Top 5 Muscle Building Mistakes YOU ARE Making – Beginner/ Advanced Lifters
3 Biggest Skinny Guy Mistakes You're Making. Click Here to Avoid Them!
Lately I have been receiving a number of emails from my readers with a variety of questions. It seems to me that the same 5 muscle building mistakes are being made pretty regularly. These mistakes are mostly made by beginners but I was surprised to see how many advanced (1-3 years) lifters are making the same errors. With that being said, I am going to not only go through these challenges you are having in the gym but I am also going to give you the correct formula to (muscle building) success in and out of the gym.
If you are making even just one of the mistakes I am about to list, correcting this misunderstanding could potentially allow you to break your plateau. If you are someone who is making more than one of these mistakes, consider yourself lucky. Lucky because after fixing these errors you will allow your body to yield results much faster than ever before.
Muscle Building Mistake # 1
Heavy Weight = Size, Light Weight = Definition
I am certain that more than a few of you have heard that if you want to build mass, you should lift heavy with low reps. You have also heard that if you are looking for muscle definitions, you should lift light with high repetitions. Now, when you hear of this theory for the first time, for some reason it just seems to make sense. However, what actually determines the type of body you create is the type of muscle hypertrophy you trigger. You’ll be shocked to know that your personal trainer actually had this theory all mixed up, backwards to say the least.
Quick Fix # 1
If you want to build mass, you should focus on triggering sarcoplasmic hypertrophy by performing 12-15 repetitions. If you are interested in building strength, myofibrillar hypertrophy can be triggered with 1-3 reps. By performing 4-6 reps will also trigger myofibrillar hypertrophy but will allow you to build some strength and muscle density. If you are interested in building a little of everything (strength, density, and size) 7-10 repetitions would be ideal. Knowing how many reps to build muscle size, strength, and or density is the key to getting the body YOU are aiming for.
Muscle Building Mistake # 2
Not Consuming Enough Protein
I can almost guarantee that if you have researched this subject, you have gotten at least 3-4 different answers. I can also guarantee that every answer you got made sense in its own way. Now before I get into this, I just want to say that my explanation is based on building muscle, not simply maintaining muscle or regular day to day health requirements. Most of you are currently consuming about 0.4 – 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight or lean body mass.
If you are a reader of this blog, you know that I am a hardgainer/ectomorph and my tips are based on helping naturally skinny guys like myself to build muscle. As hardgainers we naturally burn through calories (proteins, fats, carbs) much faster than the average person, therefore it’s safe to say that we require a lot more of these nutrients.
Quick Fix # 2
Take your bodyweight and multiply it by 1.5 – 2.0 and the amount you get will equal the amount of protein in grams you should consume on a daily basis. Remember, this is not what is said by “him or her”; this is the formula that I used in order to build 40 lbs of muscle in less than 6 months.
Muscle Building Mistake # 3
Consuming the Proper Amount of Food
As I mentioned before, as hardgainers we require almost double the amount of calories as the average person. Although most people can build muscle off of 12 times their bodyweight in calories, we require almost double that amount. Not only is it important to understand how much we should consume, it is also very important that we follow the correct formula for how much of each nutrient we should eat as well.
Quick Fix # 3
Multiply your bodyweight by 20 to get the correct amount of calories you should be consuming on a daily basis in order to build muscle.
Your bodyweight (x) 20 = Daily Caloric Intake
40% Protein
40 – 45% Carbohydrates
15 – 20% Fats
Muscle Building Mistake # 4
Training Way Too Much
It always makes me laugh a little inside when someone sees me and says “you must workout everyday”. Little do they know, training everyday could possibly be the worst thing you could do to your body. Heck even 5-6 days is way too much for anyone training properly. Another huge misconception is that you should spend 1 and a half to 2 hours in the gym for results. People must realize that spending that much time is not only unnecessary, but it could also sabotage your gains by sending you into a catabolic state where muscle will be sacrificed for energy.
Quick Fix # 4
If you are someone who trains regularly and fails to see results, you may assume that you are not training hard or long enough. This is one of the biggest misconceptions of all and it is very understandable. However, when it comes to building muscle, in most cases less is actually more. You see, muscle is not created in the 1-2 hours you spend in the gym; it is created in those other 22-23 hours we spend out of the gym. The gym is simply a form of breaking the muscle down in order to then fuel the muscle properly for it to then recover and be rebuilt larger and stronger in order to prepare for the next intense workout. With a solid workout routine that is focused around heavy compound lifts that will aid in producing more muscle building hormones such as testosterone and HGH, 3-4 days a week for about 1 hour per session is more than enough.
