6 Simple Steps To Catapult Your Muscle Gains
What if I were to tell you that throughout the years there has
been a growth of strength training techniques that have no
scientific proof to back them up.
Well there are hundreds of them, do yourself a favour, have a
look at the facts presented in this outline of muscle gain
principles and make up your own mind.
Below you will find the Scientific Guidelines for strength
training that have always been around for a long time but not
followed by many main stream training systems these days.
1. Limited Energy Level
A strength-training program should be short and simple as you
only have a limited amount of energy per training session.
Scientific studies reveal that blood sugar levels (energy) start
to deplete after 30 mins, so exercise selection and the time
taken to perform them is crucial.
What you should be aiming for is stimulating as many muscle
fibres in the shortest period of time available.
Your blood sugar levels deplete after high intensity training
(usually between 20 - 30 minutes) and remember that you need
energy to recuperate after the workout.
The trick is to give yourself a high intensity workout before
your blood sugar level depletes, and then you will have given
your body the exercise that it requires to gain the maximum
amount of muscle possible.
2. Progressive Overload
Progressive Overload is the main exercise principle you need to
be aware of in order to get the results that you're after with
strength training.
The two most important points are:
* Complete your exercise with perfect technique * Push to total
failure when doing a set and overload the weight on the bar
progressively. (Overload your targeted muscles to beyond what
there used to)
Basically this means that when the body is stressed by high
intensity training beyond its normal demands, the body will
adapt to these new demands of improved strength.
When I say "normal demands," I mean what level of
stress/strength your body is used to now.
An example: The set that you performed last week using the same
technique and weight, your body will now have adapted to. If you
stay at this level your muscles will not become stronger or
bigger, so this is where the Progressive Overload plays a major
part.
Once your muscles have adapted to a particular weight then it'll
be time to overload them further (add more weight, speed,
repetitions). You'll need to keep on repeating this process of
overload if you want to become stronger.
Remember to always use 'Good Technique' Technique must never be
sacrificed for extra load.
3. Training Frequency
The sad reality is that the popular high volume type of training
that you find in bodybuilding books and magazines (and used by
the stars) is irrelevant to the majority of the population and
has a shocking failure rate.
What is good for Joe Star is probably not good for you.
Everybody has different genetics; most of us have poor genetics
and are not taking steroids like the stars.
The only way the majority of us can make any gains at all is to
perform short intense workouts followed by long periods of rest
so that we don't overtrain.
4. Over-Compensation
Many studies conducted around the world have shown clearly that
recuperation from strength training requires far more rest time
than previously thought.
Infrequent, short, high intensity weight training sessions,
followed by the required amount of time to recover and become
stronger is necessary for you to increase your functional
muscle.
Here's what you need to do - allow your body enough recuperation
time for over compensation to take place, so that the muscles
can adjust to their new strength and growth.
5. Exercise selection for intensity
I can't stress enough of how exercise selection is absolutely
crucial. There are only a few exercises that you really need to
perform. These exercises consist of multi-joint movements.
These particular exercises are far superior to that of isolation
exercises (working 1 muscle group at a time) because you are
required to use more muscles from every muscle group.
By using these exercises your whole body will be worked hard.
6. Visualization
Over my 20 years in the industry, I've noticed that this area is
by far the most neglected by mainstream health and fitness
professionals...
Most books or courses concentrate on the physical side of muscle
gain or fat loss and completely neglect the mental side of
things.
By training your mental state as well as your physical body you
can even further progress in muscle growth.
Now that you know these strength-training principles put them to
the test straight away and stop wasting your time in the gym.