For some people muscle building is the reason they join the gym. With all the imagery of lifting weights and shiny, defined muscles, it is the go-to for body image. If they aren’t looking for ‘6 pack abs’ they are looking for a strong, powerful physique.
The challenge is, how realistic are your goals and what do you do to reach them? One of the first steps to help you is some knowledge about training methods for muscle building. This is the stuff that helps guide your annual gym workout plan and track your results.
To help reach your goals, it is important to be informed and get to know what works best. Learn about the types of training that will help stimulate muscle growth.
There are three methods of training that, when combined, can help you fully develop muscle growth. Plus, you could consider supplements and protein to build muscle as part of the process. But for now, let’s consider the three methods.
1. Muscle Building Volume Training
Volume workouts have a dual purpose to them.
On the one hand, they increase the size of the muscles, hence the name of volume. But on the other hand, we find that this increase in volume is accompanied by a gain in strength. So, this makes volume training one of the best forms of muscle-building training that you can use.
There are some questions about how much training volume you need. Scientific research has found that a minimum of 10 sets per body part is going to see significant results.
But, as always, there are qualifiers and it’s helpful to pay attention to the experts (watch the video).
In the case of volume training, this diet must contain a large number of carbohydrates and proteins. These give your body fuel for workouts and help repair the muscle.
In these routines muscle hypertrophy is worked. Do 3 or 4 sets of 8 to 12 repetition using a load between 70 and 80% of your maximum weight. Rest is critical to help your body achieve the desired outcome.
Therefore, between sets, you will rest between 30 and 90 seconds. Not giving the proper rest to your body or doing too many sets can have the opposite effect. You may end up with a loss of muscle mass and strength.
2. Definition Training for Muscle Building
As the name suggests, this type of routine allows us to obtain a more defined muscle. The goal will be to eliminate fat while maintaining muscle. For this workout, the repetitions are as important as the weight. Take time to rest and complete the sets properly.
For this training to be effective, you must do high intensity sets while reducing rest time as much as possible.
This training should be completed with at least three weekly sessions. Aim for 30 minutes of aerobic training exercises such as running on a treadmill, rowing or spinning.
It’s important to add this to your muscle-building workout plans in order to have a good balance in your program.
Regarding the diet, eat foods of high nutritional value respecting the five daily meals. This type of gym training can be highly intense on the body. It is important to have maintain a proper diet and good sleeping habits to maximise its effectiveness.
3. Maximum Strength Training
As the name suggests, the objective will be to work our strength to the maximum. Have a heavy focus on maximising hypertrophy for the best muscle growth.
These routines include very heavy loads, above 80% and even reaching 100% of your maximum.
It’s helpful to get an understanding of the hierarchy of strength training so we included a vidoe.
When working with so much weight the number of repetitions is reduced. Either between 6 (80%) or 1 when you work at 100%. As the weight increases, the rest time increases, which in maximum strength routines ranges from 2 to 3 minutes.
This is one of the workout routines to build muscle that is mainly recommended to experienced people in the gym. This is because it can be dangerous for someone who is not comfortable with the movements. The exception would be when you are working with an experienced trainer .
Start Using These Muscle Building Workouts
Each of these workouts has its pros and cons. It is very important to bear in mind that combing them is ideal to work all the muscle fibers.
A good training plan should include different training periods, and in each of them, we will have different routines. Some of these are to work on hypertrophy, others for definition and others for maximum strength. These are combined so that the muscle is not saturated and the training gains efficiency.
Try these out and get your health and wellness kicked up a gear with your muscle building journey!