The Best Way to Gain Muscle Mass is not as Hard as You Think
Finding the best way to gain muscle mass can be challenging for some. If you're like me, your first day in the gym you got on a machine and started haphazardly moving stuff around. Not only will this not get you muscular, you'll probably injure yourself. Whether your goal is strength or aesthetically-driven, I hope you find this article informative.
Now, when you do train, the best way to gain muscle mass quickly is to use free weights. You must focus on compound free-weight training, and lift challenging (that is, heavier) weights. This stimulates the largest amount of muscle fibers.Your body responds to this stimulus by increasing the size of your muscle fibers. In the past, I used mostly machines. I was always told that free weights were a waste of time, and machines were much safer and more effective. Boy, was I mislead! Most machines are a waste of time for us. Machines limit your development, because they help to support the weight. On the other hand, free weights make you support the weight along the entire path of the movement, which helps to stimulate more muscle fibers while also strengthening smaller and/or weaker muscles.
The world is obsessed with getting skinny. People who strength train are different, we want to gain muscle mass. Most men will actually admit they would like to have larger muscles. They usually come up with some poor excuse on why they don't try. The real reason most fail to gain muscle mass is because gaining muscle is not easy.
While free weights are the best way to gain muscle mass, there are some free weight exercises that rise above the rest. Namely, the squat, deadlift, press, clean, and their variations. If you want to get big, you would do well to incorporate these in your workout. Especially the squat and deadlift. The squat is called the "king of exercises," and elicits full body stimulus and growth like no other exercise. If you want to get big, squat. I can't stress that enough. Not only will the squat develop thick, powerful legs, but it strengthens hips, the core, the lower back, and almost every major muscle group to some extent.
It is a little more difficult to find the best way to gain muscle mass without also gaining fat. To minimize fat gains, I recommend cardiovascular exercise on your off days, allowing a couple days to rest. For example, you would train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and hop on the bike or go for a run on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Saturdays. On top of this, your diet must be fine-tuned, with almost no junk food. Muscle gain requires a caloric surplus, and to ensure this surplus does not turn into fat, you must be disciplined.
The best way to gain muscle mass and lose fat concurrently is more difficult still. Normally, these two goals are antagonistic; muscle gain requires a caloric surplus while fat loss requires a caloric deficit. I would only recommend this to you if you are young or have just started training, as you grow exponentially in these phases, or if you are very experienced and know what it takes to accomplish this. This is not to say it is not out of the question, because there are numerous cases of people gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time, it just takes a lot of work. Your training must be top notch, your diet must be top notch and your mindset must be top notch.
The best way to gain muscle mass requires the use of free weights and eating. A lot of eating. You have to eat until you're uncomfortably full every meal. You should eat 6 meals a day, and eat 19 calories for every pound of bodyweight you have. So if you weigh 200 pounds, you should be eating 3800 calories minimum to gain weight.
The best way to gain muscle mass is to work out with free weights. No exceptions. Free weights are king for many reasons: you don't have a machine balancing the weight for you, making it harder, they elicit more of a response from the central nervous system, and many more. Also, many machines are terrible for your joints. One example is the leg extension machine. This machine is murder on your knees, and your quadriceps weren't meant to be isolated in that manner. - 17269
Now, when you do train, the best way to gain muscle mass quickly is to use free weights. You must focus on compound free-weight training, and lift challenging (that is, heavier) weights. This stimulates the largest amount of muscle fibers.Your body responds to this stimulus by increasing the size of your muscle fibers. In the past, I used mostly machines. I was always told that free weights were a waste of time, and machines were much safer and more effective. Boy, was I mislead! Most machines are a waste of time for us. Machines limit your development, because they help to support the weight. On the other hand, free weights make you support the weight along the entire path of the movement, which helps to stimulate more muscle fibers while also strengthening smaller and/or weaker muscles.
The world is obsessed with getting skinny. People who strength train are different, we want to gain muscle mass. Most men will actually admit they would like to have larger muscles. They usually come up with some poor excuse on why they don't try. The real reason most fail to gain muscle mass is because gaining muscle is not easy.
While free weights are the best way to gain muscle mass, there are some free weight exercises that rise above the rest. Namely, the squat, deadlift, press, clean, and their variations. If you want to get big, you would do well to incorporate these in your workout. Especially the squat and deadlift. The squat is called the "king of exercises," and elicits full body stimulus and growth like no other exercise. If you want to get big, squat. I can't stress that enough. Not only will the squat develop thick, powerful legs, but it strengthens hips, the core, the lower back, and almost every major muscle group to some extent.
It is a little more difficult to find the best way to gain muscle mass without also gaining fat. To minimize fat gains, I recommend cardiovascular exercise on your off days, allowing a couple days to rest. For example, you would train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and hop on the bike or go for a run on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Saturdays. On top of this, your diet must be fine-tuned, with almost no junk food. Muscle gain requires a caloric surplus, and to ensure this surplus does not turn into fat, you must be disciplined.
The best way to gain muscle mass and lose fat concurrently is more difficult still. Normally, these two goals are antagonistic; muscle gain requires a caloric surplus while fat loss requires a caloric deficit. I would only recommend this to you if you are young or have just started training, as you grow exponentially in these phases, or if you are very experienced and know what it takes to accomplish this. This is not to say it is not out of the question, because there are numerous cases of people gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time, it just takes a lot of work. Your training must be top notch, your diet must be top notch and your mindset must be top notch.
The best way to gain muscle mass requires the use of free weights and eating. A lot of eating. You have to eat until you're uncomfortably full every meal. You should eat 6 meals a day, and eat 19 calories for every pound of bodyweight you have. So if you weigh 200 pounds, you should be eating 3800 calories minimum to gain weight.
The best way to gain muscle mass is to work out with free weights. No exceptions. Free weights are king for many reasons: you don't have a machine balancing the weight for you, making it harder, they elicit more of a response from the central nervous system, and many more. Also, many machines are terrible for your joints. One example is the leg extension machine. This machine is murder on your knees, and your quadriceps weren't meant to be isolated in that manner. - 17269
About the Author:
Michael Thomas is not a fitness expert, he's an average guy who's figured out one of the best ways to gain muscle mass, and it's no secret. It takes hard work. If you would like to learn more about ways to build muscle, join his newsletter.
posted by X - Men at
9:11 AM
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