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WORKOUT PROGRAMS ARTICLE
5 Ways To Get The Most From Your First Mass Program
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updated: Jun 30, 2015
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You need more than just
a good program to build the body of your dreams. These 5 muscle-building
secrets will help you pack on some serious size!
Once
upon a time, muscle was only for bodybuilders and pro wrestlers. Today, we know
better! Man or woman, young or old, we can all benefit from having more lean
mass on our bones. Whether you want to be able to play all day without wearing
out, do awesome stuff you couldn't do before, or just look your best, muscle
can help.
So how
do you get it? You follow a muscle-building program for a few months. End of
story, right? Hardly!
Far
too many people who make the decision to add lean mass think it's just about
punching the clock at the gym and doing what their program says. Fast forward
three months, and despite their best training and dietary efforts, they're
still the same damned size. Forget impressive arms and legs; nothing's growing,
and it really sucks!
If
that sounds familiar, these five tips will help you shift out of idle and into
the fast lane to gains. This is the important stuff that your training program
won't tell you!
GROWTH TIP 1 IF YOU MEASURE NOTHING ELSE,
MEASURE PROTEIN
In
order for your muscles to grow, they have to repair themselves from the stress
you put them under when you lift weights. Muscle protein synthesis (MPS) is the
system that repairs damaged muscle cells and builds new ones. Muscle protein
breakdown (MPB), on the other hand, occurs when your body breaks down protein
to use for energy.
TO ENSURE YOUR MUSCLES HAVE ENOUGH
ACCESSIBLE PROTEIN TO UTILIZE FOR SYNTHESIS, AND TO MINIMIZE THE AMOUNT YOUR
BODY USES FOR ENERGY, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO EAT A LOT OF IT.
To
ensure your muscles have enough accessible protein to utilize for synthesis,
and to minimize the amount your body uses for energy, you're going to have to
eat a lot of it. In my experience, it's best to eat a meal that includes 20-30
grams protein about every 2-3 hours.
You
may have heard that kind of recommendation before, so let me ask you: Are you
following it? And how sure are you about how much protein
you're eating? Plenty of people think they're consuming a lot, but once they
get out the scale and click over to a nutrient database, the numbers tell a
different story.
Even
if you don't measure any other macronutrients, you should be measuring your
protein. And keep doing it until it becomes second nature and you can eyeball
that 30 grams the moment you stumble into the kitchen and crack the fridge for
a late-night feeding frenzy.
The
type of protein you eat matters, too. Some protein sources are
"incomplete," which means they lack one or more of the amino acids
needed to build new cells. Complete protein sources, on the other hand, have
all the amino acids necessary for you to build muscle. Complete protein sources
include beef, poultry, fish, dairy (like whey and casein), and soy.
If
you're a vegetarian, don't worry. There are plenty of complete
vegetarian-friendly protein sources for you to add to your muscle-building
diet.
HOW TO MAKE A COMPLETE VEGETARIAN
PROTEIN
Just
match an incomplete protein from Column A with one from Columns B or C!
A:
Legumes
§ Beans
§ Peas
§ Peanuts
§ Peanut
butter
§ Chickpeas
§ Hummus
§ Lentils
B:
Whole grains
§ Rice
§ Whole
grain pasta
§ Whole
wheat bread
C:
Nuts and seeds
§ Almonds
§ Cashews
§ Walnuts
§ Pumpkin
seeds
§ Sunflower
seeds
§ Tahini
§ Nut or
seed butters
§ Buckwheat
§ Hemp
seeds
GROWTH TIP 2 STOP SKIMPING ON CARBS
Low-carb
dieting is a fad that refuses to die, at least where building appreciable
muscle is concerned. Low-carb living has bled into the fitness consciousness so
much that even those seeking to add muscle often steer clear of carbohydrates.
Here's
the plain truth: If you want to grow, carbs are an essential tool. They
efficiently refuel your body's energy stores and help draw water into your
muscles. They help power you through hard workouts and keep you satisfied.
The
trick to eating carbohydrates, though, is learning how to do it right.
Throughout the day, eat complex carbs like whole grains and high-fiber
vegetables. Complex carbs like these make you feel fuller for longer, and won't
spike your blood glucose levels, which might make you feel good at first but
can also cause you to crash.
NOBODY ODS ON OATMEAL, BUT PLENTY OF
PEOPLE GET FAT ON SODA!
If you
like having a sweet treat, eat it with 30-40 grams of protein post-workout.
Dosing simple carbs this way can help drive carbs and amino acids into your
muscles to restore glycogen levels.
Because
each body is different, there's no "perfect" amount of carbs you
should eat per day. For those seeking to add size, a good rule of thumb is to
eat 2 grams of carbs per pound of body weight per day. Most of those carbs
should be complex. Once you're solid on your protein, start measuring your
intake over time so you can gauge whether it's increasing your energy and
muscle gains.
Even
if you don't count your carbs, be strict about where they come from. Nobody ODs
on oatmeal, but plenty of people get fat on soda!
Complex
carb sources
§ Oatmeal
§ Whole-wheat
bread and pasta
§ Quinoa
§ Brown
rice
§ Beans
Simple
carb sources
§ Table
sugar
§ White
rice and bread
§ Sports
drinks
§ Sugary
cereal
§ Pixy
stix and gummy bears
GROWTH TIP 3 RELOAD WITH LEUCINE
Of the
nine essential amino acids that make up a complete protein, leucine is the one
that's most important for muscle growth, because it signals to one of your
body's protein synthesis regulators that you have enough dietary protein to build
new skeletal muscle.
