that you have seen some of the suggestions for a good workout to build your muscles, you can do your own research to find the best workout plan for you. Always make sure you are being safe while engaging in any workout program.

Develop a system:

If you want to get a proper muscle workout you must setup a system for yourself. Whatever it is make sure it is one you can stick to. Some people make unrealistic plans when they try to make a workout routine and they find they are not able to be consistent enough with it. Build a workout that will target the parts of your body you want to build muscle on. If you want to build your chest muscles then create a routine that allows you to focus on building chest muscles. If you want to work on your arms then make a routine to work on your arms. The more you stick with it the better chance you will give yourself to see results. Whether you do it daily or just a few times a week it must be a routine you can stick with and it must be a good one.

Do it properly:

The exercises you do must be done properly if you want to get the most from your muscle workouts. If you are not sure you’re doing your workouts right you may want to get someone who knows what they’re doing to show you how to do it right. Once you know how to do it right you should have no problem executing the workout. When you are trying to build muscle it is crucial you do the training properly, all the blood sweat and tears you put into your workouts will go to waste if you are doing your workouts wrong. So make sure you are doing it right, otherwise you are just learning the wrong way to do things and you could cause damage to your muscles.

Workout to excess:

If you don’t learn anything about working out then learn this, you must burn your muscles out if you want to build muscle, then you must give them at least a day to rest up. You don’t have to workout everyday to build muscle; all you do is hurt your own muscle growth when you do this. If you workout while your muscles are trying to rebuild you break down your muscles again and never give them a chance to rebuild and become stronger.

You may want to check out my other guide on: Muscle Milk and How To Build Muscle

bodybuilding muscle

Most people believe that the correct way to train is to follow one of the training programs in the hardcore bodybuilding magazines or to imitate some Pro Bodybuilders training routine.

Unfortunately ALL of the Pros and some of the amateur bodybuilders are genetically gifted and/or are taking steroids. The methods they use and what they have learned about how to build muscle does not apply.

For the rest of us who want to increase our muscle size, reduce our body fat percentages and build more strength naturally… doing their routines will get us no where or worse yet… injured!

Why The Need To Train Differently?

We need train much differently then they do. Why? Our bodies… without the aid of steroids will not recover as quickly.

So that you can understand how to build muscle… I have put together these tips to help you build muscle fast!

Bear in mind that the 4 most powerful ingredients in building muscle are…

• Progressive Resistance: Whatever exercise equipment or method of training you use… you must ALWAYS strive to add more resistance. The human body adapts too quickly and needs to be “shocked” into growth. This is key part of how to build muscle!
• Nutrition: It is almost impossible to build muscle and lose fat. The two goals are at opposite ends. To grow we must “feed” our muscles… to burn fat we need to reduce calories and increase our metabolic rate so that we burn more fat. There is a proven way of achieving this goal and on this site you will find the answers. The truth is that nutrition is the key element on how to build muscle!
• Motivation: This is were everyone loses it! How many people have spent thousands of dollars on home gyms that just become expensive clothes hangers? Well rest easy I will share with you time-tested and proven motivational techniques that when applied will keep your motivational fires burning!
• Proper Rest: Muscles don’t grow while exercising… they grow while you are sleeping! There are certain foods that you can eat and specific supplements that will aid you in recovery and faster muscle growth.

Here are a collection of tips to guide you along the way… HOW TO BUILD MUSCLE TIPS:

1. Build More Strength: Have you ever seen a power lifter? Franco Colombo who was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s training partner was one of the most densely muscled bodybuilders of his day.

Even Arnold admitted once that if Franco was taller he might have beaten him. Why is this important? Well strength is a major component of building muscle. More strength is more muscle. I recommend that you get get into strength training.

There are many different pieces of equipment you can use from expensive home gyms to simple and inexpensive exercise equipment. I don’t believe that free weights or weight lifting is a MUST! There have been too many case studies and scientific research done.

