Doesn't matter if you are a hardened gym pro or a novice first timer, the rules of fitness always apply. In this bog I will talk you through the 7 guidelines that can transform your body if followed correctly.
Rule 1- Strength is Key
Strength is the foundation of fitness. Before you can think about getting bigger, you need to get stronger. In essence, the stronger you are, the harder you can train and the fitter you will become. Increasing your strength first can protect your body against injuries to the muscles, bones and joints. Strength can benefit everyone from intense impact sports like rugby and MMA to even endurance activity like triathlon.
To start working on your strength try to focus on big full body lifts, using around 80% of your 1RM (rep max) for 1-3 reps per set. If you don't know what your one report max is keep an eye on my blog site for an upcoming calculator.
Once the foundations of strength have been built then you can up the amount of volume you are doing, by increasing your rep and set range. This will definitely make you see gains in muscle size or to keep the strength going up without adding serious bulk, keep the rep range low.
Rule 2- Big Lifts are Essential
Now most people believe that they see more muscle development by focusing on one muscle group at a time. I know for a fact that you will see more development by using big compound exercises that use multiple muscles and also flood your body with muscle building testosterone and growth hormone.
The big daddy of compound exercises is the deadlift. The deadlift, if performed correctly with the right technique will work the whole body, including your core muscles. I believe this exercise should be included in every program and a movement that everyone should be able to perform. If it's big chest and shoulders your after then add some variety to the traditional bench by including some overhead military press. The majority of lifters miss out this press and I believe it to be hugely underrated, working all of your deltoids andthe triceps very effectively, when done standing. It brings into play more of the bodies stabilizing muscles and is less punishing on your joints than the bench press.
If you incorporate dealifts, military press, bench press and squats, then you're guaranteed to pack on size. Add in some power cleans and pull ups to make your routine complete.
Rule 3- Variety is the Spice of Life
Fact is, muscle grows more when forced to adapt to new pressures, so to see even more results in your training you will have to mix it up abit. Varying what you do from workout to workout. If your workouts don't change then why should your body? People believe that just overloading your body with the same exercises and movements will increasethere growth. If you are a beginner in the gym then the best tactic is to focus on adding more weight to the bar every week, always upping your strength. This is known as the linear periodisation and it's the most practical way to get in shape fast, but there are always more area you can introduce.
Changing up the rep range, rest, the angles and range of movement will give your body enough incentive to keep making progress.The bigger the movements, (I.e compoundexercises), the longer you can sustain and still make progress.
Tempo is also a key factor that most people overlook. Varying up your tempo is an excellent way to kick start your progress when things get a bit jaded. Try lifting your weights explosively and on the negative phase of the exercise slow it down so it takes four to five seconds tolower it. This puts great tension on your muscles for a longer period of time, forcing your muscles to adapt to a new impact.
Cardio is no different, if you are use your long sessions on the treadmill then add in some interval sprints as these will get you results faster.
Rule 4- Nutrition is your Bread and Butter
Most trainer will tell clients that the difference between fatloss and muscle gain training isn't what you accomplish in the gym but what you cook in the kitchen. In truth, it isn't that simple, they are partly right as in fixing your diet will undoubtedly help you towards your goal. Eating junk food and takeaways will just stall your hard-made progress. You have to be hitting basic nutritional guidelines if you want to see a change to your physique. People spend a lot of time in the gym doing good things and then there nutrition let's them down. Pair up great training with a great diet = a great physique. Anyone looking to build muscle needs to have protein-rich foods such as meats and nuts included in there diets, especially in there breakfast. Protein in the morning sets you up for your day not just physically but mentally. It promotes concentration, alertness and along with good fats (from the nuts) keeps your blood sugar levels stable, along with stopping cravings.
Rule 5- Balance the Load
No this doesn't mean working your core muscles or doing one legged squats. It's important to keep your body balanced, by working on your lower and upper body equally. Too many times I see people with big chest, arms and shoulder but with tiny sparrow legs and they wonder why they don't get any bigger. You need to concentrate on all muscles groups, especially your legs as they are the biggest muscle group of all and the one that promotes the most growth hormone when trained, so they are aiding the rest of your body to grow. It's not just the balance of your muscles you need to look out for its also the equipment you use. Changing from resistance machines to free weights will increase your range of movement and stimulate your core muscles more than a machine, they also allow you to work on one side which is beneficial because you don't want one side taking on most of the work.
Rule 6- Road to Recovery
One of the most overlooked aspect of training is how to rest adequately, people forget that physical exercise and recovery run side by side. The recovery process begins straight after your workout, with your protein shake. A good post workout shakes should consist of around 0.4g of protein per kilogram of of bodyweight and 0.8g/kg in carbs. You can't just rely on supplements for your protein source, you should be taking in around 2g per kilo of bodyweight each day from food sources such as fish, meat and nuts.
The best advice I can give on recovery is your have a good night's sleep, this is key to you body's regeneration. Lack of sleep can increase insulin resistance and reduce growth hormone, which make it even more difficult to lose fat or gain muscle.
Rule 7- Commit
Instead of looking for fancy programs that are going to work miracles, pick a simple easy to follow plan and work hard at it. Always have targets, it drives you on to have a goal to reach, keeping you motivated. Track your progress by trying to improve on a small number of lifts, mainly compound exercises, seeing your weight go up on these lifts will keep you committed to the cause.
The main thing is to stick with it, your body can go backwards almost as fast as it progressed, this doesn't mean spending your life at the gym, just make sure you training hard while you are there.
Hope you enjoyed this blog and thank you for reading. Any questions contact me at:Ross.2fitrevolution@aol.com
