The top 10 tips for building muscle

The top 10 hypertrophy boosters

1. perform multi-joint exercises!

There's a damn good reason why my training programs revolve around multi-joint exercises: they work! Anyone who wants to tell you that the short route to more muscle mass is through isolation exercises is a dreamer at best.

If you're training for muscle mass, then it's best to choose exercises that allow you to use the most weight for a given muscle group. If you perform a multi-joint exercise with a heavy weight, then you will achieve the strongest and most extensive recruitment of motor units, which is ultimately responsible for building muscle. In addition to this, you will be forced to use additional muscle groups that are not required in isolation exercises.

I'll make it easy for you and give you the list of exercises you should use for each set of the primary muscle groups:

• Chest muscles: incline bench press, flat bench press, wide grip dips
• Back: upright, horizontal and bent-over rowing, pull-ups with lower and upper grip.
• Shoulder muscles: standing and seated shoulder presses with normal, reverse or parallel grip.
• Triceps: dips and close bench presses
• Biceps: pull-ups with an underhand grip, overhand grip or rowing with a parallel grip or overhand grip.
• Quadriceps: traditional squats, front squats, Hackenschmidt squats, lunges, step-ups.
• Lower back/flexors: Traditional deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, good mornings, back extensions and glute-ham raises (technically back extensions and glute-ham raises are not multi-joint exercises as only one joint is moved, but they are just too good not to include on the list).

2. perform full body workouts!

Training all major muscle groups during a single session has too many benefits to list, but I can tell you it's one of the most important pieces to the hypertrophy puzzle.

Bill Starr's The Strongest Shall Survive is based on this idea, but long before Starr learned to write, the strongmen of old challenged their entire bodies during every training session, and they were damn strong.

Through full-body workouts, you'll not only be able to minimize your time in the gym, but also regularly expose your primary muscle groups to a much stronger training stimulus. In addition to this, androgen receptor density increases when all major muscle groups are challenged during a single training session.

Remember to keep isolation exercises to a minimum as you should not spend more than an hour on the training floor. Failure to do so increases the risk of overtraining.

3. train often!

The more often you can train a muscle, the more hypertrophy you will achieve. As a rule of thumb, you should train all primary muscle groups at least twice a week. However, you will achieve better results if you train each primary muscle group three or four times a week.

The tricky part is making the transition from a training program where each muscle group is trained once a week to a full body training program without burning out. At this point, you should slowly increase the number of your full-body training sessions based on your previous training frequency.

If you have been training each muscle group once a week, you can do the following:

Weeks 1 and 2: Train each primary muscle group twice a week.

Weeks 3 and 4: Train each primary muscle group three times a week.

If you have been training each primary muscle group twice a week, add one weekly training session to the above schedule.

4. train multiple strength qualities at the same time!

To get through multiple full body training sessions per week you need to learn to rotate different strength training methods. Continuous manipulation of load and volume in each training session will recruit multiple sets of motor units that have not been challenged before and will also allow you to use a range of different training tempos (more on this later).

The idea of training multiple strength qualities throughout the week is not mine - I've just paid more attention to this type of training than most other trainers. Whether your periodization parameters are based on conjugate or undulating techniques, you will benefit from this. Here is an example of three and four full-body workouts per week:

3 full body workouts per week:

• Day 1: 6 x 3 with a 5RM* (maximum strength)
• Day 2: Training free
• Day 3: 3 x 8 with a 10RM (hypertrophy strength)
• Day 4: No training
• Day 5: 8 x 3 with an 18RM (explosive strength)
• Day 6: No training
• Day 7: No training

*5RM = maximum weight for 5 repetitions

4 full body training sessions per week::

• Day 1: 6 x 3 with a 5RM (maximum strength)
• Day 2: 2 x 20 with a 24RM (strength endurance)
• Day 3: No training
• Day 4: 3 x 8 with a 10RM (hypertrophy strength)
• Day 5: No training
• Day 6: 8 x 3 with an 18RM (explosive strength)

These are just 2 of many examples that work. I have had great success with each of these methods!

5. use short rest intervals!

I define short rest intervals as any rest that is under 2 minutes between sets. The antiquated 3 to 5 minute rest intervals recommended in every stupid muscle magazine made me skeptical. And as it turned out, my instincts were right.

My empirical experience has shown me that short rest intervals lead to a stronger hypertrophy response. In other words, 5 sets of 10 repetitions with 60 seconds rest between sets will induce more hypertrophy than 5 sets of 10 repetitions with 3 minutes rest between sets. An even better option is to use short rest intervals with low repetitions (1 to 5 repetitions) and heavy weights.

If you keep the rest intervals short, you will stay more focused. In addition to this, you will keep the nervous system activated - and you will finish the workout faster, which will save you time. For certain exercisers who are only looking for maximum strength gains, short rest intervals are still possible if they alternate sets for opposite muscle groups (antagonist training)

Conclusion: If you are aiming for maximum hypertrophy, keep your rest intervals under two minutes. You should preferably use a range of 60 to 90 seconds when performing more than six sets with a weight above 80% of your 1RM weight.

