Four Keys to Building Muscle

Are you working out regularly, but feel like your progress is not what it could be? Are you struggling to grow muscle, or would you like to get a little more "tone"? Well then read carefully, because I'm about to tell you how you can kickstart your gains with a few simple principles.



1. Train for strength



First of all, I need to make one thing clear: The ONLY way to build muscle is to get stronger. Growing in volume is how your muscles adapt and become stronger so they can more easily take the work load next time.



If you're doing sets of 10 or more reps, you're not really training for strength. I'd say anything above 8 reps doesn't do your strength any good.

Next time you hit the gym, make building strength your number one goal. Train for strength and the muscle will come.



2. Do complex exercises



You can build strength in your forearms, or even your fingers, but that won't have any effect on muscle growth overall. However, if you do really hard and complex exercises, you'll trigger a strong hormonal response in your body, which will help your overall gains.



Exercises such as squats, deadlifts, or clean&jerks will give you a testosterone and growth hormone boost, which is the number one factor that determines your fitness level. The amount of muscle you build and the amount of fat you burn directly depend on the hormonal balance of your body.



Isolated exercises have very little effect on your hormones and are therefore very ineffective. They can get you pumped, but that's about all. The more muscle an exercise engages, the more effective it is.



So just shut up and squat. Look for the squat rack next time you're in the iron room and leave the peck decks and other cable machines for the weak.



3. Use free weights



This principle is closely related to the previous one, but I think it needs to be said out loud: Don't use cable (and other) machines if you want to build serious muscle.



Even the mighty squat can turn into a sissy exercise when you do it on the Smith machine. It's still better than quad extensions, but it just doesn't beat squats with free weights.



When you use free weights, you're recruiting more muscle groups, which means a stronger hormonal response. These muscle groups are hidden deep inside your core and are extremely important.



Your core muscles are to your body like a trunk is to a tree. You can't be strong if you have a weak core. Having strong core and stabilizer muscles will also prevent you falling when you slip.

Furthermore, by isolating different muscle groups, you can create muscular imbalances, which lead to bad posture and joint pain.



Stay hardcore and train your core by using free weights. It might even save your life one day.



4. Increase difficulty over time



You can only grow stronger if you keep increasing the difficulty of your workouts. If you always lift the same weights, you'll keep looking the same.



Increase the work load every training session by either adding weight, doing an extra set or adding a repetition to every set. Remember to keep the reps under 8; if you can lift a weight 8 times, make it heavier.



These 4 principles are about all you need to know to build large amounts of muscle. But exercise is only one part of the equation. What you eat is even more important when it comes to burning fat and building muscle. You can have the best workout routine ever, if you fail to supply your muscles with the right nutrition, you won't get the results you're after.