Today I am pleased to have a new article from Jason Ferruggia author of  Muscle Gaining Secrets and Fit To Fight.

Jason Ferruggia, author of Muscle Gaining Secrets and Fit To Fight has contributed this article on training tempo and building muscle. Read and Enjoy!!

Proper Tempo Prescriptions for Fast Muscle Gain

By Jason Ferruggia

I’m sure by now that many of you are familiar with the word tempo when it comes to training for fast muscle gain…Right?

No? Well, I wouldn’t feel left out or get too worried about it because it is a fairly useless concept. Tempo, in the training world, is the speed at which you perform your reps in a given set. Therefore, the correct terminology should actually be “rep speed.” It is typically displayed in a three-digit code. The first number represents the eccentric or lowering (also called the “negative”) portion of the rep, the second number represents an isometric contraction or pause, if there is one, and the third number represents the concentric or lifting (“positive”) portion of the rep. For example, if you lowered the weight in three seconds, took a two-second pause, and then lifted it in one second, this would be represented by a 321 tempo. A 404 would mean that you lowered the weight in four seconds, did not pause, and then lifted it in four seconds.

The concept of “tempo” was first brought to light back in the early 90’s. Plenty of people got suckered and jumped on the bandwagon. Since then, many trainers and strength coaches have written in great lengths about “tempo” and have suggested that different “tempos” induce different training effects. They have also suggested that “tempo” is something that should be manipulated frequently.

Here’s the truth…

Giving “tempo” prescriptions for mass building workouts and hoping that it will lead to fast muscle gain is a complete waste of time.

Changing the speed at which you perform your reps on a regular basis never lets you know if you are making progress or not. This is actually a great trick that some trainers use. They don’t know how to get their clients stronger, so they just change the “tempo” and hope there is no way their clients will ever catch on to this ingenious little scheme. In January, you are benching with a rep speed of 505, and then in March, a 402 rep speed. Come June it’s 323, etc., etc. Because the “tempo” keeps changing, so does the weight you’re able to use. But how do you know if you are ever getting stronger? It’s just like using way too many exercises—there is just too much variety to keep track of. There are certain variables that need to remain constant in any experiment, and that’s what your training program basically is– an experiment. You are always testing what you are doing and you need to see if it’s working, meaning that you’re getting bigger and stronger. If your bench goes up, is it because your “tempo” was different or did you really improve your strength? With varying rep speeds, you never really know. That is one of the major reasons why the “tempo” concept is completely useless.

So the next time you see a workout program with any kind of “tempo” prescription included in it, run the other way in a hurry; there far better ways to waste your time.

For more myth-busting information and to discover the real secrets of fast muscle gain, click HERE now.

Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He is the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more How to Build Muscle Fast tips, check out http://www.musclegainingsecrets.com/

Today I am please to present an interview with Jimmy Smith or in Jimmy’s words it’s a Muscle Building Interrogation. Enjoy!

Muscle Building Interrogation
By Jimmy Smith, CSCS,
The Muscle Bible

Muscle Building Interrogation With Jimmy Smith

Q: Jimmy, you and I were talking earlier about some simple things that people can do to build muscle now.  Can you repeat them?

A: Sure, there are two things that people can do immediately to build muscle

1)      People can focus on both full body training and body part splits. We’ve knocked training “arms” for too long but the only thing that will make us grow is training a muscle with a big amount of volume. At that same time, we can also use an upper body day to get stronger. It is the best of both worlds

2)      People can sleep more. It sounds simple but going to bed by 10:30 and not getting up before 6 am will go a long way in helping us build muscle.

Q: Great advice. Let’s move onto leg training. You told me training legs was the key to growing the whole body. Did you stutter?

A: No, leg training is so essential for growing muscle everywhere.  By training your legs hard you raise the anabolic signals in your body that tell you to grow. Nothing stimulates more muscle heavy squats or deadlifts.  They raise your natural muscle building hormones, which cause you to grow

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Q: Interesting stuff. What are some sets and reps that people can use to grow?

A: Well, there are a few methods that people can use. To build muscle we need to realize that, we have to perform enough volume so we breakdown muscle then build new muscle. So that being said I usually advise sets and reps like 4 sets of 8 reps or 6 sets of 4 reps. Remember, low reps can make us grow to simple because our body adapts to whatever we do for awhile so we need to change it up.

Q: Ok Jimmy, hot seat time. Give my readers one thing to do the next time that they go into the gym to grow.

A: Sure, well if everyone isn’t doing pull-ups or squats then they need to do it right now. My best piece of advice is to tell everyone to do a back off set per exercise. For example, if you are training on the bench press and doing 4 sets of 8 reps then do a 5th set of 20-25 reps. This will push more blood into the muscle which will force more grow.

Q: Jimmy before I let you go please tell my readers about your brand new product. Don’t forget the special news for my readers only.

A: Well I spent over 21 and ¾ hours interviewing 12 of the best muscle building experts in the world. Guys like John Berardi, Pavel, Paul Chek, Charles Staley and the list goes on and on. I grilled them in a no b.s. style and everyone agreed to let their guns go off and give me very raw muscle building information that most editors censor.

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Jimmy Smith,bCSCS, is the author of the Muscle Bible and is a training advisor for Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines. His Muscle Bible program has helped thousands of people gain muscle. His muscle building course guarantees that you will add 10 pounds of  lean muscle onto your frame without drugs, expensive supplements or by spending all day in the gym  or your money back plus some. His muscle building secrets can be found at The Muscle Bible