Play The Game To Build Muscle Mass

Can playing a game help you build more muscle mass

? You bet it can. A game can help you churn up your intensity and focus on your goal. Competition brings out the warrior in all of us. Think about it. From the day we're born we're taught to play life as a game. Catch mom or dad's finger or make me laugh is a game parents play with us. We progress to kids' games like dodge ball or hide and seek. Then it's on to spelling bees and kids sports. As adults we'll risk bodily injury for the sake of a game. In fact, playing life as a game is one of our basic human needs.

The Champion's Mind Game

Okay, so what's that got to do with building muscle mass? Everything. Intensity builds muscle, right? Progressive resistance builds muscle. What does it take to generate intensity or to progress? You have to want and need to achieve your goal like it's as important as air. You have to want that next rep so badly that you're willing to risk the pain. That next rep is like yards on a football field, you're knocking down reps like they're the opposing players and your headed towards the goal line. There's new muscle just behind that goalpost.

The goalpost during a set is getting one more rep today than you got last week. Fight down that rep! Imagine the cheer of the crowd! No turning back. No giving up. You're on fire as the pain sets in. You gasp for air. The game is on the line. You accept the challenge. The weight-filled bar wants to block and tackle you. You're willing to scratch and crawl for that rep. You see, it's a mindset of training to win. The game is on.

A well-known bodybuilder turned Governor used to say, "During a set, I pick a weight that allows me to get just eight repetitions, and I imagine if I don't get twelve repetitions my mother will get burned at the stake". The idea of being a hero was his game. Another well-muscled champion used to imagine that on each set, he was knocking down soldiers; as he rested, they got up worse for the wear, and he'd knock them down again and again until they had no more fight and stayed down. That was his game.

Cycling Intensity for New Muscle Mass

You can also use this strategy to cycle intensity and spur new growth in muscle mass. There are times in competition when you want to be the aggressor or the warrior charging forward taking your opponent down. Then again there are times when you want to retreat a little to your home turf and trick your opponent to wear themselves down while you move in for an easy defeat. You see this in great fighters--they draw their opponents in, close the distance and go for the win. It occurs in nearly every sport.

So let's use this strategy to spur growth in building muscle mass. Let's take an example of a six-week training cycle. Your body can only stand so much 'offense', or high intensity, from your workouts. During the first two weeks of high-intensity training your body adjusts its defenses to compensate for the offense. In weeks three to five your body adapts to the offense by gaining muscle mass. At about week six you hit the wall, or a plateau. Overtraining and exhaustion set in as cortisol levels creep up and fight your natural testosterone levels.

Now is the perfect time to spur new growth by letting the defense take over. Recovery training is in order with the 4-sets-of-10-reps scheme for a new growth threshold. You'll train fast with little rest between sets to stimulate natural growth hormone which aids recovery. To use the method correctly pick a weight that allows you about 15 reps, but only do 10. Rest only 30 seconds and do another 10 reps. Rest again and so on until you complete your 4 sets of 10 reps. Do two to three exercises for each body part. The idea is to set up the muscle growth threshold by starting each new set before you're ready.

After four to six weeks of 'defensive' training, you'll have grown and you'll be ready to take on a new growth spurt when you go back to offensive training with a higher-intensity routine. That's how the game of muscle mass is played!

by: Dave Young

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