WORKOUT RULES
4. Stop listening to every ridiculous piece of
advice you hear in the gym.
Recently a client of mine informed me that someone in the
gym stated that he was training all wrong and he needed
to train 5-6 days a week, and aim for more reps during his
workout. Somewhere in the range of 15-20 reps per set.
The person giving the advice was quite confident about
his recommendations, and he had an impressive physique that
typically elevates him to the elusive "listen to me
if you want to look like me" level in the gym. He was
bigger than my client, so even though my client's "intellectual"
mind knows that that advice is absurd; his "unrealistic
dreamer" mind took this information very seriously.
So seriously that he changed his program and didn't inform
me until a week or so later. This particular person had
been making great progress on his current program, yet he
allowed this one person’s comment to overshadow that
progress and convince him that his program was inadequate.
This is a mistake and it showed in his lack of further progress.
In addition, don't judge the validity of what a person
says by how they look. Just because the guy is huge doesn't
mean he is spewing pertinent advice for you. Many people
that have big physiques are big despite of their training,
not because of it. I know some huge guys that know very
little about training and dieting correctly. They can do
whatever and still gain muscle; unfortunately we are not
that way, so we much approach things in a more intelligent
way.
5.Workout Infrequently
This is the most difficult concept for many to grasp simply
because it involves less action, instead of more. When we
get motivated and start a new program, it’s natural
to want to do something. We want to train and train and
train. Thinking all along that the more you train, the more
muscle you will build. Unfortunately, this could not be
farther from the truth.
More training does not equal more muscle growth. Understand
that the purpose of weight training is to stimulate muscle
growth. That takes very little time. Once that has been
done, the muscle needs to be repaired and new muscle needs
to be built. That only happens when you are resting. You
do not build muscle in the gym, you build muscle when resting!
If you never give your body any essential “non active”
time, when will it have a chance to build muscle? Think
about that.
Now, add in the fact that you have a difficult time gaining
weight and the importance of rest increases. Individuals
who are naturally thin and have difficulty building muscle
tend to require less training and more rest.
6. Focus on Multi-Jointed Lifts
Multi-jointed exercises are those that stimulate the most
amounts of muscle fibers. Unlike isolation exercises which
only work individual muscles, multi-jointed lifts work many
different muscle groups simultaneously. For those needing
to gain weight, this is ideal because these lifts put your
body under the most amount of stress. This is the stress
that will shock your nervous system and cause the greatest
release of muscle building hormones. This results in increased
muscle gain all over the body.
You can still do some isolation work; however it should
not be the focus of your workouts, and should only come
after your multi-jointed lifting is complete.
7. Focus on Using Free Weights
Free weights are preferred over machines for many reasons,
but most importantly because they allow the stimulation
of certain supporting muscle groups when training. Stimulating
these stabilizer and synergistic muscles will allow you
go get stronger, and ultimately build more muscle faster.
Yes, some can most likely still build large amounts of muscle
using machines, but why make it more difficult if you already
have a difficult time gaining weight?
8. Lift a weight that is challenging for you
Building mass involves lifting relatively heavy weight.
This is necessary because the muscle fibers that cause the
most amount of muscle size growth (called Type IIB) are
best stimulated by the lifting of heavy weight. A heavy
weight as one that only allows you to perform 4-8 reps before
your muscles fail.
Using a lighter weight and doing more reps can stimulate
some Type IIB fibers, but again if you have a difficult
time gaining weight, why make it more difficult? You need
to try and stimulate as many as you can with the use of
heavy weights.
9. Focus more on the eccentric portion of the
exercise.
When you lift a weight, it can be divided into three distinct
periods. The positive, the negative and midpoint. The concentric
or “positive” motion usually involves the initial
push or effort when you begin the rep. The midpoint is signaled
by a short pause before reversing and returning to the starting
position. The eccentric, or “negative” portion
of each lift is characterized by your resistance against
then natural pull of the weight.
For example, when doing push-ups, the positive motion is
the actual pushing up motion. Once you have pushed all the
way up, you hit the mid point. The negative motion begins
when you start to lower yourself back down. Most would simply
lower themselves as fast as they pushed up, but I recommend
extending and slowing down this portion. Slowing down the
eccentric part of the lift will help to stimulate more muscle
growth. It actually activates more of the Type IIB fibers
mentioned about in Rule 7.
10. Keep your workout short but intense.
Your goal should be to get in, stimulate your muscles
and then get out as quickly as possible. It is not necessary
to do large amounts of exercisers per body part trying to
target every muscle and hit every “angle”. This
should only be a concern of someone with an already developed,
mature physique who is trying to improve weak areas.
If you have no pec, don’t concern yourself with trying
to target inner, outer, upper, lower or whatever. Just work
your chest. You should do no more than 2-3 exercises per
body part. That’s it. Doing more than that won’t
build more muscle, faster. In fact it could possibly lead
to muscle loss. Long training sessions cause catabolic hormone
levels to rise dramatically. Catabolic hormones are responsible
for breaking down muscle tissue resulting in MUSCLE LOSS.
While at the same time, long training sessions suppress
the hormones that actually build muscle.
If you don’t want to lose muscle during your workouts,
I suggest limiting your sessions to no more than 60-75 minutes
MAXIMUM. Less if you can.
11. Limit your aerobic activity and training
Honestly, I do not do any aerobic activity when I am trying
to gain weight. This is mainly because it interferes with
the important “non-active” time my body needs
for muscle building and recovery. I do understand that people
have lives and other activities that they don't want to
give up, so it must be kept to a minimum. It won’t
hurt your progress as long as you don’t over do it.
