Copyright © 2014 Barry Lumsden www

Transcription

Copyright © 2014 Barry Lumsden www.optimummass.com
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presented herein is by no way intended as medical advice or as a substitute for medical
counselling. The information should be used in conjunction with the guidance and care of
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program. If you choose not to obtain the consent of your physician and/or work with your
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are agreeing to accept full responsibility for your actions.
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recognize that despite all precautions on the part of Barry Lumsden, Relentless Gains,
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Copyright © 2014
“No man has the right to be an amateur in the
matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man
to grow old without seeing the beauty and
strength of which his body is capable.” – Socrates
At a glance, building muscle may appear simple – lift weights and get big. But
as you’ve no doubt discovered, there’s a lot more to it than that.
Every time I walk into the gym and take a quick look around, it’s clear that
most people just don’t know how to train properly.
I’ve trained in many different gyms over the years and without fail every time
I set foot in one I see people aimlessly wandering from one machine to the
next, lifting a bit of this and a bit of that, performing ineffective exercises with
sloppy form and looking all the world as lost as I know they are.
It’s a real shame, because these people have actually gotten off their asses
and put the effort into changing their physique. But unbeknown to them is
that they’re on a steady road to nowhere.
I used to be one of those people - the guy who trained for years with very
little to show for it. I know how frustrating and disheartening it can feel to
look in the mirror month after month without seeing much change.
It’s not just incorrect training that’s the problem. I’ve seen guys in the gym
who train properly, and follow a good workout program, but they don’t gain
much muscle.
Why don’t they gain muscle?
Although they may be training correctly,
they’re neglecting one vital component that
will make or break any muscle building
program… nutrition.
You see, the reason most people aren’t successful in building any noticeable
muscle is usually down to poor training or poor nutrition, or both.
I don’t have great genetics for building muscle. In fact, I was a skinny weakling
until I figured out how to train and eat optimally for muscle growth.
But it took years of relentless study and hard work to find out where I was
going wrong. The best thing I ever did was stop reading bodybuilding
magazines packed with supplement ads and listening to arms-chair experts on
bodybuilding forums.
I learned from the real experts in the field of bodybuilding and hit the books
hard. I studied (and continue to study) muscular anatomy, exercise
physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, and read all kinds of scientific research
papers on muscle growth.
I went from a skinny weakling to strong, lean and muscular, and I’m now in
the fortunate position of being able to pass this valuable information onto
you, so you can avoid the pitfalls that everyone else is making and get on with
building muscle optimally.
I’ve written this short free report to help you avoid some of the most common
mistakes people make when trying to build lean muscle. By eliminating these
mistakes you’ll be able to get far better results, faster.
By the time you’ve read this guide, you’ll understand that knowing what to do
means first learning what not to do!
So without further ado, get comfortable, put your reading glasses on (so to
speak) and let’s explore the 10 biggest mistakes that are getting in the way of
you attaining that lean, muscular physique.
Using too much weight when
performing an exercise is one of the
most common and detrimental
mistakes you can make if your primary
goal is to increasing muscle size.
We’ve all seen that wobbly-armed guy bench pressing way too much weight,
while his training partner stands above him shouting “it’s all you, bro” as he
assists in lifting most of the weight.
If this sounds anything like you, stop it… stop it now.
Most people think that the more weight they lift, the more muscle they will
grow. Unfortunately it’s a common misconception, and I’m going to tell you
why in just a minute
I know guys want to bench a lot of weight, I get it. For years my main focus in
the gym was being able to lift more than the guy working out next to me. But I
eventually learned that my ego was getting in the way of me making the most
gains in muscle growth.
I was focusing on moving as much weight as possible from point A to point B.
Instead my focus should have been on the muscle, not just the weight.
Have you ever noticed that powerlifters, despite their great strength and
muscularity, often have less muscle than bodybuilders?
Why is that?
Well, what does a powerlifter do? They lift very heavy weights – explosively.
Their ultimate goal is to move as much weight as possible, without any focus
on growing a specific muscle group. They’re all about building strength, not
muscle.
Bodybuilders on the other hand exhibit greater muscle mass by lifting
moderately heavy weights, in a smooth and controlled motion. Their goal is to
contract a specific muscle group under sufficient tension, in order to stimulate
growth of that muscle.
Sure, there are plenty of freaky big muscled powerlifters out there. But show
me the most muscular powerlifter you can find, and I’ll show you a
bodybuilder with a muscular physique that makes him look small.
Your muscles have no clue how much weight you’re lifting. They only respond
to the tension going through them. There is a weight threshold where optimal
growth stimulating tension is reached.
Let’s take a closer look at the four main problems that lifting too heavy causes
for those of us with the primary goal of growing muscle.
