Weight Lifting Routine – Top Priorities For Developing a Successful Mass Building Workout

Adding lean muscle mass to your body is not something you do by accident. There are proven principals that work no matter your age, gender or current level of fitness. But as with all things, some ARE more important than others. With that in mind here is my list of things, in order of priority that you should incorporate into any weight lifting routine that is geared to muscle mass building.

Keep Each Workout Under 1:30

This is basically the law of diminishing returns. With each set performed, your energy level drops to the point where you are not able to truly push your self enough to build muscle. The same theory applies to rep count. Doing 6-8 of the highest weight you can handle builds more muscle than failing on the 50th rep. It has been scientifically proven that any session beyond your bodies limit is counterproductive. That number seems to max out at 90 minutes.

 Limit Your Cardio

If cardio contributed to lean muscle gain, then more cardio would build more lean muscle right? Ever see a muscular marathoner? Enough said.

Keep a Weight Lifting Log

The whole basis of muscle building is grounded on the idea of lifting ever increasing weight amounts. How will you be able to know you are doing this if you don’t keep track? A log provides your road map to what you will lift, not for what you have lifted.

Get Enough Calories

Gaining muscle requires a calorie surplus. If you are not consuming more calories than you are burning per day for energy, than you will never gain new lean muscle. Period. You may lose some body fat, but new muscle growth will not occur. When bodybuilders go into their cut cycle, they stop adding new muscle. A cut cycle is, by definition, designed to make you smaller. This what happens when you train without a calorie surplus. But consuming too large a surplus leads to fat gain as well. You must know the right number for you.

Visit MuscleandHealth.org for the rest of the list and more free info on how to develop weight lifting routines for Muscle Mass Gain.

How to Build Muscle Mass Quickly Through Workouts With Dumbbells

As a once skinny guy who had a ridiculously difficult time gaining even a single pound of bodyweight, my mind was constantly nudged with the question of how to build muscle mass quickly. I was very self-conscious with my lanky frame and the thought of joining a gym full of muscle-bound folks made me shudder with embarrassment, hence my initial foray into the world of muscle building began at home, performing workouts with dumbbells.

The need for professional gym equipment cannot be overemphasized when it comes to building muscle. Tools like the squat rack, an Olympic or standard bar, and a set of weight plates provide access to a wider array of workouts and ultimately offers the greatest amount of muscle gains, but be that as it may, it’s still POSSIBLE for a beginner to have a noticeably muscular physique with just a pair of adjustable dumbbells, along with a trusty weight bench. These are the only tools I used in my initial attempt to build muscles and combined with a sensible mass building diet plan, the results were nothing short of encouraging!

Now you can stop thinking about how to build muscle mass quickly and commence training with maximum intensity using the following workouts with dumbbells. These are what you call “compound” based movements”; they stimulate the greatest amount of muscle fibers and should be treated as the bread and butter of your training routine.

1. Training the legs – Heavy dumbbell squats are your best friend when it comes to developing a set of powerful legs. It’s a totally intense exercise and requires the synergist of every muscle of the legs in order to be properly executed. No two ways about it, if you’re serious about adding pounds of solid muscles, this exercise is a must-do. Another decent leg workout is the dumbbell lunges which also help to develop your quads and hamstrings.

2. Training Your Back – For adding thickness to your back, you can opt for the one-arm rows or the dumbbell bent-over rows. These two exercises are excellent for squeezing the muscles of the back, allowing the muscle fiber to be maximally recruited for increased muscle growth and strength. Looking for a more intense dumbbell exercise to stimulate your back muscles? Then look no further than the deadlifts! Many lifters swear by this exercise, and rightly so, as this movement is capable of hammering the entire back complex resulting in a fast and unprecedented muscle development. A lot of folks prefer to use the barbell when performing this exercise but a pair of dumbbells can get the job done just as well.

3. Training Your Arms – There are many workouts with dumbbells to choose from in order to train the smallest yet, highly favored muscle group of the body The traditional dumbbell curls or preacher curls work great for your biceps and should you wish to put a little emphasis on the forearm region, you could opt for the hammer curls. As for the triceps, the following exercises come to mind; one-arm extensions, dumbbell kickbacks, and of course the classic overhead dumbbell extensions.

4. Training Your Shoulders – The dumbbell shoulder press is a critical movement for the overall development of your shoulder muscles. It hits the middle part of your deltoids giving them a nice round, protruding look. Ever heard of the Arnold press? It’s basically a variation of the traditional shoulder press and is also a worthy addition to your dumbbell training armory. For hitting the front and rear part of the shoulders, I’d recommend the front dumbbell raise and the bent-over lateral raise respectively.

5. Training Your Chest – You need a solid, adjustable incline/decline weight bench in order to execute the most powerful chest exercise ever invented. What is the exercise you ask? Why it’s none other than the classic bench press. The granddaddy of all chest movements! Why do you need an “adjustable incline/decline” weight bench? Well, it’s best that you include the incline and decline version of this exercise when training your chest so you may vary the angle of push for better growth in the upper and lower part of the chest muscles.

These are the workouts with dumbbells that address the standard newbie question of “how to build muscle mass quickly”. Trust me, just a pair of adjustable dumbbells and weight bench along with a decent mass gaining diet plan can work wonders for your body.

To YOUR Muscle Building SUCCESS