Ten Secret Steps to Build Body Mass
Copyright 2006 Geoff Morris
How many times have you considered your alter ego, your
ultimate body shape, you know, the body you think you
really ought to have, and just wished…..
Well, wishing will never achieve anything - as you well
know.
But, whilst you are busy ‘wishing’ considers this: gaining
body
mass may not be as difficult as you think. Getting it is
quite simple and straightforward, as long as you are
willing to put in some considerable effort, bust a gut,
stick to a good training and eating plan and follow these
10 basic rules.
1. Use free weights for all heavy sets. As heavy as some
machines might feel, they do not involve as much of the
ancillary muscle areas as do free weights, and therefore do
not build as much compound mass. Where the machine guides
the movement of the weights for you, with free weights you
are using your back, stomach, shoulders and so forth in a
more co-ordinated manner to achieve the same effect.
However you really achieve you also need to make sure that
you are doing the free weight exercises correctly,
otherwise you could be missing the target muscle you want
to build
2. Utilize ‘Compound Movement’. How you perform an exercise
is perhaps the most important component in building mass.
If you want to have full, hard bulk, do not isolate
specific actions. Instead, use ‘body thrust’ to compound
the involvement of all the muscles in that area. Also,
don’t fall for the theory that cheating robs you of
separation (unlike machine work, where you can only use the
appropriate muscle group). On the contrary, it augments the
compound benefit and builds even greater size so that
there’s more muscle in which to carve separation.
3. Find areas of improvement. Assess your physique to
determine which muscle groups need to be brought up in
size, then go to the gym with that in mind, concentrate on
working those areas first. Begin your workout with a
barbell movement and follow with dumbbells. If you use
cables, do so at the end of your workout. Never count cable
sets as muscle building sets.
4. Experiment to find your best mass building exercises. I
used to perform lots of squats, and I became incredibly
strong with them, going as high as 40 reps with 315 pounds.
But there came a point where, even at that level of
intensity, my legs weren't growing to my satisfaction. I
discovered that my lower back and hips were taking too much
of the stress; the solution lay in working my quads more
exclusively. I therefore stopped doing squats and switched
to leg presses and hack squats instead. My legs are now
bulkier than ever.
5. Avoid Injuries. Be wary of dangerous exercises. Squats
and flat bench presses, for example, present the most
injury potential, so I stay away from them. I can't count
the number of individuals whose bodybuilding careers were
ended by torn pecs, slipped discs or strained erectors.
With proper knowledge and execution, you can get
commensurate or even better growth from exercises that work
those muscle groups thoroughly without placing undue stress
on tendons and ligaments. This is particularly true if you
are new to bodybuilding – if you try such exercises then
the first time you do them make sure that you get the
proper guidance from a qualified trainer to do them
correctly – if you’ve been doing them for some time it’s
still advisable to check out your stance, posture and lift
position with a professional.
6. Utilize optimum sets. Use a range of 16 - 20 total sets
per body part – and STICK to them!
7. Don’t count exercise. There is no optimum number of
exercises. Most bodybuilders prescribe four sets each of
four or five different exercises per body part, but for some
muscle groups, there might be only one or two movements
that work them effectively. In those cases, you should do
16 - 20 sets of one exercise, or 8 - 10 sets each of two
exercises.
8. Perform Optimum reps. I like to train heavy, but I also
like to use lots of reps. I recently performed incline
barbell curls with 405 pounds for 10 reps, but I consider
that to be medium to light weight, and, therefore, not mass
training. My favorite number of mass reps on a regular
basis is 10, to failure (when you just can not do even 1
more…) of course. However, that doesn't mean you should
avoid going as heavy as possible now and then.
9. Flirt with maximums. Check out your strength levels
every so often by maxing out with one or two reps.
Remember, though, that any time you play around with
bench press poundages above 405, you flirt with danger. The
body cannot consistently take that type of training. When
you want to test your max, do not take big jumps. Rather,
work up gradually to keep your body accustomed to the
changing forces and their deflections at each level. For
example, I go up to 500 pounds for two reps on the incline
barbell press, but I do not jump directly from 405 to 500.
Instead, I make sure I can do 465 for at least four reps
before I go to my max.
10. Eat your meat! The more protein you eat, the better,
and the best form of protein for mass is meat, especially
red meat. That's where you get your muscle building
nutrients, your strength reserves and the necessary fats
for joint protection. There is loads of advice freely
available on what you should eat so use it – you need to
control calorie intake but you also need to get the right
mix of carbs and protein, so use a proper eating plan.
Make all of these principles second nature to your
bodybuilding lifestyle and you will gain good solid mass.
Geoff Morris has been involved in keeping fit for several
years, and has now turned his attention in more detail to
personal fitness by taking over the site made famous by
Ryan Joyce. This site cuts through a lot of the confusion
surrounding natural bodybuilders and fitness models.
http://www.adtrackz.net/hdsl/go.php?c=wlr1&s=wl6
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