Adding Slabs of Muscle - The Mass Building Routine
Chances are if you're reading this article, you want to get huge; you want to add slabs of muscle to your frame.
Chances are also pretty good that you're starting out and need something to get your feet off the ground and get that scale moving upwards.
That's what I will provide for you here.
Whether you're a newbie hitting the gym for the first time or you've been hitting it hard for a while, but you're just not growing for some reason, this program will work for you.
Mass building at its very core is a matter of stimulating (breaking down) the muscle by overloading it, and then providing the proper nutrients for the body to repair and rebuild the muscle even bigger.
In this article I will discuss the exercise portion of mass building.
Principle # 1 Overloading the muscle with "heavy" weight.
You must give the body a reason to signal muscle growth.
This is achieved through performing basic exercises with a weight that is relatively heavy.
I use the term relatively because how much weight you need is individual to the person.
50 pounds curls for one person may be easy (thus not stimulating muscle growth), while the same 50 pounds curls may be ideal for another person.
So what is ideal for me? In each of the exercises given, you want to use a weight whereby the 6th (and final) rep needs a helping hand.
It goes without saying that each rep should be performed with good form.
But I thought I should be doing 3 sets of 10? Forget about doing 3 sets of 10 reps.
This classic rep scheme is outdated and less effective.
The overall structure is a 5 days on, 1 day off program.
Cable pull downs- 3 sets of 6 reps (palms facing out) One arm rows- 2 sets of 6 reps with each arm Cable rows- 2 sets of 6 reps (palms facing up) Cable rope crunches- 3 sets of 6 reps Day 2- Chest Day 5 minutes on the exercise bike to warm up and then 2 slow, light sets of dumbbell presses.
Incline dumbbell press- 2 sets of 6 reps Flat barbell bench press- 3 sets of 6 reps Weighted dips- 3 sets of 6 reps Day 3- Legs and Calves Day 5 minutes on the exercise bike to warm up and then 2 slow, light sets of squats.
Squats- 3 sets of 6 reps Leg press- 3 sets of 6 reps Stiff leg dead lifts- 3 sets of 6 reps Standing calf raises- 4 sets of 6 reps Seated calf raises- 3 sets of 6 reps Day 4- Arms Day w/ Abs 5 minutes on the exercise bike to warm up and then 2 slow, light sets of curls.
Barbell biceps curl- 3 sets of 6 reps Dumbbell biceps curl- 2 sets of 6 reps (start with palms facing in and turn palms toward the ceiling as you curl) Hammer curl- 2 sets of 6 reps Reverse forearm curl- 2 sets of 6 reps Cable rope crunches- 3 sets of 6 reps Day 5- Shoulders and Traps Day 5 minutes on the exercise bike to warm up and then 2 slow, light sets of shoulder presses.
Seated dumbbell press- 2 sets of 6 reps Military press- 2 sets of 6 reps Side lateral dumbbell press- 3 sets of 6 reps Rear delt machine pulls- 2 sets of 6 reps Barbell shrug- 3 sets of 6 reps Day 6- Rest Day 7- Repeat cycle again So these are the first steps of building slabs of muscle on your frame.
Chances are also pretty good that you're starting out and need something to get your feet off the ground and get that scale moving upwards.
That's what I will provide for you here.
Whether you're a newbie hitting the gym for the first time or you've been hitting it hard for a while, but you're just not growing for some reason, this program will work for you.
Mass building at its very core is a matter of stimulating (breaking down) the muscle by overloading it, and then providing the proper nutrients for the body to repair and rebuild the muscle even bigger.
In this article I will discuss the exercise portion of mass building.
Principle # 1 Overloading the muscle with "heavy" weight.
You must give the body a reason to signal muscle growth.
This is achieved through performing basic exercises with a weight that is relatively heavy.
I use the term relatively because how much weight you need is individual to the person.
50 pounds curls for one person may be easy (thus not stimulating muscle growth), while the same 50 pounds curls may be ideal for another person.
So what is ideal for me? In each of the exercises given, you want to use a weight whereby the 6th (and final) rep needs a helping hand.
It goes without saying that each rep should be performed with good form.
But I thought I should be doing 3 sets of 10? Forget about doing 3 sets of 10 reps.
This classic rep scheme is outdated and less effective.
The overall structure is a 5 days on, 1 day off program.
- Monday - Back
- Tuesday - Chest
- Wednesday - Legs and Calves
- Thursday - Arms
- Friday - Shoulders
- Saturday - Rest
- Sunday - Resume Cycle
Cable pull downs- 3 sets of 6 reps (palms facing out) One arm rows- 2 sets of 6 reps with each arm Cable rows- 2 sets of 6 reps (palms facing up) Cable rope crunches- 3 sets of 6 reps Day 2- Chest Day 5 minutes on the exercise bike to warm up and then 2 slow, light sets of dumbbell presses.
Incline dumbbell press- 2 sets of 6 reps Flat barbell bench press- 3 sets of 6 reps Weighted dips- 3 sets of 6 reps Day 3- Legs and Calves Day 5 minutes on the exercise bike to warm up and then 2 slow, light sets of squats.
Squats- 3 sets of 6 reps Leg press- 3 sets of 6 reps Stiff leg dead lifts- 3 sets of 6 reps Standing calf raises- 4 sets of 6 reps Seated calf raises- 3 sets of 6 reps Day 4- Arms Day w/ Abs 5 minutes on the exercise bike to warm up and then 2 slow, light sets of curls.
Barbell biceps curl- 3 sets of 6 reps Dumbbell biceps curl- 2 sets of 6 reps (start with palms facing in and turn palms toward the ceiling as you curl) Hammer curl- 2 sets of 6 reps Reverse forearm curl- 2 sets of 6 reps Cable rope crunches- 3 sets of 6 reps Day 5- Shoulders and Traps Day 5 minutes on the exercise bike to warm up and then 2 slow, light sets of shoulder presses.
Seated dumbbell press- 2 sets of 6 reps Military press- 2 sets of 6 reps Side lateral dumbbell press- 3 sets of 6 reps Rear delt machine pulls- 2 sets of 6 reps Barbell shrug- 3 sets of 6 reps Day 6- Rest Day 7- Repeat cycle again So these are the first steps of building slabs of muscle on your frame.
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