There are a lot of workout routines to build muscle, for sure. Google it and you’ll get nearly a million results back.
Wow…have fun sorting through all that. But, I’m not going to talk about any particular routine, per se. Oftentimes, we get caught up in whether we have the right ladder – is it tall enough, sturdy enough, etc. – and not enough time looking at whether we have it against the right wall.
So, it’s not the routine but how you do the exercises that I want to talk about. Specifically, every musclehead has that one trick that’s gonna blow your muscles up like Yosemite.
By the way, have you seen those ads…
“ONE WEIRD TRICK TO GROW MASSIVE MUSCLES!”
Wow…what could that one trick be…I wonder?
Let’s just say, I’ve always been leery of anyone or any program that claims to know the one trick that will blow up your muscle gains overnight.
As for that one particular trick, I have no idea and I have no desire spend 20 or a 100 bucks to find out.
No guru am I, nor have I ever won a bodybuilding contest (does the best legs at a sorority drinkfest count?). With that disclosure out of the way, I have always believed the best way to build lean muscle is to do so steadily; using tried and true methods:
- Compound movements with reps pyramided down to 6 to 8 reps.
- 48 t0 72 hours of rest between workouts.
- Good, clean calorie with plenty of quality protein.
- And most of all, correct form.
That last one. I said correct form, not necessarily ultra strict form. As you get stronger, and the poundage heavier, the form will start to get loose. It is at that point, you must balance increasing the weights to get stronger and bigger with not getting sloppy. You can use just a bit, just a bit of body english, but you can never, never get sloppy. You can never, never sacrifice form and control for poundage.
There is only one reason for not getting sloppy. And that reason is sloppiness will only lead to injury. Pure and simple.
Shameless plug – for a wide range of workout routines to build muscle, check out my page – Work Out Programs – and it’s all free, with no weird trick to grow massive muscles; unless you train hard, eat well, and get plenty of rest.
Having said all that, if I had to guess at what a trick (or technique) might be, I would think it would be in controlling your elbow positioning. Through the years, it seems to me that where the elbow is during an exercise holds the keep to how intense the movement will be.
So, here are the work out tips - if you will – for you to make your workout routines to build muscle more effective.
Keep your elbows back on torso movements and elbows in on arm movements – control your elbows.
Have someone look at you and have him or her pay attention to your elbows. Betting that when you start cheating, the elbows will drift forward on torso movements and out on arm movements.
So, some torso movement tips for you to consider:
- For overhead presses, as you press upward, keep the elbows moving behind your ears. Elbows should never drift forward of your head.
- For lat pulldowns, same thing. As you pull the bar down, pull your elbows back. The contractions in your upper back and lats is amazing.
- For bench presses, prone and incline, keep those elbows spread out wide and slightly behind the path of the bar moving up.
- Same with chest flyes, don’t let the elbows drift forward.
- With standing laterals, elbows should be high and in the same plane as your body, not drifting forward.
And for arm work:
- Keep your elbows in.
- Supination of the wrist is good, but if you want to keep it static;sticking your elbows into your sides will force your wrists to supinate.
- For any overhead arm work, keep the elbows by your ears.
In all those movements, consciously work at keeping the elbows back (or in) and the movement will be so intense. And intensity is the name of the game.
So, as you devise your workout routine to build muscle; remember that even here, it’s always going to be the little tweaks – under your control – that can take you to the next level, or keep you stymied.
So, give it a try and let me know what you think
I’m too skinny Hyo, do you think I’ll be needing muscle? Or would I just eat a lot so I could gain weight?
Hey Kate,
Not sure what you mean by too skinny. It is a subjective term. You don’t need to eat a lot but you will probably need to eat more than your maintenance caloric level, if you are going to put on weight. But the calories should be clean. You want to gain muscle weight not fat weight. Some things to consider
1. About 20 to 30 grams of protein every meal
2. 20 to 30 grams of protein after a workout
3. About 8 to 12 glasses of fluids a day , not including sodas or alcohol
4. Whole fruits and veggies
5. Good amounts of starchy carbs – pasta, brown rice, rice, potatos, sweet potatos, etc.
6. Don’t overeat at any given meal.
7. You should be okay getting all your protein from eggs, milk, chicken, tuna, lean meats, etc. – don’t need to buy protein supplements.