1: Supporting Muscles Take the Weight
When you lift too much weight it causes supporting muscles to get involved in
moving and stabilizing the weight. This shifts some of the tension away from
the target muscle and distributes it across several other muscle groups. This in
effect dilutes the growth stimulating tension from the muscle you‘re trying to
grow.
You can’t feel the muscles you’re targeting. Let’s elaborate on this. Think
about what happens during a warm-up, using lighter weights: Often, there’s
more muscle-burn, you can really feel the target muscle contract under
tension. You just don’t feel that same target muscle contraction with an
overloaded bar.
Mechanical tension is paramount in stimulating muscle growth, and placing a
specific muscle under isolated tension is better than spreading the tension
across multiple muscles at one time.
For maximum development of a specific muscle you want to place that muscle
under the greatest tension with minimal involvement from other supporting
muscles. By reducing the involvement of other muscles it allows for maximum
stimulation and development of the target muscle.
2: Range of Motion is Shorter
The reason you don’t see people move a lot of weight through a full range of
motion is because your muscles are strongest in the middle of the range. For
example, when someone is bench pressing a lot of weight they’re usually
moving the weight in a short range of motion. They’re not able to fully
lengthen or shorten the muscle through a full range of motion because the
weight is too heavy.
To maximize growth and fully develop a specific muscle it’s best to work the
muscle through the full range of motion on a given exercise.
Of course lifting weights in a short range of motion is going to produce an
increase in muscle size and strength, but full range reps produce better
results than partial range reps.
In a recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning, researchers
looked at the impact of range of motion on muscle growth.
For 12 weeks they had two groups of 26 participants perform leg training 3
days per week. One group did their leg training from 0 to 50 degrees and the
other group did the same work from 0 to 90 degrees. The training program
consisted of exercises such as barbell squats, leg press and leg extensions.
Three working sets of each exercise were performed for around 10 reps.
The results?
After 12 weeks the researchers found that muscle size and strength was
greater in the group that performed all exercises with a wider range of
motion.
Here’s where it gets even more interesting.
The shorter range of motion group used 10-25% more weight than the longerrange group and still, the shorter range group didn’t gain as much muscle,
even though they were lifting more weight. They discovered that the load on
the muscle in the longer range of motion group was actually greater even
though participants were lifting less weight.
Furthermore, the long range of motion group increased strength through the
entire range. Meaning, they increased strength from 0 – 90 degrees. Whereas
the shorter the short range group only increased their strength with the short
0 – 50 degrees range they were training within.
These results show that you should never sacrifice range of motion for
additional weight. To fully develop a muscle it should be worked through its
full range of motion, which can only be achieved when using moderately
heavy weights.
3: Reduced Time Under Tension
Not only is the range of motion shorter when you lift too much weight but the
length of time that your muscles are under tension, and the overall weight
moved is far lower.
For example, let’s say you perform the following:
For chest, you perform 3 sets of bench presses with 130kg on the bar for 5
reps. This would mean you’ve moved a total of 1,950kg over 3 sets.
Now let’s drop the weight to 100kg and perform the same presses for 10 reps.
In the second scenario you’ve moved a total of 3,000kg over the 3 sets. That’s
1,050kg more overall weight moved compared with the heavy sets at 5 reps.
Now, let’s say each repetition takes around 5 seconds to complete. 2 seconds
to lift the weight and 3 seconds to lower it.
Moderately Heavy: 10 reps at 5 seconds per rep = 50 seconds under tension
Very Heavy: 5 reps at 5 seconds per rep = 25 seconds under tension
The lifter using a moderately heavy weight for 10 reps placed the target
muscle under tension for 50 seconds, while the lifter using a very heavy
weight for 5 reps was under growth stimulating tension for just 25 seconds –
big difference!
Bottom Line: As you can see, with a moderately heavy load more overall
weight is moved, the time under tension is greater and the muscles have
worked through a greater range of motion… all contributing to more muscle
growth.
4: Powerlifter Vs Bodybuilder
Take a look at the two guys below and tell me who you think has the strongest
set of legs?
If you said ‘A’, you were wrong.
Picture ‘A’ is of bodybuilder Tom Platz and picture ‘B’ is powerlifter Fred
Hatfield, and in 1993 these two guys battled it out in a famous squatting
competition to see who had the strongest legs.
Although Tom clearly has much bigger legs, Fred beat him at lifting maximum
weight for one repetition.
Tom (the bodybuilder) managed to squat 765 pounds for one rep.
Fred (the powerlifter) managed to squat 855 pounds for one rep.
Fred was way stronger, squatting 90 pounds more than Tom.
However, when it came to the point in the competition to find out who could
perform the most reps, the tables turned. The bar was loaded with 525
pounds and the competitors performed as many reps as possible with this
weight.
This time Tom managed a maximum of 23 reps at 525 pounds.
And Fred managed a maximum of 11 reps at 525 pounds.
