Top muscle building tips
The sheer wealth of information available to weight lifters can often leave many feeling overwhelmed. That is why I am publishing my top five tips for muscle building. These tips are universal and should apply to both novices and advanced lifters!
1 – Variation is key.
The old saying that nothing lasts forever is very much applicable in the world of muscle building. You should realize that there is no perfect weight lifting program, I mean if there was, we would all be doing it wouldn’t be? The simple fact of the matter is that we all react differently to different training techniques and programs. So instead of searching for the perfect routine, make sure you are constantly changing your training habits. This will ensure your body doesn’t get used to one type of training because when this happens your gains will usually start to suffer or stop all together!
2 – Understand the importance of diet.
What you eat plays a very crucial part of how your body develops when you are weight training. You cannot expect to feed your body with crap and still expect to grow, it isn’t going to happen! Your body needs calories, it needs protein and it needs vitamins and minerals to work to its optimal level and to develop the maximum amount of muscle that it can do naturally. Keep track of what you eat, that way if you’re not seeing any gains in size or strength you can adjust your diet accordingly.
3 – Quality always before quantity.
You should always remember to train smart and not hard. Ok, don’t get me wrong you should make sure your working hard at the gym but that doesn’t mean you have to spend hours and hours each session because this is counterproductive! In most cases if you are working out for longer than an hour then you’re doing something wrong. You should make sure your workouts are intense enough that they can fit into a half hour to forty five minute session. Don’t waste time with lots of pointless isolation work! The best way to build muscle is with intense compound based workouts
4 – Compound exercises before isolation always.
Following on from the point above you should definitely understand the important of compound movements. These are the exercises that involve multiple muscles, things like the bench press, the squat and the deadlift. These kinds of exercises are what your workouts should be based around because they stimulate maximum muscle growth. Not only that but they are time effective! If you can work three muscles with one exercise then surely this is better than doing a single muscle isolation exercise.
5 – Be consistent
Muscle building takes time; it can take weeks, months or even years to achieve your ideal physique. When you begin your weight lifting career you should accept you’re in for the long haul. In most cases it involves a complete change of lifestyle. If you are able to consistently work hard in the gym, eat a good diet and get plenty of rest then you will be doing everything you can to constantly increase your size and strength. Patience is key though, you will not become Mr. Olympia overnight!
