Muscle Building

As a personal trainer, men always ask me about the best exercises, supplements or tips for building muscle. The truth is, most guys hitting the gym don’t get the results they want because they’re making some critical mistakes. Learn 10 tips including a workout and diet plan that will help you to build muscle. 1. Machines vs. free weights Leg press, hamstring curls, seated chest press etc. while providing resistance, these are all machines that provide too much assistance and balance the weight for you. Your core muscles (not just your abs but all the muscles around your trunk) don’t work as much, therefore you’re not building real long lasting strength required to gain muscles in proportion. Tip: Use free weights including barbells and dumbbells or even body weight exercises such as push-ups or chin-ups. If you’re concerned about correct form or you’re injured, it would be worthwhile hiring a personal trainer or a coach to run through those lifts and get yourself on the right track. 2. Isolation vs. compound exercises Isolation exercises such as biceps curls, standing triceps extensions are among the favourite exercises men like to do. Those exercises are fine to incorporate at the end of your routine if you have time. Bear in mind that doing primarily isolation exercises can result in an unbalanced and weird-looking physique (think “chicken leg”) if you favor certain body parts while neglecting others. Think about the bench press. While you’d think you’re only working your chest, you’re also working your triceps and shoulders with a much heavier load than you would using an isolation exercise like triceps extensions. Tip: Focus on exercises that work several muscles at the same time. These are called “compound exercises” like squats, deadlifts, bench presses. They recruit more muscles, build long-lasting strength and cut your workout time. 3. Training larger muscle groups (legs & back) Hands up if you hate doing squats and lunges. They hurt, right? Your body releases more muscle building and fat burning hormones when you train large muscles like your legs and back. These hormones also stimulate growth in your smaller muscles. Tip: If you train your legs and back, you will not only get a more balanced physique, you’ll also get more growth in your chest, shoulders and arms. The best exercises would be deadlifts, squats and chin-ups. 4. Have a plan “Fail to plan is like planning to fail”. Doing random exercises or reps or copy what some other guy is doing is not going to get you anywhere. Always have a clear plan and goal for every workout. This means knowing before you even enter the gym which exercises you’re going to do, with how much weight, and for how many sets and reps. What you can measure you can improve.