Training program for gaining weight. How to pump up muscles at home - training program Muscle pumping scheme

When playing sports, one way or another, we all face the question “how to properly build muscles?” However, not all of us know the answer to this question. Moreover, I would venture to assure you that only a few know the answer to it - true bodybuilding professionals and competent physiologists. Moreover, if the former are faced with this question directly and learn from their own experience “what is good and what is bad” without understanding why it happens this way and not otherwise, then the latter have absorbed the answer to this question along with many hours of anatomy classes and physiology.

So, the basis for the growth of muscle tissue is “training”. It is precisely this, performed correctly, of a certain duration and intensity, that can bring you the desired result - beautiful and

We will not go into specifics, since distinctive and significant features for us are inherent in all muscles, regardless of their location. It is for this reason that you will not find here the answer to questions like: “how to properly pump up your buttocks?” and the like.

However, here you will find clear instructions on how to do it and what it doesn’t make sense to do.

Let’s move on to the first step “how to properly pump up muscles.” The first thing that needs to be done is to get rid of the misconceptions that reign among crowds of athletes: if a muscle is larger, it means it is stronger. The more you train, the better the result.

I have seen more than once how in arm wrestling guys from a weight class of up to 75 kilograms defeated large ones from 90 kilograms and even the absolute, while the size of their muscles differed significantly. However, the result has repeatedly shown and proven the “false power” of size.

To prove to you the falsity of the second statement, I can give an example of how young people, when they first came to the gym and acted on the principle of “take more and lift longer,” worked out for years and could not build up more than 2-3 kilograms of muscle. In contrast, a knowledgeable athlete visits the gym no more than 3 times a week and has excellent results, gaining 10 kilograms of pure muscle mass.

So, the myth-busting is over.

It's time to give specific advice on how to properly pump up your muscles.

Do three workouts per week.
Distribute the exercises to different muscle groups, combining them like this: back-biceps, chest-triceps, legs.
Muscle exercises should be done at the end of each workout.
Duration of training - 1 hour.
Perform all exercises as clearly as possible, without cheating.
Drink water during training only as a last resort and in small quantities.
Perform each exercise with a weight that you can do 10 times, while doing 12, but trying to do the last two times clearly and slowly.
Perform the exercises slowly, controlling the dynamics throughout the movement, and not letting your hands fall into free fall.
You need to perform three approaches for one exercise.
One muscle group should have at least three different exercises performed on the same day.
The break between approaches is 1 minute.
The break between different exercises is 3 minutes.
During the break, constantly walk and do not talk (do not lose your breath, but restore it).
Give preference to exercises with dumbbells rather than when there is an alternative. When performing this or that exercise with dumbbells, your hands are independently coordinated and one hand will not “take” more load than the other. In addition, during exercises with dumbbells, additional muscle groups are used that control the position and position of the arm. This feature will help you develop a strong and resilient shoulder girdle.
When performing the exercise, stand in front of the mirror so that you can see whether you are performing it correctly or not.
And most importantly, eat properly and in large quantities, and also do not forget about proper rest (you need to sleep for at least eight hours so that the body has time to recover for the next workout).

So, we have given the answer to how to properly pump up muscles and introduced you to the main features and rules, the observance of which will allow you to become “bigger”.

In addition, in one of the points, we answered the question “How to swing dumbbells correctly?”

If you want to know how to gain muscle mass, then this article is for you. In it I will tell you how I gained 19.5 kilograms of muscle without chemicals. And you, no matter what body weight you have, will be able to build muscle.

The secret of a pumped-up body is simple - it must be strong and resilient.

The stronger you become, the heavier you lift barbells and dumbbells in training, and accordingly, your muscle mass increases. It's simple.

This is especially important for those guys who want to learn how to build muscle mass without using additional muscle growth drugs, as well as those who do not have excellent genetics (just like me). More strength means more muscles.

Before you continue reading the article, I recommend that you watch this video, especially if you can’t answer the question of why I can’t gain weight. From it you will learn about ways to increase muscle mass if it is not growing well.

Ectomorph: how to gain weight?

The most common mistake in bodybuilding

Walk into any gym and you will see young guys doing split training. That is, they lift 5-6 times a week, devoting each day to a specific muscle group. They perform a mind-boggling number of repetitions in each set, pushing themselves to the point of complete exhaustion, because they so dream of having a pumped up and sculpted body... I personally saw how they managed to do 10 isolation exercises per muscle, hitting it from all sides. I'm sure all this is familiar to you too.

Many guys have read popular sports magazines and imagined that such separate training is the path to success. Or maybe they saw those fashionable dudes with an important look and impressive biceps training in the same gym? And they wanted to achieve the same results. And what, a monkey sees, a monkey does, as one ancient wise proverb says.

In reality, most sane guys wouldn't train like this. Why? Yes, because in 5 years they will look exactly the same as today. And they want more mass... Those few who still took split training as a basis are conditionally divided into the following groups:

Genetic freaks– these guys are building muscles DESPITE split training, not because of it. They are truly the real lucky ones! I have met individuals who seemed to gain muscles just by looking at the weights. I don't want to be accused of racism, but it happens more often to dark-skinned people. And, nevertheless, even if you were lucky enough to be born with the constitution of Superman, I still advise you to refuse such separate training.
Steroid jocks- This is a very common phenomenon among powerlifters, especially professional ones. But there are also those who are categorically against any synthetic protein analogues. Before I equipped my home gym, I had to work out in a regular gym for 5 years, and, imagine, more than half of the guys were on anabolic steroids! And only thanks to them, they were able to achieve impressive amounts of muscle tissue, and not to dubious split training. Of course, such huge amounts of hormones introduced into the body cannot but contribute to muscle growth. But this is not about us, we don’t accept such unnatural methods, right?
Advanced lifters– this group includes the best of the best. If they use split training in their programs, it is only for polishing and sharpening their muscles. They just don’t need to gain weight anymore, they need to stay in good shape. Unfortunately, many guys put the cart before the horse... and all their attempts to fashion at least something are futile and useless... The reason is the lack of muscle mass, that is, building material. It is important to understand that split training will not produce results until you gain the required body weight. And this, in turn, requires good strength and endurance of the body.

