Build Muscle Mass Fast
by Derek Manuel
Have you been having trouble gaining weight and building some
real, quality muscle consistently? Or maybe when you first
started weight training, did you gain a little muscle and
body-weight but then suddenly it came to a stop? If you are not
gaining any weight or getting any bigger, then I suggest you
take a serious look at your poundage's.
I see so many weight trainers, easy and hardgainers alike go day
after day, week after week, and month after month pushing the
same weight they were doing last month, and the month before.
They feel satisfied that they had a "good workout" because their
muscles are pumped and well exhausted by the end of their
workout after doing a bunch of sets of a bunch of different
exercises for one muscle group. This is a BIG mistake.
Contrary to popular belief, a good pump isn't a good measurement
of future muscle growth. All the "pump" means is that there is a
temporary increased blood flow in your muscle tissue. Though
getting a good pump has a few benefits for building muscle, you
certainly shouldn't gauge your workouts by them, especially if
you are a hardgainer.
What's a hardgainer? Any naturally skinny body type with a fast
metabolism that finds it near impossible to gain weight or build
muscle mass no matter what they do.
So if you're looking for the fastest way to build muscle, then
you must progressively add weight to your exercises. This is one
of the most basic rules in weight training called progressive
overload. I don't care who you are, you can't expect to build
bigger muscles if you are using the same weight over and over
again. You have to get STRONGER if you want to get bigger, and I
don't mean increasing the weight once a month. Your main focus
should be to add weight to your major compound exercises each
week if you want to gain weight and build muscle as fast as
possible. You can't expect to look like the Incredible Hulk if
your sister is pushing the same weight you are.
Whenever you finish a heavy workout, your muscle fibers adapt by
recruiting more fibers so they can cope with the weight if it is
forced to try to handle it again. As a result, your muscles will
grow bigger. Your muscles will cease to grow when it gets
comfortable with the weight it's handling. It will no longer
need to! You must constantly overload it with more weight then
it is used to handling.
It is always a safer bet to measure your workouts not by how
good of a pump you get, but by your increases in strength. Keep
track of exactly how much weight you use for each set on each
exercise, how many reps you did, and make it a goal to slightly
increase that weight at least every other week.
It doesn't matter if you write it down on a palm pilot or the
piece of toilet paper stuck to your shoe when you walk out of
the bathroom, as long as you know exactly how much weight you
used and how many reps you did your last workout so you can add
a little more on the next.
Don't try to remember how much weight you used, because if you
forget you will hold back your progress each week by using the
same or less weight and therefore not getting any stronger, or
by adding too much weight too soon which will lead to set-backs.
If this happens constantly, you will waste days, weeks, and even
months out of your year in training. Can you see how important
it is to keep track of your poundage's?
When first starting out, you may discover that adding weight
each week is not so tough and find you can be pretty consistent.
However, as you continue to weight train for a while you will
sooner or later hit what's called a "sticking point" on one or
more of your exercises. This is completely normal. From here,
your increase in strength will have to be slightly more gradual
then before.
So instead of, say, increasing 5 pounds again next week, just
stick with the weight you are stuck at until you can complete
the full pre-determined reps. As soon as you can, try adding 2.5
pounds this time, or even 1 pound, instead of 5. Remember, for
long term results, slowly but surely is the way to go.
You will always be much stronger after one year if you continue
to add weight in this fashion rather then trying to add too much
weight too fast and being stuck at that weight for weeks and
even months at a time.
Now that you know that in order to get bigger you must get
stronger, what is the fastest way to get stronger? Keep your
workouts SHORT and SIMPLE. Spending too much time in the gym
with several different exercises is often worse then spending
less time in the gym because you are more apt to LOSE weight
when over-training. You don't need to do 5 different exercises
for your chest with 5 sets for each.
In fact, you will get a heck of a lot better results sticking to
just 1 or 2 compound exercises such as flat or incline bench
presses and just doing 2 to 5 sets each, 1 or 2 days a week.
Why? You will have enough recovery time to add weight every week
by narrowing in on just the major compound exercises with heavy
weight.
So if you've been having trouble figuring out how to gain muscle
and weight fast, this may have been the major factor holding you
back. Make up your mind right now that you will train to become
stronger each and every workout, and you will be on the right
path to building some real quality muscle, whether you're a
hardgainer or not.
About the author:
Derek Manuel is the author of the best-selling How to Gain
Weight and Build Muscle for Hardgainers. If you want to learn
how you too can gain 20 to 30 pounds of solid muscle in as short
as 8 weeks, or if you just want more quality information on how
to gain weight and build muscle, please visit
http://www.hardgainers-weight-tips.com
