When I first started lifting weights, it was for one reason and one reason only……I wanted to impress a girl. Long story short, she said no (LOL!), God bless her though because she was the reason I uncovered my passion, fitness. The more I trained the more questions I had, “How do I get bigger?” “How do I get stronger?” “Can I get big and lean at the same time?” All these questions lead to one simple question, ‘How to build muscle?’ That’s what this definitive guide is all about, getting lean and mean like a badass.
The techniques I’m about to reveal are what has and hasn’t worked for me through the years. But first there are a couple of myths I need to bust, myths such as:
· You gotta lift heavy to get big bro.
· You need to buy anabolic mass from USN bra!
· Carbs are the devil.
· You must eat 6 times a day.
· More reps less weight if you want to get ripped.
All of this is utter BS
The only thing you’ll get from following such advice is an injury or a negative bank balance on your account, trust me I know.
The good news is I’ve been through it all and I am here to help you to not make the same mistakes I made. Should you follow this advice? I would prefer it if you experimented on your own body and find out what truly works for you and what doesn’t but there are fundamentals rules that I believe anyone can benefit from which I will list below.
Rule 1: Compound exercises are a must
Exercises that enable you to lift the most amount of weight (deadlifts, squats, bench press) help you build muscle the fastest. This is because compound exercises, especially the deadlift, help produce the most testosterone. Since we know that testosterone is anabolic, one should aim for exercises that will produce the most testosterone to ensure that you are at an anabolic state.
The best compound exercises for building muscle are:
· Squats (front & back)
· Deadlifts (Sumo, conventional, trap bar)
· Rows (bent-over rows, one arm rows)
· Overhead Shoulder Press (Barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell)
Rule 2: Training 3-4 times a week is ok
The more you train the better right? Wrong! Three to four hard strength-training days per week is perfect for most steroid-free busy people. Remember, muscle is built outside the gym not in the gym, that means recovery is key so don’t shy away from taking rest days.
Rule 3: Train smart
‘Go hard or go home!’ You’re likely to stay home if that’s your mindset. Now I’m not saying you should not train as hard as you can, you definitely should, but you need to be smarter. Do not kill yourself just to feed your ego, leave some gas in your tank.
Do not take sets to a point of failure, stop when you have at least two more reps in you. How do you know you’re about to fail? As soon as you start to feel like you’re losing your form, end the set. I know this seems strange because so many people tell you to give it your all but let me give you an example. Say you have two athletes that are doing pull-ups, one is going to failure the other one isn’t. The one going to failure will probably do 4-5 sets of 10 before they can’t do anymore (that’s about 40-50 reps) and they’re back will be so strained they will need at least 1 day to recover. Now imagine the other guy does 5 reps per set (even though he can do 10 max), not only will he be able to do more sets during the same session, but he will be able to complete even more sets the following day. Let’s say he does 10 sets of 5, he would have completed 100 reps over two days compared to the other guy who only did 50 reps.
Rule 4: Cardio is NOT for sissies
I do not like conditioning exercises, but I do them anyway because they are key to getting and staying lean and athletic. My favourite type is HIIT (high intensity interval training) but unlike most people, I like to mix bodyweight and resistance exercises together. It’s been proven to be effective at burning fat and boosting conditioning levels while preserving muscle mass.
Add in two days per work of 15 minutes HIIT to your program. My favourite exercises include
· Assault air-bike
· Incline sprints
· AMRAP workouts
Rule 5: Prioritize healthy eating
Every gym bro told me that to get bigger, you need to eat a lot of protein. And that’s exactly what I did, at some point I ate 6 eggs, 2 cans of tuna, chicken breasts and protein powder in a day! “WTF!” was the most common reaction I would get, and rightly so, but that didn’t matter to me I just wanted the gainz bra! Boy was I wrong, I didn’t have to consume so much protein, your body can only utilize so much. More importantly, I didn’t prioritize my health, canned tuna has relatively high levels of mercury so its consumption could potentially become harmful above three or so servings a week, I was having two serving a day!
You must fuel your body with high-quality, real, wholesome food. These include
· Grass fed meat
· Nuts
· Fruit
· Green veggies
· Lentils
· Healthy starches like sweet potatoes
Rule 6: Consistency, consistency, consistency.
All these rules do not matter if you are not consistent. The first time I stepped into a gym I was a chubby little 14-year-old who was called Nikki Minaj because I had a big bum, lol (same dudes are now asking me for programs, lol), and I had no clue what I was doing but I kept at it. Whenever I had the opportunity to train, I trained and my body adjusted and I saw improvements. The person who makes the most progress is the person who is most consistent, take it one day at a time and focus on improving yourself, not other people. You’ll never feel satisfied because there’s always room for improvement, but you will become better and you will learn more. Little by little a little becomes a lot.
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