You will not build muscle by following the routines of the genetically gifted muscle men in the bodybuilding magazines. To get big muscles, you have to adopt an intense training program to gain muscle without spending endless hours in the gym.
- Build Muscle Step 1
Do whole body workouts three days a week with a days rest between workouts. Do not follow the various split routines outlined in the muscle magazines. This will enable you to hit major muscle groups three times a week, providing a lot of muscle building stimulation. Stimulating all the major muscle groups in one session causes a release of more growth inducing testosterone to help you build big muscles. Whole body workouts will increase your strength. The stronger you are, the more weight you can lift, the quicker you build muscle.
- Build Muscle Step 2
Use free weights for the bulk of your exercises. You have to control and balance free weights, thus bringing more muscles into play. Free weights particularly barbells, will build your strength up so you are able to lift more weight and get big muscles quicker.
- Build Muscle Step 3
Use heavy weights with a rep range of 6 to 12. Your body makes moderate neurological adaptations at this rep range which enable you to engage more muscle fibers for a given task, thus increasing your strength. However, this rep range induces more cellular and metabolic adaptations which increase muscular hypertrophy, in other words, helps you gain muscle.
- Build Muscle Step 4
Concentrate on compound exercises which work more than one muscle group. This includes exercises such as squats, dead lifts, bench press, barbell rows, overhead press, pull-ups and bar-dips. For beginners, the bench press will build triceps up more than triceps pushdowns, and pull-ups will give you bigger biceps than endless sets of barbell curls.
- Build Muscle Step 5
Get plenty of rest to ensure recovery between workouts, and get a good nights sleep. Your workouts stimulate your muscles, but you gain muscle while you are resting.
- Build Muscle Step 6
To get big muscles, you have to eat big. Eat every three hours, which will equate to about six meals a day. Eat plenty of complex carbohydrates such as oatmeal, whole grain bread, pasta, whole grain rice, yams and sweet potatoes. Get your protein from lean red meat, poultry, fish and whole eggs. Do not throw the egg yolks away. As emphasized by nutritionist and fitness trainer Mike Geary, egg yolks contain almost as much protein as egg whites, and are nutrient dense, with vitamins, minerals and essential fats that play a crucial role in body functions and hormone production.
Eat good fats from hemp seed oil, flax seed oil and coconut oil. Coconut oil contains medium chain triglycerides which can provide energy for your intense workouts.
Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables which provide vitamins and minerals and enzymes which help you assimilate and use the muscle building food you eat, and fiber which aids waste elimination.
Drink plenty of water to keep hydrated and help your muscles recover from your intense muscle building workouts.
To summarize, you will build muscle by training smart and hard, getting adequate rest and sleep, and eating plenty of nutrient dense foods. If you persevere and are consistent you will succeed in your goal to get big muscles.
Sources
Truthaboutabs.com. "Are Whole Eggs or Egg Whites Better for You?" Accessed January 16, 2011
The Build Muscle and Gain Weight Fast Guide. "Rep Ranges and Muscle Building." Accessed January 16 2011
Olu Odebunmi - Olu got hooked on the fitness bug way back in 1981. Lean and muscular at 55, and aging like fine wine he still works out three times a ...
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