Four Key Ingredients To A Successful Muscle Building Routine

By Arnold Sylvester


If you were able to ask one fitness based question and get a straight answer, most men would ask for advice on how to build muscle as easily as possible. Sadly, getting a straight answer on any topic in fitness is something which most men deem to be impossible. Simple techniques such as high intensity interval training and power-based explosive training have been over complicated beyond the point where most people can hold their interest.

This may come as a little shock, but the foundations of building lean tissue are primarily the same as they were thirty or forty years ago. Things have got more advanced in certain areas, but the overall principles still stand tall.

They are:

1. Focusing on compound lifts is imperative.

Exercises such as the lat pulldown, bench press, squat and lunge remain key figureheads in any size and strength routine.

This is because they recruit more fibers in the muscles, which will in turn cause a greater impetus on the body to grow bigger and stronger for future workouts.

2. Aim for the hypertrophy zone.

Studies show that the greatest amount of lean muscle is gained when aiming for a weight which causes you to fail in the 8-12 rep range.

You'll be stronger on some exercises, naturally, but you can begin using your rep range as a guide to tell you if you are going too light or too heavy.

3. Adapt your program to your new strength gains.

Consistency is the worst mistake made on the gym floor.

The number one way to keep building new gains is to hit your body with a resistance which it cannot handle comfortably. Yet, for some bizarre reason, many men do the same program for years and stick largely to the same weights on their biggest exercises. Variety and progression are the keys to success.

4. Sleep to grow.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not build new size in the gym. The process of building actually takes place during sleep...

The majority of this recovery phase takes place while you sleep, so be sure to register at least 8 hours whenever possible. If you have consistently neglected your sleeping patterns over a prolonged period, you should expect to see very little return for your sweat in the gym.

This could be compared to leaving the cement to set on a brick wall, but returning the following day and trying to build on it even further. You're basically knocking yourself down all the time and going nowhere.
The importance of diet is just one of the five rules touched upon in the video guide on how to build muscle accompanying today's article.


If your goal to learn how to build muscle has so far proved fruitless, these tips will help. It is a very common trait in the fitness industry to over complicate matters and go overboard with unnecessary scientific jargon, as you will easily see by looking for tips on high intensity interval training or drop-set techniques. But these proven principles are simple, yet time-tested.




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