Muscle Building Mistake # 5
Following Workout Routines by and for Bodybuilders
Workouts are not “one size fits all”. The biggest mistake weight lifters are making is that they are following workout routines created for and by guys with different body types. Just because “Joe” gained 20 pounds of muscle, does not mean you can mimic his routine to do the same. You must first determine what your body type is, and then you can determine what program you should follow.
Quick Fix # 5
I am a hardgainer, I followed a very specific program to gain 40 lbs of supplement free muscle in 6 months. The “Bony to Brawny” program that I followed was created by (me) and for hardgainers. If you are someone who is naturally skinny and finds it nearly impossible to gain weight or build muscle, you are an ectomorph/hardgainer and you should follow a program for hardgainers. Anyone who is of the endomorph or mesomorph body type should also train differently. Once you have determined what body type you are, find and stick to one solid routine created for YOU!
Advanced Lifters
If you are advanced lifter or someone who has already put on a substantial amount of muscle mass and just can’t seem to pack on anymore mass, there are 3 muscle building mistakes that could be preventing you from yielding more results.
===> 3 Biggest Muscle-Building Mistakes <== Click here
Conclusion
In an odd way, I hope that you are making a few of the mistakes listed above. Not because I want you to fail at achieving your goals, but because I hope that you have found a quick fix to your workout program that will allow you to start building muscle faster than ever. Please feel free to post any questions you may have in the comment section below.
Thanks
May 6th, 2011 at 2:55 am
Hello,
You’re right, the reps and how heavy does trick a lot of people when trying to gain size or definition!
My question is somewhat related to this article, in order to lose fat, including off the tummy area, is it necessary to dedicate an ab day? or is doing abs twice a week good enough for core strength, or is doing abs not required to take fat off the midsection?
im just always too tired to do abs!
May 6th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
It is important that you know that there is no such thing as spot reduction. No matter how many ab workouts you do, it will not bring down the midsection. Ab workouts are optional, I never was big on them before and still managed to develop a defined abdominal region. If you train with compound lifts, you are def working your core more than enough. Two days a week of abs wont hurt you, but you wont be doing yourself an injustice if you dont.
May 6th, 2011 at 8:47 pm
Another question is about the size gaining. If i were to do my back and then biceps, is it ok to do the same weight for 3-4 sets?
But increase it the following week?
For example, today im doing arms, is it ok to do bicep curls 4 sets at the same weight while being able to do 7-12 reps? Or is it recommended to gain each set?
(Trying to grow in size)
May 6th, 2011 at 8:50 pm
Focus on simply out performing your last gym performance. So if you do 4 sets at the same weight for 7-12 reps, next week increase the weight by 5 without doing less sets or reps.
May 9th, 2011 at 6:43 pm
is it ok to do only close grip benchpress? Or will this mainly work triceps and less chest? Trying to gain muscle size and strength on arms more than chest…my chest is big and shaped naturally
May 13th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
Close grip bench is great but mainly for triceps. I wouldn’t say not to add them to your routine because you are trying to increase overall arm size and strength, but definitely do not replace your regular grip with these.
October 5th, 2011 at 10:41 pm
what about cardio training..mainly HIIT training. will that affect muscle mass gains..graduating high school four years ago and going strait to work, i really have put on a good amount of body fat..how much HIIT training should i be doing a week
October 5th, 2011 at 10:54 pm
Hey Freddy,
To answer your question, unless you are at a very low body fat (single digits), you have nothing to worry about when it comes to losing muscle due to cardio. My suggestion to you is, pick between burning fat/maintaining muscle or building muscle, period. Because burning fat requires a calorie deficit and building muscle requires a caloric surplus, doing both at the same time is not going to be easy for anyone. If you’re concerned about your body fat, I would train for fat loss (HIIT and/or circuit training) 3-4 days per week. Once you reach your ideal body fat, I would then switch to a muscle building program that fits your needs. Feel free to start with the muscle building and then cutting the fat after…totally your choice.
March 15th, 2012 at 4:22 pm
I’m 6, 2″ 180 pounds and an ectomorph I lift constantly not to heavy not to light and do cardio twice a week , I am a boxer and not interested in gaining too much weight , I actually want to loose body fat and shredded how would I go about to get down to single digit body fat but not loose any of the muscle mass that I barely have
March 15th, 2012 at 4:27 pm
Hey Marco, great question. With your activity level this should be fairly simple to accomplish by simply making some tweaks to your diet. In my opinion you will not have to make any changes to your current training. Here is a six pack diet you can follow that will allow you to burn fat without losing any muscle. Include some BCAA’s before and after your routines to ensure complete muscle preservation. Here are 7 fat burning techniques to keep muscle you may consider down the road as your cutting.
March 23rd, 2012 at 2:46 pm
How To Gain Muscle Mass at the chest For Skinny Guys …how the exercise that i should do…