gain muscle

How I did it: There are many great workouts for building muscle, and you can find them by simply picking up one magazine.  It will be filled with so much information, you may not need to buy another one for a long time.  I recommend the Maximum Fitness magazine.  It's the only one I've read aside from Men's Health--which is really a bogus magazine.

A gym membership is also a plus.  It will provide you with the ability to do a variety of workouts.  Variety is also key.  Just as variety is important in your diet, it is also important in your workouts.  You want to confuse your muscles and make your body think to itself, "What the fuck is this guy gonna have me doing next?"  If you manage to do that, your body will absorb what you eat more and it will create muscle that can actually be useful in daily life and strenuous activity--aside from just looking good.If you can get a friend to workout with you, it will help you a ton.  Not only will it help you do workouts that would otherwise be impossible, but it will motivate you and allow you to have some fun.  Please don't be overly serious in the gym.  You're not at work.  This is meant to be a stress reliever.  If you sound like you're taking a constipated crap every time you do a lift, you are pushing your body too hard.  You will be able to lift more with time.  Pushing it will only cause injury, muscle loss, or, worse, you may find yourself unable to do simple tasks after you push forty or fifty.

Lessons & tips: I think I've provided quite a bit for starters.  I know a lot about nutrition, workouts, stretches, and weight lifting.  I actually took a nutrition class and have been taught techniques by previous football players.  Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Resources: I do recommend protein drinks.  Some things that work just as well might be a can of tuna, peanut butter on a bagle, or even a candy bar with a lot of protein--because sugar can be good right after a workout.  Also, water is good.  But don't take it too far.  Drink when thirsty is the best motto.  Same for food.  Eat when hungry.  Pushing food down can cause some rapid muscle gain, but I don't recommend it.  The muscle that develops isn't generally as strong, and I've heard that it isn't very good for your body.

Water can actually make your body absorb less of what you eat prior to consuming water.  This, however, is a good reason to drink a ton of water if you ever eat any junk food or sweets.  You will still absorb some of the bad, but the majority will be flushed out.

DO NOT USE CREATINE.  If all you care about is aesthetics, and you are okay with potentially harming your body, then go right on ahead.  All Creatine does is add water weight to your muscles.  It doesn't help you gain any strength as far as I know.  Why do people use it?  I know some people use it before a muscle man competition so they can look bigger than they actually are.

Experimentation is one of the best ways to find out what works for you.  Just make sure that nothing feels uncomfortable or hurts.  Also, if you can't lift it ten times, I don't recommend doing it.  Sure, you can do a single rep with tons of weight, but it doesn't make for good training.  It's something people often do to show off.  Many people will disagree with me on this, but I have concluded that this is how I feel about the issue.  I've never made gradual muscle gaining progress by pushing myself with a single repetition on any lift.  I've only discovered how far my body can go.

Learning how to do advanced searches on the internet is great if you need to find a stretch, nutrition tip, or lifting exercise.

I think that's it.  If you want to know more...  message me.

-Mike

Nov 10, 06:06PM PST | 2 comments