Gain Muscle Mass

Finding a Workout Partner

2010-01-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

Workout partners are a great way to help you and motivate you to gain muscle. Whether it is pushing you to get one more rep or calling you to tell you to get up and go to the gym, having a gym partner is a really great asset. However, it is important to choose the right gym partner if you want to see real results. Finding a workout partner is pretty easy, usually you can find one at your local gym, or you can have a friend be your workout partner.

Some things you need to look for in a workout partner is somebody that you can count on working out. If you don't think that they are going to stick to a workout schedule, then it isn't worth it to have them as a workout partner. It is important to have somebody with the right attitude. You want a partner who has a really upbeat attitude, and is excited when you go to the gym. You should also know that it is good for you to have this attitude when you go into the gym.

Your partner needs to be there to help you. Whether it is spotting you when you are doing a workout, pushing you or watching to make sure your form is correct, your partner needs to have their head in the gym at all times. Having a good workout partner is really important if you want to gain muscle. Not only will they motivate and help you while you workout, but they will also help the time go by faster, because you will have somebody to pass the time with. Just make sure that you keep working, and you keep your intensity up.

Putting It All Together - My Super Slow Muscle Gaining Workout

2010-01-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, now that you know the basics of the Super Slow workout, lets put everything together so that you can start gaining muscle today. So first off, you need to figure out which days you are going to workout on. I recommend twice a week with 3-4 days to rest. After you figure out the days you want to workout, all you have to do is start your workout. To learn more about the actual super slow workout, refer to my other post titled "Super Slow - My Secret For Gaining Muscle Mass". This goes, along with the second part of it, goes over basically all you need to know about the workout itself and the concept behind it. Once you start working out, it is imperative that you keep track of your progress. If you forget to do so, you are never going to see any real muscle gains from this routine.

Warming Up

As soon as you get to the gym, don't waste any time. I recommend doing a short 5 - 10 min. walk, followed by a warmup, then go straight into the routine.

Tracking Progress

The way to keep track of your progress is to print out a sheet with all the exercises you are going to do, or might do in the future. Be sure that there is an area that you can write down the date so that you know when you worked out. It is very easy to make a table like this, just go on excel or microsoft word and create a table. Immediately after your exercise, record the number of reps and weight that you did. Since you will only be doing one set, you don't need to keep track of the number of sets that you perform. To record it, just put the number of reps, then a backslash, followed by the weight you did (i.e. 5/225 means you did 5 reps of 225 lbs) Remember that this is one of the most important parts of this routine if you really want to gain muscle.

Going Up In Weight

Since you are going to be working out twice weekly, I recommend having one "reps" day and one "weight" day. On a reps day, you are going to do 5 - 7 reps of whatever exercise you are doing, remembering to hold it halfway on your last rep. On the weight day, you are going to increase the amount of weight that you use, and go down one rep. The next "reps" day, try to keep the same weight you did on the last weight day, and go back up to 5 - 7 reps. I recommend giving yourself 4 days rest after increasing weight. The following is an example of just one exercise, but it works with all exercises, and on any days you choose. This is a Monday, Thursday workout.

Monday - Bench, 5/135
Thursday - Bench, 4/145
Monday (following week) - Bench, 5/145
Thursday (Following Week) - Bench, 4/150

Now obviously you may not go up quite that fast (but you would be very surprised at how much you will increase weight at first). Anyways, obviously if you feel that you can't increase weight, than just work on increasing the reps, or holding the last rep longer. Always push yourself so that you are constantly going to gain muscle. Maybe one week you just can't go up those 5 more pounds. Work with what you can do, and try to improve on that until you start increasing again.

Plateauing

There will be a certain point when you will begin to plateau, and because I already went over that in one of my last posts, I will let you go read that if you would like. The title of the post is "Avoid Plateauing with the Super Slow Muscle Gaining Workout".

So that is basically it for the super slow workout routine, I highly recommend it to anybody who wants to gain muscle mass. And if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to comment me.

Avoid Plateauing with the Super Slow Muscle Gaining Workout

2009-12-28T01:30:00.000-08:00

With the "Super Slow Muscle Mass Gaining Workout" (as I call it), you really can't avoid plateau, as with all routines. However, I have come up with a really good way to combat the plateau effect with this routine. You will still workout the same number of days, and it shouldn't take any longer than your current workout does. Basically, it is the opposite of the super slow routine, but it works great, and it still involves breaking down your muscles as much as possible.

