The problem I realized was the sheer amount of information available to people in fitness magazines and the internet; while most of these articles are based on scientific theories they do very little to break down the reasoning and mechanisms behind their preaching.
The end result is that all of us (guilty as charged) end up arriving at our own conclusions based on guesses and assumptions. The two guys having the argument both had bodies to back up their claims but the secret was probably in their individual metabolism rates.
I’m assuming the first guy had either a very high metabolic rate or an active lifestyle which didn’t require him to do additional cardio while the second guy didn’t have those luxuries. The truth is that muscle building up to the point of being fairly buff is quite simple, the more you gain however the more complex the entire process gets, resulting in the many variations and different training routines available today.
These are in my most humble opinion the basics of gaining muscle while maintaining a decent fat percentage.
Lift Big
Some experts claim that muscles build outside of the gym and not inside; this may be true but the fact is that nothing quite sparks your muscles into growth like a heavy weight.
It’s very simple, lift as heavy as you possibly can muster, and keep making progress in the amount of weight you lift. It’s biologically impossible to be puny and yet squatting 500 pounds. The fact is that the more you lift the more muscle mass you need to accumulate, so focus on how much weight you lift and muscle gains will follow.
There’s a small catch though; proper form. Anyone can jerk and swing their weights into place but it takes actual strength to lift with proper form, so just lift heavy with proper form and there isn’t a way that you don’t gain any muscle. Do 3 to 4 sets of 4 to 6 reps and continue increasing the weight every week if possible.
Eat More
This is obvious isn’t it? Muscles are made of nutrients you provide the body through your meals, trying to build muscle without eating more is the same as trying to build a house with no bricks.
Try to get in as many healthy calories as you can and ensure that you eat at least 4 to 5 times a day. A typical bulking diet requires you to consume a gram of protein per pound of muscle mass.
Sleep And Hydration
Try to get 8 to 9 hours of sleep per day and at least a gallon of water. As unimportant as it may seem to you, muscles are proven to be repaired during sleep which means that lack of sleep hinders the recovery process, on the other hand muscles as are most of our body parts are composed with a large amount of water which means that proper hydration is key.
Compound Exercises
Leave the fancy isolation exercises for later, as a beginner your primary concern should be on compound exercises such as bench presses and squats, both of which works a fair number of muscle groups in addition to their primary target muscles.
Be Patient
Muscle gains take on average 8 weeks or more to show and even then these gains won’t qualify you to MR. Olympia just yet, be very patient, a one inch gain in circumference of the body typically requires you to gain 7 kilos of weight.
Make A Commitment
It’s really simple, if you want something different you need to do something different. Be a regular at the gym and work as hard as you can, trust me it pays off.
By Dilshan Senaratne
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