Here's what that means: If you're a new, drug-free bodybuilder with average or worse, lousy genetics (like me), building muscle comes down to this:

If you haven’t lifted more weight today than you did a year ago or even a month, then you’re not building muscles, you’re suffering from bullshit!

And I don't care if you're hurt. You can press 14 kilos in each hand on a bench or on a BOSU machine until you're blue in the face... But a guy who benches 114 kilos will, in any case, have a more impressive chest. And that's only because he uses more weight in his exercises. Remember, more strength means more muscle.

It is no coincidence that super-strong people always have a courageous and attractive figure. This is natural. They know a simple law: “More strength – more muscles.”

Let's take, for example, Arnold Schwarzenegger, seven-time Olympia champion. Few people know, but Arnold's strength is not based on years of training. Heck, he even competed in powerlifting before pursuing a career as a bodybuilder!

And in his latest autobiography, “Total Recall,” the respected governor writes:

“The truth is not that all bodybuilders are naturally strong, especially those who built their bodies on weight machines. But years of powerlifting and free weight work gave me my massive biceps, broad shoulders, strong back and sculpted hips. I realize that I look much bigger and stronger than others."

— Arnold Schwarzenegger, Total Recall.

Arnold Schwarzenegger deadlifts 317.5 kg. He proved that “more strength equals more muscle”

The picture shows Schwarzenegger lifting weights of 280 and 322 kg in powerlifting competitions. This behind several years since he received his first Mr. Olympia title. His results in the squat of 215 and in the bench press of 200 kg also gained worldwide fame. Strong, isn't it? And he is far from the only person who understood the principle “More strength - more muscles.” Here are more examples of athletes who showed remarkable strength...

Franco Colombo - Arnold's training partner was even more powerful. Franco, originally from Italy, was a champion powerlifter. His max deadlift was almost 343 kg, bench press – 238 kg and squat – 297 kg. He was so strong that he could easily burst the heating pad while inflating it. Arnold convinced Franco to compete in competitions, and the Italian bodybuilder won the Mr. Olympia title twice. He also followed the principle of “More Strength, More Muscle,” so he developed strength and endurance first before lifting the weight of his barbell.
Reg Park – known as Arnold Schwarzenegger's mentor. It was from him that Arnold gained knowledge and skills. He became the progenitor of the “More Strength – More Muscle” technique, convincing his students to develop the strength of their body, and only then maintain it with daily split training. Reg Park's maximum deadlift was 317.5 kg, bench press - 227 kg, squat - 272 kg. It was also his idea to create workouts in the 5x5 format (5 sets of 5 repetitions). Park won the Mr. Universe title three times and, unlike Arnold, did so much earlier than the advent of steroid supplements. This proves that building muscle by increasing strength really works, which makes us, ardent opponents of synthetic aids, happy.
Dr. Lane Norton - professor, candidate of sciences. Professional bodybuilder, natural powerlifter, no steroid supplements. His deadlift is 317.5 kg, his squats are 280 kg, and his bench press is 175 kg. I once had the pleasure of interviewing Lane Norton for my StrongLifts forum, and he said this to me: “I would never have gotten rid of my skinny legs if I hadn’t increased my weight by 500 pounds, especially on the back squat.” This decision soon gave the required volume to his hips: they were 53 cm, but became 71 cm. Impressive, isn’t it? Once again it proves the rule “More strength – more muscles.”
And many, many others... This and Ronnie Coleman eight-time Mr. Olympia, whose deadlift is 363 kg. His words became famous throughout the world: “Everyone wants to be a bodybuilder, but not everyone wants to lift heavy weights.” AND Sergio Oliva, an Olympic athlete, he could lift a barbell of 136 kg high above his head! He was awarded the Mr. Olympia title three times. It is impossible not to mention Stene Efferding, the strongest professional bodybuilder, holder of the world record for barbell squats (387 kg). The list can go on for a long time...

One thing is clear: these champions would not spend their precious years developing strength and endurance if they were not sure that only through strength they could build a beautiful, sculpted, muscular body. Why do you think they, having switched to split training, continued to lift heavy barbells and dumbbells? Yes, because they knew the main secret of bodybuilding: “More strength - more muscles.”

But you don't HAVE to become a bodybuilder!

Isn't it true? Most guys consider the method of building muscle by accumulating strength, although not entirely revolutionary, but very effective. Few of us (at least I hope so) are eager to show off our biceps, doused in oil for added effect, by parading around the stage in a thong. But few people want to become a real bodybuilder, in the full sense of the word. And you can count on one hand those effeminate eccentrics who are only occupied with narcissism.

Instead of all this nonsense, normal guys want to have an athletic, toned figure, they want not only to appear strong due to an impressive torso, but also to be so. You will especially want this after you learn that the goal can be achieved by exercising for 1 hour 3 times a week, without taking any medications or supplements.

Most novice athletes don’t even realize that there is a worthy alternative to bodybuilding. They don’t even know how to gain muscle mass quickly without resorting to these tedious, ineffective split workouts. But you will find out now (if you didn’t know before). This is strength training.