The way you do this is to perform exercises for the same muscle groups, preferably different than the regular ones you do, and putting on enough weight to where you know you can do at least 12-15 reps. You then proceed to do the exercise as many times as possible until you fail. When you stop, have a stopwatch or timer ready, rest for 30 seconds. Begin your second set, going until failure. Then rest for 30 seconds. On your third and final set, do as many as you can, and on the final rep, hold the exercise halfway until you can't hold it any longer.

Keep in mind that when you do these, you DO NOT adjust the weight between sets. Also be aware that you do not want to go super slow on these sets. You want to maintain good form, but move at a fairly brisk speed. The following are really good ways to do this routine when you feel yourself plateauing on the super slow muscle gaining workout.

Tricep Pushdowns, skull crushers, other tricep machine
Seated Rows
Leg Press
Pec deck, flys or bench machine
Dumbell bicep curls
dumbell shoulder press

In my next post, I am going to show you how to put this whole workout together to make it work like a machine and help you start gaining muscle mass like a turbocharged machine.

Plateauing while Gaining Muscle Mass

2009-12-28T01:11:00.000-08:00

Plateauing is something that happens to everybody who tries to gain muscle mass, and it can be very annoying. Basically, plateauing is your body's way of adapting to the new stress that you put it under. After consistently doing the same exercises, in a similar pattern, you are going to see the plateau effect. This good that our body can do this (we couldn't live without it), but bad for gaining muscle mass. So, we need to break this effect. Here are 5 of the easiest ways to break a workout plateau.

Change up your exercises - The easiest and most effective way of breaking a plateau is to just change things up. Rather than doing pushdowns for triceps, do close grip bench press. Instead of using the "pec deck" do bench press.
Change weight and reps - Another great way to overcome the plateau and get back on to gaining muscle mass is to change the amount of weight and reps you are doing. Instead of doing high weight and low reps til failure, do low weight and high reps til failure.
Change number of sets - Rather than doing only one or two sets, do 4 or 5 sets.
Change Rest time - This applies to both in the gym and at home. You can take a week off if you see that you are starting to plateau. You can also simply take a little more or less time to rest between sets and/or exercises in the gym.
Change the tempo and intensity - Rather then performing an exercise super slow, maybe speed things up a bit and try to do as many as you can until you fail. Maybe time yourself and see how many you reps you can do in a given amount of time.

You may notice that every one of these muscle gaining tips has one common word; change. So, the main point that I am trying to get across is that to gain muscle mass, you need to change something. The plateau is happening because your muscles are adapting to what you are doing right now. The only way to do that is to confuse them. It doesn't matter if that means you change something as simple as the number of reps you do to as extreme as changing your whole workout routine. Maybe try doing yoga for a couple of weeks instead of trying to gain muscle. You aren't going to lose very much (if any) muscle mass, and when you come back, you can count on your muscles not knowing what you are doing and be prepared to start gaining more muscle mass for you.

Things to know about the Super Slow Muscle Gaining Workout

2009-12-28T00:35:00.000-08:00

While this workout does have many great advantages, and you will gain muscle mass with it, there are some very important things you need to know. First off, you need to maintain a good muscle building diet. It doesn't matter how big the engine is, it isn't going anywhere without the right fuel. Make sure you are getting enough calories to ensure you are gaining muscle mass during your routine. You also want to have plenty of protein and creatine in your diet (I will discuss that later when I talk about a few supplements that might help you start gaining muscle mass).

Another thing that you must be aware of when doing this workout routine is the plateauing. I will explain the reasons for plateauing in a later post, but to briefly summarize it right now, it is where you stop seeing results when working out. Often times people will see dramatic results when they first start working out, but then that tapers off and they stop seeing any results at all (called plateauing). I will show you how to stop that from happening, but it is just something that you really need to be aware of with this workout routine, and know that it is probably going to happen with this, and just about any other routine that you may have in the future.

Obviously know if you are doing too much. Never force yourself to try to go up in weight if you don't feel like you can handle it. Aside from that, just perform this workout as if it were any other workout you may perform on a weekly basis.