So
where do we get this magical stuff? Well, if you eat complete protein sources,
you'll get a fair amount of leucine and the other two branched-chain amino
acids (BCAAs), valine and isoleucine. But when mass is the goal, the more of
these crucial aminos you get, the better—especially during and around your
workouts.
This
is why people take BCAA products—so the body doesn't have to digest and
separate leucine before it can be utilized. Take 5 grams of BCAAs within 30
minutes after your workout and another 10 grams with your protein shake an hour
or so after training. It's a simple addition that can help you get a lot more
results from your hard work.
PERFECT ANYTIME FOR ENERGY, ENDURANCE,
RECOVERY, AND MUSCLE REPAIR.GO NOW!
GROWTH TIP 4 LEARN TO FAIL
Let's
say you can curl a 95-pound barbell 12 times with little difficulty, but you
usually stop your sets at 8-10 reps. Why, then, would your biceps muscles ever
need to adapt to handle more? What's the impetus for growth?
You
have to give your muscles the stimulus they need to build more muscle fibers.
By reaching absolute muscle failure in a set, you tip a domino and set off a
cascade of growth responses at the cellular level. Your body knows it needs to
build muscle pronto in order to handle such a heavy load next time it's
stressed.
Repping
to failure is as much a physical challenge as it is a mental one. You need to
be willing to go beyond your comfort zone, to that place where, despite your
best efforts, you can't move the weight. It can be a little scary in those
seconds when you're basically helpless against that implement, but it's
necessary—particularly when you're doing any isolation movements for showy
muscles like the arms and calves.
YOU DON'T NEED TO TAKE EVERY SET OF EVERY
MOVEMENT TO FAILURE, BUT IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO GROW, MAKE SURE YOU'VE SQUEEZED
EVERYTHING YOU CAN OUT OF YOUR MUSCLES BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE GYM.
You
don't need to take every set of every movement to failure, but if you're
looking to grow, make sure you've squeezed everything you can out of your
muscles before you leave the gym. If your program says 3 sets of 8-12, make
sure that last one really feels like the last one you can manage—even if it
takes 15 or more reps to get to it!
That
said, never—seriously, never—train to total failure on a compound
exercise like a bench press, seated overhead press, or squat if it makes you
compromise good technique, or if you don't have a spotter close at hand. Take
it from those with the scars to show for it: Seriously injuring yourself is the
ultimate fail!
GROWTH TIP 5 GET STRONG. DAMNED STRONG
Machines
can be a useful part of your exercise repertoire, but show me someone who uses
them exclusively and I'll show you someone who is far from their ultimate
potential. Isolation movements (those that only work one muscle at a time) have
their place in a well-rounded routine, but they fall short if you lean on them
as your main source of muscular stimulation.
To
reach your ultimate potential, you'll need to learn the basic compound barbell
and dumbbell exercises. That means the overhead press, bench press, deadlift,
squat, and clean need to be part of your regimen. Yep—you're going to have to
perfect the movements that make you feel uncomfortable and puny.
TO REACH YOUR ULTIMATE POTENTIAL, YOU'LL
NEED TO LEARN THE BASIC COMPOUND BARBELL AND DUMBBELL EXERCISES.
Just
like you did with your protein intake, practice these lifts until they're
second nature. Once you conquer them, you'll never look back. When done
consistently for heavy reps, these lifts are a gateway to muscular stimulation
and growth.
GET STRONG BACK-TO-BASICS STRENGTH PROGRAM
This
sample program—created by Louie Simmons, the founder of the famous Westside
Method—will help you use the big lifts correctly so you can get strong and grow
like crazy.
Rotate
these workouts, doing each twice per week. Before the working sets, do ample
warm-up sets with light weight. Once you reach your working sets, increase the
weight as the reps go down.
DAY 1: UPPER BODY
1
PULL-UP
4 sets of 12-15 reps
2
BENT-OVER
BARBELL ROW
5 sets of 10, 8, 6, 5, 3 reps
3
DEADLIFT
5 sets of 10, 8, 6, 5, 3 reps
4
INCLINE BENCH
PRESS
5 sets of 10, 8, 6, 5, 3 reps
5
DUMBBELL BENCH
PRESS
4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 5 reps
6
STANDING
BARBELL CURL
5 sets of 12, 10, 8, 6, 3 reps
7
CLOSE-GRIP
BENCH PRESS
5 sets of 12, 10, 8, 6, 3 reps
8
FARMER'S CARRY
2 sets to failure
DAY 2: LOWER BODY
1
BARBELL SQUAT
7 sets of 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 3 reps
2
CLEAN
5 sets of 12, 10, 8, 5, 3 reps
3
HACK SQUAT
5 sets of 12, 10, 8, 5, 3 reps
4
ROMANIAN
DEADLIFT
5 sets of 12, 10, 8, 5, 3 reps
5
DUMBBELL
STEP-UP
4 sets of 10, 10, 8, 6 reps
6
STANDING CALF
RAISE
5 sets of 20, 15, 12, 10, 8 reps
7
WALKING
BARBELL LUNGE
4 sets of 10 steps per leg
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