“The human body is a machine which winds its own springs.”
– Julien Offroy de la Mattrie, L’Homme Machine
When the 2015 tsunami of people turn your gym into an amusement park this January, it’s time for you to focus on your resolution: GAINS
Not everyone under the roof of the same gym has the same goals. You have people there to specifically lose weight, tone muscle, gain mass, increase definition, get ripped, bulk up, improve their health and so on.
For those who are looking to make GAINS in 2015, then keep reading.
6 SIMPLE TIPS TO GET MAD GAINS
1. Know the number of calories you need to grow bigger
The amount of calories you consume depends on your age, gender, current weight and how active your lifestyle is. For the sake of simplicity, multiply your current weight in pounds by 20. If you weigh 180 pounds, that’s 180 x 20 = 3,600 calories daily. This might come as a shock if you’re not used to eating that much in a day.
2. Exercise big muscle groups to jump-start the muscle building process
Studies show that training big muscle groups jump-start the muscle building process leading to faster and bigger muscle gains. Make sure you involve these muscle groups at least once a week. The largest muscle groups are the legs, back and chest muscles. Now you know why leg day is the hardest for most (probably all) bodybuilders.
3. Lift progressively
As your muscles get used to the heavy load, you may need to shock it by constantly changing the weight you lift. If you used 135 pounds on your bench press during your first week of training, try to add 5-10 pounds for the second week. Add another 5-10 pounds on the following week and so on. The same goes for other body parts.
Progressive lifting makes sure that your muscles don’t get complacent and stop growing. The additional weight tells your body to grow more muscle fibers to keep up with the load. Watch yourself get bigger and stronger every week.
4. Alter your exercise routine
If you’re working out three times a week training two or more body parts, try to spread it to six days working only on one body part per day. This allows you to push that muscle to failure and destroy the muscle fibers which help them rebuild with more mass. If you decide to do two muscle groups in one training day and, for example, do chest and biceps on Mondays and back and triceps on Wednesdays, instead do chest and triceps on Mondays and back and biceps on Wednesdays. This puts more stress on the common muscle groups (biceps and triceps) forcing your body to grow more muscle fibers.
5. Do partial and reverse lifts
Instead of lifting all the way for 3 sets, do it only a third of the way on the first set, two thirds on the second and full lifts in the third. Reverse the load progression so you can lift more weight on the first set and less weight on the second and third. Next, you can do reverse lifts to help confuse your muscles, which is a very good thing to do.
6. Use Supplements
Supplements, obviously, are not meant to be your only source of nutrients. You can call them helpers because they fill the nutritional gaps. These gaps happen when you are not getting enough nutrients from your diet to coax your body into producing more muscles. Here are some of the well-known supplements easily available in the market:
Whey protein powder
This supplement is almost always a requirement if you want to build big, lean muscles, improve your performance, and lose body fat. Whey protein is an essential part of your muscle building arsenal. It is easily digested and absorbed by the body. Watch out for powders with high sugar content.
Casein protein
Casein is the twin brother of whey. It’s the other type of protein found in milk. Compared to whey, your body digests casein slower. Taking casein before bedtime prevents catabolism, protecting your hard-earned muscles from being converted to body fuel. An easy way to get this is by eating a cup of cottage cheese before bed.
Creatine
Creatine is one of the most important recent discoveries in the field of sports supplementation. It increases the amount of energy supplied to your muscles so you can do more repetitions and lift heavier weights.
Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
Leucine, valine and isoleucine, together called as branched-chain amino acids are the most essential amino acids for repairing and building muscle tissue.
Glutamine
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in your body. It increases the amount of leucine in muscle fibers and decreases muscle breakdown. It has also been proven to boost the immune system.
IGF-1 and HGH
Two products I recommend: AntlerX IGF-1 which helps maximize your weight training results using premium deer antler velvet and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Sytropin HGH (Human Growth Hormone) helps to promote tissue repair, cell regeneration and users, according to a recent study by the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that a dramatic decrease in body fat and increased lean muscle mass was found.
Happy New Year!
Written by: Tristan “Lucky”