If you find that you are doing more aerobic activity weight
training, that’s overdoing it.
I also don’t recommend it because people tend do
it for the wrong reasons. Many start aerobic activity because
they believe it will help them to lose fat. While that is
true, it won’t do so on a high calorie mass diet.
To lose fat, you need to be eating fewer calories.
12. Don’t program hop
Here’s how it usually happens. You’ve just
read about a new exercise or workout that is supposed to
pack on the mass. Now, even though you had already started
another training program a few weeks ago, you are tired
of it and really want to start this routine instead because
it sounds better.
I call these people, “program hoppers”. They
are very enthusiastic when starting a new program, but they
never follow it long enough to actually see any results.
They are easily distracted and love to drop whatever they
may be doing to follow the latest "hot" workout
or exercise.
My advice is don’t do it. This is a bad habit that
never leads to a positive outcome. Understand that it takes
time for any program to work. To be successful, you must
follow your program consistently. Yes, there are many different
training methods and interesting routines out there, but
you can’t do them all at the same time and jumping
around won’t allow enough time for any of them to
actually be effective for you. Pick one that is focused
on your current goal and stick with it. There will be plenty
of time to try the others later, but NOT NOW.
EATING RULES
13. Eat more!
This rule is pretty simple, but usually the one that is
not done correctly. If weight gain is your goal, then you
will need to eat more food. Period. In most cases, you will
need to eat more than you are normally accustomed to.
One large problem that I had when starting out is I just
had no appetite. I knew I needed to eat more, but I just
did not want to. I had to force myself to eat at each meal.
Thankfully, after about 2 weeks, my appetite grew. I was
becoming hungry before each meal, and if I didn't eat my
meal at the normal time, my body knew it.
If you have this problem, you still must eat something,
no matter how much. Start off making yourself eat something
small like fruit every few hours. Then, as your appetite
becomes more active, gradually move into more real food.
What this will do is gradually get your body accustomed
eating at regular intervals. Eventually you will be hungry
before each meal time.
When eating more, you will need to make sure that you are
getting plenty of good quality protein. Protein is a nutrient
that is essential for building muscle. Every meal that you
eat should contain some form of protein. Meal Replacement
Powders like Myoplex are excellent for this purpose. They
enable you to eat large amounts of good quality protein
in a very convenient manner.
14. Eat more often
In addition to eating more calories, you should also strive
to eat more often throughout the day. Eating infrequently,
or going long periods without eating, will cause your body
to breakdown muscle tissue for the calories it needs. This
is especially true for those with fast metabolisms.
Spreading your meals throughout the day will give you more
manageable meal sizes, improve nutrient assimilation, and
make sure that your body always has the calories it needs
for muscle building and repair. I recommend eating a high
protein meal every 3 hours. During normal waking hours,
that usually equals about 6 meals.
Now, I know what you are saying, “I’m too busy
to do this”, or “how can I do that with a full
time job and school?” Don’t let the thought
of this being too difficult keep you from doing it. It may
seem very inconvenient at first, but once you get in the
habit of doing it, it becomes second nature and you don’t
have to give it much thought. Trust me, I’ve been
doing it for years and do not feel that it’s limiting
or time consuming.
15. Use Nutritional Supplements.
Before you buy any product, remember that supplements are
not magic. Too many people think that just because you buy
the latest product, it guarantees that you will automatically
begin to pack on the pounds. The truth is that supplements
are only there to enhance an already solid diet and workout
program.
They can give you the extra edge by:
- Adding More Convenience: Using food
supplements like Myoplex or Designer Protein help to eliminate
the common problem of 'not enough time', by providing
you with a quick, efficient way to get your required nutrients
each day. They make eating large amounts of calories and
protein easier for people with low appetites.
- Increasing Strength Levels: Products
that contain Creatine, like Phosphagen HP or Cell-Tech
enable you to swing the odds of gaining more weight in
your favor by increasing your strength output. Creatine
enables you to lift heavier weights, which will stimulate
more muscle fibers and cause more muscle growth.
- Decreasing Recovery Time: Vitamin C
is essential to prevent free radical damage, which is
accelerated after the heavy trauma of weight training.
It is also essential is helping to repair connective tissue.
All of this helps decrease the amount of time you are
sore.
- Enhancing Your Immune System: Weight
training increases the body's need for many minerals like
magnesium and selenium. I always use a good multi-vitamin
ensures that I am not deficient in any major essential
vitamin or mineral. Deficiency symptoms include muscle
weakness and suppression of the immune system, muscle
cramping and fatigue.
I can honestly say that I could not have built the body
I have today without the convenience and enhancements supplements
provide. I simply don't have the time or desire to do it
any other way. This is a choice that you must decide for
yourself. You will be spending your money on these products,
so make sure that you know their place in your program.
IS THIS POSSIBLE?
Yes, but I have to be honest and say that from my experience,
gaining weight is much more difficult than losing fat. Even
if you are doing everything right, it will still be difficult
because you are fighting against what your body naturally
prefers. If you are naturally thin, building an impressive
physique involves persistence and determination, but no
matter what anyone says, it is well within your ability.
Good luck and for more information on how to gain weight,
be sure to check out my website
here.
>>
Click here to learn more about Anthony's Weight Gain Program
>> Click here for Pete Sisco's Maximum Strength Program
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