Here's how it works: Every workout you try to increase the weight of the barbell and dumbbells. So, gradually, you become stronger, while at the same time adding volume to your muscles. Everything is simple, fun, relaxed. This is the fastest way to build muscle tissue, without supplements.

Another good news: you don't have to lift 317.5 kg like Arnold did. Damn, even I can't do it again! And yet, despite my poor genetics, I gained 19.5 kg of pure muscle weight without taking any steroids. How did I do this? Just: I trained for strength, not muscle growth.. And if I did it, as did my like-minded people, then you can too.

How to gain muscle mass quickly

8 most effective tips on how to increase muscle mass for beginner bodybuilders with average genetics and a complete rejection of any anabolic steroids.

Let's clarify right away. I have terrible genetics, I never thought that I could become a jock. In fact, many athletes consider me a hard gainer because my thumb easily fits over my middle finger when I grip my wrist. Can you imagine? They called me “that skinny one with the ectomorphic genetics.” But I still managed to gain 19.5 kg, and this is only the weight of muscle tissue! And after I helped tens of thousands of guys from all over the world acquire the desired shape, I decided to organize my knowledge. Below you will find 8 tips on how to build muscle quickly, I really hope you find them useful.

1. Strength is needed to grow muscles.

In Ancient Greece there was an athlete named Milo. He trained for the Olympic Games by carrying a newborn calf on his back every day. The calf grew and became heavier and heavier, accordingly, the weight increased. It was thanks to this unusual method that Milon became strong, resilient, his muscles grew and took shape. By the way, he became the winner of the Olympic Games 6 times.

Every day Milo carried a calf. The heavier he became, the faster the ancient athlete's muscles grew.

Of course, most likely this story is just a legend, but the moral is clear : In order for your muscles to grow, you need to develop strength by gradually increasing weight. It's the simplest, yet most powerful and effective way to build muscle... which means you can throw away all those fancy fitness magazines and forget the complex workout programs they contain. Please note some useful tips:

Stop confusing your muscles. You shouldn’t change exercises every week, you shouldn’t rush from one program to another, hoping to find the one that is most effective. You understand, strength is dependent on each lift, so you will only see progress if you are consistent and stable. Besides, if you follow this path, you will never become a professional. If you want to shake up your muscles a little, just lift 2kg more than your last workout.
Stop tearing your muscles. There is no need to do an endless number of repetitions in each set, exhausted from fatigue. This will overtrain your muscles and make you sore instead of muscular. It is also very draining mentally, killing motivation and positive attitude.
Stop “pumping” your muscles. BEFORE pumping muscles, you need to build them.

Some “experienced” bodybuilders say that it is possible to gain strength without gaining a single kilogram of muscle weight. That strength is a neurological concept, it all comes from psychology. Allegedly, they have met individuals who can easily do squats with a barbell of 227 kilograms, while leaning on their skinny legs. Well, maybe such weirdos do exist in this world, but somehow I haven’t seen them yet... Why? Yes, because these are all urban legends, nothing more. The stronger a powerlifter, the more muscular he will be, and vice versa, because, as we already know, more strength means more muscles.

The most important thing you should take away from this article is “More strength - more muscles.” Like the ancient Greek Milo, you should try to increase the weight every workout, at least a little. Don't worry about muscle strain. Everything will be fine, don’t forget to add weight. You will automatically become stronger by lifting more and more weight, which means your muscles will grow. It's very simple.

2. To grow muscles, do basic exercises

For four years in a row, every Sunday I lifted dumbbells tirelessly for 45 minutes until I could no longer feel my arms. And when I discovered Reg Park's 5x5 workout, which did not include this exercise, I was afraid that I would lose the muscles I had built. And only a year later, I was convinced that my muscles not only did not disappear, but became even larger and harder than before. I realized that isolation exercises are... Not panacea, unfortunately.

There is no need to purposefully pump your arms. When you do a compound exercise, such as a bench press, the arm muscles get a great workout: the triceps, like the pectoral muscles, are under tension.

This is why you'll never see a lifter with skinny arms still lifting 227kg. The tree is big and has thick branches. Complex exercises involve NOT ONLY several muscle groups at once, but also our limbs. That's why my StrongLifts students pumped up their arms without doing a single dumbbell lift. What conclusion can be drawn from this? If you want to build muscle, stop doing isolation exercises and start doing compound exercises.

Your goal is to build up your biceps. First, say “Stop!” tedious dumbbell lifts (with a block on the bend). Second, start doing bent over rows.
Your goal is the chest. Avoid dumbbell lateral raises. You need a bench press.
If you want bigger shoulders, stop doing dumbbell raises in front of you. All you need to do is press high overhead.
If the target is the back, then say “Stop!” row of the upper block on the back while sitting (upper row). Deadlifting is your priority.
Do you need to add volume to your legs? Leg extensions on a machine are useless. Barbell squats are what really work.

Thanks to complex exercises, you can achieve harmonious development of the whole body, and not just one part of it. And since several muscle groups work at once, you will burn more calories. Another undoubted advantage of such training is that with the help of 2-3 exercises you work all the muscles. You save a lot of time.

3. Do Free Weight Exercises to Build Muscle

I first started doing barbell squats in January 2000. It was Smith's car. My mentor and I worked out on it for quite a long time, but one fine (or not so) day something happened with the simulator, we didn’t want to wait and decided to try it on a barbell rack that was collecting dust idle in the gym.

My mentor started doing the exercise with his usual weight, and what a surprise we were when he couldn't do HALF the set that he could easily do on the Smith machine!

It was a shock for us: we were simply perplexed, How It could happen that doing squats is much harder with free weights. But common sense told us that This will be many times more effective and productive for building muscle mass.

