How to Build Muscle: 5 Tips for Serious Mass
I wrote this article to give you straight-to-the-point advice on how to build muscle mass. If you are new to strength training and need a more comprehensive guide, check out my Beginner’s Guide to Resistance Training.
So, let’s not waste time and dive right into it.
Tip #1: Compound Exercises
Always use multi-joint exercises that involve several muscle groups as the foundation of your training routine. Exercises such as deadlifts and squats are excellent as the gravitational force applied travels through the spine and hips to target almost every muscle group within the body. Get consistently stronger at the following exercises, and you will gain muscle fast:
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Bench Press
- Overhead Press
- Bent-Over Row
- Dips (weighted)
- Pull-Ups/Chin-Ups (weighted)
Compound exercises, like those listed, will trigger significant changes in the nervous system, increase your hormone production, and help to increase bone mineral density over time.
Check out this video from Dr. Jacob Wilson aka The Muscle Ph.D. It is one of the best videos out there. Truly competent advise. I watch it every time I am in need of workout motivation.
Tip #2: Hypertrophy
Get a pump by training in the hypertrophy range of 10-12 repetitions and short rest periods of 60 seconds; this will help you gain lean muscle mass. The reason for this is simple. Your body senses this swelling as a threat and will restructure itself (strengthen the muscle fibers) to deal with future demands of the same nature. The only way to do it is to equip itself with more muscle tissue.
Our body is more robust than we think. You need to challenge it, test its limits. For the best pump, include supersets and drop sets in your training routine and use rest periods of 30 seconds or less. Enjoy the mass gain!
Tip #3: Heavy Lifting
“Lift heavy or go home!” is one of the gym rules at Muscle Factory in Bangkok. This rule is fundamental. If you do not overload your different muscle groups consistently, you will not get stronger and you will struggle to gain muscle mass. Include heavy sets in the 5-6 repetition range with 3-5 min rest periods in your training routine to increase your strength and to recruit most of your type 2 muscle fibers. Type 2 muscle fibers are larger than type 1 fibers and will help your goal of bigger muscles to become a reality.
You want to trigger a new growth response every time you work out, which can be achieved by consistent progressive overload during every workout. Also, your nutritional intake needs to be sufficient to be able to lift heavier during every training session – only with an appropriate diet will this permanent weight increase be possible.
Tip #4: Minimal Cardio
Cardio will not help you to build muscle mass or strength, so the best way is to avoid extensive cardio sessions if your primary goal is gaining weight in the form of new muscle tissue. If you train like a marathoner, you will look like one. It is that simple. The longer you do cardio, the more muscle mass you will burn.
Your regular hypertrophy sessions with short rest periods and supersets will stimulate your cardiovascular and respiratory systems enough to stay at an above-average fitness level. Do not endanger your mass gains with excessive cardio!
If you like cardio, stay below 45 minutes per session or do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for about 15 minutes instead.
Tip #5: Nutrition
“You have to eat big to get big” is a very famous quote from Ronnie Coleman.
There is no other way. If you do not stay in a permanent surplus, you cannot gain size. If you want to build muscle, this is probably the most critical fact of fitness you have to remember. You are what you eat. Your body will never be able to restructure itself if you deny it the necessary ingredients to fuel the process of mass gain.
Eat a lot of quality proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats, and your body will be able to withstand almost anything you throw at it.
The second video below – also from Dr. Jacob Wilson – goes in a lot more detail about specific food choices and will help you to get the best out of your workouts.
One of the best whey protein powders on the market is the Whey Protein Powder from Optimum Nutrition, which I also use personally on a regular basis. Whey protein powders are not harmful and will help you a little bit on your challenging journey toward a perfect physique.
Related Article: Protein Powder: Yes or No?
Conclusion:
Building muscle is not tricky, but it is a little exhausting. Without putting in the necessary effort, it is difficult to increase your lean muscle tissue. So, my final tip is the following:
Our body is more robust than we think. You need to challenge it with heavier weights, more repetitions and shorter rest periods. Test your limits, and your body will have no option but to adapt!
Now, go to the gym, get a barbell, do some heavy lifts and make your muscles grow.
Recommended further reading: V-Shape: Ultimate Guide to the Perfect Upper Body
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