Top 50 Male Muscle Building Tips

28/11/2014

Top 50 Male Muscle Building Tips…

Building muscle is extremely difficult, unless you were born Superman?

Well that’s why I am about to share with you my Top 50 Male Muscle Building Tips which will help you grow some serious muscle mass.

Building muscle is like building a house, you need the right materials (training and nutrition) and a plan in place to ensure optimal progression.

I can 100% guarantee that even if you only apply a handful of these tips, for the next 28 days, that you will still see some serious muscle gains.

Without further ado I am honoured to share with you my Top 50 Male Muscle Building Tips . . .

Vary your workouts every 4-8 weeks
Prioritise weaker muscle groups
Get a minim of 7hrs sleep per night – here are tips to sleep like a baby
Foam roll before each session
Master form before adding weight
Start with heavier lifts first
Start each session with a lower rep range on your 1st exercise (3-5 reps)
Vary rep ranges over each session from 3 reps to 30+ repetitions
Induce a high lactic acid response towards the end of each session by doing higher reps (15+)
Train with a lifting partner (a good one, not someone who talks about their weekend all session!)
Leave your ego at the door
Consume between 1.5 and 2.5g of protein per bodyweight
18 calories per lb of bodyweight i.e. 200lb male X 18 cals = 3600 cals per day
More calories on training days
Less calories on rest days
Rotate foods every 3-4 weeks
Focus on muscular contraction throughout every part of the rep (mind to muscle connection)
Consume a portion of protein with every meal
Take a good multivitamin
Take digestive enzymes and probiotics for a healthier gut
Consume Omega 3 to reduce inflammation
Take a break or lower training volume if you feel chronically fatigued
Ensure high intake of vegetables with each meal to aid digestion
Consume creatine (take between 5-15g per day)
Consume a minimum of 3-4 litres per day, more on training days
Keep a training log of weights, reps, sets, etc
Use training variables to bust through plateaus; drop sets, supersets, giant sets, rest/pause, bands, eccentrics, partials, etc
The higher the volume of training the more you need to eat
The lower the volume of training the less you need to eat
Pay more attention to your posterior chain (back, hamstrings, glutes, calves) when training
Hire an experienced body transformation coach
Study, watch, read and learn from experts : knowledge is power
Write down training goals and make regular assessments
Fasting : every now and then (once every 4 weeks) it’s good to give your digestive system a break for 12-24hrs by fasting – read more here
Add 10-15g of glutamine into your post-workout shake
Consume a higher ratio of carbs on training days (lower carbs on non training days)
Pull back on carbs if your gaining too much body fat (12 to 15% +)
Eat frequently to get in more calories throughout the day (between 4-8 meal per day)
Implement occlusion training at the end of your workouts to increase muscle pump
Add in an intra workout shake (between 20-50g vitargo) to give your body extra calories & energy. Have a higher dose (up to 50g) on larger muscle group days (back, chest, legs)
Be patient : if you can cultivate between 3-5kg of lean muscle tissue per year you are doing extremely well
Take ZMA before bed
Use Epsom salts in baths to aid recovery
Eat enough good fats to increase natural testosterone (nuts, eggs, salmon, mackerel, olive oil, avocados, olives, etc)
Eat every 2-3hrs
Get regular soft tissue work done (sports massage) the more and harder you train the more frequently you should have work done
Train your muscles from different angles e.g. flat, incline, wide grip, narrow grip, supinated grip, pronated grip, use cables, dumbbells and different machines to work on different areas of the muscle
Increase amino acid intake around training
Focus on time under tension training (lowering and lifting the weights under control i.e. 4 seconds down, 2 seconds up) : keep constant tension throughout
Utilise compound lifts to build mass : squats, bench press and deadlifts

Final Thoughts (+Bonus Tips) On Building Muscle:

Remember that building muscle takes time. If you’re a natural bodybuilder then adding 3-5lbs per month is a good achievement.

You don’t want to gain fat, it will make you slower, and feel more sluggish and impact your bodies ability to utilise carbohydrates (causing insulin resistance).

Also, adding more fat is going to lead to more inflammation in the body which is going to impact your recovery between workouts.

So remember that building muscle takes time.

If you apply a bunch of tips in this post it’s going to help you build some impressive muscle mass, but the key areas – and most important ones to focus on are:

#1 Increasing Your Food – like lifting more, you need to eat more. To get bigger you must slowly increase calories over time, for example adding 50-100 calories per week.

#2 Progressive Overload – get stronger over time. You should be adding weights and reps to your exercises and logging your workouts in a gym diary.

#3 Mini Diet Breaks – there will come a point when you need to do a mini diet break and lose some body fat. You can’t just keep upping your calories forever, without gaining fat. For example, you may do an 8-12 week bulk, followed by a 2-4 week fat loss phase. This is just an example, it may be different for you, but it’s important to remember that bodybuilding is often two steps forward one step back.

#4 Rest & Nutrition – this is where you body heals and recovers, and if you get this wrong you are missing out on maximising your muscle gains. The most important of these is nutrition and sleep. Nutrition – consuming lots of protein, and vegetables, and of course carbs when needed. Sleep – aiming for at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

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Nick Screeton – Author and founder of LEP Fitness