Program for effective muscle gain

Get plenty of rest

Muscles do not grow during training, but at home when we rest. Adequate rest, 8-10 hours , as well as sleep during the day for 1-2 hours, are ideal conditions for muscle growth. We can adapt our body to absolutely everything, from training at night to daytime sleep. But the problem lies in the fact that our biological clock , biorhythm, will begin to radically go astray, and this can lead to health problems,

In addition, wear and tear on the body is inevitable and will lead to an increase in the stress hormone in the blood (cortisol), which will naturally interfere with the gain of muscle mass.

Try to train in the morning, afternoon or evening, but not at night (yes, such cases also occur!). At night, when a person sleeps, growth hormone (somatropin) is actively produced, which is very useful for a person, starting with the fact that it rejuvenates the body, strengthens bones, immunity, ending with its anti-catabolic, anabolic effect on muscles.

Complete rest after training

When they say that muscle growth requires rest, they mean rest, both psychologically and physically, and this is very difficult to do in our rhythm of life. But all life is a choice, therefore, you will decide what is more important to you, work or success in bodybuilding.

It will be impossible to progress if you exhaust your nervous system at your “favorite” job, and even get physically tired. Of course, in some ways, sports nutrition and anabolic steroids (whoever decides to use them in their training no matter what) can help restore the body, but this approach to bodybuilding is a dead end , which will very quickly lead to a hospital bed.

Therefore, if you want to grow in muscle strength and mass, then you need to get proper rest. Narrow your social circle, your acquaintances who invite you to go out to the club at night, change jobs, learn to disconnect from the bustling outside world and concentrate on the things that really matter , that make you stronger.

Principles of gaining muscle mass

We can already say that if you have set yourself any measurable goal to increase muscle mass by 5, 8, 10... kg in a month, two months, half a year, then you simply must perform basic exercises. As has been proven by scientists, to stimulate muscle growth, the body needs to produce growth hormone, and this is best achieved by a powerful load distributed throughout the body when performing basic exercises with heavy weights.

Basic exercises mean body activities in the gym with weights, as a result of which several muscle groups are involved in the work at once and local exercises that involve one muscle are excluded.

These include:

• Bars
• Bench press
• Deadlift
• Squats
• Pull-ups

If you decide to start gaining muscle mass, you should not exhaust yourself - rest also plays an important role in this matter. It is necessary to sleep at least 8 hours, wake up and fall asleep at the same time. When increasing muscle mass, one of the top mistakes beginners make is underestimating nutrition after training. It is a misconception that you only need to eat well before going to the gym.

Just imagine, you loaded up before training, worked out, built up a couple of hundred thousand muscle fibers, and then... And then these newborns begin to eat your good old fiber. Therefore, if you decide to pay attention to increasing muscle volume, then feed the “newborns” after training. One of the enemies of gaining muscle mass is long-term cardio training, which will perfectly help cope with both excess fat and increased muscle fibers.

Another “trifling” remark may be the advice: “Drink water, children!” We are made up of 80% H2O, so drying out is not the best thing.

Bodybuilding is more than just lifting weights. It makes sense to have an understanding of human kinetics.

Eat right and often

Small, multiple meals are the key to not only gaining muscle mass, but also losing weight , due to the constant promotion of metabolism (metabolism). The more often you eat, the better, meaning you can absorb much more healthy fats, proteins and carbohydrates in 6-8 meals than in 3 or 4.

In addition, frequent meals have a beneficial effect on the digestive system, preventing it from going into starvation mode, and thus, two problems are solved, your muscle mass, your proteins will not be used as an energy source, and carbohydrates will be stored in muscles in the form of glycogen . Therefore, always eat small meals (6-8 times) and make sure that your diet is always complete.

A bodybuilder's diet must first of all be balanced , however, like any other athlete who wants to eat healthy. The only difference will be in the amount of those essential nutrients.

