Check out these awesome tips for monster muscle mass!
1. Eat more than you burn. This seems to be the simplest, but least followed of these tips. 90% of people trying to gain muscle mass under eat. A simple calculation to get your base calorie consumption is to multiply your body weight by 18, 22 or 25 depending on your body type (ecto, endo or mesomorph). The faster the metabolism the more you need to eat. At any time you’re not growing, it’s either the food your eating or your workouts.
2. Consume adequate carbohydrates and fats. Ask any bodybuilder how many grams of protein they eat a day, and chances are they’ll tell you. Ask how many grams of carbohydrates they eat and they’ll often not know. Your muscle is made up of protein, but carbohydrates are what carries the protein to the muscle.
3. Eat frequently. You can eat 10,000 calories a day, but if it’s dispersed over 2-3 meals you will NOT see the muscle gains you’re looking for. Try to eat every 2-3 hours (minimally every 4). Snacks can count for a “meal” but make sure it contains several grams of protein and carbohydrates.
4. Make sure you eat 1st thing in the morning. During the night your body is in a fasting (starving state). First thing in the morning you need to eat to prevent your body from burning precious muscle. Fast and slow acting carbohydrates can be taken together to get a fast response. Aim for 40+ grams of protein for the first meal as well.
5. Make sure you eat close to bed time. Once you go to sleep, you generally don’t eat for 6-9 hours. 2-3 hours after your last meal, your body has used up the majority of the calories you ingested. That means your body is feeding off of your fat stores and precious muscle(as mentioned above). Eat a meal high in complex carbohydrates and casein(slow digesting) proteins. It will allow your body to “feed” off of the food for a longer period of time and save muscle wasting.
6. Eat before you workout. Eating pre-workout(45 minutes- 2 hours prior) has a few benefits. For one, your body can start the process of protein synthesis (muscle building) during a workout. Secondly, your body relies on carbohydrates for maximum performance. Taking in slow digesting carbohydrates and protein will help the workout performance and muscle building process.
7. Eat post workout. The majority of people already know this. If your post workout meal is a shake, that’s fine. Try to intake 50+ grams of protein and 50-80 grams of fast acting carbohydrates post workout. You have an anabolic window of 0-60 minutes post workout for the best muscle building results.
8. Eat a solid meal AFTER your post workout meal. A lot of guys don’t follow this advice. Most post workout shakes contain fast acting carbs. Those carbs burn up within 1-2 hours usually. Eating a meal with more protein and slower digesting carbs will ensure you continue the muscle building process. 1-2 hours after your shake you should have this meal.
9. Try to have a balanced meal plan throughout the day. Your body is building muscle best when it’s most efficient. Going from 200 calories over a 3 hour period to 2,000 calories isn’t going to give you the weight you’re looking for. Figure out the number of calories you eat a day, and divide that by the number of meals you eat in a day. Example: 3,000 calories/5 meals= 600 calories per meal. Now, there’s always going to be a variation in total number of calories, but try to get a proper ratio of food, and as close to a balanced meal as you can.
10. Never blame the supplements for lack of progress. Supplements have different effects on different people. However there is NO supplement on the planet that will cause you to LOSE or NOT GAIN muscle. Any lack of basic progress is usually a result of not eating adequate calories.
11. Do not OVERTRAIN. You build muscle by tearing down the muscle fibers and have them grow back bigger, faster and stronger in order to with stand the damage you just put them through. Once a muscle fiber is broken down there is no point in continuing to fatigue it. Train intense, but train smart.
12. Do not UNDERTRAIN. This ties in to the category above as well. You don’t want to overwork your muscle fibers but you do need to break them down in order for them to grow back. 20 minutes usually isn’t going to cut it for a workout.
13. Bigger body parts need higher volume. Larger body parts have higher numbers of muscle fibers, and usually more angles to be worked from. They tend to need more sets in order to fatigue all of the muscle fibers. Also, try using an ATP supplement for deeper fiber recruitment.
14. Smaller body parts need lower volume. Biceps, traps and triceps are usually some of the most over trained body parts because they get a similar volume to chest, legs and back. In reality they get stimulation from the bigger body parts, and have less muscle fibers so they fatigue more quickly.