6. use active recovery training sessions!

If you are starting a new training program where you are training at a frequency higher than what your nervous system is used to, then active recovery workouts are a godsend. These workouts use extremely light weights (about 25 to 50% of 1RM weight) to increase blood flow and nutrient transportation.

This will help muscle groups lagging behind the rest of the body in their development to recover and will induce sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.

7. do two training sessions in one day!

For those who can afford this luxury, two training sessions in one day are unbeatable. To keep cortisol levels under control and maintain a fresh and refreshed nervous system, two workouts in one day work exceptionally well. In addition to this, you will benefit from two anabolic responses instead of just one.

Many exercisers misunderstand the concept of two workouts in one day and think that they can just do their normal workouts twice in the same day, but this is wrong! You have two different options with this type of training:

1. Split up your original training session: You can easily split your normal workout into two halves. Do one half in the morning and the second half no earlier than 6 to 8 hours after the first training session of the day.
2. Use different training parameters: If you are trying to perform as many sets as possible in a single day, then each of the two training sessions should include completely different training parameters. For example, use maximum strength parameters such as 6 sets of 3 repetitions during the first training session of the day and hypertrophy training parameters such as 3 sets of 8 repetitions during your second training session of the day. Another option could be to perform a maximal strength and hypertrophy workout such as 5 sets of 5 reps during the first training session of the day and an explosive strength workout such as 8 sets of 3 reps during the second training session of the day.

8. keep the intensity under control!

Training to muscle failure and multiple training sessions for one muscle group per week go together like fire and water. You simply cannot perform every set to muscle failure and expect to fully recover within 48 to 72 hours. Limit a workout to muscle failure to the last set of each exercise rather than going to muscle failure on every set. And even then, you should only use training to failure for hypertrophy and maximal strength workouts.

You should never go close to muscle failure when training for explosive strength, as this is counterproductive. If you want to stay on the safe side, avoid training to muscle failure altogether.

9. use a fast concentric tempo!

Of all the training variables I've mentioned so far, you'll probably be most surprised by this one. A fast concentric tempo (the phase of the movement where you move the weight upwards) activates the high threshold motor units faster than a slow workout. In fact, a trainee can achieve extremely high levels of tension within a muscle when using a very light weight, as long as they perform the concentric part of the movement fast enough. For more information on this topic, I would refer you to the book Science and Practice of Strength Training by Vladimir Zatsiorsky.

Here is a statement I can make with complete confidence: I hate super slow training. Our bodies were not created to perform slow movements, and that's why I don't train that way. I believe that the future of training lies in training at an extremely fast pace.

But don't read too much between the lines. I recommend that exercisers use different training speeds. Even though I usually recommend moving as fast as possible, each weight will dictate a different tempo. For example, if I tell a trainee to move a 3RM weight as fast as possible, the actual movement speed will be slow. If I tell a trainee to move a 20RM weight as fast as possible, the movement speed will be very fast. So a single recommendation leads to different reactions. Pretty cool, right?

Conclusion: Perform concentric actions as fast as possible and keep the speed under control during the eccentric phase of the movement (negative repetition) (1 to 3 seconds for lowering the weight).

10. pay attention to your breakfast and the right post-workout nutrition!

It is almost impossible to compile a list of hypertrophy tips without addressing nutrition - primarily breakfast and post-workout nutrition. Without an adequate intake of protein and carbohydrates at these times, muscle growth at an adequate rate is unlikely to occur.

When so-called "hardgainers" hire me to accelerate their muscle growth, I always make sure that they consume enough high-quality protein and carbohydrates during breakfast and the post-workout meal. I usually aim for a 2:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein during these times. I have my clients consume 1 gram of protein per kilogram of lean muscle mass. The amount of carbohydrate should be one gram per kilogram of lean muscle mass.

Here is an example breakfast for a 75 kilo exerciser with a body fat percentage of 10% who wants to build muscle mass:

In a blender, mix the following with water:

• 2 scoops of protein powder!
• 1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 2 bananas
• 5 grams of creatine

During and after training, I would recommend the following to the same exerciser:

• Quickly digestible carbohydrates and a protein hydrolysate during the workout
• Immediately after training, fast-digesting carbohydrates, a protein hydrolyzate and 5 grams of creatine
• 45 to 60 minutes later, fast-digesting carbohydrates and a protein hydrolyzate
• 30 to 45 minutes later 70 grams of carbohydrates in the form of cereals and/or bagels with a banana and 35 grams of high-quality protein in the form of a protein powder

Conclusion:

If you incorporate these tips into your training plan, you will build muscle mass faster than ever before. Try out these tips.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/waterburys-top-10-tips

From Chad Waterbury