3 Tricks To Build Muscle Fast
Posted by admin on 29th July 2008
I recently sat down with muscle building expert Jimmy Smith, author of The Physique Formula and contributing fitness expert to Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, to discuss his best muscle building tricks that put lean muscle on fast.
Q: Jimmy, What’s one training trick that our readers can use right now that will help them add muscle fast.
A: That’s a good question really. Most everyone wants to build muscle fast but they spend too much time using the same techniques because most magazines only talk about the same concepts of high rep, moderate weight training or low rep, high weight training. In reality, there are a lot of different techniques that you can use to build muscle but they aren’t all equal.
In order for a trick to actually be worthwhile it has to cause your body to increase the stress response to training, which is a signal for our body to build muscle tissue. My favorite trick is the one used in weeks 9-12 of the advanced workouts in The Physique Formula and it’s wave cycling. This method works so well because you are forcing your body to work different muscle fibers but you are also setting yourself up for future success.
Q: Can you explain that more? Don’t typical training set and rep recommendations like 4 sets of 8-12 reps work the same way?
A: No, that is incorrect. Say your first set is 12 reps, your second and third is 10 reps and your fourth is 8 reps. All you have done there is pyramid down and you actually limit the amount of weight you can use on your fourth set. With wave cycling you actually increase your bodies ability to handle more weight.
For example
If you were doing a bench press using wave cycling I would have you do 3 sets of 10,8 and 6 reps. After the first set of 6 reps, I’d have you do another set of 6 reps then another of 8 reps then another of 10 reps. This method actually teaches your body to handle more weight and allows you to use more weight on your second set of 8 reps then you did on your first.
Q: That’s interesting. Where are two areas that most people usually fail badly in during their quest for more muscle and less fat?
A: These two areas are big problems. The first is nutrition and since a good diet is 95% of the battle, that is the first place we have to look. Most people just have no clue what they are putting into their mouths. I remember a time when I was training to build muscle and I thought I was eating a lot.
I couldn’t gain any size until I played around on the computer and made some software that held me to my goals. If I entered the amount of food that I wanted to eat and didn’t actually put in foods that equaled that amount, the software would let me know. Once I started seeing that I wasn’t eating what I was supposed to be eating everything changed and I started growing fast.
(Note: The software Jimmy describes is the Nutrition Elite Software which is free bonus with The Physique Formula but is only available until midnight Wednesday July 30th.)
The second area is in your social life. Training and eating right is mentally tiring and we know that our bodies adjust our hormones to our calorie levels. That’s a good and bad thing and if you want to build muscle and lose fat then you’ll have to spike your diet at a few points during the week.
Plus, we really wants to become a slave to their training and dieting? I don’t. So there are guidelines that you need to follow in order to be able to go out and have a few drinks or eat pizza or another food you enjoy on the weekends. I go into greater detail in the No Fail Social Guide to The Physique Formula but here’s some tips.
-Make sure you eat protein with every meal since protein will stop any cravings and increase your feeling of fullness.
-Make sure you eat a healthy fat with each meal since that will slow digestion down and prevent your from making horrible food choices.
-Eat what you want but try not to stay out too late. Sleep is more important then most people know for fast results.
To find out more about Jimmy and his training methods go to www.jimmysmithtraining.com
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