Depending on your body type, you need to build your menu; if you are prone to gaining excess weight, then this article is for you about drying muscles; if, on the contrary, you are very thin and find it difficult to gain weight, then this article is for you. nutrition for muscle gain.

The basic principles of weight gain lie in a system of correct, balanced, and most importantly adequate nutrition. That is, to gain weight, you need surplus , to lose weight, you need a deficit.

Proper nutrition for weight

In your menu, eliminate empty calories (fast food, soda, foods stuffed with preservatives and other cheap foods), switch to quality products, healthy foods,

proteins of animal origin, since they are much higher in biological value than vegetable ones (of course, you can combine them, no one forbids), carbohydrates (brown rice, pasta, buckwheat, potatoes, etc.), also indulge yourself in sweets (if provided that there are no health problems and you are a typical ectomorph who finds it difficult to gain weight). Try fast carbohydrates without palm oil, which, if consumed in large quantities, can cause problems with the cardiovascular system.

Also, your diet must contain unsaturated fatty acids (omega 3), you can also buy fish oil supplements at any pharmacy. Omega 3 fatty acids have a beneficial effect on blood vessels, reducing the level of bad cholesterol in the blood, improve well-being, metabolism, cleanse the skin, reduce cortisol levels, and even stimulate the production of many hormones, including increasing testosterone .

Differences in training for mass and strength[edit | edit code]

In this article, we tried to collect information that characterizes the main tactical and strategic differences in training for muscle mass and strength. It should be noted that there are different types of muscle hypertrophy: sarcoplasmic hypertrophy and myofibrillar hypertrophy.

Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy

- this is the growth of muscle cells due to a predominant increase in the volume of sarcoplasm, i.e., the non-contractile part of the fibers. Hypertrophy of this type occurs due to an increase in the content of non-contractile (in particular, mitochondrial) proteins and metabolic reserves of muscle cells: glycogen, creatine phosphate, myoglobin, etc. Thickening of the capillary network as a result of training can also cause a slight increase in muscle volume.

Myofibrillar hypertrophy

associated with an increase in the number and volume of myofibrils, i.e., the actual contractile apparatus of muscle cells. At the same time, the density of myofibrils in the muscle fiber increases. This type of muscle fiber hypertrophy leads to a significant increase in muscle strength. The absolute strength of the muscle also increases significantly. When working on hypertrophy of the first type, strength also increases, but much more slowly. Apparently, fast muscle fibers are most predisposed to myofibrillar hypertrophy. It’s not difficult to guess that bodybuilders strive for the first type, and powerlifters strive for the second type.

Many authors (for example, V. Protasenko in his book “Think! Or 'Supertraining' without misconceptions”) rightly believe that differences in training do not play a special role, since muscle strength is directly proportional to its cross-sectional area and any force load, regardless of variation parameters lead to hypertrophy of both types of muscles equally.

Below is a table based on data that was obtained from the scientific articles “General Principles of Muscle Building - What the Science Says About Muscle Building Practices” and “General Principles of Strength Training” by Paul Rogers (2009). These articles include the most up-to-date, scientifically proven collective information about strength training approaches.

Diversify your training

If you train according to the same training program, with the same number of repetitions and working weight, with constantly the same exercises, then, in the end, the muscles will adapt to the load, stop responding to it, and muscle growth will stop.

Therefore, you should always introduce something new into your training program, constantly shock the muscles, do not allow them to adapt to the load, alternate light workouts with heavy ones, change the weight on the barbell, including the number of repetitions and approaches, introduce new exercises into your program, and never forget to do the basic ones.

The main principle of success in bodybuilding is built on the principle of progressive loading, that is, when you gradually increase your weights, rather than constantly working with the same weight. And also, for more advanced athletes, we recommend using various isolating (auxiliary) exercises for all muscle groups.

