Strength and its importance for mass gain
Strength and its importance for mass gain
In my experience of observing people working out in gyms I have often come across individuals trying to put on mass. Some seem to gain it very soon, but most struggle to put on any mass after the first few months of training. The reasons for people failing to put on any size could be many. Some may be failing because their diets are poor, while some do not rest and recuperate enough, etc.
In this article I would like to tell you about one of the most important factors to gain mass. That factor is the STRENGTH factor! Yes it is true that to be huge you must also be strong! Look at all the big bodybuilders, they all bench press 350 plus pounds, deadlift 500 plus pounds, squat 500 plus pounds. It is essential for a muscle to grow larger to also get stronger in the basic lifts.
One thing that must be kept in mind is that strength gain and mass gain are not equally proportionate always. For example if you and your identical twin gain 1 inch on your arms it does not necessarily mean that both of you would have improved your strength equally too. Sometimes with a little gain in strength a lot of mass is gained. While at other times lots strength is gained but very little mass gain comes along with it.
The reason for this difference depends on the kind of training. For eg. Low rep and few sets training helps to gain strength without too much mass, whereas higher number of reps or higher number of sets aids in putting on more mass than low volume training but not the same amount of strength.
Now getting back to my observations, some of these people who plateau in their mass gain end up adding more exercises in their regimen hoping that it will make them bigger. Their bench press, squats stay the same yet they add flyes, extensions, etc. In a nutshell they do not try to get stronger by lifting more on basic exercises but add a lot of isolation exercises. If you too have done this then I am sure you have found out how futile this method is.
Let me tell you one thing that the day you can bench press 300 pound for reps, squat 400 pounds for reps you will be BIG! Believe me it is a fact and you can once again look at all big bodybuilders to verify my point. Three types of press downs three types of concentration curls are not going to make you big. Big bench presses, big rows, big overhead presses will make you big.
Now you may show me a chart of a big bodybuilder who lifts heavy in the basic exercises but also does lots of flyes, concentration curls, etc. You must realize that this chart is followed by this big bodybuilder only after years of experience. At his level of experience isolation exercises are helpful to bring detail to his muscles. However if you look at his chart in his early years you will surely see that in his early years he stuck mostly to big basic exercises like squats, benches, deadlifts, etc. After adding 30 pounds or so on his body he would have started adding most of the isolation exercises.
I hope you have understood by now that getting stronger is essential to get bigger. Now before you run off and try to lift heavier let me warn you that you also need to ensure that you lift properly. Very often it is seen that while trying to lift heavier people end up using improper form, using others to complete the lift. Such practices will only give a false sense of strength. Your lifts must be clean and all by yourself.
The reason why people lift incorrectly while trying to get stronger is due to impatience. They want to add 20 pounds on their bench press every month, or add 10 pounds to their barbell curl every month, etc. You must realize that big strength gains take a lot of time. It will take months for you to add 20 pounds on your bench press once you are past the first two months of training. In your first two months your body learns and gets more efficient at performing an exercise. This learning of the movement by your muscles enables it to rapidly lift more. Once the first two months are over your muscles start growing stronger to be able to lift more. Thus your rate of strength gain slows down.
So what I would like you to remember is that spend the early years of your mass gain quest trying to lift heavier in the basic lifts like bench press, squats, deadlifts, military press, barbell rows, weighted pull ups, weighted dips, dumbbell rows, incline bench press, leg press, Romanian deadlifts, etc. Keep your total workout within 15-25 sets each workout. Avoid too many sets and exercises in a workout. Here is a sample workout that you can follow to get stronger and bigger
Do workout A and workout B alternately on 3 alternate days a week. Do 1-2 warm up sets for the exercises.
Workout A
Squats 3 sets of 6 reps
Bench press 3 sets of 6 reps
Barbell row 3 sets of 8 reps
Military press 3 sets of 6 reps
Calf raises 3 sets of 20 reps
Workout B
Deadlift 3 sets of 6 reps
Leg press 3 sets of 10 reps
Incline press 3 sets of 6 reps
Weighted pull up 3 sets of 8 reps
Superset:
Lying French press 2 sets of 8 reps
Barbell curl 2 sets of 8 reps
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