You hit the gym religiously but you still aren’t seeing the gains you want. What gives?
Turns out, you could be spinning your wheels and wasting your time on the wrong workout techniques.
Different exercise methods are designed to target different parts of your body. Are you targeting your core muscle groups and working them in the right way? Today, we’re sharing nine ways you can bulk up and build muscle safely and effectively.
Ready to learn more? Let’s get started!
1. Bump Up Your Training Volume
Your training volume is defined as the number of reps you do, multiplied by your number of sets.
While practical sense tells you that you need to add more weight to build muscle, the opposite is often true.
As you enter this hypertrophy stage of your fitness routine, it’s important to know your one-rep maximum, also known as your 1RM rate. This is the most weight you can lift for one repetition.
Instead of trying to hit that number every time, cut back to around 50% to 75% of your 1RM. That way, you can handle more reps with ease.
A good rule of thumb? Aim to perform three to six sets of about 10 to 20 reps.
2. Shorten Your Rep Breaks
It’s important to listen to your body. You don’t want to overexert yourself on any workout to the point of compromising your health.
However, one of the quickest workout tips for men is to shorten the intervals of rest you allow yourself between lifting reps. Keep that cool down time to between 30 and 90 seconds, tops.
This allows plenty of time for your body to release testosterone, human growth hormone, and other muscle-building hormones. It will also fatigue your muscles enough to encourage growth.
3. Prioritize Your Recovery Time
Yes, your in-gym rep breaks might be shorter than you’re used to. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t take a rest day.
You should at least give your muscles eight hours per night to recover before you’re back at it the next morning. That ever-valuable human growth hormone? Your body makes more of it every time you hit the sack.
Another reason to get your required number of zzzs?
Research shows that sleep loss can drastically reduce testosterone levels in young men who sleep fewer than five hours a night! If you’re between the ages of 18 and 64, you need to get between seven to nine hours to function at your peak performance.
4. Do the Dip
Looking for a muscle-building workout technique you can do almost anywhere? A classic dip is always a solid go-to.
Whether you’re in the office on a lunch break or near a picnic table on the beach, find a sturdy surface, face away from it, and place your hands shoulder-width apart.
If you’re targeting your chest muscles, lean your torso forward as you dip. If your triceps are your priority, you can keep your torso upright.
5. Try Old-Fashioned Push-Ups (and Pull-Ups)
Yes, we live in an era where even our gyms are smart. Try hitting the floor before you sweat all over high-dollar machinery that can talk to you, play your favorite song or order a green smoothie.
There are few men’s workout techniques that beat good, old-fashioned push-ups or pull-ups. Using your own body weight, push-ups activate your shoulders, chest, triceps, and core.
Meanwhile, pull-ups fire up your biceps, forearms, lats, mid-traps, rhomboids and more! To amplify your results, vary your grip length and the angle of your torso as you pull up. This will stimulate different groups of back muscles.
6. Master the Bench Press
It’s a simple, classic workout that also happens to be incredibly effective. To master the bench press, position your torso on the bench and arch your lower back a little.
With your ribcage high, shrug your shoulders back and downward.
Then, slowly add more weight until you’re comfortable. A bench press works your pectorals, triceps, and anterior deltoids, making it a great upper body workout. With enough repetitions and consistency, you’ll start to see major results.
7. Learn the Right Way to Deadlift
If you cherish your back at all, don’t walk up to a huge dumbell and attempt a deadlift. Instead, take the time to understand your goals first.
Do you want to gain strength and power in addition to muscle mass? If so, start your deadlift from the floor. On the other hand, if you’re looking to bulk up your back, you can rest the weights on a rack.
If you go the latter route, make sure the weights aren’t above your knee. They can be as low as your mid-shin, however.
8. Do Squats to Build Lower-Body Muscle
When we talk about gaining muscle, we don’t only mean in the regions above your waist. You can also bulk up your quads, hips, glutes, and hamstrings with simple squats!
Resist the urge to watch the number of weights on the bar grow higher and higher. Instead, keep it comfortable and make sure your form is correct.
This way, you can better control your reps and make sure you’re taking the squat low enough to see results. Your thighs should remain parallel to the floor or a little below.
9. Consume More Calories Than You Burn
A list of workout tips for men wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t touch on nutrition.
Especially if you’ve been cutting calories to lose weight, it can feel counterintuitive to suddenly start piling them on.
However, one of the most effective ways to boost your muscle mass is to consume more calories than you burn off at the gym. If the balance swings the other way and you’re in a calorie deficit, it hinders your body’s natural tendency to build muscle.
Start by eating around 250 extra calories per day, and slowly bump that number up to 500. What’s the ticket to making sure that surplus turns into bulging forearms and not a spare tire around your waist? Try to make sure most of those calories come from protein!
Discover More Powerful Workout Techniques
Are you tired of putting in time and effort on your workout routine, only to see little to no change in your body?
We understand, and we’re here to make the process easier for you.
In addition to helping you find the perfect workout techniques to jumpstart your fitness journey, we’ll also keep you stocked with muscle-building stacks and supplements to make sure you stay on track.
Contact us today for more information and let’s grow together!
We are a team of bodybuilding experts and fitness coaches who thrive to educate others on the importance of a healthy lifestyle. CrazyMass helps bodybuilders around the world build muscle mass, increase strength, cut fat, and reach their workout goals. Our all-natural supplements are made in the USA in a FDA registered – cGMP facility using only the best high-quality, certified ingredients.
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