How to build
Different types of exercise are going to produce different results, so there are certain types of exercises and structures that will build muscle better than others. The underlying principle, according to years and years of research, is that you must lift heavy. Typically, this would be 60% or more of your one-rep max (1RM) in a certain exercise, and up to 85-90%.
Strength athletes gain a significant amount of size lifting extremely heavy (80%+ of their 1RM), keeping the reps low and sets moderate. A very standard example of this would be performing 5 sets of 5 reps (5X5) in a particular exercise, such as the bench press or squat.
Bodybuilders, on the other hand, will usually perform more reps of each exercise during every set, and the sets will remain moderate. An example of this might be performing 4 sets of 8-12 reps (4X8) in a particular exercise. Because there are more reps performed, however, the weight will be a little less, and might be 60-70% of your 1RM. Bodybuilders also keep their rest periods short, as opposed to other athletes, and typically rest only 30-90 seconds between sets.
Types of exercises
The best exercises for building muscle and gaining mass are ones that involve large muscle groups. They make up the base of your workout program. In fact, without these sort of exercises, you may not ever build significant muscle, or your gains will be extremely limited.
Examples of exercises that involve large muscle groups include:
• bench presses
• back squats
• front squats
• deadlifts
• good mornings
• clean-and-jerks
• snatches
• military presses
• barbell rows
On chest day, for example, a very simple workout scheme might start out with bench presses, and then follow with dumbbell flys, incline dumbbell presses, and then close-grip bench presses. In this way, you are beginning your workout with a large, powerful exercise, and then following it with smaller ones that target specific aspects of that area.
Conclusion
If you are not familiar with exercise at all, then this may be a lot to take in at first, and that is perfectly ok. All you have to do is remember the 3 key concepts.
Work – you have to perform work in order to grow
Intensity – the work must be difficult
Large – work out large muscle groups
As you begin your quest for muscle mass, keep these 3 concepts in mind during each workout, and you will see results. For more details on muscle-building, refer to our other articles in this section.
