“Success isn’t a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.”
Want to look better and burn more calories even when resting?
You will if you add some muscle to your frame.
Whether you want to be the next Ronnie Coleman or just want a more defined / toned physique like Brad Pitt or Jennifer Aniston, you’ll need to build some muscle mass.
So here’s 10 tips to help you build pounds of lean muscle and get the body of your dreams.
1. Pursue Progressive Overload.
The law of progressive overload simply says that you must increase the amount of reps or the weight lifted every single workout (or as close to this as humanly possible) in order to ignite muscle growth.
The body adapts to stimuli, so how do we use this to our advantage? Well the key is to place ever increasing demand on the body, thereby forcing it to continually adapt. Training with weights is undoubtedly the best way to achieve this. You can know precisely how much weight you can handle and can also make incremental increases over time to spark muscle growth.
If you workout with the exact same weight every session and perform the same number of repetitions, how can you expect your body to grow? So, if you want bigger biceps, you must increase the weight you are lifting every session or the amount of repetitions. Remember:
Progressive Overload = Muscle Growth.
2. Perform 8-12 reps.
8-12 reps on any given exercise will stimulate most muscle growth. Lower rep ranges of say 3-6 work well for building strength but not necessarily muscle hypertrophy (growth). Higher reps e.g. 15 – 20 can indeed stimulate muscle growth but it is far from optimal. You should be lifting a weight so heavy that you can’t get more than 12 reps but light enough to allow you to get at least 8 reps.
3. Perform 6-9 sets.
Yes just 6-9 sets per body part. If you are working out with good form this is all you need to stimulate muscle growth. You want to keep your workouts under 45 minutes to avoid the release of hormones that actually break your muscle tissue down (catabolic hormones). Luckily, you can easily accomplish this by performing a maximum of 9 sets per body part.
4. Eat Eat Eat.
Working a muscle tears the tissue, it then repairs and grows. Muscles need fed in order to allow them to grow. Basically you need to eat big to get big. A good bodybuilding diet will allow you to grow without adding fat at the same time.
5. Increase the Amount of Protein in your Diet.
Muscle = protein. In order for muscle tissue to repair itself after your weight-training sessions it needs an abundance of protein. Some beginners don’t take enough protein and some more experienced guys take ridiculously extreme amounts of protein. So how much protein is enough to supply those hungry muscles? Use the following formula for the most accurate daily protein requirements.
Lean Mass Weight (Kg) x 2.75 = Daily Protein Requirement
Your lean weight is your total body weight minus the amount of fat you are carrying. You will need to know your body fat percentage for this. If you are unsure about this, you can get a good estimate by using the ‘Body Fat Calculator’ in the sidebar at MuscleHack.com site. Another good rule of thumb is to take 1 gram of protein for every pound of total body weight. So a 160 lb man would take around 160 grams of protein per day. My favorite sources of protein include
* Chicken
* Steak
* Pork
* Eggs
* Cheese
* Whey Protein Powder Shakes
* Seafood – tuna, prawns, salmon…
* Nuts
* SeedsHere’s a good post showing great vegetarian sources of protein.
6. Eat Fat.
A Low-Fat diet is not desirable in bodybuilding. Eating fat increases the amount of anabolic (muscle building) hormones in your body. These are:
1. Testosterone
2. Growth Hormone
3. Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)Some people resort to taking anabolic steroids in order to accelerate muscle growth but you can get great results by implementing the ultimate bodybuilding diet.
7. Make Sure you Drink Enough Water.
Getting enough water is crucial for peak strength and energy levels. You should shoot for around 12 x 8 ounce glasses of water per day. Remember you can include your protein shakes towards your daily water intake.
8. Avoid Too Much Cardio.
Cardiovascular work will rob you of muscle gains. Yes if your goal is to lose fat you should do cardio but make sure it is:
(a) Performed immediately after your weight training
(b) ‘High Intensity Interval Training’ form of cardio for a maximum of 20 minutes.
The reason that too much cardio isn’t desirable when your goal is to build muscle is that too much cardio releases catabolic hormones in the body, breaking down your muscle tissue; obviously this is counter-productive.
Sleep is so important for building muscle. We know that muscle tissue repairs itself and grows during rest periods but sleep is more important than waking rest periods.
Here’s why:
1. The release of growth hormone reaches its peak during deep sleep
2. Your metabolic rate slows which is perfect for muscle tissue repair and growth
3. Increased blood flow to the muscles
10. Relax.
Being stressed out results in a catabolic (muscle breakdown) environment in the body. One such hormone is cortisol. Remember that a calm, relaxed person builds more muscle than the hot-head
(assuming all other factors are equal).
Keep it positive and stay motivated!
Mark runs MuscleHack.com, a blog he started as a way to share insights into the oftentimes confusing world of building muscle and losing fat.
If you would like to get started today he has a free muscle building workout plan here. You can also download it as a free bodybuilding ebook.
If you liked this article, please bookmark it on del.icio.us or vote for it on Digg. Thank you!
Michael
For all of you who think that you’re hard gainers, you are just weak and/or not eating enough.
Be sure that you eat so much that you gain weight. If you don’t eat enough, you won’t gain any weight!
