When it comes to the question of how to gain muscle, there are many things you must know and do. But, often what is more important than what you should do is what you shouldn’t do. With that in mind here are five training mistakes you should avoid like the plague.
1) Training Too Often- In order to get big you must provide your body with the optimal stimulus and then back off and allow it time to rest and recover. Without adequate rest time you will never grow to your maximum potential. For this reason I recommend that you don’t train with weights more than 3-4 days per week.
2) Training Strictly For the Pump- Far too often I see skinny guys in the gym doing set after set of 10-15 reps with poundages my grandmother would use. Yes, high volume training leads to a great pump but a great pump does not always lead to muscle growth. You can get a pump doing high rep lateral raises with water bottles but everyone knows that won’t turn you into a monster any time soon. Chasing the pump should only be a small concern in your workout; after you have gotten your more productive work out of the way.
3) Not Cycling Your Training Intensity- Overzealous skinny guys love to work themselves into the ground. They figure the harder they work the faster they will grow. The problem is that when you constantly train to failure and beyond you will eventually burn out your central nervous system and this will greatly slow down your recovery and thus the rate at which you build muscle. If you want to make long lasting gains you have to back off once in a while and give your body a break. After a period of reduced intensity you can ramp back up again and repeat the cycle.
4) Using the Wrong Exercise Order- One thing that is often overlooked by those interested in learning how to gain muscle is proper exercise order. Always start your workouts with the most demanding exercise. So if you are doing a clean or any other form of explosive lift or jump this exercise would usually come before squats or chin ups. If you are not doing explosive lifts or speed work, the biggest compound exercise should almost always come first. Therefore a rack deadlift would usually come before a push up or dumbbell row. Also, the heaviest, lowest rep sets should be done early in the workout and the higher rep work should be done at the end. There are exceptions to these rules and times when breaking them could actually be quite beneficial but for the most part this is how you should plan your training.
5) Not Using a Training Journal- If you want to get bigger and stronger you absolutely must record each and every workout you do in some type of notebook or training journal. This way you can know what’s working and what isn’t and you can also measure your progress over time. The most important element of the training journal is that it gives you a quantifiable goal to beat every time you enter the weight room. There is no way anyone (unless you have a photographic memory) can remember all of the details of every workout they do. So without a record, you are just guessing and never know if you are doing more or less than the previous workout. And if you want to get bigger and stronger you had better be doing more; be it weight, sets or reps
For more tips on how to gain muscle fast please visit MuscleGainingSecrets.com.
Please leave your comments below.
21. Nov, 2009
at 6:09 pm #
I find out about you through Elliott Hulse and you seem so knowledgable I cant remeber the last time I visited Elliotts site. I wanted to know if you have a 3 day functional strength training program for a football player Im not asking for you to think about me personally but I’m a runniingback looking to build muscle, yes I’m on the smaller side not a power back yet but my mind is there. Just a effective workout regimen to follow would appreciate it THANKS GOD BLESS!!!!!!!
26. Jan, 2010
at 8:35 am #
Who is the man in that picture? he is really jacked..i think i saw his picture when he is young
26. Jan, 2010
at 5:12 pm #
That would be the great Dave Draper. Check out his website at: http://www.davedraper.com/article-334-review-past-workouts.html
Also, he was a central character in the movie “Pumping Iron”.
27. Jan, 2010
at 4:14 am #
That’s Dave Draper, I believe.
09. Dec, 2010
at 9:37 am #
Love it! You are right on the money there. Excellent article!
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