How to Intelligently Build Muscle

Introduction

This article will teach you how to improve your physique to the level you want it, but without doing far more work in the gym than you need.

It will show you why most people who advocate a 3, 4, 5, or even 6 day a week routine are GROSSLY overtraining themselves, and will show you how to obtain far better results while spending only an average of 20 minutes per WEEK in the gym.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You'll Need

• 1. You'll need a willingness to learn something new, and an open mind.

Steps

1

Step One

I must first acknoweledge that the program and information I'll be putting forward from this point on was not created by me. It was originated by the late Arthur Jones and perfected by the late Mike Mentzer who calls this workout "Heavy Duty".

Now a warning. THIS WORKOUT IS VERY INTENSE.

I recommend that you google Mr Mentzer's name and the words "Heavy Duty" if you'd like more information.

Now, step one:

Understand the basics of human physiology. Specifically 2 things:
A) What exactly is needed to stimulate muscle growth, and
B) How long must you rest to allow for full recuperation and then overcompensation(the building of the muscle)

Instead of getting into a lecture here, I'll just state the info briefly.

The key to achieving maximum muscle growth is to make sure that you
A)Stimulate growth every time you workout. This is done by going to temporary muscular failure.
B) Rest enough to allow your muscle to first rebuild what was torn down, then rest enough to allow the body to overcompensate (build the muscle bigger).

If you ask someone that has intimate knoweledge of human physiology, perhaps a surgeon, they will tell you that the body needs at least 5-6 days just to put back what you've torn down, and up to another 2 weeks to build additional muscle than was there previously (the body's way of preemptively preventing injury from that workload again. This is why we get stronger).

So we're looking at needing AT LEAST 2 - 3 weeks for a muscle to recuperate before you should tear it down again.

IF YOU WORKOUT BEFORE THE MUSCLE HAS FULLY RECUPERATED, YOU WILL BECOME STAGNANT IN YOUR RESULTS AND ULTIMIATELY RISK INJURY.

YOU MUST GIVE YOUR BODY TIME TO REST.

The second most important thing to do is easy. You simply need to trigger the muscle growth mechanism in your body. What do you have to do to your muscles to trigger the growth response? Simple. Work them. But work them to momentary failure, using good, slow technique only after having warmed up with the same lift with about half the weight. And when I say failure I mean that if you are doing an exercise and you complete a rep that you KNOW is the last full rep you can complete, ATTEMPT THE NEXT REP. You must fail. It is failure that triggers the growth response. So don't stop at the last rep you can COMPLETE.

GO TO FAILURE. DONT STOP UNTIL YOU'VE TRIED AND FAILED. THEN YOU'RE DONE.

Pardon the caps. But I cannot stress

2

Step Two

Let me insert here, before we get right to it, that every set you do, should only be done after you have warmed up first. A warm up set is a set that is done with the same lift you intend to go all out on, but with far less weight and intensity. For example: if I am able to curl 150lbs for ten repetitions, with the last repetition being the absolute last one I can do, then I should warm up with about 50-75lbs for just enough reps to get the blood flowing.

Now the exercises:

Day 1

Legs

Leg extensions for 8-10 reps (repetitions) to failure
(I wont write these last two words again after this, as it'll be understood)
SUPERSETTED (a superset is one exercise followed immediately by another with no rest in between)

with

Squats 8-10 reps

With these two exercises, you would want to warmup on the squats, as they will be at a lighter weight and safer to use as you will have already exhausted your legs with the leg extensions.

2. Standing (or seated)toe raises 12-20

It should be noted here, that if you are able to do more than the prescribed number of repetitions, don't stop! Keep going until you reach failure, then on your next workout, you'll be able to adjust the weight with a more suitable poundage. And likewise, if you're unable to do the minimum number of reps prescribed, again, adjust the weight next time so as to accomodate this. And as you get stronger, you can increase the weight accordingly, so long as you do not sacrifice technique.