Tom was able to perform double the number of reps than Fred.
On the strength part of the competition, why was Fred so much stronger than
Tom, yet Tom’s legs are way bigger… freaky bigger?
Because Fred is a powerlifer and trains specifically for strength gains, not
muscle growth.
You see, Fred is a champion powerlifter and his training consists of working
with very heavy weights in the 1 – 5 rep range. He doesn’t care about building
muscle, all he wants to do is increase strength with the goal of being able to
move as much weight as possible.
As you can see, it’s not just the size of the muscle that makes you strong.
Training with very heavy loads causes neurological adaptations, in other
words, his nervous system has adapted allowing him to contract muscle fibers
more powerfully, making him incredibly strong.
Also, he has more development of his type 2 muscle fibers, which are the
fibers responsible for generating explosive power. That’s ideal for building
strength but it means the development of other muscle fibers is neglected.
Our muscles are made up of bundles of striated muscle fibers and can be
categorized into different fiber types, with the main two types being
described as type 1 (slow twitch) fibers and type 2 (fast twitch) fibers.
Let me explain how muscle fiber types relate to strength and size.
Type 1: Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers
Type 1 muscle fibers are slow twitch endurance fibers. These
fibers are slow to contract (hence, slow twitch), and can
sustain muscular contractions for extended periods of time –
think marathon runners.
Type 2: Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers
Type 1 / Type 2
The type 2 fibers fatigue quickly but generate the
most power and force, and therefore are the
fastest twitch muscles fibers. These types of fibers
are recruited in activities that require a short burst
of explosive power – think powerlifters.
Weight and Muscle Fiber Type Growth
The problem with lifting too heavy is that you will
primarily stimulate development of type 2 muscle
fibers. Scientific studies show that there is
preferential hypertrophy (growth) of type 2 muscle fibers in powerlifters that
train with very heavy loads.
The same scientific studies compared the muscle fiber type growth of
powerlifters with bodybuilders, and the studies found that bodybuilders
increased the size of both type 1 and type 2 muscle fibers equally.
That’s right, bodybuilders train in a higher rep range with moderately heavy
weights, resulting in the development of all muscle fiber types.
Bodybuilders have been shown to have a greater development of Type 1
muscle fibers compared to powerlifters. This may help explain why Tom Platz
displayed greater muscular endurance than Fred Hatfield but wasn't as strong
on the max lifts.
Of course development of specific muscle fiber types is just one factor that
makes the size difference between powerlifters and bodybuilders. But the
bottom line with everything I’ve covered in this section is that training like a
powerlifter is not optimal if your primary goal is muscle size.
Building muscle is not about pushing or pulling the heaviest weight possible.
Since that’s basically all powerlifters do, then powerlifters would be the
biggest, most muscular human beings on the planet, but they’re not.
“I’ll never be a weightlifter”
– Kai Greene, IFBB Pro
I can just hear some of you now…
“But I’ve seen videos of 8x Mr Olympia Champion
Ronnie Colman squatting 800 pounds of iron mayhem
for 2 reps”
…and in the video he said “Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody
wants to lift no heavy-ass weights.”
Yep, he did do and say that in a training video, and Ronnie Colman is arguably
the greatest bodybuilder, ever.
But the videos you see of Ronnie Coleman moving extremely heavy weight for
2 – 3 reps is not how he normally trains. In fact, it was a max lift attempt, the
first time he had ever moved that much weight.
That famous footage was taken from a DVD he was filming. It was simply
entertainment, some bravado for the camera to make his DVD more
appealing.
What’s more entertaining? Watching Ronnie get strapped up, chalked up and
squatting an immense 800 pounds to the sound of gangster rap in the
background, or watching him sitting comfortably doing some leg extensions?
Points to Remember
 Lift moderately heavy weights you can handle with strict from
throughout the entire set.
 If you’re in the habit of lifting very heavy weight, it’s time to reduce the
weight, work the muscle through a greater range of motion and focus
on achieving greater target muscle contraction.
 Maintain good form through every rep, squeezing the muscle and
feeling it do the work.
 Lift consciously. Be aware of the muscles you want to target. Are they –
rather than the surrounding muscles – bearing the brunt of the weight?
 Use your new-found consciousness to create localized muscle tension
when you lift. Practice this without weights first. For example, try bench
press using an empty bar, before working your chest. Focus on, and feel
the working muscle contract, without bearing much load.
 When you learn to identify this tension and apply it when you lift, you
will get better results – without straining under too much weight.
You need to leave your ego at the gym door! Don’t just lift heavier – lift
smarter. If I had only found this out when I started training I would have
gotten for better results, faster.
The weight on the bar is secondary to how the exercise is performed. Your
primary goal is not to move as much weight as possible; it’s to contract the
target muscle under optimal tension. By reducing the weight and tightening
up form you’ll actually increase tension on the target muscle. The degree, the
duration and the frequency of tension impacts the adaptive growth
response.
