| |
| |
|
Muscle Building Information |
|
|
|
How to Weight Train for Maximum Muscle Gain
Weight training involves the use of equipment that enables variable resistance. This resistance can come in the form of "free weights" like barbells and dumbbells, machines that use cables or pulleys to help you lift the weight and bodyweight exercises like pull-ups or dips. Free Weights vs. Machines vs. Bodyweight Exercises For maximum muscle gain, the focus of your workouts should consist of free weight exercises. Not machines or bodyweight exercises. This is not to say that you should not use machines or bodyweight exercises, but they should not be the focus of your training. To get an effective, muscle blasting workout, you must stimulate the most muscle fibers as possible, and machines do not do this. The main reason for this is a lack of stabilizer and synergist muscle development. Stabilizer and synergist muscles are supporting muscles that assist the main muscle in performing a complex lift. The more stabilizers and synergists worked, the more muscle fibers stimulated. Multi-jointed free weight exercises like the bench press, require many stabilizer and synergistic muscle assistance to complete the lift. On the other hand doing a bench press using a machine will need almost no stabilizer assistance. Since machines are locked into a specific range of motion and help to support the weight along that path, they fail to stimulate the muscles that surround the area you are working (stabilizers). This is a mistake. If your stabilizer muscles are weak, then the major muscle group will never grow! Free weight exercises like the dumbbell press or squat, for example, put a very large amount of stress on supporting muscle groups. That's why you will get fatigued faster and not be able to lift as much weight as you did on the machine. But you will gain more muscle, become stronger very quickly and have a true gauge of your strength. If you use machines in your program, they should be used to work isolated areas and only after all multi-jointed exercises have been completed. Beginners should begin with a limited combination of machine exercises, bodyweight exercises and mult-jointed free weight exercises. Before increasing the weight levels, they should work on becoming familiar with the proper form and execution of each. Soon, bodyweight exercises will become insufficient to stimulate growth and they will need to focus on more free weight exercises. Multi-Jointed Exercises The exercises that work the large muscle groups are called compound (or multi-joint) movements that involve the simultaneous stimuation of many muscle groups. These compound exercises should be the foundation of any weight training program because they stimulate the most amount of muscle in the least amount of time. Here are the basic movements: * Bench Presses (works the chest, shoulders, tricep) * Overhead Presses (shoulders, tricep) * Pull-ups/Barbell Rows (back, bicep) * Squats (legs, lower back) * Deadlifts (legs, back, shoulders) * Bar Dips (shoulders, chest, arms) I cannot overemphasize the importance of these exercises. Do not start an advanced weight training program without them! They will overload your entire skeletal and muscular system like no machine could ever do, giving you and effective workout in a very short period of time. If you can only do a few exercises, then do these. They have been proven (and not just by me) to encourage muscle and strength gain unlike any other exercises. Lift Heavy Weight To build mass, you must weight train with heavy weights. By heavy, I mean a weight that is challenging for you -- not me, or anyone else. To consider a weight heavy, you should only be able to do a maximum of 8-12 reps before your muscles temporarily fail. A weight is considered "light" if you can do more than 15 reps before muscle fatigue sets in. Heavy weights stimulate more muscle fibers than lighter weights. It's that simple. More muscle stimulation means more muscle growth. Don't Overtrain Heavy weight training puts a huge strain on your body, so adequate rest and recuperation after your workouts is essential. If you are prone to train too often, several things happen: You don't give your muscles enough time to recuperate between workouts. If your muscles have not repaired themselves, you will not be at maximum strength for your next workout. Rest is essential. Other than eating, this should be your main focus. You are setting yourself up for burnout or an injury. I know you are motivated and excited about working out, but don't be careless. You must pace yourself, you want to be able to keep this up for a long time, not burnout before you reach your goals. I only weight train 3 times per week, that's all. Anymore than that and I would not give my body enough time to repair and build new muscle. Contrary to popular belief, you do not grow while working out, you only grow when you are resting. Below is an example mass workout. I did 4 heavy sets for 4-8 reps each. Wednesday (legs, abs) * Heavy Squats, leg extension superset * Seated Calve Raises, 4 strips sets * Crunches (4 sets of 20) ------- Friday (chest, shoulder, triceps, abs) * Flat bench press, incline dumbbell flyes superset * Shoulder press, side raises superset * Tricep pushdowns * Reverse incline leg raises (3 sets of 20) ------ Sunday (back, biceps, abs) * Wide grip pull-ups, latbar pulldown superset * EZ bar bicep curl, incline dumbbell curls superset * Crunches (4 sets of 20) Nothing fancy, but effective. Former "skinny guy" Anthony Ellis is the author of Gaining Mass! The most widely used weight gain program in the world. This unique program designed to help people gain weight and build muscle, is currently being used in over 90 countries and boasts the largest private weight gain forum on the Internet, with well over 13,000 members at http://www.fastmusclegain.com Click here to view over 200 user testimonials: http://www.fastmusclegain.com/testimonials.html
