Add More Muscle Mass By Training Less Frequently
Posted: Saturday, July 24, 2010
by Bill Davis
The more work you put into something, the better results you will accomplish. This is actually a widely acknowledged fact that is applicable to quite a few elements of everyday living. The more you study, the better marks you will realize. The more time you invest in fine-tuning your fitness abilities, the better player you will become. The longer you spend studying to play an instrument, the better musician you will become. Consequently, it only makes sense that the more hours you spend in the gym, the stronger and more muscular your physique will become, correct? Unlike what you may think, the answer to this question is a massive, definite, total no! It is in this area of muscle building that classic wisdom goes right out the window, down the street and around the corner.
"What? Spending less time in the gym will actually make me bigger and stronger?"
Yes! It really will, and when we examine the muscle-growth process from its most basic roots, it becomes clear why this is the case.
Each individual process that happens within the human body is structured around keeping you alive and healthy. Through millions of years of evolution the body has become quite a fine-tuned organism that can adapt well to the distinct conditions that are placed upon it. We become uncomfortable when we are starving or dehydrated, we acquire a suntan when high amounts of UV rays are present, we build up calluses to shield our skin, etc. So what happens when we break down muscle tissue while working out? If you answered something to the effect of "the muscles get bigger and stronger", then congratulations! You are absolutely correct. By battling against resistance beyond the muscle's present capacity we have posed a risk to the musculature. The body recognizes this as potentially unsafe and as a normal adaptive response the muscles will hypertrophy (increase in size) to guard the body against this threat. As we persistently increase the amount of resistance from week to week the body will continue to adjust and grow.
Sound easy? Really it is, but the most essential thing to recognize in connection to all of this is that the muscles will only grow larger and stronger if they are provided with sufficient recovery time. Without proper recovery time, the muscle development process just can't happen.
Your goal in the gym ought to be to train with the minimum amount of volume needed to provide an adaptive response. Once you have forced your muscles past their present capacity and have triggered your million-year-old evolutionary alarm system, you have completed your job. Any further stress to the physique will merely increase your recovery time, weaken the immune system and send your body into catabolic overdrive.
The majority workout far too frequently and with far more sets than they really need. High intensity weight lifting is significantly more stressful to the physique than most people think. Many individuals structure their exercise programs in a manner that truly stops their results and inhibits them from making the improvements that they should have. Here are 3 basic guidelines that you should adhere to if you want to realize optimum gains:
1) Train each bodypart no greater than two times every week.
2) Don't let your workouts last for longer than 30 minutes.
3) Do 3-4 sets for large muscle groups (chest, back, thighs) and 1-3 sets for smaller muscle groups (shoulders, biceps, triceps, calves, abs).
Take the last set of every exercise to the point of muscular failure and aim on advancing in either weight or reps each week. If you really workout hard and are consistent, exercising more regularly or any longer than this will be detrimental to your size increases!
Check the hardgainer manifesto for more information.
Bill writes about hardgainers at the Hardgainer Manifesto Blog.
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