Variety of strength training process

If we take into account isolating exercises, we recommend changing them for each muscle group once every 2-3 months; when performing them, you should not feel a lot of tension (fatigue) in the muscles, much less bring them to failure . You need to reserve your strength for basic (multi-joint) strength exercises, which really powerfully increase muscle mass and strength. We suggest you get acquainted with an effective training program built on the full-body principle (for all muscle groups).

Concentrate on exercise

Many beginners, and even experienced athletes, neglect to concentrate on exercises, and this has a very negative impact on working approaches and on bodybuilding in general.

You must be completely focused on performing the exercise, in your thoughts, in your consciousness, there should be nothing except the idea of ​​how the muscles are filled with blood, swollen, and, of course, sports anger , which is tempered in difficulties, failures and defeats.

Make sure that your muscles are completely subordinate to your consciousness , and then, just the thought of training, will put you in a fighting, working state. The main thing is to understand that if you come to training with extraneous thoughts, conversations, share secrets with friends , tell how hard it is for you at work, etc., instead of plowing, working in the gym, you will not achieve anything in bodybuilding, because success in this difficult sport depends not only on your physical condition, but also on your inner self .

Concentration of consciousness and muscles on performing exercises

Doesn't awaken the inner mood - doesn't awaken the result. That is why many athletes, especially when performing a heavy approach, try to disconnect from the outside world, close their eyes, concentrate their energy in time - here and now.

Consume sports nutrition

Food products that we usually eat in everyday life: cheese, rice, chicken, cottage cheese, pasta, etc. contain few substances useful to the body (minerals and vitamins), amino acids of high biological value, in addition, a bodybuilder needs high quality products much more than a person who does not play sports.

The loads in bodybuilding can be very heavy, which means that the body must be properly nourished. From ordinary food, we are simply not able to extract so many useful components for muscles, joints and ligaments, for their growth and development. This problem is solved by sports nutrition, which contains all the beneficial substances that a bodybuilder needs for muscle growth.

Consumption of sports nutrition

If you are a beginner, then at the initial stage of training, you can do without sports nutrition, but then, when you have decent strength indicators, gain 5-10 kg of muscle mass, you will have to take sports supplements if you want to progress further in bodybuilding .

Previously, during the Soviet era, athletes could not afford to take as many supplements as we do now. At that time, there was simply no sports nutrition, or it was primitive, and the problem of replenishing strength and energy was solved with the help of high quality nutrition. For example, in his interviews, Yuri Vlasov (a legend of weightlifting), notes that he was brought high-quality food from all over Russia, and also helped by friends who were familiar with high-quality products, and of course, in our time, not everyone can afford to eat very valuable products.

Therefore, we recommend buying sports nutrition, primarily protein (for muscle growth) and creatine (for strength growth). In more detail, we reviewed the best sports supplements for increasing muscle mass in this article.

What to consider?

First of all, you need to understand the main principles by which any mass-gaining diet is built. These principles include: a calorie surplus and sufficient protein and micronutrients.

If everything seems to be clear with a sufficient amount of micronutrients, there should always be enough of them, regardless of whether you are working on weight, or on relief, or even not doing sports at all. We are talking about providing the body with vitamins, minerals, omega acids, etc. Then the question of providing the body with calories and protein needs to be considered in more detail.

Do technique exercises

Incorrect technique for performing exercises removes and lightens the load, forces the wrong muscle groups to be involved in the work, and on top of everything else, can lead to injury.

All kinds of cheating, various “tricks” in exercises, can only be afforded by professional athletes who know inside and out how to train. For example, such a famous athlete as Mikhail Koklyaev (record holder in the deadlift, world champion in weightlifting), in his video, tells viewers that at the time of squats, he strongly tilts his back so that part of the load is transferred from his legs, on the back. But this does not mean at all that you should squat like that, it means that advanced athletes can take note of his “trick” and try it on themselves, use his squatting technique and nothing more.

Technical performance of strength exercises

In our section, all exercises in bodybuilding, comprehensive information is given on how to correctly perform this or that strength exercise, and videos are also attached that clearly show all the technical points that a beginner should know.

