How To Get Bigger: Activity & Exercise
HOW TO GET BIGGER: ACTIVITY & EXERCISE
There are those individuals that have the opposite problem of most people in the United States. They have a tough time gaining weight. The 40 percent of adults in the U.S. that are currently obese are hating you right about now if you are one of these said individuals. (Be prepared to have a voodoo doll made of you in the near future with pins sticking into it everywhere.) But everybody has a health problem to tackle in their lives, and if yours is only the need to gain weight, then you are a pretty lucky guy. There are definitely things you can do in the gym to start bulking up immediately. Your future is about to change.
Go From Bruce Banner to the Incredible Hulk
If only it was as simple as transforming into a superhero with super strength anytime you got angry. You’d learn to be angry all the time. While bulking up will need a bit of time and won’t happen instantly, it can be accomplished with intensity in the weight room. Don’t believe in any of those ads in the fitness magazines that claim you can add 30 pounds in 30 days. I guarantee you, if you are gaining that much weight that quickly, then you may be suffering from some glandular problem that should be looked at by a doctor.
Set a Reasonable Goal to Achieve and Then Start a Diary
Before you go about getting big, take the necessary steps to properly document your journey. The first step is to set a reasonable goal for bulking up. Make it a realistic one, like gaining 5 pounds in a month. This could be your short term goal with your long term goal being the final weight you want to achieve. During this process, record it in a fitness diary and mark down your bulking achievements every week. If it helps, you can call it a fitness journal if need be. No need for a little lock on the outside of it with a small, heart-shaped key.
Before and After Pictures
A picture is worth a thousand words. Someone famous once uttered this saying and people have been repeating it ever since. It definitely is the case for documenting your progress while trying to bulk up. Take a new picture every week with your shirt off and always in the same room with the same lighting. It will be enlightening to go back and compare these pictures as you continue on your bulking odyssey. You might feel a bit silly taking topless selfies of yourself, but it will be worth it once you can lay them out and look at your bulking journey.
Change Up Your Workouts
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. This means that if you have been doing the same workouts for years, why are you believing that they will bulk you up? If they haven’t worked yet, then there is a great chance that they never will. Trying your best to bulk up requires attacking your workouts an entirely alternate way.
Focus on All Muscle Groups Each Workout
Most men separate their workouts during the week into training various muscle groups. One day they may train biceps and triceps during their workout. A day or two after, they could train back and possibly shoulders together. A couple days after that would be a perfect time for a chest workout. Finally, the week concludes with a legs workout. That would be a fine training routine for most people, but if you want to add some muscle and bulk, it is time to approach it differently.
To add some quality mass, your goal is to workout all muscle groups each workout. Bigger muscles are created by strain being put on the muscle that then causes muscle fibers to tear slightly. After a bit of rest, they rebuild themselves slightly larger than before. To do this, you should be focusing on compound movements that will train several muscles at once and a few times a week.
Compound Movements that Will Add Muscle Mass
Compound movements are exercises that workout more than one muscle group at a time. Below is a list of exercises you could do that are compound movements. You might want to alternate them and break them up into two workouts so you just aren’t doing the same workout day after day. A little variety in your life is a good thing.
Really, deadlifts are a total body exercise. It is a good idea to do them very first thing in your workout otherwise you won’t be able to lift as much weight if you wait to do it later. There is not really a muscle you have in your body that this movement won’t make stronger. Get ready to start buying extra large shirts in the near future!
I feel this is a forgotten exercise as you don’t see many people doing this in the gym much anymore. Once in a while, you see people sitting and doing overhead presses with the dumbbells, but in this position you are not working out nearly as many muscle groups. Shoulders, triceps, back, legs, core, and your traps are all worked with this compound movement while you are standing. Plus, when you get strong enough, you can military press anyone that does not agree with you or just is annoying.
It is ironic that one of the things we hated most in gym class when we were younger is one of the best compound movements you can do. It will work your biceps as you pull yourself up, your lats for those wings that the big guys like to have, Popeye forearms, and a wide back. If you can’t do many pull-ups, go with an assisted pull-up machine.
You can’t forget your wheels as you bulk up. Too many men are walking around with skinny chicken legs and big arms, and it makes for a disturbing sight. Squats are a full body workout just like the deadlift. It is estimated that nearly 200 muscles are trained by doing squats. Again, do this early in your workout and often.