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Muscle-Building Exercises and Growth-Boosters I have 'emerged' some subtle bodybuilding techniques that infuse rapid muscle-growth to any trainee. You see, the "factor of top intensity levels" in combination with "aggressive workouts that expel pure testosterone bursts", is the key to a fantastic muscular development. Exercise The Right Way - The Flat Bench Press Other articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuiders' training regimes. Bodybuilding Benefits - The Price for Confidence! Success came to me at an early age. However, it did not come without a price. The Biggest Muscle Mass Gain Myths Exposed Performing low repetition/heavy weight workouts will enable you to build muscle mass, however they will only do so for a very short period of time. The reason is that your body is always striving to maintain homeostasis, other wise know as the status quo, or to remain the same. Increase Your Training Intensity - Forced Repetitions You can only build muscle tissue if you can generate progressively stronger muscular contractions, so this calls for an emphasis on finding ways to increase exercise intensity. This should not be confused with exercise duration as maximum training intensity will actually shorten the time needed to achieve maximal muscular growth. Power Mass Training for Building Muscle Mass Many people believe you need to train with a variety of weights and reps in order to maximize your muscle building progress. I believe that you can find the appropriate rep number for your muscles and it is best to stick with that range most of the time. Preliminary Isometric Tension Improves the Effectiveness of Dynamic Work by up to 20% Are you looking for a simple and effective way to increase your strength? This article will show you how to incorporate isometrics into your training regime to increase the strength of your favorite lifts.Soviet research, dating back to the sixties of the 20th century, points out that isometric training preceding dynamic work may increase its effectiveness by up to 20%. Know Your Muscle Building Exercises - The Legs Every bodybuilder and weight trainer will have his or her favorite exercises for each body part. That's how it should be - as you progress through the various stages of learning you'll understand what works best for you. 8 Tips To Building Your Dream Body Just like routines, this document is not intended to be a "one size fits all." Take from it what you will, but please remember that what is most important is your health and well being. The Importance Of Creatine In Building Lean Muscle Creatine monohydrate can rightly lay claim to being the most popular and arguably most effective bodybuilding supplement currently available. The beauty of creatine is that it is 100% natural and occurs in many foods so it's unlikely to be banned from any sports or competitions. Protein or Carbohydrates? This has got to be the biggest controversy in modern bodybuilding. Bodybuilders will say you've got to consume loads of protein to pack on quality muscle mass and increase strength. Lower Body Exercises For Beginning Bodybuilders The lower body contains some of your biggest muscles which are capable of bearing significant weights. The temptation for beginners to go for broke by performing heavy squats should be resisted. Increase Your Training Intensity - Partial Repetitions You can only build muscle tissue if you can generate progressively stronger muscular contractions, so this calls for an emphasis on finding ways to increase exercise intensity. This should not be confused with exercise duration as maximum training intensity will actually shorten the time needed to achieve maximal muscular growth. Want to Do Everything Better? Build A Strong Core Core strength and stability is increasingly recognized as a vital part of fitness. So what is it and how do you go about getting it? The past five years have seen growing interest in resistance, or weight training programs, aimed at achieving core strength and stability. 3 Amazing Ways to Shape Up Your Muscles in Less Than 7 days! Imagine you need to look great to get all the attention at the biggest party of the year. The cloak has already started ticking and you have got 7 days to fix yourself for the D-Day. The Anabolic Evolution of Modern Bodybuilding Since the early days of physical culture, modern man has been searching for the elusive ''Fountain of Youth''. The promise of radiant health, enduring strength and a Herculean physique has drawn millions on this quest for physical perfection. Comeback Bench Program For those who are not familiar with my name, I am a National Level Strongman competitor in the United States. I lift stones that weigh just under 400 pounds, flip a 900+ pound tire routinely, and lift logs overhead. Exercise The Right Way - The Leg Press Other articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuilders' training regimes. Increase Your Training Intensity - Training To Failure You can only build muscle tissue if you can generate progressively stronger muscular contractions, so this calls for an emphasis on finding ways to increase exercise intensity. This should not be confused with exercise duration as maximum training intensity will actually shorten the time needed to achieve maximal muscular growth. Machine Exercises That Suit Beginners The aim for beginners to weight training must be to lay the foundations for the intensive workouts that their bodies will eventually be subjected to. Obviously successful bodybuilding involves bringing together disparate elements such as nutrition and rest but choosing the right exercises is crucial.
|
| Index | Site map |
| © 2009 VirBooks Home |
| PLAE | Solar System |