NASA and others have recently revealed that simple resistance bands or similar equipment yields excellent results… but if you have the money and the room in your house then by all means check out our home gym reviews.

For now I will recommend simple body weight exercises and inexpensive exercise devices.

Here are some methods that will help you build muscle:

• Exercise Equipment: Resistance bands, adjustable dumbbells, chin up bars and Isometric exercise equipment are all great choices.
• Weight Lifting: Free weights are good at building strength and muscle size although not necessary in the beginning. Do learn proper breathing and exercise procedure. Always remember the most important component of building muscle size is “progressive resistance”… so remember to add more resistance or weight each time you workout.
• Calisthenics: Pull-ups, Push-ups, Dips, squat thrusts, Reverse Crunches, etc. remember to increase the difficulty of the exercise or add weight consistently to guarantee maximum muscle growth.

2. If you have the room/gym membership… Use Free Weights: Using a barbell you can lift the heaviest weight. More resistance = more muscle building stress. Dumbbells are effective in building the stabilizer muscles and are a great aid in shaping and defining a muscle… but for sheer mass and size use as many barbell exercises as possible. Please don’t use machines if you can help it.

Here are the main benefits of free weights…

• Safety. Free weights use your bodies own alignment unlike machines that force you into their “groove.”
• Effectiveness: Free weights allow you to control and balance the weight. This builds more muscle than machines
• Versatility: You can perform many different exercises with one barbell. Although for some exercises you will need someone to aid you as well as needing a flat bench.

3. Train Your Legs: Doing Squats, properly works your entire body… they’re one of the most important exercise. Your muscles will become thicker and more dense once you can squat one and a half times your body weight. You can do many different types of squats without free weights such as… “Hindu Squats” or “Wall Squats.”

Remember to squat no further than a 90 degree angle… to go any deeper puts unneeded strain on your knees! Also squatting past a 90 degree angle with free weights will tend to increase your hip size and as a result give you an unattractive bigger and wider looking butt. Most people don’t exercise their legs enough favoring their chest, arms and shoulders.

In this HOW TO BUILD MUSCLE GUIDE… I want to stress the importance of leg training, if only to make you aware of the huge release of testosterone and growth hormone that occurs from a heavy leg workout. Two ingredients that are necessary to build muscle fast!

4. Train your complete body:. How to build muscle research has revealed that natural bodybuilders should work each body part at least 2 times per week. So forget the split routines. Get a complete body workout at least twice each week.

5. Eat REAL Food: By eating whole foods you will consume more muscle building nutrients than eating processed food. You’ll lower your body fat as well from taking in less junk. Here are the recommended food groups

• Protein- Red meat, chicken, fish, whey protein supplements, eggs, milk is a great muscle builder
• Carb’s- Brown rice, wheat oats, whole grain pasta
• Vegetables, broccoli, tomato, salad, carrot
• Fruit- Apples, bananas, pears etc…
• Fats- Fish oils, flax seed oil (can be purchased at a local health food store) olive oil, nuts

6. Eat Plenty of Protein: The recommended amount of protein is… 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. So if you weight 200 pounds for example you should consume no less than 200 grams! Preferably if you want to grow eat…300 grams of protein per day. Here are some great sources of protein.

• Red Meat. Ground round, steaks, buffalo, …
• Poultry. Chicken breast, whole chicken, turkey…
• Fish. Tuna, salmon, sardines, mackerel, …
• Eggs. Eat the entire egg. Research has found that the cholesterol in the yolk is actually good for you.
• Dairy. Milk it DOES make the body good, cottage cheese, yogurt

7. ALWAYS Have A Post-Workout Meal: You need protein for muscle growth & recovery. Consume a protein and carb meal no later than 30 minutes after your workout.

A post workout protein shake is excellent for this. The best protein to use for the post workout is a combination of whey and casein protein.

Following the tips in this How To Build Muscle Guide will guarantee your success in building muscle mass fast! build-muscle-guide.com

Please also check out my other guide on: abs and elliptical trainer