Do you know what it really takes to build big muscles? Do you think it's as simple
as buying a gym membership, training each body once per week, slamming back some
protein shakes and trying to eat as much chicken and tuna possible? Viola, you are
big enough to enter a bodybuilding contest. Can you imagine it was that easy to
build big muscles? Unfortunately, your monthly gym membership, regular weight training
workouts and casual eating habits, isn't going to cut it. Here are five simple steps
to getting big muscles fast :
Squat and Deadlift
Squatting and Deadlifting are known as two of the Big Three exercises that are responsible
for power and mass muscle building. Consider these two animal exercises the kings
of the jungle! Without them, you do not have a chance of survival. These two exercises
alone, work out about 75% of your entire musculature, including your traps,
shoulders, arms, back. Gluts, hams, calves and core muscles.
Not to mention the degree of intensity, squats and dead lifts force your body to
release greater volumes of growth hormone, which results in bigger muscles all over
your body. This spillover effect results in strength gains in all you other lifts
which translates into a more muscular you! Squatting and dead lifting are especially
critical for hard gainers because of the hormonal spikes affecting the entire body.
Stick to Compound Exercises
What is going to isolate more muscle fibers? A bench press or cable cross over?
A military press or lateral raise? A chin up or bicep curl? A dip or tricep kickback?
If you ever hope to get big muscles than compound
lifts are not optional, they are mandatory. Stick to squats, leg presses, deadlifts,
bench preses, barbell rows, pull ups, chin ups, over head presses, and dips.
If all you do is concentrate on building your puny muscles like arms and calves,
then you will end up with exactly what you focus on - puny muscles!
Keep Your Rest Periods Honest
When was the last time you were in the gym and you watched the average guy time
his recovery with a stop watch? Stop watches are not just for endurance athletes
but should be used by every person who is serious about building big muscles.
Generally, the closer you lift to your one rep max, the longer the rest period and
the higher the number of reps, the shorter the rest period. This is a crucial variable,
which is often overlooked, yet will determine whether you create the correct training
response.
For example, if you are training for maximal strength which requires at least 3-5
minutes rest between sets and you are only taking 2 minutes, you are not giving
your nervous system an honest workout. If you are training for muscle size which
requires shorter 30-90 second style recoveries but are gazing at the cute girl on
the elliptical letting your rest periods carry over these ranges, you are not giving
your metabolic system an honest workout.
Lastly, how do you know if you are truly stronger if you do not monitor your rest
period? For example, let's say last week you bench pressed 135 pounds for four sets
of ten. This week you bench pressed 145 pounds for four sets of ten. Assuming the
rest period was identical for both workouts, this is a tremendous improvement and
a measurable sign of improvement! However, what if you took an extra minute or two
between each set on the recent workout? This means that you did not actually become
stronger. You just had a longer rest period!
Conclusion
You now know that building big muscles is not easy as
showing up at the
gym and throwing back a few protein shakes. Apply these three simple steps in your
next program and I promise that you will start building brand new muscle all over
your body!