From that day on, we never touched Smith’s car again; we simply saw no reason. Exercises with free weights have become a priority for us. And so it continues to this day.

Of course, now I already know why such exercises give more results than all these simulators, Smith machines and others.

There the weight is already adjusted, but with free weights you have to adjust the weight and balance yourself.

That is why exercises with free weights are advisable and even necessary to be performed outside the walls of the gym, AT HOME, for example - they are noticeably strengthen stabilizing muscles. The same cannot be said about exercise machines.

It has been scientifically proven that overall muscle activation during an exercise with free weights is 43% greater than with a Smith machine.

Free weights force all your muscles to work AT FULL POWER, since you can balance the weight YOURSELF the way you need, and not the way it was programmed by the developers of the exercise machine.

In addition, I believe, unlike many athletes, that free weights are ten times safer than exercise machines.

This is true - the machine forces us to make fixed, often unnatural movements, which can lead to various injuries and sprains of ligaments and muscles. By working out with free weights, you ensure complete comfort of movement, and most importantly, safety. You can be sure that you will not injure your knees, shoulders and back (the most vulnerable places).

If you are afraid that the handle will fall on your head while performing the exercise, then I advise you to pay attention to power frame. If you suddenly lose momentum or get lost, the frame design will pick up your movement, which minimizes the risk of injury.

I have been training on the power rack for 9 years now. And at home, by myself, all alone, without any instructor. And there was no such thing that the handle would fall on me. As is usually the case, the things we fear actually rarely happen. Fear has big eyes.

If you still have doubts about free weights, then I advise you to do the same as the hero of Ancient Greece Milo. He started with the calves and took his time. Do the same: start with light weight, and at each training session add a little.

This way, you can gradually prepare your body for greater stress, and also avoid injuries and sprains. As your weight increases, so will your confidence in free weights.

I highly recommend working out with free weights, not on machines. They are much more effective for building muscle mass, especially for those powerlifters who do not take any steroid supplements.

5. To grow muscles, lift a barbell and do basic exercises

Arnold Schwarzenegger achieved his results not thanks to dumbbells, which he considered an ADDITIONAL element, but only thanks to strength exercises with a BAR. Presses, deadlifts, squats - they have become key in the professional career of a bodybuilder.

Many novice bodybuilders naively believe that they can achieve the same stunning results as Arnold with the help of only dumbbells But they are deeply mistaken. Those who prefer to casually play with dumbbells while sitting comfortably in front of the TV should be aware that such efforts will not give anything other than a deceptive feeling of vigorous activity.

And indeed it is: squats with dumbbells are not effective because you're using too much energy to lift the dumbbells onto your shoulders and keep them there than you really should. But squats play a very important role in building muscles.

Dumbbells are not able to give you the proper load, therefore, in essence, they are only an auxiliary tool in bodybuilding. You can confidently add 2 kilograms each workout with a barbell, but with dumbbells it's not so simple. Even with less weight gain, you risk developing plateau syndrome.

To be fair, it is worth noting that when working with dumbbells, the stabilizing muscles are much more involved, unlike a barbell.

But our goal is to BUILD MUSCLES, and for this we need to become stronger and more resilient. And to become strong, you need to lift heavy weights. Remember, more strength equals more muscle? With a barbell you can use heavier weights than with dumbbells.

By the way, squatting with a barbell of 136 kg is much easier than with dumbbells of the same weight. Just imagine, you’ll have to squat while holding 68 kg in each hand! You also have to manage to lift them to your shoulders and hold them there. It's going to be a pretty good workout!

Only after you can do a squat with a barbell of 136 kg, a bench press of 102 kg and a deadlift of 181 kg - only then can you use dumbbells as a additional load. But not before.

So put the dumbbells aside for now and let them wait. Great things are ahead with the barbell!

5. To build muscle, you need to exercise more often.

It is not at all necessary to immediately start exercising 5 times a week.

What I mean is that it would be advisable to do the bench press and barbell squats 2 times a week. Please note that The more often you exercise a muscle, the larger it becomes.

And yet, I spent a whole 5 years on this bullshit that fashionable fitness magazines push on us - split training. You know what this is, right? This is an intense workout of one muscle group in one day, consisting of a large number of isolation exercises. With an endless set of repetitions and long sets, when by the end of the workout you are just like a squeezed lemon.

When I came across Reg Park's famous 5x5 workout, I thought he was nuts. I'll explain why. After leg day, my muscles recovered within a week. And he suggested doing squats 3 times a week!

“This definitely won’t work, it’s simply impossible, I’ll be OVERLOADED!”, I thought.

But luckily I decided to give it a try. And I realized how deeply I was mistaken!

Frankly, if you are not able to squat 3 times a week, this means that you are NOT overtrained at all, but on the contrary - UNDERTRAINED!

Think about my words - even sprinters like Usain Bolt, for example, train several times a week. Swimmers (Michael Phelps) also swim almost every day to stay fit. Millions of Olympic weightlifters train diligently, tirelessly, 4-5 times a week.

You won't find a sport that only trains one muscle group, supposedly to avoid overtraining.

And only magazines for jocks talk about this nonsense. All other sports require almost daily physical activity. And if you are not able to maintain such a pace, then you are weak and out of shape. UNDERTRAINED, in other words.

The question you need to ask yourself is “Why are athletes in ANY sport able to train the same muscles MULTIPLE times a week, without any signs of overtraining, while simultaneously GAINING strength?”

The answer lies on the surface: they do NOT follow the stupid advice of sports magazines and do not succumb to their provocations.

Because when you hammer the same muscle all day long until your physical and moral strength is completely exhausted, then the next day you won’t even be able to move, let alone a full-fledged workout!

