Building muscle is important for both men and women. The more muscle you have the more calories you’ll burn 24 hours per day and you’ll also have stronger bones and a better posture. This article will focus on muscle building exercises, however the more important argument that should be addresses is how to do them properly. We will also discuss in detail specific exercises that build muscle in key areas of the body and how to do them properly. The reason why I’d like to address this issue is because after going to the gym for many years at least 6 days per week I only see less than a handful out of hundreds of members lifting weights with proper form and getting results without injury.
Proper form is critical during resistance training because it insures that you're isolating targeted muscles and bringing better and faster results without soreness or injury. When you view a successful body builder, most people would agree that they look like a work of art. Most would say their muscles look perfectly shaped and their bodies look like it was chiseled from marble. This is because they spend a great deal of focus on technique and channeling their mental energy on the specific muscle they want to grow during that particular movement. They lift weights that are not too heavy or light and make sure to squeeze out those last few difficult reps on every set. The truth is, developing a muscular body is an art as well as a sport. It requires patience, planning and documentation so that you always have a new goal every time you pick up the weights.
The best muscle building exercises one could perform are those with free weights. Most people love to use machines because they assist you, help you keep proper form and they’re designed to be comfortable. All these things may sound great, and as a gym owner it keeps your paying members happy, but for serious weight lifters, comfort and muscle isolation don't always mix. Your muscles are designed to adjust to activities that cause slight discomfort and stress by growing bigger and stronger. When you perform muscle building exercises using free weights you are placing more discomfort on your body and tearing more muscle fibers. This is because not only are your muscles fighting to lift the dumbbells themselves, they’re also fighting to keep them balanced and in the right position. Anything that makes you quiver during the lifting process is good because It works your stabilizer muscles.
People are always looking for more comfortable ways to do muscle building exercises. It’s sad that weight loss industries make billions of dollars per year to fill this demand. The successfully marketed exercise machines being advertised on late night infomercials seem to never end. Almost all of them are being hosted by fit women and muscular men who probably don’t own the equipment themselves. During my early attempts to lose weight I’ve personally been duped by some of these hunks of metal. Here are a few tips you must do during your resistance training to experience muscle gains faster.
Slow and Controlled
One of the biggest mistakes I see gym members make is trying to do as many reps during a set as fast as possible. My personal conclusion is they’re trying to do cardio while lifting the weights. This is a big mistake for a variety of reasons. It can lead to injury, and you allowing momentum to finish the rep. Any successful bodybuilder would tell you that momentum is a big “no no”. The lowering phase of a rep is just as affective the lifting phase. Most people exert most of their effort to lift the weight but quickly bring the weight down with no effort at all. This means you’re only getting 50% of the results from the exercise. Slow and controlled through the entire lifting and lowering of the rep is how you get the full benefit.
Slow and controlled also causes your muscles to experience more resistance for a longer period allowing more microtears to form. You eliminate any assistance from momentum and allow gravity to get a good strong hold. When you lift weights in this fashion, you’ll discover you’re not as strong as you may have thought and might need to lower the weight. The typical format used by weight lifters is to count 3 full seconds during the lifting phase (positive), hold for 1 full second, then count 3 full seconds while bringing the weight down (negative) then holding for 1 full second. This format eliminates momentum and places continuous resistance on the muscle. When performing muscle building exercises, you get the best results when every set is performed to failure. The mistake most people make is resetting a number of reps and once they reach that number they stop and take a rest. This format doesn’t push you to your limit doesn’t give your muscles a reason to grow. To maximize muscle gains, you should reach failure on every set.
The few reps of a set are the only ones that matter the most. If you’re not exerting all your effort to squeeze out those last 3 reps, you are limiting microfiber tears. Lactic acid build-up and muscle soreness is a great indicator of great results. Lactic acid build-up is the burning sensation you feel during resistance training which causes your muscle to tire and fail. Beginners fear the pain from lactic acid build-up which is why most people don’t like lifting until failure.
There are hundreds of muscle building exercises that will bring results when done properly. Here are just a few of some of my favorites.
- Cable Rope Extensions
- Skull Crushers
- One Arm Dumbbell Rows
- Lying Dumbbell Curls
- One Arm Concentration Curls
- Seated Dumbbell Press
- Dumbbell Fly
