Community Article - Maximizing Muscle Gains

[BendtheBar]

Community Article - Maximizing Muscle Gains

Don't hold back your opinion, even if you disagree with another lifter...and as always, keep the conversation respectful.

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How do you maximize muscle gains?

What training and diet approaches are best for maximizing muscle gains the first 3 years of lifting?
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[jslep]

i think for diet for sure alot of newbies see these lean diets in muscle mags and such and don't fatten up enuff at first to really get the muscles built. personally i wish when i started i would have just tried to bulk constantly instead of worrin how ripped my muscles looked. then in 2-3 yrs time i could have leaned and been alot bigger.

for rep ranges i would stay around 6-8. i see alot of young kids now doin all high reps and none of them compound movements. two inpaticular at the gym i go to i have noticed for a couple months now i see them doin shoulders alot and they use the smith for seated military press all high rep and in this time i don't think i have seen them increase weight at all. now maybe they don't want to but i think they do but just can't. i would make sure my son's and daughter if they decide to start never forget the big three bench, squats, and deads and if you can do more than 10.......put some more on there.

[onetiredkris]

Im pretty much going to ditto jslep

I think i owe my current status to dirty bulking in the beginning. Beginners underestimate how much calories are needed to really start growing.

Rep ranges i keep varied but never over 12, so that they can improve every aspect of muscle work.
Key compounds: 10-12, 6-8, 6-8, 4-6, 2-3
Then my secondary movements, normally isolations 8-10, 8-10, 8-10, 8-10, 8-10

[Shaolinkiwi]

I'm gonna ring the same bell. Diet 100% Diet.

Noobs don't know how to eat and what to eat in order to maxamise muscle growth.

Secondly compound lifts and minimal isolation lifts. Nothing puts on size and strength faster for a noob than working the core lifts.

Thirdly when to rest / cycle big lifts i.e. taking some time off. They get so edger with the progress they are making that rest falls to the way side.

Cliffs:
Eat Big, Eat Correctly
Compound lifts and more compound lifts
Rest / Decent nights sleep

Great minds think alike eh

[jslep]

Originally Posted by Shaolinkiwi

Great minds think alike eh

i like to think so but mine is so clouded by the destruction of all those beer bongs and shotguns i did in the past sometimes......................

......what were we talkin bout again

[BendtheBar]

I see beginners being advised to eat 300 to 500 calories over maintenance, and primarily all clean diets. They are also often provided with PCF ratios, etc.

My opinion is that beginners should avoid these pitfalls, and just eat very big. because of paranoia, far too many beginners undereat. And while trying to eat all clean is a noble goal, if is very hard to eat clean and get enough calories, especially if you are 18 or 19 with a fast metabolism.

And what about the lifter that packs on fat easily? Well, you have two options:

A) Limit what you eat and slow the rate of gains.
B) Eat big, pack on some fat, and cut when the muscle building is done.

One of the main problems with modern bodybuilding diets is that "Joe Forum" is advising a cutting diet, OCD approach to someone who doesn't have a clue as to what their maintenance levels are. It is better to reverse engineer calories, and work down, then to spend months undereating and waste your time.

[big valsalva]

Very good responses so far. Eating clean has nothing to do with getting big. Big Macs have everything to do with getting big.

Training method: No matter what the noob wishes to accomplish in the end, the first three years should be dedicated to mastering the core lifts. Everything else branches off from the basic three or four lifts. A simple Starting Strength or madcow style approach is best. If you want to be a bodybuilder, powerlifter, or football player, you've got to get big and strong first. Once you're big, you can workout the details later. I think gl once said it best, "You can't whittle a toothpick."

[jslep]

GL is like a wise sensei sometimes with all his comments.

[glwanabe]

Originally Posted by big valsalva

I think gl once said it best, "You can't whittle a toothpick."

Originally Posted by jslep

GL is like a wise sensei sometimes with all his comments.

Thanks guys.

I've been wanting to reply to this thread, but everytime I get in here, I have to go before I can post.

Maximizing muscle gains is just like giving pleasure to a Women.

You don't some fancy complicated routine, just stick to the basics, and keep hitting them on a consistant basis. Starting one plan, and never giving it a chance to develop, then moving on to another plan, then trying yet another plan will only result in no gains, and frustration at not achieving anything.

Keep the pressure on the core moves, always making things harder, and you will see results.

at work now, gotta go, back later.

[jslep]

Originally Posted by glwanabe

Thanks guys.

I've been wanting to reply to this thread, but everytime I get in here, I have to go before I can post.

Maximizing muscle gains is just like giving pleasure to a Women.

You don't some fancy complicated routine, just stick to the basics, and keep hitting them on a consistant basis. Starting one plan, and never giving it a chance to develop, then moving on to another plan, then trying yet another plan will only result in no gains, and frustration at not achieving anything.

Keep the pressure on the core moves, always making things harder, and you will see results.

at work now, gotta go, back later.

see what i mean!