On the other hand, if you give a moderate load (as every normal, adequate athlete does), then you can calmly train your muscles for a week, and you will not get any OVERTRAINING, and the body will develop harmoniously.

So stop your fancy programs, stop training your muscles only once a week (but until you lose your pulse). Say "Yes!" moderate and dosed loads, you should not force your body, otherwise it may take revenge on you. Start doing squats and bench presses at least 2 times a week to start. Focus on increasing strength without unnecessary pain. Remember, more strength means more muscle.

6. Rest is necessary for proper muscle growth.

I'm sure you've heard that muscles don't grow when you exercise them, but on rest days. And, although this is not entirely true, there is some truth in it.

Of course, if the guys use various steroid supplements, then they will exercise 5-6 times a week. But for natural lifters like me, it makes more sense to go to the gym 3 times a week.

The temptation is very great, especially for those who are accustomed to a sedentary lifestyle and want to radically change their rather fat and flabby body. You always want everything at once.

And so they begin to pump hard, quickly get tired and lose motivation, in the end. In addition, such training takes a lot of time, but you shouldn’t forget about family, work, and friends.

It is much better to make it a healthy habit to do bodybuilding 3 times a week, this will give you time for muscle recovery. More doesn't mean better.

7. You need to eat well to grow muscles.

Now let's talk about how to eat right to gain muscle mass. Your muscles need nutrients - proteins, carbohydrates and fats. If you want to have big muscles, you need to eat well. The basis of your diet:

Natural products, preferably without heat treatment. Avoid processed foods, fast food, and carbonated drinks. Instead, eat natural foods such as meat, chicken, vegetables, fruits, and cereals.
A day requires 1.5 grams of protein per 1 kg of body weight. And no need to replace it with artificial whey powder! Just every meal should contain protein. For example, eggs for breakfast, poultry for lunch, cottage cheese for an afternoon snack.
Drink more water. Intense training causes increased sweating, so the body loses a lot of fluid. Muscles require water for recovery and regeneration. Headaches are the main sign of dehydration. Therefore, it is necessary to restore water supplies.

8. It's important to be consistent when building muscle.

Arnold Schwarzenegger started lifting at the age of 15. Seven years later, in 1969, he took part in his first Mr. Olympia competition.

Then he lost to Sergio Olivio.

However, the very next year Arnold became a champion, 8 years after the start of training.

And some naive guys HOPE that 8 weeks will be enough for them to achieve the same success, because they read in one magazine that you can gain 15 kg of muscle weight in a month by following a miracle training program.

This is impossible. Gaining more than 1 kg of muscle per month without using any supplements is unrealistic.

As for me: in the first year I gained 11 kg, in the second - 5.5 kg, in the third - 3 kg.

And these 19.5 kg are pure muscle weight, earned only by physical activity, without the help of steroids. I don’t want to demotivate you at all by saying that 1 kg per month is your limit.

On the contrary, I want to MOTIVATE you.

So that you understand that you don’t have to chase instant results, but you have to work for quality. It is important to be consistent: pump iron three times a week and not give yourself any slack. Day after day. Week after week.

This is the only way you will gain 1 kg per month without much difficulty, and in exactly a year you will gain 11 kg, I guarantee you that! Rest assured that your efforts will not go unnoticed. People will ask you, be interested.

Always think ahead. Remember: 3 times a week! And no concessions!

Don't waste your time reinventing the wheel!

Try the 5x5 workout

I have long noticed that some guys, when they come to the gym, spend a lot of effort lifting weights without bothering with planning, while others, on the contrary, think too much, showing few results.

We need to find a middle ground. Of course, you wouldn’t put “How to build muscle” into a search engine if you had any idea about it.

Therefore, you should not reinvent the wheel; use an already proven program.

Good day, friends. Most fans of lifting iron ask a completely logical question: “How to pump up quickly?” After all, we, as a rule, do not want to spend a lot of energy to achieve results. I want everything at once. To achieve any goal, there is a certain sequence of actions, a plan that can be adjusted along the way to achieving the result. But without a clearly constructed path to the goal (the ideal body), a person can wander around and around for years, like a kitten lost in the forest at night.

Every bodybuilder, regardless of training level, has his own philosophy of bodybuilding. Over time, our beliefs change to more advanced ones and then we reach new heights.

But absolutely every athlete will tell you that his approach to pumping up muscles is correct. And me too. THERE ARE NO GOOD OR BAD training regimens, but their effectiveness at different stages of bodybuilding, for different purposes, and even more so on different people will differ significantly.

I don’t want to tell you that only my point of view is correct, but at the moment of my development I believe that this approach is at least reasonable and logical, so I decided to show it to you.

Our views change due to the acquisition of new knowledge, so over the years you will understand more and more what is more effective for you and what practically does not work.

Hare and tortoise

The most interesting thing about bodybuilding is that a large amount of knowledge does not always guarantee the effectiveness of any philosophy. So many bodybuilders who have impressive muscle mass have no idea why. They were both lucky and unlucky at the same time.

Lucky, of course, because they spent much less resources (time, money, effort) to achieve an amazing body and now they are several steps ahead of others.

And they were unlucky for the reason that if it happens that the previous methods stop working for them or become less effective (the body gets used to it, adapts), they will spend much more time selecting a new, working scheme.

The situation is similar to the fairy tale about the tortoise and the hare, where the hare immediately runs forward, but subsequently runs out of steam quite quickly, and the tortoise slowly, but systematically and persistently moves towards the intended goal.

Now, I think you understand why it is important not only to choose the right method that works best for you, but also to understand why you work according to this particular scheme. Then you will get the maximum effect!