Super Slow Pt. 2 - The Secret Muscle Mass Gaining Workout

2009-12-26T23:12:00.000-08:00

So now that we have the basic concept down, lets look at what a typical workout looks like, and yes, it is this simple. I put these in the order that you should do them when you arrive to the gym.

5-10 minute walk
Stretch (full body)
Bench Press
Squats or Leg press
Shoulder Press
Bicep Curls
Close Grip Bench
Lat Pulldowns
Go home

Remember, each exercise is done one time with 5 reps. If you feel that you can do 6, then you can do 6, just note it and on your next workout day, increase the weight. You want to put as much weight on as you possibly can. On the last rep of each set, hold your rep halfway until you can't do it any longer. A full rep should take no less then 10 seconds. Make sure you are focusing on form and breathing the whole time. When you get done with each exercise, let your muscles relax for a second and move to the next exercise. This whole routine together shouldn't take more than maybe an hour.

You will do this routine TWICE per week. The two days are up to you, but should be 3-4 days apart (ie Tuesday & Friday or Wednesday & Sunday). In my next post, I will go over the way you will use your schedule to consistently see results. I personally love this workout because it is quick and simple. I strongly encourage you to try this one out, I really think you will see a lot of muscle mass gains by doing it. However, before doing any exercises, please consult with a doctor to make sure you are fit to do them.

Super Slow - My Secret Workout For Gaining Muscle Mass

2009-12-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, in my opinion, this is one of the BEST workouts I have ever done. There are a few reasons why I absolutely love this workout routine. First off, it is quick. Generally you can do a full workout in under an hour (that means that if I arrive at the gym at 5:00, I am on my way home by 6:00). Anyways, I also like it because you only have to do it twice a week. The final reason why I like this method is simple; It will give you results. This routine is perfect for anybody who wants to gain muscle mass. I would not recommend this for somebody who just wants to lose weight. But without further ado, let's get to how this works.

First off, the name "super slow" is kind of a hint as to what the routine entails. Basically, you are going to do a full body workout twice a week. During those two workouts, you are going to break down your muscles as much as you possibly can (safely of course). To accomplish this, you are only going to do ONE set of every exercise. During each set, you are going to do 4 to 6 reps with as much weight as you possibly can. For each repetition, you are going to do the exercise very slow (as in 8-10 seconds down and then 8-10 seconds up). On the final rep, you are going to go halfway up or down (depending on the exercise), and hold it there until you can't hold it any longer. When you get done with one exercise, immediately move to the next exercise without rest. You may take a few seconds to stretch a little, but don't start messing around. Ok, so now that we have the basic concept of the workout, lets get into what exercises I recommend doing.

Bench Press (Target Muscle = Chest)
Close grip bench (Target Muscle = Triceps)
Should Press (Target Muscle = Shoulders)
Squats (Target Muscle = Legs)
Lat Pulldowns (Target Muscle = Back)
Bicep Curls (Target Muscle = Biceps)

Now, these are very generic exercises, and in my next few posts, I am going to go into a little more detail on how this particular system can be molded to suit anybody. For right now, these are the only exercises that I am going to tell you about with this routine (I will also go over abs in a later post, but they are very important as well). As far as how these are performed, it really doesn't matter. The bicep curls and shoulder press can be done on a machine, with barbells or with dumbells, and they all work perfectly fine. The main point is to perform each exercise once, doing the exercise VERY slow and not stopping to rest.

Muscle Gaining Secrets Review

2009-12-26T01:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, now Muscle Gaining Secrets has been on the market for a little while, and if you are anything like me, you are probably skeptical about buying it (which is a good thing). Anyways, I am here to just give a quick review of what I think of the product, and if I think it is worth your time. I actually have 2 other products that I am going to review at a later time, but for now, I am going to stick with Muscle Gaining Secrets.

So, first lets take a look at what you get with the product. Muscle Gaining Secrets comes with several ebooks designed to help you build muscle. It comes with one main ebook, which is the meat and potatoes of the course. With it, you will learn basically everything you need to know about gaining muscle mass, from supplements to workouts to "secrets" that nobody else knows about as to why you can't gain muscle mass. It also comes with training manual for workouts, and nutrition guide. Lastly, you get 7 "bonuses" to go along with the course (click here to see what they are).

Now, does it work? Yes, it is a good program. It does have A LOT of information, possibly too much, and if you take it step by step, you will see muscle growth, guarenteed. If you look at some of the testimonials, they show you that the system is for real, and I can tell you that they leave out the "fluff" in the ebooks, and cut straight to the business of building muscle.

Price? The whole package is $77, but that includes lifetime ebook updates. This is really nice because even if you do finish all the ebooks (which will take quite a while), you will have some more material to go with it. You can also pay $107 to order the delux version, which comes with 3 more ebooks on cardio, arms, and general mass building. That is $10 per book, which isn't bad, but if you can't afford it the basic package works fine too.

The only thing I didn't really like about this product is the fact that there are no videos. The whole package comes with all ebooks. Given the ebooks are outsanding, I would have liked it a little bit better if there were a few videos. However, to be honest, the techniques shown in the manuals don't really require videos.

Is it worth it? The Muscle Gaining Secrets package is definitely a product you should try. You can't beat it for its price. I have two other products that I am going to review later (burn fat feed muscle & no nonsense muscle building). This product is priced right between the two, and is a great product for its price. It doesn't include a monthly fee, and I really don't think you would need one because they give you all the information you need in the product. It also has the 8 week guarentee, so you can always get a refund if you feel that it just isn't working out for you. If you have any questions, drop me an email comment.

Building muscle vs. Showing muscle

2009-12-25T23:56:00.000-08:00

There is nothing more annoying than a show-off. Almost every time I go to the gym, I see at least one guy doing 50 pounds more than he should be doing and having terrible form. It is not uncommon to see people at the gym pick up a few 50 pound dumbells and attempt to do bicep curls by throwing them toward their face. But what good is that going to do? If you go to the gym, please keep in mind that your goal is to build muscle mass. If you want to show off, go look in the mirror, but when you are in the gym, you are there to work. And if you do see some guy showing off their muscles by flexing in the mirror or lifting way too much weight for him, simply ignore them.

Showing off not only makes you look dumb, but it also impairs your ability to gain muscle. While you are busy showing everybody how much weight you can lift, you are likely to injure yourself, or simply waste a workout because you aren't focusing on your goal. It is interesting how I generally see the people that like to show off back in the gym every single week, and I almost never see any improvements (as far as looks go at least).

Now, I am not saying don't be proud of yourself, and showing people every once in a while isn't so bad, but don't do it in the gym. Just remember that the gym is where you want to build muscle mass, not show it.

Building muscles in your biceps - Workouts

2009-12-25T23:49:00.000-08:00

The biceps are by far the most common muscle to flex. Anytime somebody asks how strong you are, the first thing you do is tell them how much you can bench, and flex your biceps (which is kind of ironic because the bench press doesn't even really target the biceps). Anyways, my point is that you want to gain muscle mass in your biceps, and to do that, you want to do the proper muscle building exercises.

If you watched the video, then you may notice that the bicep curl is the main exercise. This is because the bicep curl is by far, without a doubt, the best way to build your biceps. If you want to put some muscle mass on your biceps, you must do bicep curls. The way you do the curls is up to you. They have machines, you can use a bar, dumbells, etc. I am going to show you a few workouts that I personally like that will kill your biceps, so come back soon.

Muscle Gaining back workouts

2009-12-25T23:38:00.000-08:00

The following workouts are intended for your back. The main muscles that you want to work in your back are your lats and deltoids (this would be the upper back area). For those of you who want to work the lower back a little more, the deadlift is a great exercise for that. The following video gives you some great back exercises.

Now, the only really big and important workout for building muscles in your back is the lat pulldowns, or pullup. I am sure that you have heard of a pull up, and if not, refer to the video (it is the first exercise the guy does). One quick tip on the pull ups is to make sure you go all the way down before coming back up for a second rep. I see a lot of people doing pullups and they only go down halfway and then come back up. This is not going to benefit at all. Keep the exercise controlled and go down until the angle at your elbows are around 170 degrees, if you know what that means.

The lat pulldowns are great if you are have weight room to do it in because you can adjust the weight that you use. Another great back muscle targeting exercise is the bent over rows that he was doing. This is where you use a dumbell, and while leaning over a bench, pull the dumbell up. This can also be done in some gyms if they have a seated row machine, which looks a lot like a lat pulldown machine, only you sit down and pull the bar toward yourself.

Leg workouts

2009-12-25T00:32:00.000-08:00

Now, there are 3 main muscles in the legs. Those muscles are the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. And there are different exercises for each. However, I am going to just cover whole legs at once. So, the following video will show you the main exercises done to gain muscle in the legs.

While this video does not show the squat, I am going to assume that you already know what that is. The squat is really the best exercise for the lower body, but if you want to target specific muscles, then I recommend these workouts. The leg press is really good at targeting the glutes (butt), hamstrings and quadriceps. This also doesn't show how to work the calves. I will tell you that working the calves is very easy. If your gym doesn't have a machine, simply go to the leg press machine. When you are leaned back, push up the weight with the balls of your feet. You should feel your calves working.

Tricep Exercises

2009-12-24T22:53:00.000-08:00

If you want the big looking arms, you'd better work your triceps. The triceps are another muscle that often get neglected due to the fact that they are below the biceps, and are not explicitly shown when flexing. However, it is important to make sure you focus on building muscle mass in your triceps if you want bigger arms. The following video will show you a tricep workout that consists of 3 tricep exercises.

The tricep pushdown is probably one of the most common and targeting workouts you can do. One tricep exercise you can do if you don't have any free weights or machines around is the close hand pushup, or if you really want a challenge, you can do the diamond pushup. The closer your hands get together on a pushup, the more you are going to be working out your triceps.

The final exercise you can do, and this is another that you can do without an equipment, is called dips. To do this, all you need is a chair about 2 feet high or so (doesn't really matter, the taller it is, the easier the exercise is). Face away from the chain, so that the chair is behind you. Put your hands on the chair, and stretch your legs out (letting your butt hang just beneath the edge of the chair).

To perform the exercise, simply dip your butt down, as illustrated, and push back up. This can be a tough workout, but will really focus on building your tricep muscles.

Chest Exercises

2009-12-24T22:32:00.000-08:00

If you really want muscle mass, the chest is one of the best places to put on a few pounds of muscle. Building muscles in the chest is hard work, but is very noticeable when you do start working out. The following is a good video of some great chest workouts.

The only exercise that is really shown in the video is flys. Flys are one of the best ways to focus on building muscles in your chest. Flys can be performed many ways. In the video, is arms are bent at about a 90 degree angle, but you can stretch your arms out to around 150 degrees safely. The bigger the angle, the harder it is.

Another great method for building muscle mass is to use a pec deck machine. A pec deck machine looks like this.
If you have seen this at a gym, then you probably know that you squeeze the two arms together and flex your chest. This is a great machine for building a muscular chest. Classic pushups are also great for working out the chest. To focus more on the chest, do the pushups with your hands wider apart, and make sure to go all the way down to your chest when doing it. In the end, the bench press is still probably the most classic way of working out the chest. Make sure if you are performing the bench press, and you want to focus on your chest, you use a slightly wider grip. This will make you work your chest more than your triceps (which is worked when you do close grip bench).

Shoulder Exercises

2009-12-24T21:45:00.000-08:00

So far I have gone over main core exercises that people do, now I am going to go over some isolated exercises. Shoulders are going to be the first place to start, as they are very important for building muscle mass. Many of you probably want muscular looking arms, and to do that you need to build muscle mass in your shoulders. The following video will show you some isolated exercises for your shoulders.

Personally, I like the lateral and front raises the best. However, there is still nothing that compares to the classic shoulder press. I recommend doing the shoulder press with dumbells, mainly because doing a shoulder press is really hard to do with an olympic bar. Another great way to perform the shoulder press is to do it with a machine. I like the machine because it ensures that you have perfect form. But at the same time, this is kind of a problem with the machine, because with free weights, it forces you to use your core for balance. Either way, it is up to you. Using free weights is probably harder and works more muscles, but the machine will help isolate the muscles a little more.

Muscles Greatest Enemy - Over Training

2009-12-24T21:35:00.000-08:00

Over training is probably one of the most common, yet dangerous, mistakes that people make when they want to build muscle. It is imperative that when you do workout, you stick to your plan and do not train more than you have planned. It is very tempting for people to over train, especially when they begin working out. You are never going to build muscle if you over train. Let me repeat that. You are never going to build muscle if you over train! So, do me and yourself a favor and stick to your plan.

