Losing over one hundred pounds is what propelled me into fitness. I have built a wonderful personal training business in which I have helped many people lose fat. After I lost the fat I wanted to gain muscle. I have over the past few years added almost seventy pounds back to my six foot two inch frame. I now weigh about 265 pounds. Another side of my business is to help people gain lean body mass like I have. I help people gain as much muscle as they can. Many guys have come to me for help in gaining muscle. On their own, most of them started out okay, but have hit the so-called “plateau” in their journey to gain muscle. Over the past few years I have incorporated the right mindset, a wide and ever changing variety of resistance and cardiovascular exercises, variety in diet, the right supplements, and REST in order to achieve an excellent mass building program.

Mindset
To keep your mind from getting into a rut you must have the right mindset. You need to keep that inner fire of desire burning constantly. Many people become lazy or non-motivated, which turns out to be the end to their body’s advancing to that next level. If you want the big bulging biceps and the blown out chest, then you cannot lose sight of that goal. It takes a lot of discipline to keep going back to your workouts with the same fierce intensity you started with that first day. A lack of discipline always halts all progress immediately and hinders any future advancement of the muscles in your body.

Resistance/Cardiovascular
I have always kept variety in my workouts with resistance and cardiovascular exercises. Every time I enter a gym or fitness center I focus on change in my workout. Many people do change their workout routine every so often, but not as often as I do. I believe the body adapts to change and resistance faster than we think. Most people I have trained with normally change their routines about every four to six weeks. I do not wait nearly that long. Each of my body parts is trained only once per week and the routine for each changes weekly. For example: (I might use only dumbbells one week and barbells the next for my entire chest workout. The third week might be an intense push-up workout in which I have plates on my back during the different variations of push-ups I perform. On the fourth week I could go back to the dumbbell workout but increase the pounds and intensity). The idea in these changes is to keep my muscles guessing as to what is going to happen next. These ever changing routines have always helped my clients and I advance in our progress. The underlying result has always been getting bigger and stronger. I have tried the same routines for four to six weeks with an increase in weight and intensity each time, but I always lose the pump too fast. Without constant change in my workouts, my muscles do not get that exhausted feeling. To constantly build muscle mass you need to go heavy almost every workout and remember to change-up your exercises and techniques (supersets, drop-sets, pyramiding, etc.). If you are an intermediate bodybuilder or stronger, then do not train each body part more than once per week. Listen to your body. If you are sore in a particular muscle, do not work it. Soreness means the muscle is still recuperating. The same changes need to occur in your cardiovascular routine so your body will not get bored. You know the feeling you get doing the same time at the same intensity on a stationary bike three to four times per week. It gets easy after the first or second time. Your body adapts very quickly to changes, so keep changing your exercises to trick it.

Sample Program
(Some sample mass building 45 - 60 minute workouts of mine which consist of 4 sets using a weight I can only get for 6-8 reps.)

Week 1-

Monday (chest) - dumbbell declines, dumbbell flats, dumbbell inclines, dumbbell incline flies / walking on treadmill for twenty minutes

Tuesday (back) - one arm dumbbell rows, wide grip lat pulldowns, non-weighted hyperextensions / hanging knee raises for abs

Wednesday (legs) - leg extensions, leg curls, sumo deadlifts, standing calf raises / stationary cycle for twenty minutes

Thursday (shoulders) - front military presses, rear military presses / an ab machine of some sort

Friday (arms) - barbell curls, standing v-bar cable curls, triceps cable pressdowns, weighted dips on side of bench / elliptical machine for twenty minutes

Week 2 –

Monday (chest) - barbell declines, barbell flats, barbell inclines, standing cable crossovers / walking outside for twenty minutes

Tuesday (back) - close grip weighted pull-ups, T-bar rows, weighted hyperextensions / weighted decline crunches

Wednesday (legs) - stiff legged deadlifts, barbell squats, seated calf machine / light stair stepping for twenty minutes

Thursday (shoulders) - dumbbell front laterals, dumbbell side laterals, dumbbell rear laterals / cable crunches

Friday (arms) - alternating dumbbell curls, alternating dumbbell hammer curls, skull crushers, one arm overhead extensions / a light twenty minute jog

Diet/Supplements
Your diet to gain massive amounts of muscle without the fat should consist of six to eight meals a day, each with a balance of quality proteins (chicken, tuna, salmon, turkey, lean pork cuts, lean red meat, almonds, walnuts, eggs, cottage cheese, cheeses, milk, protein powders/bars, or soy), carbohydrates (whole grain breads, pasta, whole grain/brown rice, red and sweet potatoes, oatmeal, mix of veggies but preferably green veggies, low sugar fruits such as pears and apples), and good fats (canola oils, olive oils, safflower oils, or omega 3 oils).

Serving sizes should be:
protein - at least one gram per pound of bodyweight per day (for my body it helps if I increase my protein and carb intake post workout because my muscles are starving to be fed)
carbs - at least two grams per pound of bodyweight per day
fats - 1 tablespoon of olive oil on salad mid morning and one tablespoon of safflower oil on salad late afternoon. (I usually never do more than this directly, because my body gets other good and minimal bad fats indirectly from the other food such as the nuts or fish)

Sample day for me:
Meal one – meal replacement shake and an apple
Meal two – oatmeal and cottage cheese
Meal three – cans of tuna and green salad with tablespoon of olive oil
Meal four – grilled chicken sandwiches on whole wheat bread and carrot sticks
Meal five – meal replacement shake and a pear
Meal six – lean steak with sweet potato, salad w/tablespoon of canola oil and broccoli
Meal seven – protein bar

** I stay away from simple sugars (sweets, soft drinks, etc.) almost always. The only time you should eat them would be right after your weights workout because more than likely your body will use simple sugars to raise its own sugar levels back to normal.
** Always drink water all day!!
** Never miss meals because your metabolism will slow down if you do. If you have time for bathroom breaks throughout the day, then you have no excuses to miss meals.
** I supplement with creatine monohydrate, glutamine, and a daily multivitamin/mineral.

Rest
Rest is very important to your muscles. You have to understand your muscles and have sympathy for them. If your muscles are sore and tired, then let them rest and grow. Recuperation after workouts gives muscles time to heal and repair. Muscles go through so much stress during a workout that they need a rest period to make a full recovery and comeback. Always remember that Rest Time = Grow Time. If you want to bulk-up, you need to rest your muscles and not overtrain them. Try to get at least eight hours of sleep at night and preferably an hour and a half nap in the afternoon.

Incorporating the right mindset, variety in exercises, variety in diet/supplements, and rest will help you break through any plateau in your training. Never stop trying new training or nutritional methods. Remember, constant change will always keep your muscles guessing and growing.

If you have any question regarding this article please contact David at dlg@gamewood.