Don’t worry about how much you’re benching at the moment. Moving those
big weights will come over time as your strength gradually increases. But you
must first work on lifting with perfect form.
Don’t increase the weight too quickly. Make small incremental increases in
weight over time. See mistake #7 “Progressive Overload” to learn why this is
important and how to do it properly.
If you’ve been lifting way too heavy for a while you may not like dropping the
weight. But don’t worry, you’ll soon work your way into bigger poundage
territory, and think how good it will be when you eventually go from a sloppy,
shaky 6 reps with 100kg on the bar, to moving that same 100kg for 10 clean,
smooth reps with perfect from.
You may think you’re training hard enough, but
are you really pushing hard on every set?
As you’ve now discovered, lifting too much weight takes a lot of effort but is
not optimal for the goal of muscle growth. Another big problem I see in the
gym is people working in the correct rep range for growth, but failing to put
sufficient effort into their sets.
I’ve seen guys do around 10 reps of an exercise then put the weight down on
the floor like it was nothing – leisurely cruising through the set. They’re not
training with sufficient intensity because they’ve selected a weight that’s too
light, or they’re simply not putting enough effort into every set.
If your training program calls for you to perform 8, 10, 12 or whatever reps,
simply lifting any weight and counting off a number of reps is not going to cut
it. There’s no half-arsing your sets if you really want to attain the most
amount of muscle from your time spent in the gym.
If your training program says you must perform 10 reps then it means 10
reps executed with perfect from to the point of concentric muscular failure.
What do I mean by muscular failure?
The term “failure” is thrown around loosely and not well understood by most
people. There are two main types of failure in weight training:
A) The point in a set when you can no longer perform another full
repetition with good form.
B) The point in a set where you’re screaming, spitting, shitting your pants
and bursting blood vessels in your eyes (I’ve seen it happen). The
weight is barely moving and form has broken down to the point where
every other muscle in the body is recruited to move the weight.
When I say ‘train to failure’ I am of course talking about A.
Your weight selection for an exercise will be based on the amount of
repetitions that the routine calls for. If you’re training program calls for 10
reps on a given exercise then select the correct weight so that it causes you to
reach failure around the 10th rep.
Remember, muscles don’t respond to numbers, they respond to tension.
They can’t count, so it’s not the number of reps that’s stimulating growth, it’s
the tension caused by the weight you select. You must make sure you’re
moving that weight with a lot of effort to maximize tension.
Yeah, I know what some of you are thinking right now… duh, don’t lift a
weight that’s too light… captain obvious. But every time I’m in the gym it
amazes me how many guys are screwing this up and suffering with crap
results from their training program.
“Intensity builds immensity”
– Kevin Levrone, IFBB Pro
You’ve probably heard someone use the term “intense”, maybe you’ve use it
yourself. It’s probably one of the most misused and misunderstood terms that
gets thrown around a lot in the gym. Most people just don’t know what
training intensity really means, or how to apply it to their training.
Have you ever heard someone say something like..? "I was training for two
hours, what an intense workout" or "I just finished up doing 30 reps on biceps,
it was so intense”
People often mistake workout duration and volume with intensity. But a long
workout doesn’t make an intense workout, and a lot of volume (lots of sets
and reps) doesn’t make an intense workout, either.
So what does “intensity” really mean?
According to the dictionary, the definition of intensity is - “Exceptionally
great concentration, power, or force.” And this is an accurate definition
relating to training.
Every rep of every set must be executed with maximum intensity, effort and
great form. Don’t train like a pussy, get in and hit the weights hard.
Man, this mistake is a big one.
It’s so easy to get sucked into buying useless supplements, especially when
you’re a beginner and don’t know any better.
I’m always getting asked…
“Hey man, what protein powder are you taking?”
I’m asked this question as if whey is some kind of miracle muscle building
powder. A lot of guys seem to think that taking whey protein and other
supplements is the key to building slabs of muscle… if only they could find the
“perfect” supplement they would be able pack on 10 pounds of muscle in a
week.
Well, I hate to burst your bubble but no such supplement exists, despite what
you’ve been reading in the latest bodybuilding magazine or on the shiny
product label of supplement X.
Protein powder is just powdered protein - it’s a food, derived from milk. It’s
no more special than a chicken breast or egg. That may be hard to believe
with an awesome looking label that says “Super Max Muscle Gaining Dust
5000”. But please remember, it’s just a supplemental source of protein.
Don’t get me wrong, protein powders definitely have their place and are very
useful supplements to help with your muscle building program. They provide
a high quality source of protein that you can consume quickly at any time of
the day. But they’re just a tiny piece of the muscle building puzzle, not some
secret key to extreme growth.
I’m not against all supplements, simply the way they are over-relied on, overused and the over-hyped. However, there are a select number of supplements
out there that do provide some benefits.
The only supplements I use at the moment are whey protein isolate, branch
chained amino acids, essential fatty acids and sometimes I may use creatine.
But by no means do I (or you) need any of these supplements. Plenty of
impressive muscular physiques have been built without the use of any
supplements at all.
The reality is that supplements are not necessary to build a lean muscular
physique. Training and nutrition alone are the only things that you really need
to succeed. Some supplements, in the right combination can help a little, but
not nearly as much as you may have been led to believe.
Please bear in mind, supplement companies have one goal – to make money.
They’ll go to great lengths to make you buy their products. These big
companies put a ton of money into branding and marketing for their products,
with cool sounding names, fancy packaging, and sponsored pro bodybuilders
promoting their latest products.
“Believe me, the supplements you see
the pro bodybuilder promoting played
very little part in building his impressive
muscular physique.”
Honestly, I fell for the hype and marketing tactics, too. But I know better now
and I’m in the fortunate position of being able to make you aware that most
of the supplements out there are a complete waste of time and money.
If you haven’t already done so, leaf through a bodybuilding magazine. You’ll
be amazed at how much of the content is advertising. Supplemental solutions
to every conceivable problem related to crafting your ideal physique, it’s all
there - from joint pain, low energy, abdominal fat, to small, weak muscles are
pitched on the glossy pages.
If you look past the hype – and it’s hard if you’re a beginner, because it can be
so compelling it almost blinds you – you’ll see that supplements are not the
fast track solution to gaining strength or building muscle.
When it comes to bodybuilding supplements, if it sounds too good to be true,
it definitely is.
As long as your training, nutrition and recovery are in order you’re all set to
build muscle. The cornerstone for bodybuilding success is based on the
consistent execution of optimal training, nutrition and rest.
Proper training will provide the growth stimulus, and all the necessary micro
and macro nutrients for growth will come from food. Supplements are an
optional extra, not a necessity.
This brings us to the next mass building mistake –
not eating enough food.
Just like expecting that a “miracle supplement” will make you huge, taking
shortcuts and skimping on meals will leave you staring in the mirror and
wondering why the hell your muscles aren’t getting any bigger from all the
hard work you’ve been putting in at the gym.
Remember, muscles don’t grow in the gym when you’re lifting weights. They
grow outside the gym when you’re resting, but growth will only happen if
you’re supplying your trained muscles with sufficient nutrients from your diet.
If you don’t treat your diet with the same dedication as your training, you’ll
be forever marooned on Skinny Island. Simply eating “healthy” and trying to
wing-it will lead you down a frustrating road to nowhere.
Building muscle requires good quality protein, fat and carbohydrates for
optimal function. Under-eating results in a macronutrient imbalance, a caloric
deficit or both, neither of which are going to help with building muscle.
How to ensure you’re eating enough:
 Create a meal schedule. This is important! Don’t falsely believe you can
eat haphazardly and see great results. Eat regularly. Start the day with
food, finish it with food, and eat small meals every few hours in
between.
 Get enough calories. Now, there’s no “hard and fast” rule for caloric
intake, but a calorie surplus is a must. That doesn’t mean throwing a
ton of calories down your throat, though.
 Balance your macronutrients. That means getting your calories from an
optimal ratio of protein, carbs and fats. Each meal should contain the
right amount of each macronutrient.
 Stick with “whole foods” whenever possible. That means lots of good
quality protein from meats, eggs and fish, carbs from whole grains, oats
and rice. Nuts and avocados are great sources of fats.
The Optimum Mass Package includes the complete formula for calculating
your calorie requirements and working out optimal macronutrient ratios for
every meal. To make your muscle building nutrition easy I have included a
range of customized meal plans ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 calories, all with
optimal macronutrient ratios.
You’ll get a full list of the best muscle building foods and their nutritional
profiles, including calories, protein, carbohydrates, fats and biological value
for each food source. When you know which foods are best to eat, it’s easy to
design your own muscle building meals to taste.
Sorry to be cliché, but too much of anything –
even something as good as food – can be a bad
thing. We now understand the importance of
eating sufficiently. But there’s a big difference
between that, and mindlessly stuffing your face.
As a bodybuilder, your goal is to get bigger – stuffing your face with anything
put in front of you will make you bigger all right, but you’ll look like a soft,
bloated mess. What you’re after is an increase in lean muscle mass – without
the accumulation of much body fat.
But if you dive headlong into pastries and fried chicken, all in the name of
quick and easy calories for mass, you’ll end up with two physiques: Muscles
on the inside, hidden under a thick layer of fat on the outside.
…And don’t overdo the protein, either.
If you’ve been downing protein packed monster shakes in the hopes of
accelerated muscle growth I have some news for you. You don’t need to
consume any more than 40 grams of protein per meal.