The reason that you don't want to over train is because it does not give your muscles time to heal. If you know about muscle growth and building muscle mass, you should know that when you exercise, you are making tears in your muscles. These tears (which are microscopic), will then grow back bigger then they were before. Much like bones grow back stronger if they are broken. If you have ever broken a bone, then you may know that the bone grew back bigger and stronger then it did when you first broke it. Your muscles work the exact same way.

The problem with over training is that you do not give your muscles time to heal. This causes them to be continually broken down, which can lead to serious injury. Generally it takes 3 to 5 days for muscles to completely heal, and this number is slightly debatable. The number will fluctuate slightly depending on many factors (age, intensity of workout, diet, gender, etc.). Anyways, if you want to see really gains in your muscle mass, you need to make sure that you are not over training. I know it may be tempting because you want to get muscle mass faster, but you need to be patient, the muscle mass will come.

Muscle building diet

2009-12-24T21:23:00.000-08:00

Diet is one of the most important aspects of building muscle mass. Since I have already given you a little overview of the main exercises you are going to do, I think it is time you begin looking at your diet for building muscle. Now, I am just going to touch on the basic diet for those of you who want to gain muscle mass. For those of you who want to learn everything there is to know about dieting to build muscle mass, check out muscle gaining secrets. It is a great site that will show you everything there is to know about muscle mass gains (I will be doing an in depth review of it later). Anyways, let’s get into the diet that I’M going to show you.

One thing I should tell you in advance is that there is no “secret diet” out there. Diets are going to be different for every person based on their gender, age, metabolism and goals. Seeing as how this site is about building muscle, I am going to focus on a diet that builds muscle. But don’t worry, I will come back and address this in a later post and possibly give you some good diet tips if you just want to lose weight and get tone.

So for right now, we need protein. Protein is the building block for those of you with muscle mass as a goal in their future. The following are the best food that I highly recommend incorporating into your diet. This is a good start to building muscle, I will be adding more and more to break down exact dieting strategies.

1. Eggs (eggs whites are the best), and they don’t have to be raw, that just makes you look cool.

2. Chicken is cheap and a great source of protein

3. Fish is another cheap source of protein that is also high in other vitamins such as omega III

4. Basically any types of beans are good for main meals throughout the day (although you should be eating small snacks in 3 hour periods)

5. Lean red meat is expensive, but it is very tasty and one of the best sources of protein. Be sure not to eat it too much though, it is very high in saturated fats.

So that’s it, try incorporating these five foods into your diet IN MODERATION. You should use common sense and not eat too much of this food. When you eat anything, always make sure to eat in moderation.

Muscle building lower body exercises

2009-12-24T14:31:00.000-08:00

Now that I have covered the primary upper body core workouts. Let’s talk about how you can see some muscle gains in your lower body. The following are lower core body workouts that I will probably be using in many of my suggested workout routines in the future.

1. Squats – This is the primary lower body workout (it is much like the bench press of the lower body). Squats work out your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and back. The squats are probably one of the hardest exercises that you will do. To be honest, I hate doing squats myself. But while I hate doing them, I know that they are very important to building muscle mass, so I just suck it up and move through them. I am going to show you a few workout routines that I have personally used that did not require squats. At the same time, if there is a routine that requires you to do squats, I would definitely discourage you from simply skipping the exercise altogether.

2. Deadlift – This workout is pretty simple, you just lift the weight. This is a great workout for the legs and back, but there are some downsides. First off, it is imperative that you perform this exercise correctly with correct form. If you are ever getting lazy or feel that you are having an off day, simply skip this exercise and do something else for your back. The deadlift can do serious injury to your back if you perform it incorrectly.

3. Power clean or clean and jerk – This exercise is a true test of strength for your entire body. It basically incorporates the deadlift, squat and shoulder press. This is an exercise that I don’t put in most of my workouts, mostly because it is too hard to do. You often see it performed in the Olympics. The exercise involves starting with the bar on the ground (with weight), deadlifting it up to the neck. You are then supposed to lift it over your head. Some people go as far as lowering it to the back of their neck and doing a squat before reversing the process. Some people do this and then just drop it at the when they put their arms up for a second or two. This is a workout for somebody who is advanced, and I wouldn’t recommend it for those just looking to gain a few pounds of muscle.

