Steve Robbins asked:


With limited time and resources, your muscle building plan needs to be as efficient as possible. The only thing worse than to spend months training and see little to no progress is to spend months muscle building successfully, and then have an injury set you back. As an aging lifter, I have come to appreciate and use a timeless method to increase my workout efficiency and aid in injury prevention.

There is an old adage in weight lifting, “a long muscle is a strong muscle”. This is absolutely true. The term long is NOT meant that smaller framed people can’t be strong. Long in this context refers to flexibility. The greater your ability to get your muscles to stretch as close to their maximum as possible, the stronger you can be. There is a definite connection between “range of motion” and how much power you can generate. And obviously there is a connection between how much power you generate and how much muscle you can build.

So everybody knows that stretching is good. Even novice lifters know to “warm up” and then “cool down”. But does this type of stretching ACTUALLY lengthen your muscles, which would in turn increase your range of motion allowing you to build even more muscle? Well, it can, if done properly. The problem is almost no one does it properly, relative to truly “lengthening the muscle”. Most people stretch until things feel “loose” and then they begin their workout. This DOES help in injury prevention, and I strongly recommend it, but NOT for increasing your ability to build more muscle faster. What kind of “stretching” does this?

Yoga.

That’s right, I said yoga. Yoga is to stretching as weight lifting is to muscle building. You can build muscle doing only body weight exercises (of which by the way, yoga does for you), but you can turbo charge muscle building by adding “weight” to your workouts. Yoga takes stretching to another level, and prolonged, continuous use, will actually increase your range of motion, and lengthen your muscles to the point where you can become stronger than you could have without it.

I spend roughly 9 hours a week weight lifting. I “warm up” and “cool down” for maybe a half hour of this time. I took an hour away from lifting , added a once a week yoga class in it’s place, and after 3 months was able to blast through plateaus on the bench, military and leg press, that I had been struggling with for months. Not to mention the increased flexibility reduced some low back pain I had been experiencing and gave all my joints a greater freedom of movement.

I have plenty of gym rat buddies who scoff at my use of yoga and massage as a means of helping me build muscle. All I know is I can lift more today at 51 years of age than I could at any age of my life (I have been lifting for most of my life) and I get stronger every month, something most of my gym rat buddies can’t say.

I challenge anyone who thinks an hour of proper yoga is “not a workout” to try it once and see.



Paul

CHRIS WEST asked:


We’ve got to think about this. What are the best exercises to do if you want to gain muscle and put on some solid weight? Exercises that work out MORE than 1 muscle is better. The reason why is because we want to economize.

We’ve got about a 1 hour window (probably more like 45 minutes) where we can warm up, workout and warm down before our body starts turning from a muscle building machine, into a muscle BURNING machine. We don’t want to burn out muscles. So we want to get as much muscle work done within this time as possible. And the secret is the Comprehensive Exercise.

Building Muscle Tips – Comprehensive exercise list:

Building Muscle Tips #1. These are the only exercises you should do to to work out the most muscles in shortest amount of time. If you do these exercises, instead of the small exercises, you’ll gain loads of muscle in very little time.

# Full Standing Squats

# Bench Press

# Stiff Deadlifts

# Standing Military Press

# Bent Rows

# Wide Grip Chin Ups (Bit Hard? Do Heavy Lat Pull Downs until you’re stronger)

# Dips (if you can’t do full body dips do dips with your feet on a chair in front of you)

These last two exercises are optional because the other exercises are so comprehensive that you’ve already worked out your entire body! Do them if you’ve still got time and energy during your workouts.

Get 3 workouts done each week, and do squats in every one of them. You’ll get the most out of doing squats because they’re the biggest muscle group in your whole body. Work them out hard and you’ll stimulate massive testosterone production!

On that note: WORK HARD! These exercises work, if you work them. Don’t change them, do them as described and you’ll get results. Work out hard and keep at it. In a few weeks you’ll notice the results. That’s when you know you’re about to get REALLY BIG MUSCLES! Do about 5-7 heavy reps, and do no more than 3 sets each. Lift as much weight as you can and get someone to spot for you. You’re the one who must do the work.

The secret to making massive muscle gains in short amounts of time is to stress your body with INTENSE PHYSICAL RESISTANCE TRAINING. Use the same weight throughout the sets. i.e. if you start bench with 50kg, use 50kg the whole workout for bench. Change it up next workout by about 2.5% Keep good form and you’ll get great results. Never lift more than you can do 3 sets.



