Gym techniques/Gain muscles

Warm up

Prepping your muscles properly is worth the extra few minutes before a lifting session. Not only are you preventing short-term injury, but your promoting healthier long-term muscle growth

HOW OFTEN AND HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU WORK OUT TO GAIN MUSCLE?

There are a few factors to consider when designing a workout plan aimed at building muscle: frequency, volume, weight, and progressive overload.

Frequency of workouts

Most scientific studies on the matter conclude that a muscle needs to be worked at least two or three times a week in order to see it change and grow. This means you should aim to gym at least two times a week, up to a maximum of six times. It may be tempting to gym every day, but rest day are actually crucial when it comes to build muscle.

Volume

The ideal workout volume (the number of reps and sets you do) changes depending on whether your goal is strength, endurance, or hypertrophy. For muscular hypertrophy, 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps per exercise is considered the best approach. 

Weight

Your workouts need to challenge the muscles enough to create change, which means choosing weights that are heavy enough that the last couple of repetitions are challenging but not impossible, but you would be unable to complete another rep with good form (or at all).

Progressive overload

Progressive overload is one of the most important principles of strength training. Our bodies are great at adapting to stimulus, so if we repeatedly do the same number of reps and sets with the same weight, we will plateau. Progressive overload involves increasing the difficulty of an exercise over time, either by increasing the weight, reps, depth, or intensity (by slowing down the tempo, for example).

For hypertrophy, what this might look like is doing 10kg for 3 sets of 8 reps one week, 10 reps, the week after, and 12 reps the week after, and then increasing to a weight you can only manage for 8 reps and repeating the process.

ARE FREE WEIGHTS OR MACHINES BETTER FOR GAINING MUSCLE?

Free weights and resistance machines are both great tools for building muscle, and while neither one is better nor worse, there are differences which can make one more suitable than the other.

Resistance machines follow a fixed movement path which make them ideal for those who have just started a muscle-building program or are new to the gym. The fixed path makes it easier to perform an exercise as it doesn’t rely on technical knowledge of the form, and this helps to ensure the right muscles are engaged while minimizing risk of injury. It can also allow heavier weights to be lifted more safely, as there is no risk of dropping the weight. While good for beginners, these machines are also good for advanced lifters who want to really isolate a muscle and perfect their form. You can read more about the benefits of resistance machines.

Free weights like dumbbells and barbells require the performer to have good form, and usually a strong core. Exercises with free weights are more challenging as more muscles need to be engaged to stabilize the movement. This extra challenge can fatigue the muscles quicker and help to build more strength and stability.

If you’re new to working out, or are struggling to engage the right muscles during exercises with free weights, resistance machines can be a great way to build strength and learn the correct form.   Once you’re comfortable with the exercise, you can move to free weights and use dumbbells or barbells to replicate the movement. For example, once you’ve mastered the Seated Chest Press, you can easily perform Lying Dumbbell press

If you’re more experienced, you may prefer to use free weights or a mix of both.

SHOULD I DO “SPLIT WORKOUTS”? 

Split workouts involve splitting up the muscles worked across the week, so each workout focuses on one area of the body or one type of exercise, for example doing an upper body day one day, leg day the next, or doing push exercises one day, pull exercises another.

Split workouts are useful when you’re training on consecutive days, as you can give the muscles you used yesterday a rest while you work on a different area. Because each muscle group needs to be worked at least twice per week for muscle growth, split workouts work best when you are training at least 3-4 times a week. If you can only commit 2-3 times a week, full body workouts are best.

Classic muscle building splits are:



• Push/Pull/Legs (6-day split)

• Chest & Back/Legs/Shoulders & Arms (3-1-3 split)

• Back & Biceps/Chest & Triceps/Legs/Shoulders (4-day split)

• Chest/Back/Legs/Shoulders & Arms (also a 4-day split)

HOW IMPORTANT IS NUTRITION FOR GAINING MUSCLE?

It’s possible to build muscle without paying attention to nutrition, but it’s much more efficient to do so when you are properly fueling muscle growth with your diet.

If you are happy with your body fat and want to focus on building muscle, aim to eat in a slight calorie surplus (around 5-10% above your maintenance calories) and aim to get at least 1.4 gram of protein per kg of bodyweight ideally through nutritious protein sources like lean meats, eggs, legumes, and dairy.

If you have a lot of excess fat stored and are trying to lose weight, you’ll be pleased to know it’s still possible to build muscle while in a calorie deficit . Protein is even more important when it comes to preserving and building muscle when dieting, as it helps to prevent your body from burning muscle instead of fat.

While food is helpful in recovering from workouts and building muscle, they also play a part in fueling your workouts. and ensure you can really deliver your best each workout.

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EXAMPLE GYM WORKOUT ROUTINE TO BUILD MUSCLE

Three top tips before you get started on your bulking workout plan: 



1. In general, it’s best to priorities compound movements and supplement with isolation exercises. This means starting with exercises that work more than one muscle group (like a deadlift) and then finishing up with isolation exercises that focus on more specific muscles (such as bicep curls).

2. Always begin with adynamic warm-up and finish with some static stretches to cool down This step is vital to maintain mobility and reduce your risk of injury. 

3. Make sure to include regurall rest day . You’ll want to wait at least a day between working the same muscle group twice to give your muscles time to repair and grow between sessions, but schedule at least one full rest day a week.

Here, I’ve pulled together an example gym plan for muscle gain, using the popular push/pull/legs split and aiming for six workouts a week. I’ve included links for each exercise, so you can find out how to perform each with good form.

Remember, this is just an example - you can try different exercises and splits to find your own best workout plan for muscle gain.

IN SUMMARY

Building muscle is hard, but simple. Work each muscle group at least twice a week, taking your exercises close to failure. Make sure you are getting enough rest to allow the muscles to recover and rebuild, and eat a diet that is rich in protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrate. While it can take months to build noticeable mass, you should start to see and feel a difference much quicker than that.