For all you hardcore Muscle Junkies looking to add some serious muscle to your frame, here are my top tips for doing so:
Too often I walk into the gym and see people catching up on the latest gossip or talking to the chick on the treadmill trying to get a BBM number or checking themselves out in the mirror. If you really want to put on some serious muscle then you cannot indulge in these things. Gym is for training, you have a job to do so get in there and get stuck in, there is no way around this. Well unless you just want to be average like all the posers out there. if you want to be above average then don't do what all the average people do, you need to go beyond that!
If you train for 1 hour then 2 hours must be better. This is not always the case-we often fall prey to the thinking that more is better, if 40grams protein helps me grow then surely 80 grams would give me double the gains? If 3 sets to failure helped me improve my legs then 6 sets must be better? in fact you need to learn when to stop doing an exercise and move on to the next. For me I work up to my maximum weight I can get for 6-8 reps and then as soon as I cannot get 6 reps anymore then it's time to move on. Another way to judge that you have done enough is as soon as you feel the pump is starting to decrease then you need to change things up.
You grow when you are recovering from the workout so on your days off you need to focus on your nutrition and supplementation just as much as you would if it was a training day. Pre and post-workout shakes can be dropped from your plan but still make sure you get all your meals in and a couple of high protein shakes such as SSN 100% Whey Protein or Anabolic Muscle Builder.
Sleep is very important for growing new muscle tissue. 6-8 hours at night and a 1 hour nap in the day will go a long way towards maximizing muscle growth. Alcohol and the other things that go along with the party scene don't have a place in a serious muscle gain plan either.
The only way to force your body to grow new muscles is to challenge it beyond what it is used to so that your muscles have to grow and adapt to handle the new stress. Make sure on all working sets you push yourself to the absolute limit, you shouldn't be able to complete your last few reps on your own, you should need assistance to finish off the set.
The form you use is very important. If you are not doing the exercise correctly the stress will not be on the muscle you are trying to target and therefore no amount of weight you use will get the muscle to grow. Train yourself to feel the muscles that are working. If done correctly you will feel exactly where the muscle is stretching and contracting. If done correctly you will minimize injury and maximize muscle growth.
A stronger muscle will become a bigger muscle. Increasing the load/weight a muscle can lift will in time carry over into greater muscle hypertrophy(growth). By setting aside a portion of the offseason to focus on getting stronger you will reap the benefits in season when doing more reps and volume work in season.
Keep your mental state in check to help you reach your goals. If you are mentally in the right place then achieving your goals becomes a lot easier. Focus on why you are doing this, if you can truly get to that answer then you will be unstoppable, nothing will break your decision to do the things you need to do in order to arrive at your goal.
There are countless numbers of people in the gym and on Facebook that can give you all the facts you want to know, what supplements are good for weight loss or muscle gain, how many reps is optimal for muscle growth, the types of cardio etc. BUT how many of these "experts" actually walk the walk and live this lifestyle day in and day out? My point here is that there is no use talking about doing something, rather just shut up and do it, there will be time to talk about it after you have done it, more people will be interested once you have lead by example anyway.
A few days completely off gym every 6-8 weeks will go a long way towards helping you gain more muscle long term. Your central nervous system will get a chance to completely recover .Any small niggling injuries will have a break and chance to heal up as will your joints and tendons. Focus on some active recovery such as walks on the beach or some swimming-anything that's not too intense but will still keep things fresh.