Clara

leelee asked:


i go to the gym 6 days a week and do 45 min of intense cardio and then i do weights for almost every part of my body. i’m almost to where i want to be i’ve already lost 20 lbs but i still have a good amount of body fat. i dont want to be buff..just thin and toned so how to i just burn fat as opposed to building muscle?

Minnie

Tinkerbell asked:


In order to build muscle mass, do I first have to build muscle? I am very confused. I have been lifting weights for 2 months and I am toning up, but I want to bulk up my legs and hips. How? Repetitions/weights? What should I be eating? (Currently 1200-1400 calories daily) I don’t want my upper body any larger. Is this what you call weight distribution? A lot of questions, I know… Give me your best shot.

Juan

Chris Chew asked:


There are many factors to consider when you want to know how long it takes for you to gain and build muscle mass. Questions like are you eating enough and the right nutrients to accelerate muscle growth, are you exercising correctly and regularly and do you have the genes for quick muscle growth need to be addressed.

In this article, we shall discuss whether you have the genetic make up to gain and build muscles quickly. Don’t despair if you don’t because this is only one of the several factors that determine how long it takes for you to build muscle mass.

It is certainly helpful to know your body type when you want to build muscles. By knowing your own body type, you can then plan your nutritional and exercise program to suit your specific body type to encourage muscle growth.

We shall discuss the 3 common body types and their characteristics here.

• Endomorph: You have naturally big frame body and usually have a round face, wide hips, big bones and slow metabolism. You are the type that gain weight and body fat easily. However, you also have potential for gaining muscle mass quickly. Only problem is that your muscles may be hiding under your body fat making you look big bulky and clumsy. Your six pack abs is hidden under your tummy fat is not going to show.

So you will have to build muscles and then burn off the fats to reveal your muscle definition. That means you will take slightly longer time than the next body type to show off your muscle gain and mass because you need time to cut away body fats as well.

• Mesomorph: You are blessed with a naturally muscular body and have wide shoulders, small waist, athletic body frame structure, low body fat with a somewhat high metabolism. With your natural predisposition, you can pack on muscles real fast and are the type that can take up bodybuilding as a career if you want to. You excel naturally in sports and will always have that sexy and handsome body that is to everyone’s envy.

You are the type that will not take a long time to see your muscle gaining size, mass and definition. In fact, if you train, eat and rest correctly, you will visibly see your muscles growing week after week right before your eyes until you hit a body building plateau.

• Ectomorph: You are the skinny type with small muscles, very very high metabolism, narrow shoulders, hips and waist. You find it hard to put on weight and muscles no matter how much you eat. You will need much more greater effort than others to build muscle mass on your skinny frame. People call you the hard gainer. You will take a longer time and need extra effort to gain muscle mass. Although it can be done, it is a constant battle for you because you are fighting what nature has given you.

Most people fall in between the three types. For example, a person can be a mixture of Mesomorph and Endomorph or Mesomorph and Ectomorphs.

Now that you have identified your body type, you can then write down your goals, objectives and the methodology you wish to take to gain muscle mass. By having a specific body building program to follow, it allows you to take concrete actions each day to achieve your muscle gain goals.

How long does it take to build muscles and gain muscle mass certainly depend the body type you have but it will also depend on numerous other factors as well.



Bryan

Adam asked:


Im started a new Workout routine with the intent of building muscle mass. Im spreading out my routine over 4 days with a rest day in between. I know about proper nutrition and all that. My question is im working

Chest.
Back.
Legs.
Calves.
Forearms.
Biceps.
Triceps.
shoulders.

What days should I combine with what muscle groups to get the best results?

Vincent

Ryan Tessevitch asked:


Odds are, your local health/vitamin shop carries a well-stocked supply of muscle building nutritional supplements. In fact, you may find that there are so many, it is difficult to decide which one to try. You probably have certain goals in mind, and it can be difficult to choose the supplement that will best help you to reach those goals, especially when there are so many to choose from. In this article, we will try to help you narrow down your choice.

You should know that you can build up muscle without using supplements, but using supplements will definitely help you achieve faster results. You still have to work at building muscle; it won?t happen if you just sit on the couch all day, no matter how many muscle building supplements you use. By having a well-planned weight lifting and workout routine that you do everyday, and using supplements, you can build muscle, if you are willing to work at it. The most popular supplements that muscle builders use are multivitamins, protein, and creatine.

Multi-vitamins are a nutritional supplement designed to help those who don?t always eat a proper diet provide their body with the vitamins it needs everyday. It is easy to get busy and just grab whatever food is handy, even if it isn?t the most nutritious option. If you take a daily multi-vitamin, your body won?t have to suffer when you don?t have the time to eat as you should. These vitamins may not do a lot to help you reach your muscle-building goals, but they can keep you healthy and boost your energy, which is also very

important.

Many bodybuilders rely on protein supplements to augment their exercise routines. Protein contains potent amino acids, which are effective at building muscle. If you are interested in building muscle, you definitely need either a high protein diet, or a protein supplement. If you take a protein supplement, most research shows that you should use 2 grams for every pound you weigh. So, if you weigh 200 pounds, then you would take 400 grams of protein each day. Protein supplements come in many forms, pills, bars, and powders. Look for a protein supplement that is made up of eggs, soy and whey.

Creatine supplements will help you not only build muscle, but will also help your muscles recover faster after workouts. If you lift weights, some lifters say that they are able to do more reps when they use creatine supplements. You have what is known as a loading period, usually one week, and then you use it for a few weeks, stop, and start back again, depending on the supplement manufacturers directions found on the label.

The right nutritional supplements can help you build muscle, provided you use them correctly, and in conjunction with muscle building exercises and a healthy diet.

 



Joshua

Dave234098712 asked:


Like, I don’t want to just be skinny. Because I already am at a perfect weight. I just don’t want to gain fat. I want to gain muscle. Which I am lacking muscle…

Is Atkins a good diet plan to help me do this? Or no?

What would you suggest in building muscle but not gaining fat? Its hard to have a lot of muscle and little fat because gaining muscle must mean you have to eat a lot. right?

someone help me out here?

Douglas

minimark501 asked:


I am a small 145 lb guy and I wanting to get bigger, around 185. I get that building muscle takes time so regardless of how bad I want it, I have to wait. I have been lifting for about a month and I think I have gained around 5 lbs of muscle. My workouts are very short but I lift extremely hard with very low reps (like 1 or 2 times). I have been taking some whey protein shakes that I got from Wal-mart. I take in about 120 grams of protein from that alone. And I try to eat alot to but it just isnt working out for me as well as I planned. I want to be able to have around 400 or 500 grams of protein a day. So does anyone recommend any high protein shakes or supplements or something to help me hit this 500 gram mark everyday? Or maybe even something else I havent thought of?

Phyllis

Shawn Lebrun asked:


In order to get a lean and toned looking body you need to do two things – build muscle and burn fat.

The two aspects go hand and hand so they are important to understand. As your body burns the calories you consume you have energy.

When you consume more calories than you consume your body stores them as fat. When you burn more calories than you consume that fat will go away.

By engaging in various types of exercises you will burn those calories you take in and more.

Muscle is heavier than fat so you will burn more calories when you work out and when you rest as your muscle mass increases.

This means it will become easier for you as you gain muscle to be able to keep your body healthy and looking great.

There are a variety of exercises you need to take part in so you can build muscle. Resistance training is very important to this goal.

It won’t matter as much how much weight you are working with.

Too many people focus on that aspect but as long as you are pushing to do as many reps as you can you will make progress.

Your workout plan should incorporate a variety of exercises designed to help you build muscle.

What you want to accomplish and how you want to sculpt your body need to be taken into consideration as you devise your course of action.

You want your workout to be intense too so you can burn fat and build muscle in less time.

Rest is very important when it comes to the concept of being able to build muscle and to burn fat.

You only want to work your muscle groups every other day.

Make sure you engage in other forms of exercise on those off times. You want to have some cardio exercises to keep your heart healthy.

Getting enough sleep is also very important when it comes to being able to build muscle.

In most instances you will find you sleep better when you are working out and eating well.

What you eat is very important when you want to build muscle and to burn fat. If you give your body the proper fuel then it can work well for you.

When you consume foods full of bad carbs and bad fats though you will slow down your results.

Work hard to eat what is going to allow you to build muscle. You will be surprised at how important this is to helping you successfully burn fat.

It isn’t always easy to be able to build muscle and burn fat but you can do it.

Set goals for yourself and a realistic plan to achieve it. Make sure you have the right information about what you need to do to accomplish your goals.

Engage in a variety of exercises that are known to help with the process of being able to build muscle.

Eat right and get enough rest and you will be ready to tackle even your toughest workouts.



Anita