For anyone starting a muscle gaining routine, it is important to start with light weights. Mastering technique and form should be first priority. Never use more weight than you can handle.

For example, so many beginners doing bicep curls with the barbell, try to lift so much weight that they actually rock forward and swing the bar up. This is the wrong way to work those biceps. I see this every day. It is important for beginners to start with light weights and focus on proper technique in order to see results within a few short weeks. If six hard working weeks later, you are not seeing the muscle gains, you may want a trainer to keep an eye on your form.

How do you know how much weight you can handle?

If you start with a weight and are fatigued quickly, say less than 6 reps, drop the weight. If you choose a weight and can do over 10 reps right away, you should increase the weight. The first step is to get to 10 reps with a weight that will fatigue your muscles. Stay with this weight until you can complete several sets of 10 reps. It is now time to increase the weight. Again, you should only be able to do 10 reps in the beginning, working up to several sets of 10. Once again, increase the weight. When training, I usually increase the weight load by ten percent each time.

I can’t stress this enough: proper form and technique are the key to reaching your muscle gaining  goals.

Gym owners, trainers, and bodybuilding magazines, will continue to convince people that machines are the same if not better than free weights to build up muscle, claiming that muscles react to any type of resistance regardless. Don’t be a sucker for machines.

The Facts:

Machines oftentimes force you into unnatural body motions creating damage to your muscles.

Most machines have nothing to do with using the most important movements to build up muscle.

Machines have limited opportunity to vary your routine and they isolate your muscles. Free weights on the other hand, stimulate more muscles as you are forcing your body to stabilize the weight.

When using free weights, even the smallest change you make between lifts and workouts can help with muscle gain. Many people who do the machines, do the same routines, with the same amount of weight since they started lifting and wonder why they are not making progress. A routine should be changed after just three weeks. Why is this one important rule so difficult for people to understand? (more…)

Do not think for a minute that doing bicep curls and having huge biceps is key to eliminating that huge waist.

Do not think for a minute that working your chest muscles forever will pack on the muscle gain you want.

Do not think that crunching and crunching, involving very little muscle mass will melt off the fat around your middle.

Do not think for a minute that lifting too much weight in bad form or lifting too little weight on machines will help you with your muscle gain goals.

None of the above will do any good. Believe what you want to believe about machines at the gym…..they are in no way as effective in gaining muscle mass as the following movements.

Fast Fact: A certain number of men find themselves obsessed with going to the gym, even giving up jobs or relationships. They may never be happy with how they look no matter how huge they get. They experiment with dangerous supplements. If this sounds like someone you know, they may be suffering from the male equivalent of anorexia called muscle dysmorphia.

6 key movements for maximum muscle gain:

Squats

Squats use just about every muscle in your lower body in one movement the most challenged muscles being the quadriceps. The exercise also works the gluteals and hamstrings. The lower you go, the more the muscles are engaged.

Deadlift

This movement also uses almost all of your lower body muscles with the emphasis on the gluteal and hamstring muscles. It also works your abdominal muscles and trapezius as you pull your shoulder blades together.

Lunge

This movement again uses the same muscles as the squat and deadlift, however it also stretches the hip flexors which increase the flexibility of your muscles and keeps them strong. Push It can be a push up, bench press, or shoulder press. All of these exercises use your chest muscles along with the front shoulders. All use the triceps to straighten the arms.

Pull

Lat pull-down, rowing exercises, pull-ups, are all a form of pull movements. The two major upper back muscle groups used are the “lats”, shoulder joint muscles and the “traps”, shoulder blade muscles. In these exercises, your biceps and forearms are also used.

Twist

Works the external and internal obliques. Some lower back muscles along with the most important six-pack muscle also assist in the bending and twisting. No machines in the gym can come close to mimicking the above exercises with the exception of the back extension (dead lift) and pulling machines. Bottom line: skip them; most machines found in the gym prevent you from doing the most useful muscle gain movements. Movements that our bodies were designed to do.

The 5 Worst Things you Can Do If You Want To Build Muscle & Get A World Class Body

If you want to build muscle, you are going to need some great muscle building routines. Below you will find three of my favorite muscle building routines that are very effective at pumping up your muscles.

First is the bench press. This is a great routine that focuses the attention on the muscles of the upper body. It includes your chest, ribcage, front shoulders, and the back of your upper arms. Always use a spotter when you are doing the bench presses, because otherwise you risk accidents that could seriously injure you. Always use a weight that challenges your muscles with every rep. This is a routine that should always be used for weight training, fitness training, and professional body building.
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If you want to build up muscle and have a rock hard body, then you will need to work out regularly. Below are six great tips on how to build up muscle in your body quickly.

First, do each set to complete exhaustion. The last repetition should be so difficult that it is not physically possible for you to do another until you have had a small break.

Increase the amount of protein you take in each day. Protein is the building block for your body to repair muscles and build muscle. If you do not eat a lot of protein, your muscle mass will not increase.
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Many people want a great build muscle workout, but aren’t sure which exercises they should be doing. While there is no workout that is going to achieve optimum results for everybody, there are a few exercises that will be great for muscle building for most people. Below are some of the best build muscle workout exercises you can do to plump up those muscles.

The good old fashioned bench press is a great exercise that works several muscle groups. It is great for building up your chest, the front part of your shoulder, and the backs of your arms. Make sure that you use enough weight so that your muscles are completely exhausted after a maximum of twelve reps. You should be able to do at least eight reps using the weight you choose. This ensures your muscles are being properly challenged so they can grow. Make sure that you always have a spotter for this exercise so that you can avoid serious injury from occurring.
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There are many skinny people out there who want to build muscle weight fast. They want a rock hard body that is plumped with muscle. To do that, it will take some work on your part. You will need to change your diet as well as your exercising habits if you want to get the body you want.

The most important part of working out is to have a great diet. Eat a lot of protein, and cut back on fats and carbohydrates. Protein is what your body needs to grow, so the more the better. Eating one gram of protein per pound of your weight is a good rule to follow. Instead of eating three big meals per day, space those meals out into smaller portions to six meals per day. This speeds up your metabolism and keeps fat away while you are building muscle.
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If you want to build muscle fast, it will take some dedication and willpower on your part. Below are some of the most important factors that will come into play when you are trying to build muscle fast.

Weight lifting, also known as strength training, is really the only way that you are going to be able to build up your muscle mass. The way your muscles build up is because as you work with weights, you actually tear some of the muscle fiber. It sounds bad, but it is actually a good thing because when those fibers repair themselves, they come back bigger and stronger than before.
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