Increase your caloric intake

Gaining muscle mass is possible with an excess of incoming calories, and only if you create a positive nitrogen balance in the body (protein food is created, the amount of nitrogen removed from the body should be less than the amount of nitrogen that is retained in it).

For example, in order to roughly estimate how many calories this or that type of activity requires, you can familiarize yourself with our energy consumption table, and it will also be useful to know the calorie content of food.

Your menu should be dominated by high-quality products, without preservatives, cheap ingredients, artificial colors and other chemicals (at least this is what you should strive for).

In your diet, use not only animal proteins (eggs, cottage cheese, fish, meat, cheese, milk), which are famous for their high biological value, but also plant proteins, they contain a lot of fiber , which removes toxins from the body, helps normalize digestion, and reduces the level of bad cholesterol.

Calorie intake is quite simple to regulate with carbohydrates. If you are prone to gaining excess weight, then you need to remove simple (fast) carbohydrates, but if you are not inclined, then you can indulge yourself in sweets (just don’t overdo it, look for products without palm oil).

Complex carbohydrates include :

• Brown rice
• Potato
• Pasta
• Buckwheat
• Peas, beans
• Rye bread

And so on, that is, foods with a low glycemic index (GI).

Calorie nutrition for an athlete

Learn to listen to your body, as soon as you feel a slight feeling of hunger, start eating food, it doesn’t have to be the usual rice with chicken breast, but just a protein shake, banana or yogurt. We also recommend reading the article nutrition for gaining muscle mass, in which we examined in detail all the intricacies of weight gain, and also provided a specific menu for a bodybuilder.

Many people in the gym train hard, even correctly, but when they come home they forget that bodybuilding is not only work in the gym, but also in the kitchen. If you do not learn to plan your day, your diet, even with proper training and recovery, it will be very difficult for you to increase muscle mass, and sometimes it is simply impossible due to overtraining , do not forget about this.

Stressful situations and excess weight

Modern life flies by very quickly. In childhood, the passage of time is not felt so much and it seems that the world around you is not changing. Such a fast pace of life can have a very negative impact on the body. Stress and lack of time force people to eat less healthy foods, which affects the deposition of subcutaneous fat reserves.

How to solve a problem?

You need to find ways to relate to what is happening around you more simply and pay less attention to problems. You need to take care of your emotions. Of course, this is easier said than done, but it is necessary to strive for it. If you see a scandal brewing, try to find a way to avoid the conflict. If this is impossible for some reason, then accept this situation as given. We only have one life and it’s short enough to often get upset over little things.

Start climbing heavy weights

There is an opinion that bodybuilding is only about light weights and medium weights, for a large number of repetitions. This is not entirely true, indeed, performing exercises in a bodybuilding style of 6-12 repetitions is considered the best range for producing muscle microtraumas and stimulating muscle growth, however, it will be quite difficult for you to increase strength indicators if you work in such a number of repetitions constantly.

Powerlifting training systems come to the rescue, or rather, their training programs, which can increase your strength by 20-30%; one of these systems is described in the training program for increasing strength.

Try to periodically “climb” heavy weights, that is, 85-90% of the maximum weight that you can lift, include a range of repetitions in your training program, not only the usual 6-12, but sometimes 1-3 , and 2- 4 reps.

When training with heavy weights:

• Warm up thoroughly
• Warm up your muscles, ligaments, tendons (light weights on barbells)
• Use ointment to warm up

And of course, don’t rest long between sets! The muscles and tendons will cool down, become cold, and you will simply “tear” - this is a common cause of injuries in the gym, both for beginners and experienced athletes.

Training with heavy weights

One wrong movement, violation of the trajectory, technique of performing an exercise during a heavy workout, can land you in a hospital bed, so take the process of preparing your body for heavy power loads very seriously.

