16 Feb Four tips to add more muscle

When it comes to gaining size in the weight room, unfortunately there’s a lot of bad advice out there.
Based on years of talking to trainers and my own personal experiences in the gym — here are four muscle-building tips you can take to the bank, err actually make that, weight room:
1. Get enough recovery time — If you really want to get big and strong, don’t overdo it. You actually build muscle during the recovery time, not the actual workout. So if you start a new workout and feel weaker than usual, you probably haven’t had enough recovery time.
2. Change up reps — Muscle confusion is one of the best ways to build muscle. Change up the amount of reps you do and the exercises from time to time. This will help avoid getting stuck in plateaus and help you get bigger and stronger by mixing up the way the muscles are used.
An example is doing three sets of 10 on the bench press one day, doing sets of 10-8-6-4-2-1 as you go up in weight another day and maybe doing five sets of just three reps another day with very heavy weight.
3. Lift with force — How much force your muscles generate is proportional to the amount of muscle growth that takes place. Sir Isaac Newton defined force as mass (the weight you use) multiplied by acceleration (the speed at which you push a weight against resistance). To create more force, progressively increase your poundages while lifting explosively — actually increase speed during the second half of the rep. Breathe the weight out. Then, let the weight down with control.
4. Eat right — If you are going to attempt to get bigger and stronger, it’s just as important to eat right as it is to exercise hard. Meet with a dietitian or research on your own to plan a healthy diet to help meet your goals.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com