How do I know this?
Science, of course…
Scientific studies have been conducted to find out how different doses of
protein affect muscle protein synthesis levels.
One such study conducted by the Exercise Metabolism Research Group,
Department of Kinesiology, of McMaster University in Canada, had a group of
young men perform intense resistance weight training and had them consume
a whole egg protein drink containing varying doses (0, 5, 10, 20, or 40 grams
of protein) post workout.
The study found that maximal protein synthesis after training was achieved
with around 20g of protein. The difference between ingesting 20g and 40g
was minimal, although there was a slight increase in protein synthesis
between those two doses as seen in the graph below.
A similar study conducted in the UK by the Health and Exercise Science
Research Group, at the University of Stirling, used whey isolate to look at the
growth of skeletal muscle in response to different doses of protein after
resistance exercises. The same results were found, no substantial difference
on post exercise protein synthesis rates between ingestion of 20 and 40 grams
of whey protein.
As you can see from the research above, anywhere from 20 to 40 grams of
whey protein is optimal to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis.
Optimize your diet for lean muscle growth with Optimum Mass.
Let’s say you want to excel at something
new. It could be anything – a sport,
computing public speaking – whatever. No
matter the activity, the key to reaching
success remains the same: Consistency.
Having the best workout and nutrition
program means nothing without
consistency. The people who make it big
with anything in life are the ones who
follow through consistently.
Being consistent is not the same as being motivated. Motivation is an
excellent tool for getting started, getting out of bed in the morning, pushing a
little bit harder – but if you’re motivated to only do dumbbell curls once a
week, and squat twice monthly, success will forever remain an elusive dream.
Nobody develops a great physique by shying away from regular, regimented
training. Small, consistent progress week in week out will accumulate to
great gains in muscle size and strength.
When you’re in the gym, direct all your focus to the exercise at hand. Be
aware of your form, fluidity of movement and tension in the target muscles.
Look at lifting like it’s a job. That’s not to say you should see it as drudgery.
What I mean is this: How long would you last if, after gaining employment,
you only showed up for work every third day, once a week or whenever the
heck you felt like it? Not long, right?
Draw a parallel between your training routine and your job. The gym is your
construction site; increased strength and a killer physique are your paycheck.
You want to get paid, don’t you? Then turn up at the gym when you’re
supposed to and train hard, eat when you’re supposed to, and you will get the
results you want.
“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is
not enough, we must do.” – Bruce Lee
Have you chosen the right exercises?
Have you chosen the right weight?
Are you performing every set optimally?
Is your nutrition nailed?
Check, check, check and check.
So what’s missing? A little something called progressive overload, and it can
make or break the results of your training.
Your body is excellent at adapting. Sit around all day and your muscles wither
away. Subject your muscle to tension and watch them grow.
What you see is the outward manifestation of your decisions. If you want your
body to change, you have to create a situation which causes it to do so.
Progressive overload is, in a nutshell, forcing your muscles to adapt to greater
amounts of tension by gradually increasing the weight over time – the result
of which is continual muscle growth.
In the absence of progressive overload, your training is stagnant. Remember,
the body adapts to whatever situation it’s placed in. It is governed by what
you force it to do.
Here’s an example of progressive overload:
Let’s say you’re able to curl a 20kg dumbbell for 8 reps before reaching
failure. Now, 8 reps is the maximum number of reps you can do with 20kg.
As the training weeks pass you will gradually get stronger and before long
you’ll be able to perform those 8 reps quit easily with the 20kg dumbbell.
At this point, you’re muscles have now adapted to this level of tension and
have no reason to grow any further. To keep your muscle growing and
adapting you must gradually increase the growth stimulating tension by
increase the weight.
If you were to just keep lifting that 20kg dumbbell indefinitely then your
growth would be limited to the tension produce by this weight. In other
words, you can keep lifting this same weight but you won’t get any bigger.
How to Progress:
 Add more reps. Using the example above, you could add one – just one
– more rep to your sets, bringing them up from 8 to 9. Doesn’t sound
like much, but over time, that extra demand would send a signal to your
muscle that says, “Hey, something different is happening here, you
need to grow bigger and stronger to cope with it.”
 Lift heavier. Remember Mistake #1 – Lifting Too Much Weight? That’s
doesn’t mean going overboard with the weight increase. Rather, a
slight, gradual increase in the weight you lift for any given exercise to
produce more tension – let’s say, going from 20 to 23kgs. This is all it
takes to overload your muscles with a new stimulus for growth.
Progressive overload is actually a simple concept, but “simplicity” doesn’t
mean “unimportant”. In fact, as you’ve just learned, applying this simple
concept is one of the most important things you can do for continual growth.
If you don’t know exactly what muscle you’re working on a given exercise, or
the function of that muscle then you’re just blindly moving weights around
and not training optimally for growth.
