Millions of people use gyms on a daily basis but if you ask any personal trainer or coach for the most common question they are asked they will tell you it's people asking how to build muscle. That's right, despite fitness being very popular few of us actually know which exercises work best and which ones do not.
In this post we shall show you the facts and help you get a solid routine in place.
Have a look at your workout plan. I mean the one you are doing right now. What's wrong with it? Are your workouts focused enough on your goal or are you spending too long on exercises you don't really need? For most people it's the latter.
To get quicker, more noticeable results you should ditch this approach immediately.
Returning to the basic proven principles of training is sometimes the best way to see progress. We're going to go old school on you here. Compound movements still rule when it comes to size and strength.
Despite the massive scientific advancements we have made in sports and fitness over the last few decades the best exercise for building a bigger chest is still a bench press. The best exercise for building overly wide lats is still a pull up.
Your routine should be based around these big multiple joint movements. Swap out the twenty minutes you used to spend working the lower part of your forearm, you don't need it if your goal is overall size. Once you have a routine based around the principles of compound exercises, you are ready to see some results.
You are now probably wondering how much weight you need to lift on each exercise to see results so next we'll look into this. Everyone is different, of course, so rather than giving you a weight we'll give you an easy system. Aim your reps towards the 8-12 range. Once you can lift something more than 12 times in a row with good technique it needs to be increased.
Although very simple, that rule will keep you pushing for new progress and continually lifting more on your big lifts.
Sure, you could spend three hours in the gym every day working every single part of your body if you want to. But you want results, right? The easiest way to do that is base your efforts on the exercises which are going to give you the size you're after.
Don't forget to rest, too. There is nothing wrong with having days off from training in fact we encourage you to do so because this is when your body grows. Your muscles need time to repair and recover, which happens both when you rest and when you sleep.
This routine will help you to learn the basic rules of how to build muscle and help you to push beyond the level you have already achieved. You may be surprised by it's simplicity, but you will be impressed by it's results. As a personal trainer I have seen it first hand.
In this post we shall show you the facts and help you get a solid routine in place.
Have a look at your workout plan. I mean the one you are doing right now. What's wrong with it? Are your workouts focused enough on your goal or are you spending too long on exercises you don't really need? For most people it's the latter.
To get quicker, more noticeable results you should ditch this approach immediately.
Returning to the basic proven principles of training is sometimes the best way to see progress. We're going to go old school on you here. Compound movements still rule when it comes to size and strength.
Despite the massive scientific advancements we have made in sports and fitness over the last few decades the best exercise for building a bigger chest is still a bench press. The best exercise for building overly wide lats is still a pull up.
Your routine should be based around these big multiple joint movements. Swap out the twenty minutes you used to spend working the lower part of your forearm, you don't need it if your goal is overall size. Once you have a routine based around the principles of compound exercises, you are ready to see some results.
You are now probably wondering how much weight you need to lift on each exercise to see results so next we'll look into this. Everyone is different, of course, so rather than giving you a weight we'll give you an easy system. Aim your reps towards the 8-12 range. Once you can lift something more than 12 times in a row with good technique it needs to be increased.
Although very simple, that rule will keep you pushing for new progress and continually lifting more on your big lifts.
Sure, you could spend three hours in the gym every day working every single part of your body if you want to. But you want results, right? The easiest way to do that is base your efforts on the exercises which are going to give you the size you're after.
Don't forget to rest, too. There is nothing wrong with having days off from training in fact we encourage you to do so because this is when your body grows. Your muscles need time to repair and recover, which happens both when you rest and when you sleep.
This routine will help you to learn the basic rules of how to build muscle and help you to push beyond the level you have already achieved. You may be surprised by it's simplicity, but you will be impressed by it's results. As a personal trainer I have seen it first hand.
About the Author:
About the author: Russ Howe PTI is a popular fitness coach. See how to build muscle with our free video guide showing the five steps to a more muscular body and the best shoulder building exercises.