So that’s it. Those are the primary lower body core workout. Squats and deadlifts will probably be used a lot, and I recommend learning how to perform them with good form.

Muscle Gaining Upper body core exercises

2009-12-24T14:30:00.000-08:00

These are called core workouts because they workout more than just one muscle. These are the upper body exercises that you have probably heard of, but maybe you don’t really understand why they are so important to building strong muscles. If you think you understand why these are so important for gaining muscle mass, I still recommend reading on.

1. Bench press – You often hear guys talking about how much they bench as a testament to how strong they are. The bench press primarily works out your chest, shoulders and triceps. These are the three muscle groups that many people notice when you take your shirt off. This is also why many guys want to gain muscle mass in this area. The bench press is a full upper body workout, which is why it is very common for people to ask how much another person benches, as it tells a lot about ones upper body strength. If any one of the main muscles are weak (chest, shoulders and triceps), your bench press is going to reflect that.

2. Shoulder Press – This is another core upper body workout because it also works out a lot of the upper body. Obviously the main muscle group that the shoulder press works out is the shoulder. But if you have ever done a shoulder press, then you probably know it also works out the triceps. While this is not quite as good as the bench press, it is still a good compound core workout.

3. Inclined press – this is basically right between the shoulder press and bench press. It goes about half way between shoulder and bench press, and is slightly closer to the shoulder press in that it mainly works the shoulders. However, it does also work the chest.

So that’s it, those are the three main core upper body workouts. Now, many people will probably say that there are other core upper body workouts, but those are the main ones. It is also important to understand that there are variations to these exercises. For example, you can use dumbbells instead of a bar. They also have machines for these workouts which work your muscles slightly differently. You should also keep in mind that these workouts work out your abs and other areas of your mid section (hence the name “core” workouts).

Getting to know your muscular Body

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Aside from the diet, it is also important to know the anatomy of your body. There are two basic sections of the body; the upper and lower. The upper body consists of the neck, shoulders, trapezius, pectorals (pecs), abdomen (abs), deltoids, lower back and lats (upper back). The lower body consists of the hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves. By the way, as a side note, muscle is muscle, and muscle burns fat, it doesn’t matter where the muscle is on your body. You also need to know that there are two types of muscle fibers, slow twitch and fast twitch. The slow twitch muscles are primarily used in aerobic situations. They are not as quick as fast twitch muscles, but they can hold their energy longer. Fast twitch muscles are responsible for anaerobic respiration. These muscles are like your sprint muscles, they are very strong for a short time, and then lose their energy.

When you work out, you are basically making microscopic tears in your muscles. Many people have probably heard of lactic acid. Many people believe that lactic acid is the cause of muscle soreness, but this is not the case. Lactic acid is a cause for immediate soreness of your muscles, after things such as a hard sprint, but as for the soreness you feel in your muscles 2 to 3 days after you workout, that is not due to lactic acid. The real reason for the soreness in your muscles is slightly debatable. However, most people believe that they tears in your muscles is what cause your muscles to be sore. Anyways, these muscle tears are going to cause you to build muscles mass. These tears are going to be filled with protein and make the muscle bigger and stronger when it grows back. So now that we know a little bit about our body, lets jump into some exercises.

Muscle Mass Equipment

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If you seriously want to see muscle mass gains, then I recommend joining a gym. Generally gym memberships cost around $20 to $40 per month, and occasionally have a membership fee. Personally, my favorite gym is LA fitness. All of its equipment, free weights and available activities make it easy for me to build muscles, sculpt my body, and have fun in the process. You can also join 24 hour fitness, which is a cheaper, but doesn’t have all the fun activities that LA fitness has (i.e. basketball, racquetball, swimming, etc.).

For those of you who prefer to stay at home to work out, there are upsides and downsides to that as well. First off, if you choose to workout at home, you are going to need all of your own gym equipment. While I am going to show you many workouts that only require body weight, if you are serious about gaining muscle mass, I suggest purchasing all the equipment to do so. The advantages of having a home gym is that there are no monthly fees and you don’t have to drive anywhere to workout.