Whatever you say, working with heavy weights is a powerful stimulator of muscle growth, so periodically resort to this technique. This technique was often used in his training programs by the legendary bodybuilder Ronnie Colemam, at the same time, he is an example of what fanaticism from bodybuilding can lead to (he had a hip joint replaced and several spinal surgeries). Therefore, you need to approach everything wisely!

How to quickly gain muscle mass as a mesomorph

The mesomorph body type is considered to be the most successful. This type is able to quickly and efficiently gain muscle mass, and it is easier for him to lose fat than others. A good metabolism allows you to adhere to the basic principles of weight gain - high-calorie nutrition and intense strength training. Mesomorphs have larger bones and larger muscles, which will be athletic if their body fat percentage is very low. Muscles will increase especially noticeably if your workouts include lifting heavy weights. Thus, the result is a muscular male body with bulging veins and muscles.

A mesomorph man, in addition to muscle mass, is able to gain a small amount of fat, but can just as easily lose it. The fast-growing muscle fibers of a mesomorph are able to grow much faster with the help of strength training. Unlike ectomorphs, who have difficulty gaining muscle, mesomorphs gain weight with great ease.

1. If a mesomorph has set a goal to lose weight and reduce volume by reducing adipose tissue, then you should focus on diet and endurance training.
2. If the goal is achieved , you can return to strength loads of 8-12 repetitions per set, and continue to gain muscle mass.

Give your all in training

As practice shows, it doesn’t matter whether a natural (an athlete who trains without pharmacological support) or a chemist (an athlete who takes anabolic steroids), the more serious the attitude towards the training process, the more intense the training, the more the athlete gives all his best on the approaches, the more his muscles and strength become more. Obviously? However, these banal things cannot be understood by a beginner in the gym who is expecting results in 2 months .

Do you know athletes who have a beautiful, muscular physique, but at the same time they themselves are lazy, their training is built haphazardly? - there are no such people, and all because the growth of muscles and strength requires a person to be disciplined, both in relation to himself and to the training process.

Also, don’t mindlessly “plow like a beast”; your workouts should be built in microcycles, with an easy, medium and hard training day (we recommend trying our fullbody ).

Remember, if you constantly train with light weights, you will not make progress in bodybuilding, because the muscles need constant, dosed stress. In addition, light weights will not be able to cause significant micro-tears for muscle growth; all your failures in approaches (for example, provided that you perform a lot of repetitions) will be based on acidification with lactic acid . In turn, training constantly with heavy weights will also quickly bring you disappointment, you simply will not be able to recover, overtraining will occur, followed by a training plateau (lack of growth in strength and mass). That is why training should be cyclical , that is, on one day the exercises are performed with light weights, on another day with medium weights, and on the third day with heavy weights.

This is how champions train!

Get ready for the workout, give your best on the approaches as if your life depends on it, bring your body and your muscles to the point of periodic failure, but at the same time do not forget to restore your strength adequately to the stress.

Do not forget, also, that the intensity of the training process must always be adequate to your body’s recovery abilities in order to avoid overtraining .

Find yourself in life

Sometimes our capabilities do not coincide with our desires, many want to become bodybuilders, but not everyone succeeds, for various reasons, for example:

• Job
• Family
• Life problems
• Lack of motivation
• The rest (no money, girlfriend left, tired, etc.)

Decide, first of all, what you want to get from life, what your goals are, set your priorities , set yourself a clear plan and follow it.

Find what you like, what you would do for the rest of your life!

If you want to be a family man, build a career at work, become a high-ranking boss, then strive for this. It is almost impossible to combine everything, both to be in time here and there, but fortunately, for many bodybuilders, there are alternative ways of earning money , selling sports nutrition, coaching, consulting clients, and more, which allows them not to disrupt their training schedule, diet and rest .

You should not strive for imaginary goals , those goals that are imposed on you by your parents, acquaintances, friends, become what you really want to become, if you want to become a bodybuilding champion, then become one, but many problems await you, but when you will overcome them, you will be proud of yourself, as the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger once did.

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