15. No body part should be directly trained too often. Don’t be that guy who works chest Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. A body part generally needs a minimum of 72-96 hours (3-4 days) to heal. Anytime you workout a muscle before then, you’re re-tearing the same muscle fibers you worked down so they never get a chance to grow. 1-2 times a week per body part is optimal.
16. Mixed rep schemes usually gives the best results. Your body is built with fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. Rep schemes of 6-10 reps generally hit your fast twitch (explosive) muscle fibers. Rep schemes in the 12+ range hit the slow twitch (endurance) muscle fibers. Your fast twitch muscle fibers are bigger, and more readily available for growth. Most sets should be in the lower rep range (6-10) but mix in higher reps intermittently.
17. Legs must be trained if you want or expect the growth advertised. A lot of trainees either don’t workout legs, or work them out half-heartedly. Leg mass can be responsible for up to 50% of your mass gains. A 15 pound mass gaining cycle might turn into 8-9 pounds gained without the growth of your legs.
18. Legs need the highest workout volume of any body part. You walk, squat, bend over and use your legs consistently. They are used to stimulation more than any other body part and there for are the most resilient. They tend to need more resistant, intensity and volume than other body parts for this reason.
19. The back needs a mind muscle connection. Unlike most other body parts, you can’t see your back muscle, contract and expand. For this reason (amongst others) you need to have a strong mind muscle connection. You should always try to touch/squeeze your shoulder blades together. It ensures you’re squeezing the muscle.
20. For chest, the incline pressing movements will give you the fullest look in the chest area. The upper pectoral muscle fills out the top of your shirts. It’s a good idea to start each (or every other) chest workout with an incline pressing movement.
21. Make sure to hit each body part from different angles. Biceps has the inner and outer head, the triceps has three heads, the back has several smaller muscles, the shoulder has the rear, medial and front delts. They all need to be stimulated. For more info on this let me know and I’ll provide workouts that are done for each area of the muscle.
22. Get plenty of rest. Try to sleep a minimum of 7 hours of sleep, but shoot for 8-9 hours. If possible, take a nap during the day. You spike recovery levels while at rest.
23. Keep a journal/notebook tracking your workouts. Try to log in what you did each day for the workout, how you felt that day, and anything else that stood out.
24. Keep a record of starting weight and measurements. It’s also a good idea to take a picture beforehand in order to SEE results.
25. Last, but not least, ASK QUESTIONS. Anytime something doesn’t make sense, anytime something isn’t working, anytime something doesn’t feel right ask us or another knowledgeable source. The worst thing you could do is continue along without making progress and never ask questions on it.
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i would like more information on working the biceps from every angle
thank you so much for this info. i’m a guru of fitness,and it’s good to show this to my friends so they can see when they ask and i tell them this stuff it just does’nt come from my a–. i would like to recieve the info. on the workouts for hitting the different areas of the muscles.thank you
That is some assume information. Keep up the good work sending out the info.I have been in this game for over 30 years, and you guys send out some get stuff.
Thank You,
Bill Clason/ Colorado
CEO:STEEL CITY GYM
I am taking a planned layoff from working out . I feel tired and weak etc. do i still need to eat the same amount of calories protein etc while on this break. Will i lose muscle mass during this time off or is it more in my head is this a good idea. I am 44 years old should I be training any differently now then say when I was in my 20s or 30s. I have also recently cut back on the amount of wieght i use on my exercises to use better form but because i do things a liitle slower the weight being used feels heavier but in control will this in the long run give me more muscle mass with everything else being the same.
Great list of Tips! I follow them pretty closely, Im just looking for a change in my workout routine. I want to setup a different routine every few weeks to keep my muscles guessing but its kinda hard, im not really sure how to set it up. Any help would be appreciated!! Im 20 years old, 6’2″ 205lbs and am trying to bulk up! And gain solid quality muscle right now! I eat clean, although i know i should start counting calories and i eat 6-8 meals a day..
