If you want to learn how to build up muscle strength, then
look no further. My goal is to put together for you the
simplest, purest, and most learnable form on how to build
up muscle strength to whatever you want it to be. Whether
you want to compete in weight lifting championships, or you
just have some personal weight lifting goals that you
always wanted reach, then read on my friend.
Gaining strength, or poundage progression, is a very simple
concept. Before you do anything else, I want you to take
out a pen or pencil and a pad of paper. Now I want you to
write out long term goals for however many lifts you want.
For instance, one of my long term goals for a long time as
a kid was to squat 405 pounds. At the time I set that goal
I could barely squat 135 pounds for 10 reps. What I did
next was set a goal for 185 pounds for 10 reps. This was my
immediate short term goal.
Then all I did for the next few weeks was concentrated on
adding weight a little at a time each week until I could
squat 145 pounds for ten reps, then 155 pounds, then 165
pounds, etc, until I could eventually squat for 185 for ten
reps. Then I would set a new short term goal, 225 pounds
for ten reps, and go at it again. Now, it sounds simple,
and it is, but the secret is in the HARD WORK you put in
each workout to pass your last workout, and having the
tenacity to keep going and NOT QUIT!
Each workout you are getting an inch closer to your long
term goal by attacking the heck out of your short term
goal. They say the only way to eat an elephant is one bite
at a time. This is how great success works in anything, and
it is more measurable in weight training then anything else.
There are a couple different ways in which you can
progressively go up in weight. One way, following the
example of my squats, is to add one or two pounds each
workout and do ten reps with it. This approach you are more
likely to reach the ten reps almost every time. Another way
you can do it is to add five or even ten pounds each
workout until you can't complete the ten reps, then stay at
that weight until you complete the ten reps in good form,
and when you do, add another five or ten reps and do it
again. Neither of these approaches is better then the
other, it is just up to your preference.
It is important to point out some psychological aspects
that I am describing that will help you in subtle ways on
how to build up muscle strength steadily and stay the
course. The first is the fact that you write everything
down: your long term goals, short term, and each and every
workout. This way, when you approach each individual
workout, you know exactly what you need to accomplish that
day down to the last rep.
Another aspect is that by making short term goals, you are
making it easier to reach your long term goals because you
may not really believe you can reach your long term goals
in the beginning, but you believe you can reach your short
term goals. And as David Schwartz says in The Magic of
Thinking Big, "belief is the thermostat which regulates
what we accomplish in life."
Here is perhaps the most important point: once you make
your long term goal, write it down and then forget about
it. Concentrate all of your energy on your short term goal
and nothing else! Don't even think about what your next
short term goal will be, just go to each workout and focus
100% on completing your goal for that day.
This is how to build up muscle strength to astronomical
levels. Most people at the thought of a long term goal will
cower from it and never even begin, but not you. You now
understand the process, however long it may be. I will end
with a quote I stated earlier in this article that I hope
you really take into consideration, "It sounds simple, and
it is, but the secret is in the HARD WORK you put in each
workout to pass your last workout, and having the tenacity
to keep going and NOT QUIT!"
----------------------------------------------------
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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