All forms of bench press are compound movements. Bar, dumbbell, incline, flat, or decline, it all involves multiple muscle groups. Everyone identifies it with the chest, but it also trains the front of your shoulders, core, triceps, and even your back. Make sure you have a good spotter as you will be adding weight on each set. I once saw a guy lifting with no spotter and he ended up eating the bar. The weight literally came down on his teeth. Nothing ends a workout sooner than seeing your teeth lying on the floor.
Just like the military press, not too many people seem to be doing bodyweight dips anymore. Maybe there is a big long line of people completing this exercise when I am not there, but I never see people doing dips. This is a shame, too, since it works mainly chest, shoulders, and triceps. You can really do these to failure as well without any chance of injury.
Often forgotten as a great compound movement, but it works the back, biceps, and forearms. Plus, it can really strengthen your core. How many guys do you know that have back problems and just believe it is from genetics? The truth of it is if they spent time strengthening their core, they would not be facing these problems.
Avoid Isolation Exercises Until Near the End of Your Workout
By doing compound exercises, you are getting more bang for your buck. Only when you are too tired from doing compound movements should you move on to isolation exercises. You can build more muscle from compound movements quicker than merely focusing on isolation exercises that are just working one muscle at a time. Plus, it is time efficient and will get your workouts done much quicker. There is a reason why you see guys only doing isolation movements in the gym and their workout lasts two hours. They are not using their time or workout wisely.
Increase Your Testosterone Without Supplements and Medication
If you have ever taken a product that has increased your testosterone, then you know there are certain benefits that go hand in hand with it. For one, it builds muscle mass and allows you to bulk up in a good way. In contrast, it also helps get rid of fat quicker. Your strength goes up and your fat percentage goes down. If that wasn’t enough, there is also the libido boost that gives you help in the bedroom. I’m not saying you will be like Ric Flair and suddenly become a 60 minute man, but an additional few minutes are better than nothing. Wooooo!!!
Compound movements will naturally increase your testosterone and growth hormone levels. Post workout, your anabolic hormones raise according to the amount of muscle involved in the training. By training all of these different muscle groups at once, you are driving your testosterone level up higher.
What Do I Do with All of this New Found Knowledge?
Well, besides bragging to your friends about how you are going to become a beast soon, you have to take your knowledge of compound movements and use it the right way. If your goal is to bulk up and put on mass, that means lifting heavy weights. No longer will you need to do 10 reps with each set. You are going to go heavier, so you are more likely looking at 4 to 6 reps per set. Also, pyramid up as your sets proceed. Keep on adding on more weight to every set even if it is only an additional ten pounds.
You are going to be training your muscle groups a few times during the week instead of just one time like you have probably previously been doing. In return, these muscles are going to grow like crazy and mass will be added. This will take some getting used to, just like everything in life, so don’t give up on it early. Remember the first time you took a girl out and had to pay for the entire date yourself? This didn’t feel so good and you might have wondered what was the point to it all. However, as you will also notice with this type of lifting, there are certain benefits that go along with this type of thing.
Remember to Take Rest Days
Sometimes we are dead tired with our body aching and there is nothing better than getting a workout in for a quick pick me up. Other times, it is the complete opposite. The soreness increases during and after the workout and you realize you should have just taken the day off. If you don’t rest your muscles a bit, then they won’t have time to repair themselves and grow. While doing all of these compound movements and pushing yourself beyond your previous limits, take a day off between workouts. When you don’t take adequate rest days in between, this is when injuries can occur.
Diet Is Essential As Well
Keep in mind that health and fitness is 75 percent diet and 25 percent exercise. If your goal is to bulk up and put on large amounts of muscle mass, then you must consume more calories than usual. In addition, these calories have to be quality ones that contain an immense amount of macronutrients. Macronutrients are carbohydrates, fats, and protein. Make sure your diet is high in the good fats though, not the bad ones that will ruin your cholesterol and possibly give you heart disease. Avoid overly processed foods that contain very little actual nutritional value. Basically, eat clean and eat constantly. This diet combined with the knowledge you now have for bulking up in the gym should take you a long ways.