And if you are training it can be dangerous, because your body will eat your precious muscle instead of the fish or meat you could’ve eaten.
April 15, 2011 at 8:37 pm
Grant
my one problem is that my metabolism is so high i cant gain any weight. I eat like a baby rhino and lift three days a week but cant gain anything but im not losing either. any suggestions?
June 22, 2011 at 8:03 am
Mykel
Hw many percent sure re u.wel hw many months should it be done
April 17, 2011 at 4:02 am
gary.h
thank you so much for the tips, i will be using them in the following months to try and reach my goal. currently weigh just under 70kg, aiming for 90kg
how long would you reackon it would take?
recent fat percent: 14%
Gary
April 17, 2011 at 11:17 am
Dub
Great information! All good healthy tips and information to build muscle and stay very healthy as well! Thanks!www.buildmuscle.weightlossprograms-info.com
April 17, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Dylan
now im not a ripped fit guy im actually pretty fat
and after weightlifting for a year im at the point of will weightlifting help lose the fat or should i stop weight lifting and do more cardio???
my squat is 245
my bench press is 145
my power clean is 135
and my deadlift is 350
i dont know if that info is useful but its what my maxes are for those workouts
at the end of it all i just want to lose my fat and get into either football or into wrestling all help is appreciated
May 3, 2011 at 9:36 pm
Hoorah
Thanks For The Tips..
I,ve lost over 100 pounds with mostly cardio.. but then i kinda got stuck with my physical goals until i started lifting.. im in the best shape of mylife.. but been wanting to gain more muscle but not fat..
May 17, 2011 at 8:40 pm
ashwin
hey guys., ashwin here.., i have just started with the gym., weight lifting, running, and the abs exercise., can you plz. give some tips like ., i weigh about 80kgs. n want to reduce to 55-60 kgs. in lesser period of time., can you suggest what I shall do to achieve my goal.., plz. help., waiting for your reply …, thanks., regards..,
May 12, 2011 at 10:24 am
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May 15, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Spartacus
Without cardio you won’t do it,you can gain muscles of course but they will be hidden under the fat.This article is more for people that already have definition and now just wanna gain muscle mass,not for beginners.This is the last step of building a great body,not the first.I’m talking from my own experience,so you can write how much you want and read a bunch of books,this is wrong…oh yes I almost forgot…build muscle mass fast?hahahahaha yeah sure….it’s not about timing it’s about discipline,motivation,never giving up,sweating a lot,some crazy mp3 in the background,and eating more carbs than protein,not stupid shakes,you need 70% carbs and 30% proteins…..eating that much proteins(without carbs) means loosing weight.Eat a lot of pasta to gain strenght for a heavy workout that’s the biggest secret!!!Oat Flakes for breakfast!!!
May 23, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Gain Muscle - EasyFitness
Solid list! Anyone who follows this and is consistent in their efforts to build muscle and improve their physique cannot go wrong.
Mark
May 28, 2011 at 5:24 am
nazir
i have been gyming for atleast 1 year honestly i havent followed any eating programme , i was 48 kgs yes 48 and now im 64kgs with lean muscle ,being indian i eat alot of stuff thats not good eg curries and oily foods , i have just been taking a mass building supplyment and a testosterone booster all found in stores, i will love to consider trying this as i will like to see my full potential..should i stick to what i am doing or try new stuff p.s advice will be appreciated
May 30, 2011 at 6:20 am
Priyabrat
its works……….
……… jst follow the tips…………..& will find a great body……!!
June 25, 2011 at 12:30 am
guri
how to gain muscle mass but not fat… m prob is wen i eat to grow.. m fat also inc very fast … plz help.. i wanna increase muscle size…
June 28, 2011 at 10:42 am
Jon
HOLD UP. Huge problem with your guide. You should NOT do cardio after a workout. You must do it BEFORE. If you do it after, then begin to burn muscle rather then fat. I know I’m a no-name on this website, but this is a fact.
October 9, 2011 at 3:02 pm
sam
ya u r rit this thing is also rectified by me..
January 6, 2012 at 4:22 am
matt
Hey I’ve been hitting the gym 3-4 times a week, I do high weight low reps, I weigh about 210 and my belly is still kinda fat even though my arms and pectoral’s are hudge, I eat alot of food like fast food and pasta, my question is, if I were to eat less would that kill my muscle? or would I burn all my fat before it burns my muscle if you know what I mean.
February 24, 2012 at 1:41 pm
Yuvraj
Oh my god, what an article man. This was all i was searching for many days to maximise my muscle growth. I just wanna thank u for this.
March 18, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Chachi
I eat a lot and very healthy, I’ve been hitting the gym Monday through Friday while taking Aftershock Critical Mass protein shakes (52g protein) and I also take Mutant Plexx which is a quad stack anabolic steroid, and in 2 weeks I have gone from 175 to 185. I’m only 5’8″ my body is sturdy and I still have agility, I’m aiming for 200 lbs. I am aware that it is best to separate body part workouts, but my ADHD kicks in and I just start working everything out everyday. But hey it works for me, to each his own.
March 30, 2012 at 1:23 am
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May 11, 2012 at 10:43 pm