Good tips! I would like more tips on how to stimulate different parts of the muscles. Basically maybe a couple routines to follow that might shock my muscles like they haven’t been in awhile. If you could, send me a routine for bis and tris. Thanks.
Please send info for a great delt workout.
Mine never seem to grow no matter how I train.
THanks.
do u have tips for someone doing mixed martial arts 3-4 times weekly trying to gain a signifigant amount of muscle. i understand the need to eat more than u burn, but what kind of lifting specifications would u advise someone that is in need of more functional strength and less of a bodybuilder look?
I’m loving the advice. I’m looking for specific exercises (and a good way to spped size gains) for triceps, lower and middle traps, and front delta. Theses seem to be lacking in size a bit when compared to the rest. Thanks in advance.
Nice
Hi I read this post I am whats considered a “Very Hard Gainer” I eat like a horse work out 4-6 times a week in 6 months I may gain 10 lbs,had a test test done doc says for my age its normal or just above,I naturally burn off any fat and weigh 145-152 depending on the time of year,Can you provide a workout I would like to add right around 25 lbs of muscle please take into face i am 42 and have high blood pressure.Thanks
it’s confusing that u said to hit the incline press more often for full chest definition and at the beginning where it should be a secondary exercise. what studies revealed and what’s obvious from the chest biomechanics that the declined press is much superior in this matter as it work mostly the chest than recruiting the shoulders too much while on an incline press and some ppl specially the ones that have a low clavicular tendon end up by having huge delts and a small chest specially in the upper part and gives them the valley look
i think if concentrating at the decline and flat press as second (where u will workout ur upper pecs a lot believe it or not) is by far better than incline and minimizing delts exercises too to force the chest to appear while concentrating on the technique on the lift which is getting the elbows in squeezing the chest going upward straight above the chest avoiding as much as possible the elevation of the shoulders, what most ppl do to get an easy lift and lift more weights is dividing the work of the chest with the shoulders and recruit them too much from the beginning of the lift elevating them from the start and going backward toward the head and most of times without any attention they’ll bend their backs to gives them the easy backward movement.
remember the pectoralis major muscle main action is to adduct the humerus horizontally (the arm bone) which means in the press movement moving the elbows in or the flys in isolation (make a slight angle down toward ur abs to avoid as much as possible anterior deltoid recruitment), whereas the anterior deltoid mostly concerned with the elevation the humerus vertically (flexing of the humerus), of course they both support each other in their movements and involved in other biomechanical actions, but always try to give the intended muscle the most it can have from a specified movement.
sorry for my critique, just sharing my experience as a trainer and a biomechanics specialist.
i need more information to extand chest and shoulder and arms with food and gymnastics
Can u send me the workouts for all different angles for every body part thanks
can you send me a workout for each body part i need a very intense workout
can you send me a workout for each body part and how to hit muscles from every angle i need a very intense workout
thanks
I am 255lbs and 6ft tall.Over the last three years I have put on the 55lbs and am feeling it alot in everyuthing that I do.Can you help me out with a workout plan and the easiest to foolow nutrional plan.I work so I am up at 7 am at work by 9 am and only get a 15 min break for lunch then I am off at 3 pm.I could really use a good workout schedule something to put some mass on.I hope to hear from you soon.Thanks a million Nick
Pls send me the full workout schedule.
I would like more info
im 77 yrs old and i turn heads in the
Firstly I’d like to thank primal for really giving me an insite to true bodybuilding, thanks guys, ok I’d like to no more about positioning and form and the benefits it comes with, eg. Decline, flat and inclined bench, and the perfect time window to taking amino acids and hw often, and more insite on creatine eg. Is it good to be taken on rest days ?
i was wondering if you could send me a workout for # 21 on workind alternate parts of each muscle? THANK YOU, MARK.
sir
i hv a good size of biceps but dont hv a shape. pls suggest me xercises with no. of sets and no. of reps.
regards
amit jain
Could you send me a workout for #21 preferably the shoulder and triceps portion but the biceps and back to please
Hello,
We recommend using a Circuit Training workout routine that will allow you to training your muscle groups from every angle.
Check out a sample circuit workout: http://pmxfit.primalmuscle.com/circuit-training-workout-guide/