Friends, I am going clear up some misconceptions and tell you the no bullshit truth on the best gain muscle mass.
As the title of the article implies, this advice is for naturals.
Naturals = Those looking to gain muscle mass WITHOUT the aid of unnatural supplements such as anabolic steroids and HGH (human growth hormones).
This guide has two critical components that must be followed in order to get big and muscular.
You need to lift BIG and eat BIG.
LIFT BIG TO GET BIG
Besides this new study confirming this, I also tested this out myself and without a doubt, I had the biggest gains in muscle mass and strength that I have ever achieved in my life.
Lifting heavy ass weight = The most effective method to gain muscle mass in existence.
Back in my younger days when I was skinny naive, I would be at the gym and see these monster men who had muscle on top of muscle, lifting with light weights for many repetitions.
I would ask them while dumbfounded, “so what’s your secret to getting jacked, how do you do it?”
They always gave me similar responses, responses such as “just eat your protein and workout each muscle group once a week” and “high reps with medium weight.”
Guess what, I followed their advice and got mediocre results.
I thought to myself how the hell did they get so jacked lifting like that?
It seemed too easy to be true.
After gaining some experience in gym and through talking with some honest bodybuilders, I answered my own question, it was too easy to be true.
The super jacked bodybuilders lifting pansy weight were all on the juice, aka steroids.
You see, when you are on steroids you will achieve huge gains in muscle mass, no matter how you lift. As long as you eat a lot and workout, the gains come easy.
Why would they bust their ass lifting with a maximum load when they can achieve similar results lifting lighter weights with more volume?
You see, steroids increase strength and mass muscle mass, but they do not increase the strength and size of the tendons and joints. This means that you can seriously injure yourself using steroids if you are not careful.
What becomes light weight for your muscles might be too heavy for your tendons and joints.
So it is smart for the professional or obsessed bodybuilder to lift smart. As long as they are taking unnatural chemicals, they will grow. They are on cruise control.
Of course they never share this with the public and with you when you ask them at your gym. Most of them don’t want to disclose their little secret.
So then what’s exactly the best way to lift to gain muscle mass naturally?
By using the best lifting method on earth, lift heavy ass weights. If you can do more than 8 repetitions, you need to add more weight.
I found out that 4 sets with 7 reps maximum is the best possible method to gain muscle mass. I found this to be true for myself personally and many people that I’ve helped with this advice can attest to this.
As long as you are eating a surplus of calories and lifting heavy and often, you will get big and strong as an ox.
For everyone who is not a professional or an advanced bodybuilder you should lift as much weight possible for 4 sets, 7 reps. Do this for every muscle group, and workout each muscle group at least 2 times a week. If you can do them 3 times a week, even better.
You will know if you can workout a certain muscle group depending on how sore they are. Listen to your body, if they are so sore it hurts to move that muscle even with light weight, then rest it some more before putting it through a heavy workout.
Other important factors:
You must use good form. If your form is shit because the weight is too heavy, then you should lighten the weight until you can perform 7 good reps, and not a rep more.
When lifting heavy ass weight your body will naturally create and use more natural human growth hormone and testosterone.
Use multi-joint compound barbell exercises.
Barbell Squat, Barbell Bench Press, Standing Barbell Overhead Press, Deadlift, Bent Over Rows, Barbell Curls, Pull-ups and Dips.
Look around at your local gym and on television, what do you see in common? Yup, everyone who is lifting heavy as weight is big and strong.
Lift heavy for a couple months and tell me that you didn’t get amazing results, won’t happen.
EAT BIG TO GET BIG
*If you are moderately overweight or obese, I would focus on losing fat first*
If you are skinny as a rail and it is hard for you to gain any weight, you have it good since it is hard for you to gain any fat.
This is true for pretty much every skinny guy – YOU DON’T CONSUME ENOUGH CALORIES.
What to eat:
There are 3 macro-nutrients that make up all the food we eat. Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
Proteins – Protein is what builds muscles. This is the most important macro-nutrient if you are trying to gain muscle mass.
Animal protein is best since they have the full amino acid profile which is utilized by your muscles. We call this a complete protein.
Examples of good proteins include: Beef, chicken, lamb, pork, and cottage cheese.
Fats – Fats are absolutely essential for the natural lifter to gain muscle mass. HEALTHY fats are vital because that is how we increase our testosterone.
Healthy fats do not make us fat, that is bullshit. When a jacked bodybuilder on steroids advises you to eat only protein and carbohydrates with very little fat, it is true for him, and other steroid users because anabolic steroids that will provide and raise their testosterone, synthetically.
Natural lifters eating no fats = Tanking testosterone levels and other imbalances.
Remember, we are talking about HEALTHY fats.
Examples of good healthy fats include: Whole eggs, any meat high in fat, dairy products such as milk, peanut butter, butter, and olive oil.
Carbohydrates – carbohydrates are super important for the natural lifter to gain muscle mass because they provide great energy. They also hydrate the muscles by sending water to them.
Bonus: They taste great which provides extra calories easily.
Good example of carbohydrates: Rice, beans, oatmeal, bread, pasta, potatoes, fruits, and vegetables.
How to eat:
To gain muscle mass you must eat eat eat eat eat eat eat. That’s eat six times because you should eat around 6 meals a day.
6 meals a day, EVERYDAY.
Your focus should be on eating tons of proteins. Over 1 gram of protein for each pound you weigh. This is super important.
So if you weigh 150 lbs you must consume at least 150 grams of protein. You can find out how much protein something has by looking at the nutritional label.
The rest of the calories can be split up between fats and carbs. Just eat a ton of both so you are in a caloric surplus, which is necessary to gain muscle mass.
Caloric surplus = resources to gain muscle mass
Find out the number of calories you need to eat to maintain your weight, then add 500-1000 extra calories to that in order to be in a good caloric surplus.
On average, the number of calories needed to maintain your weight is around 2000, so consume anywhere between 2500 to 3000 calories per day.
You can research the topic further online and do some experimenting to find out your maintenance number.
I will give you a sample meal plan to make it easier:
Meal #1) Oatmeal with milk and a banana.
Meal #2) 6 whole eggs and a couple pieces of bread.
Meal #3) Chicken or beef, rice, and beans.
Meal #4) A peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk.
Meal #5) A protein shake or protein bar.
Meal #6) Some cottage cheese and almonds.
Side notes:
Do not eat processed garbage. If it’s in a box or can do not eat it. Make an exception for protein supplements.
Protein supplements are not meant to get you jacked like Rambo, don’t listen to supplement magazines.
They are meant to aid you so you can easily consume more protein, it’s not always easy to eat a shit load of protein every day. A protein supplement can easily provide you a good amount of protein and make your life easier.
Just remember most of your meals should be natural foods. You can use protein supplements 1 to 2 times daily if you really need some assistance.
I recommend the best rated protein shake on the market. Take a protein shake every day. On the days you lift weights, take the protein shake right after your workout.
I never said getting big and strong is going to be easy, especially for the natural lifter. If you want to gain muscle mass, you have to put the work in! You have to work OVERTIME when it comes to eating and lifting.
Follow this guide and you should see improvements in strength gains very quickly and on almost a weekly basis, once that happens the gains in muscle mass will shortly follow.
CONCLUSION:
EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT + LIFT LIFT LIFT LIFT LIFT LIFT = Serious gains of muscle mass.
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