Muscle Mass Building Workouts 

Find out why your Full body workout plan didn't build muscles of the body effectively!

Your Muscle Mass Building Workouts should be tailored toward your needs. This means that if your aim is to build strength, speed or just build big muscle that your Full Body Workout Routines should be totally focused on this aim.

For example, if you had the intention of developing more Power then there would be not much reasoning behind 10-20 repetitions as the basis of your weightlifting routine. 

This and the factors listed below should give you a greater understand of how you should be training. As a result, this understanding should bring you towards your goal as efficiently as possible.

 
Many things should be considered before making out your Muscle Mass Building Workouts. Firstly, establishing your goals, which we can break up into 2 categories;

 

                            1.  Increase Muscle Mass

                            2.  Increase Power 

1.  Muscle Mass

Rep Range

To build pure muscle mass then the reps should be kept in the 8-12 range. This is proven to be the optimum zone to make gain maximum muscle provided a good form when lifting the weight is employed.

 

Type of exercises

 
Compound exercises for the major muscle groups such as Bench press to build chest muscles, squat for legs and shoulder press for the shoulder muscle are the main muscle builders. 

Therefore, 2-5 compound movements should always be included in your routine.

Also, isolation exercises are ideal to Gain muscle mass in specific, desired area. 

They may not target your whole upper body like compound movements but they can be effective when hitting areas such as the inner chest, lower abs, calves, gluteus etc. Machines and cables are usually the most effective in this department.  

 

Rest period

 
Intensity should be the order of the day when trying to build muscle mass so no more than 40 second should be taken between a set of exercises. Fatigue is often the best indicator of an effective muscle building workout.

 

Speed of lifts

 
The speed of lifts is one of the most disregarded things for people who are aiming build muscle Fast. Slow speed on the decline phase of your lift will help stress the muscles more thus breaking down the muscle more. Try like so;

Declining for the duration of 4 seconds—inclining for 1 second.

 

Duration of Workout

 
No more than 50 minutes to prevent muscle breakdown.

 

Sets

6-9 set per body part. Aim for 4-5 sets with the heavy compound movements and then set aside the rest for the isolation movements.

 

2.  Increase Power 

Rep Range

 
In this instance the rep range should be in around the 2-6 range. 4-6 if it is an aerobic sport you are trying to build strength, speed and power for. For example, football, rugby, basketball, etc.

 

Type of exercises

 
Power Cleans, Power Jerks and Snatches are proven to be the best movements for building physical sport performance as they requires a combination of power (strength and speed) and flexibility.

Also, include some heavy compound lifts especially Deadlift, Squats and Bench as these are the primary strength builders.

In order to keep the body in an anabolic state (muscle building) it is recommended to incorporate some lunges, shoulder presses and dumbbell rows in your routine. These should be done in the 8-12 rep range.

 

Rest period

 
1-2 minutes rest periods between power lifts. 40 second between the lunges, shoulder presses and dumbbell rows.

 

Speed of lifts

 
Olympic lifts require speed when lifting the bar back upwards. This will in turn improve overall power.

 

Duration of Workout

 
30mins to an hour and 15mins is the optimum time.