How to pump up quickly

Imagine that you are a beginner climber and you are about to conquer some peak. What are the main questions you will have? I think there will be two main ones:

What will we take with us?
Which route will we take to climb the mountain?

After all, this is logical. To climb to the top, we need to know what we will need during the climb and, in fact, how to climb to this very peak.

But for some reason, many are looking for some completely irrational ways to reach the top. Someone will try to go around the mountain in a circle so as not to increase the load and hope that they will reach the very top.

And someone, instead of the necessary equipment, will take a boat and oars with you. Do you understand why I am making such analogies?

All people want a beautiful body, but not many achieve truly impressive results, because... They are doing the wrong thing. They walk around the mountain, instead of purposefully moving up.

To move along the shortest and most effective path, I have a cool article for girls and men about how. Be sure to read it. Many things will become clear to you.

Choosing your training program

Choosing a truly effective individual training program can baffle even a “seasoned” jock. It is important to understand here that in order to judge the effectiveness of any training program, you need to practice it for at least several months.

Because first, muscles use less energy-consuming methods of adapting to a new load (improving brain-muscle communication, increasing glycogen reserves, ATP, etc.), and only then does muscle growth begin.

I won’t talk about the stages of muscle growth and how long it takes to pump up, because... I have already spoken about this and I see no point in repeating it. Now I’m just telling you the RIGHT, in my opinion, path on the way to a beautiful body.

For example, it will be significantly different from the program for an endomorph, and even more so from. I think this is clear.

Now the next thing is that you need to decide what muscle quality you want to develop:

Strength (powerlifting)
Performance (bodybuilding)
Endurance (crossfit, etc.)

And only then start creating your training program.

There is no need to change one training program to another until you have completed your program for 3-4, or even 5 months, because... muscle growth is far from a quick process.

Load progression. The basis of everything

The undeniable key to success in bodybuilding is load progression. Moreover, the load is not only the weight on the bar. There is one simple postulate here:

There is no point in muscles growing if the load does not increase.

And this is more than logical. The body is very greedy when it comes to energy, and building more massive muscles is a very labor-intensive process.

Firstly, large muscles themselves consume a lot of energy, even in a calm state, when you, for example, sleep.

Secondly, to build these same muscles, you again need to expend a large amount of energy. First, during training, you need to resist the load, then recover, then make the muscles a little stronger and bigger. It is not profitable! Therefore, the body leaves you with as much muscle as you need to perform a particular job.

Don't play sports? Here are as many muscles as you need just to walk. Are you running? Here's the amount of muscle you need. Lifting heavy weights? Need more muscles. Everything is proportionate to the costs.

Therefore, AT THE BEGINNING of your training, it is easiest to increase the load using weights on apparatus. When weight increases, the body makes the muscles a little stronger, after a certain time, in a certain phase, which is called the SUPERCOMPENSATION PHASE!

This is an incomprehensible recovery. Super compensation

When the body has suffered stress (training in the gym), it begins to recover. After a certain time, it returns to its previous state. But the body is not a fool, and understands perfectly well that such a load can be repeated, and in order to be ready for this load, you need to make the muscles a little stronger than they were before the workout.

He begins OVER-RESTORATION (supercompensation) to protect himself from possible re-exertion.

But we are not stupid either, so it is during the period of supercompensation that we must increase the load! Next time we should train for this muscle group during the supercompensation phase! But the load must be increased again (weight on the bar or number of repetitions in the range of 6-12 repetitions) so that the body begins to recover again, and then again make the muscles bigger and stronger.

Comprehensive development of all muscle structures

First, there are different types of muscle fibers that are designed to do different jobs:

slow muscle fibers (running, walking, monotonous long exercise);
fast muscle fibers (average load for 15-30 seconds);
high-threshold fast muscle fibers (very hard work that requires maximum concentration and quick activation);

Secondly, muscle growth occurs not only due to the growth of muscle cells! There is also an increase (hypertrophy) of sarcoplasm!

Only the development of all muscle fibers and other systems will contribute to maximum muscle growth!

Professional bodybuilders have equally developed muscle fibers, and they also have a larger volume of sarcoplasm and glycogen. This proves that you need to take a holistic approach to achieving a truly powerful body.

Load cycling

Each system of the body (nervous, cardiovascular, energy, etc.) requires different recovery periods and, as a result, supercompensation also occurs at different times.

If we train only for myofibrillar hypertrophy, then we lose supercompensation for other systems.

For example, to train energy, you need to train lightly (30-40% of the working weight) and not to failure, so supercompensation occurs already on the 5-6th day. We train myofibril hypertrophy to failure in the range of 6-12 repetitions, and supercompensation occurs on days 11-13 after such training.

Any normal physiologist knows about this, but very few use this incredible opportunity in their training.

Therefore, only with the uniform development of all body systems can we count on truly impressive results.

If you always train only hard (for myofibril hypertrophy), then sooner or later this will stall your results or, even worse, drive you into a state of severe overtraining.

Act consistently

When, it is no longer possible to progress the load linearly (simply increasing the weight on the bar from workout to workout), because progress will sooner or later slow down greatly until it stops completely, then it is necessary to consistently include training of other systems in order to expand the possibilities of muscle mass growth.

There is no need to train everything, because... this will dilute the focus on a specific goal.

If the goal is to feel your muscles better (like in the first 3-4 months of training), then focus on that. No need to rush back and forth. Otherwise, you will get an average, unexpressed result.

Your dope is food

Food is a great tool for getting a great figure! Proper manipulation of carbohydrates and proteins in the diet, as well as the timing of their intake, can provide significant progress in muscle growth, as well as fat burning!

Food is an integral part of post-workout recovery, as it takes bricks to build a house.