If you decide to work out from home, I suggest buying a home gym. Home gyms come with a full package and are generally cheaper than buying all the equipment separately. You can generally buy home gyms at big 5 or other stores.

One home gym that I have heard many great things about is the bowflex. The nice thing about the Bowflex is that the resistance training gives your muscles something unique to work on, and will force many muscles to work together to push the weight. While the Bowflex is great, they only thing I am not fond if is it is kind of limiting in that you can’t just pick the weights up and start working. It is also a bit on the expensive side. However, I would still recommend it to anyone who wants a gym right in their home. It is a good size, and you can really gain some serious muscle mass with it.

Some other gear I recommend is just a few pairs of sweats or shorts, a towel, 1 or 2 water bottles , a deadlift belt and some workout gloves (I highly recommend the gloves, especially after lat pulldowns). And that’s basically it as far as equipment goes.

Tracking your progress

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You will never know how well you are doing if you don’t track progress. Tracking progress of your muscle mass gains is extremely important, but many people forget to do it. If you are serious about gaining muscle, then you need to constantly track your progress from your workouts. You should track weight and strength every time you workout. When I say strength, I mean you need to track the weight, reps, and sets of each exercise (I will show you how to do this later). You also need to test and record your body fat percentage and take measurements of your biceps, forearms, legs (thighs), and torso once a month on a regular basis. Lastly, I recommend taking pictures of yourself every 3 to 6 months. These pictures should be from the front and back with your arms on your hips and in the “bicep flexing” position. Then a picture from the side with your hands down and turned toward the camera. For men these pictures should be taken without a shirt. And for girls, these pictures should be taken with a sports bra on.

The pictures are a great way to keep you motivated and show you that you are actually working toward your muscle building goals. This way you can see the physical muscle gains, and not just the numbers to back it up. So, that is really all you need to know about tracking your process working out (this does not include the diet book, which I will discuss later). All it really requires is a journal or spiral notebook. This can be the same notebook that you write your goals in.

Setting Goals

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After you decide that you want to take the challenge of trying to find some muscle mass gains, now it’s time to set some goals. When I say set goals, this is something that I really recommend spending time on. Muscle mass is something that takes time, and can be very frustrating. You really need something that you can go to for inspiration if you don’t see immediate muscle. A good place to learn how to write goals is a book called “Think and Grow Rich”. While this book is intended for business owners, it is still a great book for those who want to learn how to set goals and accomplish them.

Building muscle is very hard work. Especially for those of you who want to gain muscle mass, it is very hard to do. When you do set goals, you need to write them down. There are 3 types of goals:

1. Short Term – 1 to 4 weeks

2. Mid range – 1 to 6 months

3. Long Term – 6 months to a year

You need to set goals in all three categories. Usually start by setting a few short term goals, and make new ones at least every 3 weeks. Examples of short term goals are increasing weight on an exercise, increasing reps or even gaining a few pounds. You should also set maybe three or four mid range goals, making new ones every few months. These mid range goals should be more for things like body fat percentage, muscle size or weight. Make at least 2 long term goals. These goals should be very similar to the mid range goals, mainly because you should see the mid range goals as small checkpoints to these long term goals. When you write the mid range and long term goals, write out the goal, then write exactly how you are going to accomplish them. The short term goals will generally be fulfilled when you actually workout. Read the goals every single day in the morning and before you workout. This generally takes only a minute or two, but is very important. So go write out your goals right now!

Getting Started

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Getting started, for those of you that want to some muscle mass gains, can be very hard. However, for those of you who do want to start building muscle, the first step is to actually get up and start. This blog will be a great place to learn about how to start out and see actual results in your muscle gaining journey. The investment for building muscle varies. I will go over all of the equipment you need, along with supplements, food, and the price it will cost.

For those of you who think that working out is too expensive, I advise you to consider your health. My grandmother is over 70 years old, and is still exercising on almost a daily basis. Now, her goal obviously isn’t to build muscle, but she is still very healthy. Think about the money you put into your workouts as an investment in yourself and your health.

I am also going to occasionally review products that I feel could help you gain muscle mass. Most of these products are digital, so they can be accessed instantly. I will also review pieces of equipment that I feel would be good to purchase or at least consider purchasing. So with no further ado, let’s get started.