Technique with all the exercises in this workout is that your form should be absolutely as strict as possible. Your movements should be slow. Slower than you are probably used to, with the average rep taking a good 3 or 4 seconds contracting and 6 or 7 seconds back to start.

That's it for day one. Two sets. Three exercises. Done properly, you will have spent perhaps 20 minutes in the gym. Now, get out of the gym. Go home. And rest and grow.

Come back to the gym in no less than four days for the day 5 workout. If the fourth day isn't feasable and you can't get to the gym on that day, come back the next day. Better to get more rest than needed than not enough.

3

Step Three

Day 6

Chest
Dumbell flyes(1) 8-10 reps supersetted with
Incline Dumbell press(2) 1-3 reps

Back
1. Standing or Kneeling Stiff-armed Pulldowns(3) 8-12 reps supersetted with
Reverse grip barbell rows(4) 6-10 reps

2. Deadlifts(5) 6-10 reps

And that's it. 5 total exercises. Five sets. Maybe a half hour total. Get out of the gym, and go home. Come back after at least 4 days.




Below, I have included links to explanations on how to perform the movement. I dont feel like typing all that. You may need to copy/paste the link into your browser.

1. http://www.betterbodz.com/chest/dumbbell_flyes.html

2. http://www.betterbodz.com/chest/incline_bench_dumb_press.html

3. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?Name=Straight-Arm+Pulldown

4. http://www.fitrex.com/fitness_info/exercise1077.html

5. http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/ErectorSpinae/BBDeadlift.html

4

Step Four

Day 11

Legs (yes, legs again)

This time it's a little different. But no less intense. Again, remember to warm up.

1. Leg extensions 1 static hold rep (1)
supersetted with
2. Squats 6-10 reps

3. Standing(2) (or seated(3) Toe Raises 12-20

1. With a static hold rep, you take about 30 pounds more than you'd usually do leg extensions with, extend the legs out straight as you normally would, then...well...HOLD it for as long as you possibly can. The trick here is to NOT GIVE UP. You must hold it until gravity forces you down. Of course dont let your legs just collapse, but rather lower them down in as controlled a fashion as you can.

2. Standing toe raises are done with a bar across your back with weight on it. Usually this is done at the same place you squat. You should have a board or a plate resting beneath the front of your feet so that your heels are lower than your toes. Then you simply stand up on your tiptoes, and come all the way back down again. Again, slow and controlled is the key here. Dont bend your legs and dont cheat.

3. Seated toe raises are what I prefer, and are done on a special apparatus that your gym may or may not have. You simply sit with a bar extending outwards between your legs with wieght on the end of it. Same movement as above, except that you're seated.

5

Step Five

Day 16

1. Dumbbell side raises (1) 6-10 reps

2. Dumbbell rear delt laterals (2) 6-10 reps

3. Barbell Curls 6-10 (3) reps

DO NOT USE AN "EZ" CURL BAR. This works the bracchialis (sp). Not the bicep. Also, do not rock back and forth so as to cheat. Strict, slow form must be observed.

4 Standing Cable Tricep Pressdown (4) 6-10
supersetted with
Dips 1-3 (5)

One note here about dips. If you aren't strong enough to do a single positive dip, simply position yourself into the "start" position with your arms straight and your body raised, and simply lower your body down as slowly as you can, in effect, performing a dip negative.

1. http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidLateral/DBLateralRaise.html

2. http://www.leehayward.com/rear_delts.htm (scroll down about half way for pics)

3. http://www.fitstep.com/Library/Exercises/Standing_barbell_curls.htm

4. http://www.criticalbench.com/exercises/tricep-cable-pushdown.htm

5. http://www.criticalbench.com/exercises/tricep-dips.htm


And that's it. You are now spending about 1/10 the amount of time in the gym that most others do, and because you are allowing yourself to rest sufficiently you'll find that you will get stronger EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU WORKOUT.