Muscle 4 Hardgainers

Many guys train at the gym to get big muscles, but only a handful really know how to execute their weight training routines with proper technique.

I should know- I used to be one of those guys who liked to lift really heavy weights with bad technique. I didn’t wisen up until I started reading Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto and No Nonsense Muscle Building by Vince DelMonte. It was only then when I understood the science behind muscle growth.

It’s actually funny how lifting heavy weights is one of those “unspoken competition” in the gym. I’s like there’s an invisible pressure to lift more weight than the previous guy who used the machine you’re about to use. It’s really silly now, thinking about it, but yeah I was one of those ego-driven guys

Now that I’ve learned that a critical element in getting big muscles is proper technique, I can’t help but notice those who are training at the gym by lifting far too heavy weights for them, so they end up using momentum to move the weight. This is cheating as it fails to really train the target muscle groups, so if you train this way you will never get your muscles to grow at all. At best, you’ll just get injured and be out of the gym far too long to make any substantial gains.

I remember how I was at the gym one day when one of my mates, Harvey, made fun of me for lifting “a wimpy 120 lbs” for my close grip lat pull downs.

“I can do the full stack, me! Hahahaha!”

Oh, I could just see the ridicule in his eyes. I wanted to wipe the smirk off his face.

So I asked him to show me his lat pull downs. He put the weight at the maximum weight possible and smugly did his version of lat pull down. He did it with a technique so bad it made me cringe. But instead of trying to argue or defend myself I thought I’d show him how real lat pull downs are done: 100% concentration,  perfect form, with a tempo of pull-down-for-1-squeeze-for-1-then-up-for-3; stretching and contracting (squeezing) the muscles.

He was more than happy to humor me.

“OK. Now stand up straight, completely upright. That’s it. Now I want you to never use momentum – use only your target muscle (lats) to move the weight. Now concentrate on the particular muscles you’re working right now – put your mind to it. Pull down in 1 count and as you pull down, hold and squeeze. Come back up really s-l-o-w-l-y counting to 3, resisting the negative and feeling the contraction 100%. Now lean forward and s-t-r-e-t-c-h then pause, hold it… keep holding it. Feel that? Now pull again as you did before: no momentum, body upright, pulling only with your lats and nothing else. Pull straight down, squeeze, hold the squeeze, then slowly let it back up at the count of 3 resisting the negative, then lean forward and s-t-r-e-t-c-h. Be in the moment. Focus. Put your mind on the muscle you’re working and really feel it working.”

Do your weight training routine properly and you'll reap maximum muscle gains

He was clearly struggling as he grimaced with pain just on the 6th rep. I smiled and made him hold and squeeze even longer each time, hinting that he could probably do it forever since he could lift the whole stack of weights as he bragged before. But, he was already turning red by the end of the 8th rep and surrendered to pain by the 10th >;)

“What’s the matter? I thought you’re pulling almost 3x heavier weights than this? Let’s do it for 3 more sets, shall we?” I said with a cheeky sarcasm.

Since I was almost finished with my workout, I insisted on training him. I made him do a weight training routine focusing on compound exercises. We did squats, rows, bicep curls, shoulder press, deadlifts, chin ups, pull ups, incline press ups, calf raises – all using MY way (that is, the PROPER way!). Since he was lifting far too heavy weights before, I made him lift almost 1/3 less but with proper form.

I could see how hard he was finding the workout but he pressed on (rather admirably, I must say). The following day, he “woke up with every sinew in his body screaming in pain with every movement he made” (his words).  He said he could barely shower and put a shirt on without feeling pain.

Three days later I saw him again at the gym and he said he observed a noticeable difference on his body already. He swore he looked more pumped so he was going to do his weight training routine my way from then on. About a month later he made muscle gains like he never did before. He was a zealous convert of proper technique by then.

To make a long story short, he got the point. To be perfectly honest, I was expecting this because I had a very similar experience. When I first applied the principles I learned about proper weight training technique from No Nonsense Muscle Building and Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle, I ached like I never did before. And I also reaped muscle gains like I never did before.

It always amazes me how, in an effort to build muscle mass as fast as possible, so many people (especially men) fall for the “more is better” thinking when it comes to their workout routines. But muscle growth, just like many things worth pursuing in life, is more about the quality of the work you put into it, not just the quantity. And this, my friend, is the main principle you need to drill in your head. Don’t let your ego rule your weight lifting routines – concentrate on proper form.

Executing your weight training routines with proper form is just one of the many elements an effective program must have in order to help you get big muscles. The other elements are progressive overload, tempo, having a bodybuilding diet that complements your goals, variation, rep range, warming up and stretching, core stability, considering muscular imbalances and proper posture, etc.

Ignore these elements and all your work will just go to waste, or you’ll reap sub-optimal muscle growth and over all results. If you really want big muscles, you must do what really works. If you don’t know what that is, then educate yourself by learning from reputable sources like Vince DelMonte and Tom Venuto.

Recommended

Get Big Muscles via Proper Technique

If you’re really serious about getting bigger muscles, the best resource I’ve found for skinny guys (and gals) is Vince DelMonte’s No Nonsense Muscle Building Program. One of the bonuses you’ll get when you buy it is the “Virtual Exercise Demonstrator”. You can read about it by checking out my No Nonsense Muscle Building Review here.

Burn the Fat, Get Muscles

If you’re done bulking up and now trying to “cut” and get ripped, the best fat loss and muscle building program I’ve found is Tom Venuto’s Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program. Read my Burn the Fat review here.