It performs the most important functions:

acceleration/slowdown of metabolism (metabolism);
acceleration of anabolism (building body tissues);
slowing catabolism (destruction of body tissues);

A prerequisite for progress is sufficient, anabolic (growth-promoting) nutrition.

Also a good addition to the main diet is appropriate sports nutrition (protein, creatine, L-Carnitine, Arginine, etc.). But at the very beginning of classes (9 months-1 year) it makes no sense. You will grow well anyway.

The most powerful weapon

I think I'm not revealing anything new if I say that ALL PROFESSIONAL BODYBUILDERS use steroids. This is a powerful weapon that forgives many mistakes against the background of enhanced anabolism.

Indeed, all athletes have their own “natural ceiling”, which does not allow them to grow further at the same speed. It is difficult to come to terms with an increase in biceps size of 0.5 cm per year. For further growth (if you are a professional athlete), it makes sense to resort to pharmacological support.

But there is one amendment: in order to use steroids, an athlete must learn to build muscle mass on his own, without pharmacology, in order to prepare the body for stress and understand for himself whether he wants to move on. Otherwise, the question is: “How to pump up quickly?” can't even stand.

Many people make the fatal mistake of starting to take steroid drugs in the first 2-3 years of training with iron, thereby undermining their endocrine system, reducing the sensitivity of receptors to them, and, needless to say, ultimately losing all their results, and sometimes even their health , after several similar courses.

If you do not compete, you are not a professional, and, moreover, you have not “naturally” built up 15-20 kg of muscle (just not “dirty mass”, but clean muscle, without fat), then ABOUT ANY STEROIDS AND THERE CAN BE NO SPEECH! Dot.

conclusions

Be responsible when choosing a training program. Remember that it is better to immediately follow the right road, in the right direction, and at the same time be able to turn onto a more effective path.
Learn to contract your muscles correctly (work with light weights for 3-4 months).
Muscles don't grow unless the load increases.
It is necessary to increase the load during the super-recovery phase (supercompensation).
To develop your muscles to their maximum, you need to develop all types of muscle fibers and related systems.
Supercompensation occurs at different times for different systems. Alternate heavy and light training (load cycling).
Don't rush to train everything at once. Be consistent. Focus on a specific goal and go towards it until you need to change your focus.
Eat well.
FORGET ANABOLIC STEROIDS.

I hope now you understand how to quickly pump up. The main thing is to approach bodybuilding wisely. Following these rules will lead you to an amazing body with the least amount of time wasted. And this is the most expensive resource.

P.S. Subscribe to blog updates. It will only get worse.

With respect and best wishes,!

It is very difficult to combine work, leisure, family and sports training. It is difficult to find the strength and health to do all this without knowing the rules of how to pump up the muscles of the whole body in the gym and how many days a week you need to train.

If you've decided to return to weights or just want to train differently, breathe a sigh of relief because now you've read the rules for both cases.

In them you will learn how to pump up the muscles of the whole body without harm to your health and how many days a week you need to train.

How to pump up muscles throughout the body

Before you hit a blank wall, familiarize yourself with the very basic rules of strength training. Be warned: some of the rules may contradict everything you've probably ever heard - prepare to be surprised.

Five Rules for Building Muscles

Remember these simple truths to pump up muscles throughout your body, and you will provide yourself with muscles for life.

Rule 1. See your body as a whole

You are not the sum of all your body parts. No matter what the heavyweight at the gym tells you, your muscles work better if you use them all during a workout. Strictly speaking, it is impossible to isolate muscles. They are connected to each other by fascia, ligaments, and tendons.

Yes, you can focus on a specific muscle group, but it is very difficult to isolate it. Think about doing a pull-up. It works your back, but it also works your biceps, forearms and abs.

A landmark study (McLester, Bishop and Guilliams, 1999) proved this. The white-coated folks at the University of Alabama found that whole-body training resulted in 2 to 2.5 pounds more muscle gain per month on average than training that focused on specific muscle groups.

Don't get confused: training one or two muscle groups per workout, as bodybuilders do, will produce results. However, this strategy will quickly backfire if you miss a few strength training sessions.

Full body workout sends growth signals to all muscles. Your pectoral muscles grow not only in the days after working them out, but throughout the week. Consider a full-body strength training regimen to be the low hanging fruit in the bodybuilding world.

Even if life throws up a business meeting, no muscle is left behind - you just train 3 days a week, not 4, and continue to grow in ideal proportions, while avoiding injury. To help the muscles of your entire body grow faster, treat them like a team that performs better the better its players work together.

Rule 4. Basic concepts of training

Here is a short glossary of basic concepts.
Repeat: Performing an exercise once, such as one push-up.
Approach (set): performing a group of repetitions without a break, for example a set of 5 push-ups.
Rate of Lift: The time it takes you to lower and lift the weight.
Rest: the length of time to rest between sets.
Frequency: The number of times you train over a given period of time, usually a week.
Order: The sequence in which the exercises are performed.

Rule 5. Basic or intensive training

Ask 10 trainers whether intensity-based or quantity-based workouts are the best for toning your entire body, and you'll get 10 different answers. But what does each method mean?

When training for quantity, you bombard your muscles with a huge number of sets and repetitions (several times a week, 60-90 minutes each), so that they have no choice but to get used to it and grow.

When training for intensity, you perform short and intense sessions (2-3 times a week for 30-60 minutes) with maximum weights for yourself, then take a few days of rest to recover - this is when you grow.

Both types of activities have their advantages. The second is based on work, the first on leisure. Solution? Raise your right leg and place it firmly on the dividing line. Try combining both methods. Practice quantity for a while, then intensity. You will soon see for yourself which method gives the best results for you.

