Q: I’ve just joined a gym and am in need of some advice on building mass. I see some guys doing short, intense workouts and others doing three to four times as many exercises . The gym instructors aren’t much help because they only seem interested in general fitness. So, what’s best to get big quick?

A: Ok – you asked for it. Here is a basic blue-print for mass:

(1) Perform compound, multi-joint exercises to build a foundation of mass. Exercises that work several muscle groups at the same time are always the better option for packing on raw size. Save the isolation movements until you’ve got something to shape and define. For now go with the old standbys like squats, dead-lift, bench press, military press and power cleans – they’re damn hard work but they’ll also do the job.

(2) Use free weights as opposed to cables or machines. Machines force you to move along a pre-destined pathway but free weights follow the natural mechanics of your body. Free weights also recruit synergistic muscle groups which will improve your core strength.

(3) Train each body part just once per week. Select two mass building exercises and focus on hitting them with everything you’ve got. Learn proper form and resolve to NEVER forgo it for the sake of poundage. After a warm up set, perform three working sets of between 5 and 8 repetitions for the upper body and 6-12 reps for legs.

(4) Strive for a progressive overload. Mentally prepare for each work-out by running through the poundages and repetitions you performed last work-out (you should be keeping these in a journal) and set a goal to improve in either reps or weight on every movement each work-out.

(5) Work to positive muscular failure on every post warm up set. Don’t stop a set simply because you’ve reached a certain number. The last rep should be the last rep you can possibly do without cheating on your form. If it’s not, increase the weight.

(6) Learn a half dozen or so intensity techniques and apply them periodically to ramp up the intensity. Forced reps, drop sets, negatives, super slow, pre-exhaustion (see Question 4) and partials should all be a part of your intensity arsenal.

(7) To optimize mass building, eat 5-6 small meals per day, spaced 3 hours apart. At every meal you should have one part fat, two parts protein and three parts carbohydrate. That tells you that 2/6ths of each of your five meals will consist of complete lean protein. The best sources follow:

• White chicken meat (breast is best, skinless of course)

• Egg whites (o.k., one yolk for every four whites won’t kill you)

• Fish (if it’s out of a tin, make sure it’s packed in water, not oil)

• Lean red meats (top round, eye of round, sirloin)

• Non fat or low fat dairy products

• Protein powders (whey is best)

If you like this article, click here to share: