Program for effective muscle mass gain. Training program for gaining weight Proper workouts for muscle growth

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The desire to have a beautiful, sculpted body is not enough. Exceptional perseverance and a clearly set goal, patience and determination, knowledge and avoidance of common mistakes allow you to achieve significant results. Beginning athletes quite often focus only on cardio training, strength training, or proper dietary nutrition. Such a one-sided approach will not bring the desired effect. You need to work in all directions.

If increased loads and hour-long workouts in the gym do not bring the desired effect, then this is direct evidence that the chosen methods for building a pumped up athletic body are ineffective. The following tips and recommendations on how to build muscle in a short time without going to the gym can help correct the situation.

When starting training, athletes want not only to become bigger, but also to give their muscles clear definition. Looking better and more attractive is the main reason why people go to the gym. This determines the priority of finding the most effective way to give muscles definition.

Many beginners try to independently search for supplements, exercise programs, diets and other means that allow them to achieve the coveted relief. However, if you are not a professional bodybuilder, you can try many methods and still not find one that really works. And in order not to waste precious time, get acquainted with three simple but truly effective methods and secrets of how to pump up your relief.

Strength Equipment Doesn't Guarantee Success

Raising weights, working out on exercise machines, and regularly visiting the fitness center are not priorities in pumping up muscles. You can build a sculpted body without the use of specialized strength equipment, by working out not in the gym, but at home.

What needs to be done for this?! It is necessary to take up aerobics closely, borrow exercises from rhythmic gymnastics for your training, and do not forget about the importance of quality nutrition, without going beyond the recommended diet. If you strictly follow these recommendations, then one hundred percent results are guaranteed.

Three effective steps towards building a sculpted body

First step

If for some reason there is no opportunity to go to the gym, then this training will replace working on specialized sports equipment

Push-ups, pull-ups, squats, bends, lifts and lunges are the most accessible exercises to perform at home. To increase muscle mass, do rhythmic exercises three to five times a week.

Tip: Be sure to take rest between workouts. As the intensity of daily exercise increases, the likelihood of fat burning increases. In order to build muscle while burning fat and excess calories, you need to maintain the intensity of the rhythmic gymnastics performed.

Step two

Aerobics will allow you to get rid of excess fat easily and simply.

The recommended training intensity is up to five times every seven days. The best way to start is to practice for thirty minutes. You can try brisk walks or cycling. If there is a need to constantly reduce body fat, the intensity is increased.

Important to know: Low-intensity exercise helps you get rid of fat calories, while high-intensity exercise, such as sprinting and running, helps you get rid of calories. Knowing these nuances when performing cardio training allows you to maintain a high metabolic rate for a longer time.

Step three

Eating five or six times a day may seem quite strange to many. However, those who want to gain muscle definition should adhere to just such a schedule. Moreover, the number of servings eaten is much more important than the contents.

Eating small meals frequently speeds up metabolism and reduces hunger;
before and after each workout you need to consume proteins with carbohydrates;
create portions that include foods with healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and proteins.

Remember:

You need to eat foods that do not contain extraneous additives, ingredients such as fats, sugar, salt, which can lead to disruption of the overall healthy eating plan.

Increased activity not only during training periods, but also an active lifestyle throughout the day leads to muscle growth.

Maintaining a normal weight and avoiding problems with extra pounds allows you to consume fewer calories than required. The main thing is not to overdo it. Excessively reducing the nutritional value of foods can lead to muscle loss.

Four secrets to quickly pump up muscles without going to the gym

A sculpted body is an achievable goal, but the path to it is quite difficult and requires incredible willpower. You need to adhere to strict discipline and remember that you can achieve something only after a certain period of time. However, there are ways to speed up this process. For anyone who wants to achieve quick results, it is recommended to resort to four “secret” exercises that are simple and easy to perform, and the effect is amazing.

The availability of any of the many types of push-ups to perform at home allows you to use all muscle groups in the training.

You need to do push-ups every day, as many times as your own training allows. You shouldn't settle for the classic version. You can do push-ups on your fingers, on one hand, or change the position of your hands in width.

No matter what kind of push-ups you do, they burn fat and build muscle.

The most important point for getting ripped is burning fat. The best way to cope with this task is to jump with a regular jump rope. They do not require a lot of free space, but allow high loads.

The most effective training will be with double jumps, turning into slow ones, performed backwards with a light step. The number of approaches has no restrictions.

An excellent exercise for developing back and biceps strength, especially variations such as chin-ups and pull-ups. They allow you to work your back muscles, but in slightly different ways. The first is performed in such a way that the elbows go down and back, that is, the shoulder muscles are stretched. The second is performed in reverse or with support - using shoulder adduction.

The best results will be achieved by pull-ups with a combination of different grips.

An imitation of the movement as when riding a bicycle is performed lying on your back with your legs raised and your knees bent at right angles. Hands are behind your head, calves parallel to the floor.

Lifting off the shoulders and head, make a bicycle with your feet, touching the left knee with the right elbow, twisting the lateral muscles, and take the starting position.

No need to chase quantity. The main thing is to concentrate on correctly performing the exercise, simulating cycling. The exercise is repeated several times in a row without taking a break.

The Best Strategy for Getting Relief

You don’t have the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the gym and exercise on equipment, but you still have a great desire to gain a muscular body? No need to give up. You can give your muscles the coveted definition without exercise equipment, and, most importantly, much faster than with hours of training in a fitness center.

Every person has muscles, but for most they are hidden due to the presence of fat. Therefore, it is necessary to build relief only in conjunction with getting rid of fat deposits.

This will be achieved by focusing on two fundamental points:

dietary nutrition;
choosing the right exercises.

Focus on strength training

They do not require a lot of exercise. It is better to immediately select several of the most progressive trainings, increasing the weight every week.

Even the best cardio workout will not help you get rid of body fat if your diet is poor. Without a properly composed menu, all training, loads and other efforts will be completely in vain. In other words, the energy and time spent will not bring results.

To avoid feeling hungry, include complex carbohydrates in your menu and do not violate the established regular nutrition plan. You can maintain muscle glycogen by consuming five grams of carbohydrates for every two sets you perform.

Do strength training

A particularly important point for those who adhere to a strict diet. Strength exercises allow you not only to build, but also to maintain muscle tone, without requiring any special effort.

It is enough to perform simple lifts two to four times a week. If this is the first experience for a novice athlete, you can choose a basic strength training program and master it.

Running does not take up much time and easily fits into the routine of even busy people. Beginners who have never done any activity before should start running at a slow pace. Weekly jogging quickly burns fat, the disappearance of which allows the muscles to show their definition.

The amount of cardio exercise directly depends on genetic predisposition. Some people require little or no exercise to lose fat; others, on the contrary, need to make maximum efforts. Regardless of this, it is the load received while running that allows you to lose “extra fat” in a short time.

Never forget three simple truths

strength training is needed to build muscles;
to burn fat you need to run;
To get a beautiful relief, you should adhere to a high-quality diet.

These simple recommendations will allow anyone who strives to gain a sculpted and toned body to make progress in just a few weeks. The main thing is to carefully monitor your diet and exercise. Run, pump up your abs, do deadlifts, follow a diet, and in the near future show others the exceptional definition of your body.

We pump up muscles at home - Video

When studying information on bodybuilding, it is easy to see that the main topic for athletes (advanced and beginners) is gaining muscle mass. People are looking for a way to build muscle in the shortest possible time. And this, by the way, is not at all surprising. If you have large muscles, working them out and making them more prominent is a matter of technique.

There is not a lot of really useful information on gaining weight in the virtual space. Most articles describe truths that are already known to most.

In this article we will talk about how to do this correctly and provide a detailed training program that will allow you to achieve success in the shortest possible time.

Warm-up

Before the main workout aimed at gaining mass, including basic, heavy exercises, you need a good warm-up to warm up the ligaments and joints. It is best to use a treadmill for this purpose. Ten minutes of treadmill work at a slow pace is quite capable of preparing the body for strength training. The next stage of the warm-up is stretching. Before performing this exercise, identify your problem areas: shoulders, elbows, etc. These are the ones that should be emphasized.

Before performing a working set, you should do one or two warm-up sets using light weights. How to determine your light weight? Very simple: this is approximately forty to fifty percent of the worker’s weight. Warm-up sets give the body confidence and allow it to better feel the exercise.

How much time do you spend?

Working out too long in the gym is not advisable. For a good workout aimed at growing muscle mass, one hour is enough. The most important rule that every athlete should remember is: “The intensity of the workout is more important than its duration.”

After finishing your workout, you need to take a short break to stretch your joints and muscles. It is best to swim a little in the pool at this time.

You cannot be distracted from training by other things. Unfortunately, in gyms you can often see such a picture - someone talks non-stop on the phone, another plays an electronic game. Few people train – hence the lack of progress in gaining muscle mass.

It is necessary to remember - training exists in order to practice. If you intend to gain muscle mass, exercise without allowing yourself to be distracted from your main goal.

Work to failure

The key to success is strict work until the last repetition. The most effective are the last repetitions that we do, overcoming the body’s resistance and severe muscle pain. It is these repetitions that make the muscles grow.

How many times a week should you go to the gym?

After all, what is the process of muscle growth itself? The athlete deliberately injures muscle tissue (you should not be alarmed - these injuries are absolutely safe). Micro-tears occur in the muscles, which the body seeks to heal. The healed muscle becomes larger in volume. In order to heal micro-tears, the body needs several days, so daily exercise is strictly contraindicated.

In this regard, the training program for gaining muscle mass must be divided into, say, three days a week. You can choose from two options:

Monday Wednesday Friday.
Tuesday Thursday Saturday.

Rest between workouts should be at least one day. Among bodybuilders, it is customary to divide all muscles into groups: biceps, back, chest, legs, shoulders, triceps. At each workout you need to pump certain muscle groups.

Effective training program

Monday: chest, abs, triceps

It is with the press that you need to start. We do five approaches, using absolutely any exercise aimed at pumping the abdominal muscles. This could be crunches, leg raises on the bar, or others. The number of repetitions depends on the complexity of the chosen exercise, but the abdominal muscles should definitely burn when performing the last movements.
We lie down on a horizontal bench and begin bench press. It is necessary to perform four sets of eight to twelve repetitions. The exercise pumps up the pectoral muscles, giving them massiveness.
Starting position – lying on a horizontal bench. We begin to move the dumbbells to the sides. We perform four sets of twelve repetitions. The exercise increases the muscles in size and also gives them a sculpted shape.
Next exercise: bench press on an inclined bench with your head up. You need to perform four sets of twelve repetitions. Before this exercise, you need to properly warm up the muscles of the shoulder joint to minimize the risk of shoulder injury. The exercise has a great effect on the upper chest area.
Bench press with a narrow grip - aimed at pumping the triceps. We do four sets of twelve repetitions
The last stage is four approaches with the maximum possible number of push-ups on the uneven bars. This exercise is extremely effective for gaining muscle mass, perfectly trains the triceps, and involves the shoulder girdle in the work.

So, Monday’s workout allowed me to pump up my pectoral muscles and really work on their shape. The triceps are fully pumped. The workout is hard, you need rest after it. The best option is to swim a little in the pool.

Wednesday: biceps, back

You need to do five sets of your favorite exercise, then warm up your body with a warm-up.
The classic exercise is the famous deadlift (if you have back problems, replace it with hyperextension). We first do two warm-up approaches, then three approaches twelve times. Before performing, you need to stretch your back, especially the lumbar region. Deadlifts are extremely effective not only for the back, but also for the muscles of the whole body. When performing this exercise, the athlete's body produces an incredible amount of testosterone, which is necessary for muscle growth. It requires maximum effort and complete dedication.
Wide-grip pull-ups: Do five sets with as many reps as possible. If you can’t do pull-ups, you can use a so-called pull-up simulator or use a block exercise machine for chest rows. Pull-ups themselves are an excellent basic exercise for the back; they are more effective than any exercise machine.
Dumbbell rows with an incline and emphasis on a bench are performed four sets of twelve repetitions. The exercise is extremely effective for the back, literally drawing out every muscle.
Lifting the barbell while standing is aimed at pumping the biceps. We perform four sets of twelve lifts. Without a doubt, this is the most effective exercise for biceps.
Alternate lifting of dumbbells is performed while sitting. Lifting dumbbells is, of course, aimed at pumping the biceps, giving them shape and height. You need to do 3-4 sets of 10-12 times on each hand.

As a result, on Wednesday we managed to launch the muscle growth mechanism, work the back muscles, and activate their growth. In addition, we pumped up the biceps in the most effective way. You can relax by doing some cool down and stretching.

Friday: legs and shoulders

We start by lifting dumbbells overhead. The exercise is performed in a sitting position, doing four sets of twelve repetitions. Before you start training the shoulder girdle, you need to properly stretch your shoulder joints.
We lift dumbbells in front of us onto the front deltoids. You need to do 3-4 sets of 10-15 times.
Bent-over dumbbell raises will help visually enlarge your shoulders. We take light weight so as not to injure the shoulder joints. Two or three sets of 12-15 reps will be enough.
Then comes the most difficult thing - pumping the legs, squats with a barbell on the shoulders. The standard number of approaches and repetitions is 4/10-12. This is an extremely difficult exercise that requires the athlete to have perfect technique and full concentration. Before performing, you need to thoroughly stretch your knee joints, lower back, and ankles.
The last thing we do is sit up on our toes. The exercise is easy and can be done before squats. 3-4 sets of 12-15 repetitions are enough.

Result of Friday's workout: great work on the muscles of the legs and shoulders. We cool down, stretch and rest.

On Friday we complete muscle building workouts until Monday. The three-day program needs to be followed for two to three months, then it needs to be radically changed. This is done so that the body does not get used to the load.

Without what will there be no success?

When building muscle tissue, you need multiple and plentiful meals 5-6 times a day. This way you do not overload the body, and the components regularly enter the blood in equal quantities. Thanks to this, nutrition is always supplied to the muscles. If you take the diet in the classic way (breakfast, lunch, dinner), then the excess nutritional compounds will not be used to increase muscle tissue, but to form fat deposits. In the future, following a high-calorie diet, it is impossible to remove these unwanted deposits.

The daily diet for a high-calorie diet should consist of 70% high-calorie products and 30% low-calorie products. The ratio helps to better absorb beneficial compounds and avoid overloading the digestive system. Plant fiber contained in low-calorie vegetables and fruits increases intestinal motility and makes it difficult to absorb high-calorie foods. However, you cannot completely give up vegetables and fruits, just their total volume in the diet should be less than 30%.

The daily amount of food consumed should be distributed in equal parts for each meal. Before 16:00, you need to digest approximately 70% of the prescribed amount of food. In the evenings, you should not eat fatty or sweet foods. In the evening, food should be easily digestible and include a lot of protein. The optimal set for dinner is salads, eggs, fish, vegetables (including legumes) and dairy products.

While adhering to a high-calorie diet, reduce the consumption of foods containing large amounts of fat (lard, fatty meat, butter and margarine, sausages, etc.). If the body contains the appropriate amount of carbohydrates to grow muscle tissue, then excess fat mass also accumulates in adipocytes, fat cells.

It is also recommended to limit fast carbohydrates (confectionery and bakery products, sweet fruits). They quickly increase the level of sucrose in the blood, and the body is forced to convert glucose into fat to lower sugar levels. This reduces the effectiveness of the diet.

However, such products are allowed to be consumed, but only immediately after training. At this time, a deficiency of glucose occurs in the muscles and organs and they can easily absorb it in large quantities due to increased secretion (release) of insulin.

Nutrient ratio: carbohydrates - 50–60%, proteins - 30–35%, fats - 10–20%. In the process of growing mass, you need to consume as many slow carbohydrates as possible, while simultaneously reducing the use of fast carbohydrates. You should also not reduce the amount of fat you consume below 10%. This will provoke unwanted changes in metabolism. Consuming exclusively vegetable fats is considered optimal. Oily fish can be consumed without restrictions.

These percentage data cannot be elevated to absolutes. Each person is individual. Therefore, you need to choose a percentage distribution of nutrients that is ideal for solving your problems.

Don't forget about drinking fluids. Any processes in the body require the consumption of a certain amount of water. A high-calorie diet and muscle growth accelerate metabolism in systems and tissues. This inevitably leads to a sharp increase in water consumption. In such conditions, you need to increase your total daily water consumption to 3 liters to avoid dehydration.

A high-calorie diet can be combined with sports nutrition. Supplements allow you to significantly accelerate muscle development and replenish the reserves of essential microelements required against the backdrop of increasing loads.

Protein shakes are consumed between meals, immediately before bed, immediately after sleep, and after training. If a gainer is used instead of pure protein, then it is taken exclusively after training.

Bodybuilders necessarily need a special vitamin and mineral complex to replace the deficiency of fruits and greens in their diet. Creatine is consumed only after training. It is better absorbed by muscle tissue when mixed with a gainer, sweet juice or protein shake.

Speeding up the process

We bring to your attention a reminder that will help you take sports nutrition correctly during the period of weight gain:

First results - when to expect?

Muscle growth occurs during the period when the amount of total energy for carrying out all life processes exceeds the amount of energy received from nutrition. However, taking into account the natural disposition of the human body towards homeostasis (the ability to self-regulate under the influence of external factors), it is necessary to increase the calorie intake by 50 and even 100%. Experience shows that increasing calories by 10 or 30% in most cases does not lead to the desired results.

It is necessary to gradually increase the caloric content of daily nutrition until the weekly weight gain stabilizes within 700 g. The maximum weight that can be increased in a month of intense training ranges from 4-5 kg.

Conclusion

It should be noted that every year the growth of mass will become more difficult. If you are at the very beginning of this path and really want to achieve results, follow all the above principles: a balanced diet, an optimal training plan, strict adherence to the regime. This is the only way you can get a beautiful figure and maintain the result for a long time.

When your goal is to build big and strong muscles, then you should start with mass training. Hurry up to find out

how to properly build effective training in the gym and what weight training program is right for you.

You won’t be able to get a beautiful and toned body right away. We need material to create it, in our case it is a high-quality mass. We will tell you which ones to use and which rules to follow.

The first and most important thing is a clear schedule. Constant and monotonous execution. A component of creating a powerful body is both the processes of recovery and sleep.

Training frequency

Remember once and for all: training in the gym should not last more than an hour. This is the optimal time to study. If you spend more time, you burn your muscles and overtraining occurs. Recommended rest between sets is from 1 to 4 minutes, depending on the complexity of the exercise (basic or isolating).

You shouldn’t sit back and “wag your tongue” with your comrades between approaches for too long. You came to the gym to work. Distraction will only reduce your efficiency and tone. Each muscle group should rest from direct exercise for at least 72 hours. This is the optimal period for recovery. Hence the result that you need to train no more than 4 times a week.

Make a base

A proper weight training program always includes basic exercises. To build a good and strong house, you need a strong foundation on which it will stand. Same thing in bodybuilding. It is necessary to include basic exercises in your program that involve several muscle groups and joints at once.

Unlike isolation exercises, compound exercises require more rest between sets. After all, work is carried out with maximum and maximum weight. The golden three of bodybuilding is the bench press and deadlift.

Basic exercises must be scattered throughout the training days. It is also necessary to do them at the beginning of classes, while you are fresh and full of energy. After completing these exercises, you can move on to isolating exercises. Pump up your biceps and triceps, sharpen your deltoids and forearms.

Number of approaches and repetitions

The weight training program has been drawn up, but how many exercises and approaches should you do in sets? For gaining mass, the most effective is considered to be from 6 to 12 repetitions per set. And the optimal number of approaches for this exercise (meaning working ones, not taking into account warm-up ones) should be no more than 3. Do not do 4 or 5 working approaches, it does not bring any effect. And even if it seems to you that it’s the other way around and the muscles fill with blood and the veins burst, this does not mean that they are growing. In 15 minutes you will leave the hall and become swollen.

Perform the exercises slowly and without haste. Focus not on the maximum possible weight, but on the technique in the approach. Don’t reach for heavy weights to make yourself look cooler; there will be no results. Grab your dumbbells and do the exercise correctly.

After all, your attitude to work in the gym, discipline and endurance depends on the result, or rather the speed with which you achieve your goal.

Exercise with free weights

To gain muscle mass, using free weights rather than exercise machines will be effective. You need to include work with dumbbells and barbells in your training days. While you are in the process of gaining weight, avoid exercise machines for now.

Maximum activation of muscle growth is stimulated by exercises with free weights. When performing them, the muscles are in free movement and are not isolated by a specific trajectory and load. If your weight training program does not have free weights, be sure to include them in the process.

Never allow your muscle fibers to adapt to a certain weight. This will slow down and stop growth altogether. It is necessary to gradually increase working weights, but do this with caution as strength increases.

Shock the muscles

To effectively grow, the muscle groups in your body require constant changes in your training programs. This means rearranging exercises in places, light or heavy training, for quantity or maximum weight, to failure or not. It is necessary to shock the muscles every time, preventing them from getting used to a certain regime and loads.

Recover and the masses will trample

Everyone knows that muscle growth does not occur during exercise in the gym. We increase during restoration processes. That is, without proper rest it is impossible to achieve great mass and results. Recovery should be of the same quality and correctness as pumping the body in the gym.

It is necessary to select a program in such a way that each muscle group is not overloaded, but has enough time to rest.

Weekly training program for mass

Day 1 (triceps - chest)

» Wide grip bench press (3 sets – 8-10 reps)
» Incline dumbbell press at 30 degrees (3 sets of 8-10 reps)
» Dumbbell lateral raises on a bench (3 sets – 8-12 repetitions)
» Dips (3 sets – 15 – 30 reps)
» (3 sets - 8 -12 repetitions)

Day 2 (rest)

Pay attention to nutrition and recovery processes.

Day 3 (back - biceps)

» (3 sets – 8 – 15 repetitions
» Deadlift (3 sets – 8 – 10 reps)
» (3 sets – 8-10 repetitions)
» Lifting a barbell or z-bar for biceps (3 sets – 8 – 12 repetitions)
» Standing dumbbell curls for biceps (3 sets – 8-12 repetitions)
» Hyperextension (4 sets to failure)

Day 4 (rest)

Focus on nutrition and recovery

Day 5 (Legs and Shoulders)

» Cardio on the track (10 -15 minutes)
» (3 sets – 6 – 10 repetitions)
» Platform leg press (3 sets – 8 – 12 reps)
» (3 sets – 8-12 repetitions)
» (3 sets – 8 – 12 repetitions)

Day 6 (rest)

Day 7 (rest)

Perform the exercises clearly in the sequence in which they are written.

Nutrition is more than half the success

Training is good, but without proper nutrition, and especially the foods that are on the menu, there is no point in going to the gym to gain weight. Where do you think we get the energy to train and lift tons of pounds in the gym? Of course from food.

The diet must be correct, and the food must be of high quality, fresh and healthy. It is necessary to include vitamins and minerals found in fruits and vegetables in the menu. You need to eat the right proportions of carbohydrates, proteins and fats for your body weight. After all, what you feed your body is what will build it.

Muscle training when gaining weight does not take place in the gym, but in the kitchen. A growing body definitely needs high-quality protein. After all, we are interested in high-quality muscle mass. This means that protein products must be correct and healthy. Consume poultry, milk, cottage cheese and eggs, fish, which are irreplaceable sources of protein foods. Proper nutrition plus an effective weight training program will certainly give results.

Bodybuilding for beginners is quite difficult, because it is important to start training correctly and not get injured. The first year of training is very important, since during this period the growth of strength and muscle mass occurs at a double rate and the technique of performing exercises is formed. At this time, it is very important to do everything correctly: then you will be able to enjoy the results of your training, avoid many annoying mistakes and strengthen your body. In this article we will try to provide you with all the information you need for this.

Workout for Beginners: Basics

The first 1-2 months are the most difficult for a beginner - you may feel awkward in the gym, embarrassed to do exercises incorrectly or with small weights, etc. You can avoid all this by following these rules for beginners:

Do not hurry. In the first month of training in the gym, you should master the correct technique for performing exercises with light weights. Your muscles and joints are not yet accustomed to such loads and they need time to adapt. Therefore, take your time and start strength training no earlier than 2 months after your first workout.
Have a good rest. Rest between workouts is no less important than the workouts themselves, because it is during recovery that muscle fibers grow. During this time you should eat well; healthy sleep of at least 7 hours is also required.
Do not overdo it. To ensure that all muscles have time to recover, you need to train each muscle group once a week.
Avoid injury. In addition to physical pain, injuries will also stop the training process, and everything that you managed to achieve will disappear. The correct technique for performing exercises will help you avoid all this. You need to spend time (from 1 to 3 months) studying and mastering the technique. This phase is necessary, and it is better not to neglect it.
Don't chase the scales. Increasing working weights should be smooth, especially in the initial stages. There are many different cycles and techniques for increasing working weights.

The classic method of increasing working weights is best suited for beginners. Its essence is as follows:

Let's say your working weight (that is, you do 8 repetitions of 3 sets) on the bench press is 60 kg. Having achieved these results, at the next workout try to bench press 65 kg, but for 5-6 repetitions. Through training you will bench press 65 kg 6-7 times. When a weight of 65 kg becomes working for you, start all over again, with 70 kg. And so on.
Eat right. This factor is very important, since the success of your training depends 50% on your diet. Make a nutrition plan and follow it from the first workouts.
Create a training program and follow it. This is necessary in order to track progress in training, correctly distribute loads across all muscle groups, and manage your training process. Now we will tell you how to create a training program for beginners.

Training program for beginners

The greatest effect is achieved by training programs that are designed taking into account all the individual characteristics of the athlete. We will try to teach you on our own, because no one knows you better than you. When creating a training program, you need to consider the following factors:

Age. This is an important factor that may limit the list of exercises used during training. For example, 16 year olds are not recommended to do deadlifts with heavy weights.
Health status. This aspect is no less important, because the goal of training is to improve health, and not destroy it. If you have the slightest doubt, it is better to consult your doctor before starting training.
Life schedule. I’ll explain with an example: a person working as a loader and an administrator in a computer club need different approaches to training, since one sits on a chair all day, while the other sweats.

Of course, if there are other factors that only you know, but even using only these basic points will increase the impact of your training. An individual approach gives great results!

Example training program for beginners

Below you will find an example of a training program - it will serve as a guide for you when creating your own program. Your training program should not differ much from the layout; do not forget to take into account all the rules and factors when drawing it up.

So, you want to significantly increase muscle mass and create ripped abdominals? Here is a step-by-step introduction to the iron game that will help you get started right. Don't expect miracles to happen overnight. Building a body takes time, concentration and consistency.

This simple and straightforward training program for beginners will gradually introduce you to the basics of bodybuilding and give you a solid platform for further development. The good news is that the first 6-12 months are where you will see the most significant results.

However, it is very important that you learn how to perform the exercises correctly right away and follow basic safety rules to ensure that you do not get injured when the load increases.

Training

Building a body takes time, concentration and consistency.

If you are a beginner, you may want to train more frequently than intermediate and advanced athletes. The reason is simple: when you have a lot of experience, you know how to strain your muscles more and can cause more damage that will take a long time to recover from. Beginners, in turn, have sore muscles, but they recover faster, since muscle damage is not so serious.

If the word "damage" makes you wince, don't worry. For a bodybuilder, moderate muscle damage is beneficial as it forces the body to recover and overcompensate (grow) a little to prepare for future training. This is the essence of bodybuilding - a constant cycle: one step back, two steps forward, which is repeated over and over again, week after week.

If you keep this in mind, it becomes clear why rest and sleep are so important, since it is at this time that the body takes those two steps forward.

So instead of training each muscle group once a week, you can start with two workouts a week and work your way up from there. Moreover, we are going to divide the body into two days: upper body except abs on the first day, lower body plus abs on the second day. Since we intend to train each muscle group twice a week, this means that we can arrange the first and second days on Monday and Tuesday, for example.

We then repeat Days 1 and 2 again on Thursday and Friday, leaving Wednesday and the weekend for rest and relaxation. Next week you start all over again on Monday, that is, the first day and so on.

We want to introduce you to the basics, so we'll focus mainly on classic exercises. Once we have mastered these simpler exercises, we move on to the next level with a new focus on more complex, multi-joint exercises. It's more important now to learn how to perform the exercises correctly and get the right feel for each exercise than to lift as much weight as possible.

With some exercises, like lat pulldowns and most dumbbell lateral raises, it's especially difficult to get the muscle to work if you're using too much weight. Start easy; choose a weight that you can lift correctly 10-12 times and increase the load as you master the technique. Track your workouts - write down the weights and number of repetitions in a notepad or in a special training diary so that you can refer to them later.

When performing exercises such as high pulldowns or dumbbell lateral raises, it can be especially difficult to get the desired muscle to work if you use too much weight.

Sample training program

Monday (top)

Hack squats

Tuesday (bottom)

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday (top)

Friday (bottom)

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Rest

Diet

To maintain your new, more active lifestyle, you need to reconsider your daily diet. There's no one "perfect diet," but there are general guidelines you can follow whether you're a skinny teenager or overweight in your 40s.

Avoid junk food. Believe me, this is your most important step. Fast food, candy, soda, and other crap not only give you enough calories to turn you into a Michelin man, but they also fill you up with empty calories that keep you from getting the nutrition you really need!

This is a big mistake, as fiber is essential to keep your digestive system in shape. You need a stomach that can handle your new, more intense nutritional needs, so make it a habit to get fiber in every meal (except meals immediately after workouts).

The importance of water cannot be overstated. If you are dehydrated, you cannot function properly. Negative effects range from lethargy and fatigue to headaches and nervous breakdown. Make sure you drink enough water, not coffee or soda, throughout the day, even on non-workout days.

Try dividing your meals into several small portions

Many bodybuilders aim to drink around 4 liters of water per day, but you'll likely need to consider your body weight, climate and activity level.

Try dividing your meals into several small portions. This will help you stabilize your blood sugar levels and ensure a constant flow of nutrients into your body.

Avoid eating carbohydrates late at night. - This is the main source of energy for training, they work in much the same way as gasoline in a car.

However, unlike a car, you can't fill the tank full and leave it until the morning. Instead, large portions of carbohydrates overnight will be processed by the body and stored as body fat unless there is an immediate need for additional energy.

To continue the car analogy, in the morning you will have an almost empty tank, but you will have gained some fat. If you're craving a late-night snack, choose something that's all protein, since the protein won't be stored as fat and will provide additional building blocks while your body recovers, or sleeps.

Your goal now is to clean up your diet and establish the habit of writing down everything that goes into your body every day. We'll dive deeper into strategies for gaining or losing weight in the next level, but let's start by establishing some kind of starting point for ourselves.

First, keep a diet journal that you can use on a daily basis. This could be a section in your training diary, or a “digital assistant”, or a small notepad that you carry in your pocket.

In any case, it should have columns - when, what, calories. If you want to make your life easier later on, you can also separate columns for proteins, carbohydrates and fat.

Your next step is to start writing down everything you eat throughout the day. Look after yourself so as not to deceive yourself, if you ate a chocolate bar, write it down immediately so as not to “forget” about it later.

Manufacturers often try to make their products appear lower in calories by using tiny portions. Recalculate calories to match your actual serving size. It seems to me that anyone who honestly believes that there are only two servings in a half liter of juice is a strange person.

To count calories in unpackaged foods, such as fruits and home-cooked foods, buy a calorie counting book that gives approximate information based on the weight or volume of the food. Choose a book that takes into account the protein, fat, and carbohydrate content of different types of food.

Tracking your eating habits will help you resist the urge to eat unhealthy foods, simply because you are now forced to face the reality of how many calories each meal adds. Ignorance may indeed be bliss, but ignorance will not help you get a great body.

To continue to improve your diet, follow the basic recommendations outlined earlier in this section. Simply put, clean up your diet and establish new, healthy eating habits to prepare for a more advanced level. We present to your attention a clear diet plan for those who are active in the gym and want to build muscles.

Sample diet

1st meal

1 cup

5 proteins

1 banana

1 glass

2nd meal

1 serving

2 cups

1/2 cup

3rd meal

Muesli
1 bar

1 small apple

1.5 cups

4th meal

1 jar

1 glass

5th meal

Protein cocktail
1 glass

Supplements

Sports nutritional supplements can help you in your efforts. Proper use of supplements will not only provide you with all the necessary substances, but will also give you additional strength, speed of recovery and prevent injuries.

However, sorting through what seems like an endless list of supplements seems like an impossible task for experienced bodybuilders and downright daunting for newbies.

What works? What is just a bubble and marketing nonsense? And once you figure out what really works, which brand should you choose? Take advantage of a great deal from a company you've never heard of and risk disappointment, or choose a major brand and end up broke?

These are all serious questions and we will deal with them over time, but let's start simple. If you are a beginner, there are two supplements you should definitely have. In an ideal world, you wouldn't need this either, but in reality it's hard to get everything you can from food alone.

I'm talking about the two main bodybuilding supplements: multivitamin/mineral tablets and extra protein.

Multivitamins/Minerals

This is the most basic and most important supplement in your arsenal. In order for your body to function optimally, it needs , and unless you spend a lot of time planning and preparing every meal of the day, making sure no nutrients are destroyed in the cooking process, you need to take additives.

It's not much fun, but if you are forced to choose only ONE supplement, then this should be your choice. Multivitamins/minerals can come in the form of syrup, tablets, capsules, or even a combination of tablets and capsules. The choice of supplement form is yours, but be careful with hard tablets.

Some tablets are so hard that they do not dissolve completely in the stomach and never provide 100% of the possible benefit. It makes sense to test hard tablets by soaking them in a warm (but not hot) vinegar solution for 30 minutes or so. If the tablet has dissolved or at least softened, it will be fine, but if it is still rock hard, you have probably purchased a counterfeit.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of brands offering multivitamins/minerals. Choose a reasonable price from a reputable company. It is also important to find a supplement that contains all or almost all of the essential minerals and vitamins in the recommended daily dose.

You will find that manufacturers vary slightly in the composition of their products, but don't worry if you find a composition that is close to your mineral and vitamin needs. Take your multivitamin/mineral with breakfast to make sure you don't forget about it.

Protein supplements

The main purpose of consuming protein supplements is to provide your muscles with additional “building material”. As mentioned earlier, muscle tissue needs protein in order for it to repair and grow, so your diet must meet this increased protein requirement. However, it is often difficult to get enough protein from regular meals throughout the day.

This is where supplement protein comes into the picture. The most common form of protein supplement is a simple powder that you mix with milk or water in a mixer or blender, but you can also buy pre-made drinks and protein-rich sports bars (not to be confused with sugar-laden energy bars). You can even buy protein-fortified pasta and other foods. For now we will discuss regular powder.

There are three main types of protein powder, although the lines between them have blurred in recent years. Here are the basic formulas:

: Powders with a high content of high-quality protein and carbohydrates. Very high in calories and suitable for naturally thin people who have problems gaining weight.
Meal replacement drinks: a relatively balanced combination of proteins and carbohydrates with a moderate amount of calories. A convenient product for those who need to eat, but don't have time to prepare a real meal.
Pure Protein Drinks: they contain no or almost no carbohydrates and consist entirely of proteins. Low calorie content; serving can contain 40 grams of protein and 200 calories or less, so it's a great choice for stockier people who don't want to add calories but still get the protein they need.

If you are thin and cannot get enough calories from regular food, buy it and try to consume it as much as possible between meals. As the name suggests, meal replacement drinks are great if you're constantly on the go and don't have time to prepare a real meal.

Last but not least, pure protein drinks can be consumed as a snack, to boost the protein content of your breakfast, or right before bed to help your body grow.

No matter what type of protein drink you buy, don't get into the habit of skipping meals and drinking a protein drink instead. Supplements are just that: supplements; Your main source of nutrition should be healthy, good quality food!

Transitioning to a new environment is always a challenge. There are concepts and unwritten rules that everyone except you takes for granted. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it over time.

When you choose a gym, make sure you choose a gym that you feel comfortable with. Take your time - walk around the gym, look at the equipment, see how many people go to the gym, what kind of people come. Also make sure you have a short commute to the gym. If you have to spend 30 minutes commuting one way, chances are you'll start making excuses not to travel to your workouts.

If you're not sure what exercises to do, hire a personal trainer to make sure you're doing it right. The key to success and the absence of injuries is to master the correct technique; it is better to learn correctly right away than to relearn it later. Many gyms offer a couple of free sessions with a trainer, take advantage of this opportunity!

When you choose a gym, make sure you choose a gym that you feel comfortable in.

Learn gym etiquette. Let others use the machine between your two sets, wipe sweat off the machines, remove the plates when you're done, and don't chat with people while they're doing the exercise. Leave your pager and cell phone in your locker. And pay attention to personal hygiene - no one likes a guy who smells like an animal.

Make sure you get enough sleep. Most growth happens in your sleep, not in the gym, so don't deprive yourself of growth by skimping on sleep. Another obvious benefit of good sleep is that if you get enough sleep, you have more energy and can train better, which will increase your workout performance. On the contrary, a person who is chronically sleep-deprived is exhausted before he even steps into the gym. Such a person may even get injured due to lack of mental concentration.

Remember, your body doesn't care what day of the week it is, so adjust your schedule to suit you. One word of caution: try to exercise when you feel energized. Early risers usually have no problem with early workouts, but night owls are likely to benefit more from evening workouts.

If you're a beginner, your goal is to learn how to lift correctly, not a lot. In addition to doing it correctly, there are some safety rules you should follow to reduce your risk of injury now and in the future.

Hire a personal trainer or work out regularly with a friend so they can monitor whether you are putting yourself at risk of injury. There are several benefits - someone who knows you can understand when you do or don't need a helping hand, and last but not least, you don't have to go to the first person you come across who may have attention span issues.

Avoid overstraining your joints like the plague. Achieving a full range of motion during an exercise is correct, but overloading a joint beyond its natural capabilities is asking for trouble. In most cases, this is not even a conscious action.

A classic example is . We constantly see people who sit for just a couple of seconds after completing a set of exercises. Their thigh muscles are on fire, so they relax the muscles, take a few breaths and stand up. No harm done here, right? Wrong, the whole exercise puts a huge load on the knee joints with virtually no muscle support.

Exercise regularly with a friend so they can monitor whether you are putting yourself at risk of injury

Of course, it doesn't cause any direct pain, so people don't consider it a problem until the day they get to such a weight that something in the body breaks down. That's when the pain is more than enough. This applies to the elbows, wrists, shoulders and almost all joints.

If you perform calf presses on a classic leg press machine, always use the safety stop. They won't interfere with your calf work, but if your foot slips off the plate, you'll be pretty glad you did. Otherwise, several heavy discs with sharp metal edges will fall on you, and you can say goodbye to your kneecaps.

Learn to voluntarily contract your abdominal muscles and keep their middle part tense. This will help you stabilize your torso and avoid unnecessary strain on your back. Remember that staying injury-free is an important step towards long-term success. Make it a habit to always tense up when bending, pressing, or lifting weights, especially during overhead exercises such as the standing press.

Be sure to use proper lifting technique (back straight, knees bent, abdominal muscles tight) when removing and putting on the discs. Just because it's not an exercise doesn't mean you can ignore safety rules when handling 20kg plates. Also monitor disk capture. If your palms are sweaty, you risk dropping discs on your feet and breaking your toes if you don't dry your palms first.

Some people like to use a “monkey” grip, which is to hold the bar without gripping it with their thumb. This is a bad idea for two reasons. When you bench press, you are forced to tilt your arm back to prevent the bar from slipping out of your hand and decapitating you.

Unfortunately, this means that the bones in your forearm and hand will rub against each other, which can become quite painful if it becomes a habit. Secondly, there is a chance that a part of the barbell, which weighs over 80 kg, will hit your front teeth. This is quite a memorable event and it will leave a deep impression.

The right attitude

Work, family obligations, and plain old laziness are the pieces of life that will keep you away from your scheduled gym sessions. Don't get me wrong, your kids' school play is important, but there's a big difference between the rare exception and constantly skipping practice when the gym falls down your list of priorities.

As has been said many times, focus and consistency are extremely important in the bodybuilding process, so I will share with you a few tips on how to properly tune your mind.

Your first step is to define your long-term goal as specifically as possible. “Being fit” is not a clear enough goal. What exactly do you need? Gain weight in the form of quality muscles? Get rid of fat? Exactly how much more or less is a kilogram? Increase your strength? In that case, how much?

You need to establish exactly what level you want to reach and how you will measure success. Be realistic about how long it will take you and write it down as a target date. If you're a beginner, this may be difficult to estimate, but try to anticipate and leave some slack for the estimated time frame.

Once you have determined the goal and time frame, set a few milestones, such as once a month, as milestones. This helps make the end goal less daunting, since increasing the load by 5 kg each month is quite realistic, while increasing the load by 40 kg by April may seem illusory and discouraging. For added motivation, you can give yourself a small reward each time you achieve your goal.

Concentration and consistency are important conditions for success in bodybuilding

Another important part of having the right attitude is positive thinking. Of course, it has become a cliché, but that doesn't make it any less true. If you start a diet and think you won't lose a kilo, what do you think will happen? Most likely, within a week you will be eating pizza and washing it down with beer. Fortunately, this also works in the opposite direction.

Arnold was an extremely successful athlete not only because of his grueling daily training, but also because he strived to win. In his mind he was already winning before he stepped on stage, and as history shows, that is exactly what happened time after time. You can use this technique to ensure that your daily life matches your plans.

At the beginning of each day, close your eyes and think about how you want to live it. One by one, imagine your healthy meals (picture yourself skipping donuts at a meeting), how you go to the gym, what you will do during your workout and how you will feel, and end with how you will go to bed on time .

The more details there are, the better. Repeat this exercise whenever you are tempted to put off your workout or otherwise deviate from your plan.

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