For beginner bodybuilders, quantity training is more suitable. Quantity training will teach you how to perform strength exercises correctly. After all, there is no need to lift terrible weights, which very often has a negative effect on technique.
You can read about a complete course of exercises for a beginning bodybuilder.

So, you have already understood the basic rules of exercises for building body muscles and learned how to put them into practice. The next step is the acquisition of “building materials” that will help bring the plan to life.

For a beginner who first comes to the gym with the goal of pumping up muscles, it is often extremely difficult to understand what needs to be done to make the muscles become stronger and muscle mass to grow. Instead of focusing on the main points of the training, he begins to study numerous subtleties, while losing the overall understanding of the issue.

This material is the simplest possible (but at the same time working and effective) answer to the question of how it is really necessary to pump muscles correctly. With enough dedication and motivation, the tips below will help the novice athlete quickly build muscle and create an athletic body through strength training with dumbbells and barbells.

Please note that the advice presented applies primarily to those who are naturally thin and not overweight. If your main goal is not just pumping up your body, but creating sculpted abs, then the best training strategy would be primary weight loss. Let us remember that the body is extremely reluctant to build muscle and burn fat at the same time.

1: Provide the body with energy

The first rule of building muscle mass is increased nutrition. The body of the above-mentioned ectomorphs is often unable to accumulate sufficient energy reserves (including in the form of glycogen in the muscles). However, without this energy, neither active strength training nor subsequent muscle recovery and growth is possible.

It is extremely important to provide the muscles with additional energy by taking 15-20 minutes before training (a cocktail of fast carbohydrates and proteins), and during the training itself. In addition, immediately after physical activity you need to take whey protein, and within 1-2 hours eat a full portion of regular food.

Exercises to pump up body muscles

There are many different strength exercises, performed both with dumbbells or a barbell, and in simulators. In addition, there are functional training (for example, CrossFit), which consists of performing exercises with body weight. However, the main thing for pumping muscles is traditionally considered to be primarily exercises with a barbell, and not at all on machines.

2: Use basic exercises

Since the beginner's body usually does not know how to accumulate sufficient energy reserves for long-term strength training, beginning athletes need to focus on the most important thing - that is, not overload the program with unnecessary exercises. Among other things, the total number of all approaches in the exercises should not exceed 10-15 sets.

The training program should exclusively include those that are important both for muscle growth and for increasing hormonal levels. You need to train no more than three times a week, and the duration of each strength training should not exceed 45 minutes (excluding mandatory warm-up and cool-down).

3: Perform 5-7 repetitions

For muscle growth and muscle gain, a signal from the muscles is necessary that it cannot cope with the current physical load and it needs to increase strength (and volume). In simple words, every workout you must “bring” the body to the limit of its physical capabilities so that it expands this limit by building muscles.

The last repetition of a strength exercise should be given with great difficulty, leaving no strength for one more. However, it is important to note that the optimal number of repetitions for - 5-7 repetitions - requires the use of significant working weights, and therefore appropriate insurance or the help of a personal trainer.

Nutrition for muscle building

The second most important problem for ectomorphs, which prevents them from building muscle and increasing body weight, is chronic lack of appetite. The beginner's body, in fact, only cares about providing the minimum caloric intake, completely ignoring the signals from growing muscles that they need additional energy for successful recovery and growth.

4: Increase your caloric intake

One of the main rules for gaining muscle mass is that the daily caloric intake should exceed the norm by about 15-25% (in total, for muscle growth you need at least 2500 kcal per day). The diet of athletes should contain quite a lot of the right fats and carbohydrates, as well as at least 1.5-2.5 grams of protein per kilogram of dry body weight.

Fitseven has already talked about how to determine correctly - you can use both the ready-made formula and the tables presented in the material at the link. At the same time, keep in mind that determining the calorie content of food eaten “by eye” is difficult even for professionals - unfortunately, it is almost impossible to build muscle without counting calories and nutritional supplements.

5: Help your body with supplements

The easiest way to optimize your metabolism is to take high-calorie sports supplements. If you want to build muscle, then whether you feel hungry or not, you should take several times a day. After some time, the metabolism will change and the body will get used to the new amounts of energy.

Among other things, caffeine and special pre-workout complexes containing arginine, beta-alanine and other additives will help you train more effectively by providing increased blood flow to the muscles, which, in turn, will create ideal conditions for expanding energy depots and will lead to a further increase in muscle volume.

6: Analyze your results

Develop the habit of weekly analysis of the results of your training and devote 10-15 minutes to this on the weekend. Record the exercises you perform, your body weight and your total caloric intake in your program. Carefully analyze the results and plan the next week of training based on them.

At first, such an analysis will seem complicated and completely unnecessary - but if you spend 6-7 hours a week at the gym (including travel to training), it is extremely important to understand whether these hours brought any real results. After a month of keeping a sports diary, you will understand how important it is for increasing the effectiveness of your training.

7: Set realistic goals

It is extremely important to adequately assess the capabilities of your body and not compare yourself with Instagram stars, professional athletes and bodybuilders. Firstly, their body is initially predisposed to building muscles (in fact, they are); secondly, they started their training many years ago, so they clearly understand the rules of training.

The truth is that in the first year of training, even in the most ideal cases, it is extremely difficult to gain more than 6-8 kg of muscle, since the rate of muscle growth in a man with average genetics is about 0.5-1 kg per month. Although this is a very, very good result, don't expect to be able to completely change your body in three months.

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The main rules of strength training for gaining muscle mass are an emphasis on multi-joint basic exercises performed with ideal technique, consuming an increased amount of calories and weekly analysis of training results and the chosen nutrition strategy. All other factors are only secondary.