Just a few weeks ago I was in the middle of doing a set of dumbbell side
lateral raises and I hear a voice next to me…
“Hey man, what muscle is that working?”
Now, I must admit, I was pretty shocked by this question. I just thought to
myself, “seriously?”… But I forget that a lot of people just don’t know which
muscles are getting work by certain exercises.
To place a specific muscle group under optimal growth stimulating tension
you MUST know which muscle you’re working on a given exercise.
Gaining a basic understanding of muscle anatomy is one of the best things you
will ever do in your quest to grow bigger and stronger. Muscular anatomy may
sound a little scary and complicated but it’s really quite an easy thing to learn.
I’m not suggesting that you learn the biomechanics of every single tiny muscle
in the human body. But gaining some basic understanding of the anatomy
and function of the main muscle groups will make a huge difference to the
way you train and the results you get.
To build your best possible body, you have to understand how your body
works. That means taking the time to learn muscular anatomy and exercise
application.
The way I think in the gym has completely changed from years ago. I used to
think about the exercise instead of the muscle. Now I don’t think I’m “bench
pressing”, instead I’m training my pectoral muscles.
I’m not squatting… I’m training quadriceps muscles.
I’m not doing rows… I’m training my trapezius, teres major and rhomboids.
I’m not doing pull downs… I’m training my latissimus dorsi muscles.
I’m not doing side raises… I’m training my middle deltoid muscles.
Don’t think “I’m moving this weight from point A to point B” instead, think
“I’m contracting this muscle under tension to make it grow”. When you lift
the weight, focus on the muscle shortening and tightening as it contracts,
then lengthening as you lower the weight. This is how you should be thinking
when you step in the gym.
Thinking like this will dramatically improve your mind muscle connection and
make a big difference to the development of each muscle you’re training.
Once you understand how your body works, you can focus on building it.
I highly recommend the book Strength Training
Anatomy by Frederic Delavier. This book will give you
a great understanding of muscle anatomy and how
muscles perform during exercises.
“Work the muscles, not the weight.”
– Jay Cutler, 4x Mr Olympia
A lot of guys simply show up at the gym and
randomly work their way through a variety of
exercises, having a go on the closest machine or
piece of equipment that takes their fancy. Lifting a
bit of this and a bit of that, coasting through their
workout and wondering why their results suck.
Putting together your own muscle building workout program can seem quite
simple, but when you look at the number of training variables you will find
that there is a tremendously huge number of different workout possibilities.
Case in point…
How much weight to lift?
How many sets per workout?
How may reps per set?
How many workouts per week?
How fast should you lift?
How long should you rest between sets?
Which exercises should you use and in what order?
Should you reach muscular failure on every set?
Should you use full range of motion?
To complicate things even further, throw in some training techniques such as
drop sets, supersets, pyramid sets, periodization… and on and on. It’s no
wonder people find it difficult to put together their own effective workout
program.
Copying Pro Bodybuilder Workouts
Confused and overwhelmed by the endless workout combinations out there a
lot of guys make the mistake of turning to pro bodybuilder workouts. That is,
they end up copying the exact workout of a pro bodybuilder.
Why is that a mistake?
Don’t copy the workout of your favorite pro bodybuilder. Remember, these
guys are at the top of their game, genetic freaks stuffed with anabolic steroids
and growth hormones. Their workouts are design for them, not you.
It has taken some of these pro’s 10 – 20+ years of consistent training to reach
the level they’re at. They’ve gradually progressed to that level of training over
many years as their bodies adapt. This is not where you are. Learn to walk
before you can run.
You wouldn’t copy their exact diet plan, either (another common mistake)
because they could be eating over 7,000 calories per day. Just like their
training, there diet was a gradual increase of calories over years.
Winging It
You can’t just show up at the gym and try to wing-it, either. Your training
program must be properly organized and implemented. As cliché as this may
sound - If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail – it’s true.
Eliminate the guesswork by following an intelligently designed workout
program. This doesn’t mean a few weeks on one program, then a few weeks
on another one, then a few weeks on yet another one. An endless sequence
of starts without any finishes will get you nowhere, fast.
A lot of guys “program jump” because they don’t see results quick enough.
No workout program in the world is going to produce noticeable results in just
a few short weeks. Pick one proven program and work at it week in week out,
month after month. Sticking with it to the very end is the only way to get
results. A program is only as good as the individual following it.
Which bring us to the next big mistake… “Not having a plan”.
Would you start a business, teach a course, drive across the country or look
for a job without a plan? You most likely would not. Similarly, approaching
bodybuilding haphazardly – lifting a bit here, a bit there, skipping meals,
randomly varying exercises and having no concept of where you’d like to find
yourself 2 months, 6 months or a year from today – is a great way to get lost
and wallow in the misery of never seeing yourself improve. Winging it won’t
work!
