subject: Best Way to Gain Muscle - Using the Right Amount of Weights [print this page] Best Way to Gain Muscle - Using the Right Amount of Weights
Many people are claiming to know/have the best way to gain muscle, some of them come in the form of supplements, some in the form of exercises or workout programs, and some in the form of workout machines. Some of them even promise that you will gain huge amounts of muscle in just six months! You probably have come across that product before.
Now, let me let you in on a big secret...
There's no better way to gain muscle than to train hard and eat right. Yes, those are all you need to gain muscle. It is really that simple. Not only are many of the claims of advertisements on bodybuilding magazines and web sites misleading, but most of them are outright ridiculous, such as the company/product that promises 30 pounds of muscle in six months. That's a thing for science fiction and comic books! A person gifted with the good genes can only gain as much as 10 pounds of lean muscle a year (considering that he works real hard and eats a perfect diet throughout the year). Most people gain far less than that.
Anyway, like I said, the best way to gain muscle involves only two things--working out hard and eating the right food.
Let's talk more about working out hard.
When I say working out hard I don't mean you have to go to the gym and workout every single day of the week for hours on end. That won't get you anywhere. Or worse, you could get injured doing that. Keep in mind that you also need to give your muscles enough time to recover.
So what does working hard mean? Well, it basically means that you need to give your muscles a reason to grow. And the way to do that is by using the right amount of weights in your workout.
If you are just starting out and don't know how much weight to use, this article should help you. There's a lot of confusing information about how much weight to use. And that's because it depends on so many factors. And I'm going to simplify it in this article for you.
On your first month you are going to be lifting very light weights. The weights you are going to use should be so light that you're going to feel like you are just lifting air. The main reason why you should do this is to get yourself used to the motions and to get your tendons and joints used to the weight. So, in the first month you should only use extremely light weights and don't tax yourself.
On the second to the sixth month, things get a little more complicated. But the basic premise is that you are going to try to choose a weight that will let you do between eight to sixteen repetitions. If you can't do at least eight repetitions, that means the weight you are lifting is too heavy. On the other hand, if you can do more than sixteen reps, that means the weight you are lifting is too light. Remember, doing more reps than what is recommended is not better.
Now, don't go cheating on yourself also. Don't use weights that are lighter than what you are supposed to be using and just stop exercising when you get to 16 reps. That's won't get you anywhere. Doing that won't gain you muscle and strength. To gain muscle and strength, you have to lift to failure. What that means is you lift until you can't possibly do another rep (not even if someone comes up to you and offers to give you a thousand dollars if you can do just one more rep).
Remember, you need to give it your 100% effort and choose a weight so that when you are forcing that last rep and you are just barely able to do it, and that last rep is somewhere between rep number 8 to 16.
Also, on that last rep you want to go to failure which means you literally cannot do another half rep. You should be trembling, shaking, and you may have to push out most of the air from your lungs just to get the weight up. But always make a conscious effort not to lose your form even if you already have your face all crumpled up into a small spot on your head.
Additionally, you need to focus on what you are doing and give all your energy to that. If you're able to do a bunch of other things like talking on your hands-free mobile phone or thinking about your grocery lists or the chores you still have to do at home, you either need to get heavier weights to lift or just go home.
But truth be told, the more common problem among beginners is actually lifting too much weight. So, how can you tell if you are lifting too much weight?
Well, like I said earlier, if you can't do at least 8 reps, you are using too much weight. Another thing is if you are unable to do the complete range of motion of the exercise, that also means that you are lifting too much weight. And yet another sign that you are using too much weight is when you have to use body momentum and swinging and bouncing to move the weight.
Keep in mind that the proper way to do exercise is to have only the body part that you are exercising is moving. If there are other motions going on then you are using way too much weight.
Now, here's an easy method that can help you solve all these problems...
What you do is to go 2 seconds up and 2 seconds down. If you keep yourself that slow and controlled, then you cannot do anything wrong. If you cannot do at least eight reps with that slow controlled motion, then you are using too much weight.
Now, don't think about how much your friend is lifting or how much weight the guy next to you is using. It doesn't matter if your younger brother is lifting weights that are 5 times heavier than you are. Those do not and should not matter at all to you. Do what you can control and what works for you. If you use more than that or less than that, you are either going to get injured or you are not going to get any results.
So, use the right amount of weights in your training.
