So you’ve made the decision, you want to build some serious muscle mass. This isn’t going to be easy, but with some effort and dedication you can get the results you want. So where do you start? Building muscle mass is comprised of 3 main parts: nutrition, weight training, and recovery.
Mass building Nutrition
This is the difference maker right here. Anyone can go in a weight room and hop on the bench press and use a quarter range of motion. In order to see amazing results and build muscle mass, your nutrition is going to have to be in order. Eating is the key.
The all important protein. Try to take in protein with every meal. It is the building blocks for muscle and will help your body repair tissue and get bigger fast. Focus on lean meats, fish, and eggs.
Eat 5-6 times a day. Try to eat every 2-3 hours, this will help keep you anabolic and help you get in more calories throughout the day to promote muscle growth.
Never skip breakfast. They weren’t joking when they said breakfast was the most important meal of the day. Make sure you have a massive breakfast in order to jump start your body.
Pre and post workout shake. You need energy in order to lift heavy weights, and you need a post workout shake in order to replenish low glycogen stores and help you start repairing and building muscle mass.
Eat more than you burn. This is essential to gaining muscle mass. In order to put on weight you must eat more calories than you burn. A good start is to eat 300-500 calories more than you need to maintain your current weight.
Water. Your body needs water plain and simple. Most people would rather drink coffee or pop; however, even a slight dehydration can have negative effects in the gym – in some cases causing a loss of up to 15% in strength.
Training for Mass – Mass Workouts
Training for mass is key, in order to gain the maximum amount of muscle mass follow these guidelines:
Build off of every workout. You don’t want to be doing the same weight you were doing last week. Every time you go in the gym you should be trying to squeeze out more reps, or doing the exercise with more weight. Progressive overload will be the catalyst in building major muscle mass.
Compound lifts. When starting out make sure you are doing compound lifts. These are staple mass builders and just because they’re difficult, doesn’t mean you can “skip” them. Man up and they will show you some fantastic results.
Full range of motion. Make sure you do every exercise with a proper full range of motion to get the most out of the exercise and to decrease the chance of injuring yourself.
Train for Hypertrophy. In order to maximize muscle hypertrophy and build muscle mass, train within the 6-12 rep range.
Rest and Recovery
In order to maximize your results you want to be in and out of the gym as fast as possible. Muscle doesn’t build when you’re in the gym, it builds when you’re outside of it – eating and resting.
48 hours. Make sure you have at least 48 hours for recovery before you workout the same muscle group again. Any less and you risk overtraining and hindering your gains.
Proper rest between sets. Catching your breath and resting in between sets is important. Try to rest for a minute to a minute and half on isolation exercises, and up to 3 minutes on compound lifts.
Get your sleep. This is where you’re going to be growing – in your sleep. So do what you have to do, and try and get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.
source:maxmusclemass.net