Making a Plan, Made Simple:
 Short-term, daily goals are what comprise long-term success. If you
wish to achieve something 6 months down the line, keep that time in
mind, but focus your energy on the small, daily things that will get you
there. If you find you aren’t being consistent, create a daily checklist.
 Make a deadline. It can be something very clear-cut – for example, “I
want to have gained 5 pounds in 3 months”. Setting an achievable goal
is an important part of a plan. Consider it a destination you can’t afford
not to reach on time. Take your goal and write it down. Put it on every
page of your calendar. It’s much harder to slack off when there’s
something you wish to attain and it’s staring you right in the face.
 Know what you want. Being specific matters. “By year’s end, I want to
add 10lbs. of lean mass and 30kg to my bench press” defines your plan
much better than “I wanna get huge.”
 Don’t get stuck on a plateau. Bodybuilding is, for most of us, about
change, growth, progression, improvement. Let’s say you reached the
theoretical goal of adding 10 pounds of lean muscle and another 30kg
on your bench press. Will you stop there? Or create another specific
goal, with a deadline and another checklist to help you through the
daily acts of getting there?
 Follow a proven plan. There are lots of proven muscle building systems
out there, pick one a stick with it. Optimum Mass is a science based,
Step by step muscle building blueprint. Everything is laid out for you so
there’s no more guesswork or confusion.
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
This report has covered 10 of the most common mistakes that are slowing
your muscle growth. Avoiding these mistakes and implementing the
techniques I’ve given will make a huge difference to your progress… but there
is a quicker, more efficient way to build the most amount of muscle in the
quickest time.
If you’re serious about building a lean, muscular physique… and you have the
motivation and focus to make it happen, all you need is a proven, step-by-step
program to get you there.
If you’ve been struggling with workouts that don’t seem to work, it ends here.
The truth is, there are hundreds of training programs out there to choose
from … but how can you pick the most effective?
It’s a huge problem. That’s one of the reasons I created Optimum Mass.
Let me tell you a bit about this program and why it’s so effective…
I was sick of all the bullshit in the form of over-hyped bodybuilding programs
with fancy sounding names that are borderline scams…. sick of seeing people
getting ripped off with clever marketing tricks…. sick of hearing bad advice
given out on bodybuilding forums by “arm-chair experts”… and sick of all the
conflicting information from online muscle-building “gurus”.
Only when I started looking at the science behind muscle growth did I see
through it all and start getting great results. I’ve spent years educating myself
on the training, nutrition and supplementation variables that cause muscle
growth.
It’s not the muscled meathead in the gym that knows how to grow muscle
tissue optimally. It’s the doctors, professors and scientists in the labs and
research facilities conducting long term studies that provide a detailed
picture on how to grow muscle optimally.
Hundreds of studies spanning many years have been conduct on the training
variables, such as; relative load, rep speed, number of reps, volume,
frequency, rest periods, and much more to see how they impact the adaptive
growth response of muscle tissue.
The research papers from these studies allow us to “fine-tune” and optimize
our training to maximize growth. Now we don’t just know what works, we
know what works best. The science is the key to optimal training, and this is
the foundation of which the Optimum Mass Program was created.
Guaranteed results or your money back…
This is a science backed program that gives you everything you
need to build the most amount of muscle in the quickest
time, and is guaranteed to produce results. I’ve invested a
lot of time and effort into creating a complete program to
help frustrated skinny guys (or anyone) finally build lean
muscle mass. I’m so confident in this program that I’m
offering a full 60-day money back guarantee.
That’s right, if you don’t like the program or it doesn’t produce results, you’ll
get every penny back.
If you’re sick of poor results and want to start building muscle optimally, then
here’s where you can download the full program in PDF format. With this
being a downloadable program you’ll get instant access to get started right
now.
This program gives everything…









Full training program
Done for you meal plans
How many calories you need
…and macronutrient ratios
Best muscle building foods
Best exercises
…and how to perform them
Best supplements
…and how to use them
Everything you need to build
muscle optimally.
Click Here to For Instant Access to Optimum Mass
Barry Lumsden is a former skinny-guy who has dedicated years of his life to
the study of drug free muscle growth. His passion is helping other’s cut
through the crap by providing the best possible science based information to
help anyone build muscle, lose fat and live a better life.
Barry sleeps well at night because he operates with honesty and integrity. His
genuine desire and passion to help people succeed with their physique goals
is what drives him.
He is the founder of Relentlessgains.com, a website that provides information
on training, nutrition and supplementation for muscle growth and fat loss
seekers, and is the author of Optimum Mass – the ultimate solution for
struggling ‘hard gainers’.
His articles have been featured on fitness websites around the world.

Copyright © 2014 Barry Lumsden www

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