Whenever I receive e-mails from people wanting to know what
is the best way to build muscle fast and gain weight, the
first thing I tell them is squats.
If you have read any of my past articles or newsletters
then you know that I put a huge emphasis on squats when it
comes to gaining weight and building muscle mass as fast as
possible. Nothing can ever substitute for squatting hard
and heavy, not more exercises, supplements, nothing.
If you've been having trouble gaining weight and/or putting
some muscle mass on your frame, then I suggest you start
doing some serious squatting. If you have been squatting
but still aren't seeing results, I would then suggest that
you take a look at your squatting poundage's. Almost 90% of
weight trainer's problems with gaining weight and muscle
mass can be solved just by getting serious about squatting.
However, if you have been squatting for a while and are
getting good progress but want to take a break while still
gaining muscle mass consistently, then perhaps you should
try what I believe is the next best yet simple exercise for
muscle building: parallel dips.
Next to squats, parallel dips are the fastest way to build
muscle on your upper body. Now, what I am NOT talking about
is how many dips you can do. This is great for athletes and
muscle endurance, but I would assume that if you're reading
this article that you are looking for ways to build muscle
fast.
In order to utilize dips as a tool for further upper body
muscle mass development, you need to treat them just as you
would treat any other exercise for the same purpose, and
that is low to medium amount of reps with progressively
heavier weight. If you have never done dips with added
weight before, you are in for a treat. They are defiantly
more demanding then most upper body exercises, but the
results they produce are just as good if not better.
What I love about parallel dips is that they are one of the
few exercises that will add massive bulk to your chest,
shoulders, and triceps all at once. This is by far one of
the best upper body exercises for strength training as
well, and you can get a terrific pump from them too!
My favorite way of doing dips is from the late John
McCallum's book The Complete Keys to Progress. Here is how
he broke it down on how to do them for the best possible
results:
-First start out with either body weight or really light
weights tied around your waist for a set of five.
-Do a second set of five with a little more weight. -Next
jump to your best poundage's (you'll have to experiment
with this to find out what weight is good for you) for
three more sets of five.
-After you finish your first five sets, finish off by doing
ten more sets of eight with much lighter weight with only
thirty seconds in-between each set. Continue to strip the
weight off each set if necessary.
-The weight for the last 10 sets doesn't matter, just focus
on no longer then 30 second rest periods and getting a
really good pump.
Try these out for a while and try to add weight to your
three heavy sets for each workout. You don't need to do
this more then twice a week, even once a week for some is
enough. Also, don't do to many other upper body exercises
on days when you are doing these dips, as you will soon
discover, you won't need to, let alone have enough strength
left to!
As always with a weight gain and muscle building program,
don't ever forget about your diet and nutrition, and
especially don't cut yourself short on protein while doing
the dips. This exercise alone will take a lot out of you
and you MUST make sure to put a lot of protein and other
nutrition back in.
----------------------------------------------------
Derek Manuel is the author of the best-selling How to Gain
Weight and Build Muscle for Hardgainers. If you want to
learn how you too can gain 20 to 30 pounds of solid muscle
in as short as 8 weeks, or if you just want more quality
information on how to gain weight and build muscle, please
visit http://www.hardgainers-weight-tips.com
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