How To Build A Great Body - The Training
If you want to build a body you can be proud of stick around and read this article. Here I will cut through the hype and BS and tell you what it’s going to take. There is more to getting your body in shape than the actual training i.e. diet and resting, but this particular article will guide you through the actual workouts themselves. I think you’ll be amazed at how simple it is, once the fancy marketing is stripped away.
Why Lift Weights?
Lifting weights is for everyone, male and female. It is a proven fact that as you add lean muscle to your body, you will burn more calories just lying around. For each pound of muscle you gain, your body will burn up to 50 calories extra per day. So if you put on 5 pounds of muscle you could be burning 250 extra calories per day without actually doing anything, that’s music to everyone’s ears. Also, weighted resistance training is the best way to change your shape. Many products are marketed towards women with the promise of ‘toning muscles’; there is no such thing as toning muscles. You either build them through resistance training, which changes their shape and hardness, or you don’t. You’ll also need to lose the fat surrounding them so that you can actually ’see’ the muscle underneath; this is achieved through cardio and diet. Both these steps result in the ‘toned’ look. You cannot ‘Build sexy abs in just three minutes a day’ - Do yourself a favour and stay away from this nonsense.
The Plan
So here’s what you want to do. Train 1 or 2 body parts per day, once a week. So for me this is:
- Monday - Biceps and Triceps
- Tuesday - Shoulders and back
- Wednesday - Chest & Abs
- Thursday - Legs
I then repeat this every week.
How Many Reps?
So let’s break it down further. How many reps should you do? What works best for me is 8-12 reps of heavy weight. What I mean is that the weight should be light enough that you can get at least 8 reps and heavy enough that you can do no more than 12. When you can do more than 12, it’s time to up the weight.
How Many Sets?
6-9 sets is sufficient. Only go as high as nine for the parts of your body that you feel are lagging. I personally am not satisfied with my shoulders so I’m pounding them with 9 sets whereas my back gets 6. Take a 1.5 - 2 minute break between sets too. This is sufficient to flush acid out of your muscles and get you ready to crank out another set.
Strict Form?
Allow your form to be a little loose. I don’t mean swing your body to help get the weight up on a bicep curl for example, but a little bit of momentum is ok. It will allow you to place more overload on your muscles, which is one of the fundamental principles of building muscle.
Trade 3 Hours A Week For Your Dream Body
Your whole workout session should last a max of 45 minutes, even when hitting 2 body parts. If you have a four-day split workout plan like me, that means just 3 hours in a whole week for the body of your dreams, surely that’s not too much to ask. The only thing missing here is the actual exercises. Time doesn’t permit me to go through each one so I will direct you to the best place I know for a list of them and how to perform them correctly. Experiment with different ones and then periodically change them to stimulate new growth and relieve boredom.
Folks, anyone that tells you that building muscle is more complicated than this is either ignorant or trying to sell you something (note: I’m not saying that all supplements are a waste of money but only a select few are worth investing in - more on this in a later article). I’ve been there and done it and it all starts with a burning desire and some basic information, which you now have. Buy some equipment or get a gym membership and start building your body to order! I would be happy to hear from you and provide any extra information you might need so feel free to contact me.
I will be posting more on this topic, e.g. what to eat and info on the single most important principle in sculpting new muscle. Stay tuned!
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February 8th, 2007 00:58
Hey Mark,
You make it seem so effortless. Surely it would take more than just 3 hours a week to have a “dream body.”
Can we agree that it depends how big your dream is? =)
February 8th, 2007 05:01
Mark,
I have another question about your exercise routine. You mention you do 6-9 sets. Does that mean 6 sets per exercise per body part or 6 sets broken up into 3 for one exercise (say chest) and another 3 sets exercise (chest again).
Just curious what your approach is because I wasn’t too clear on it from the post.
February 8th, 2007 06:53
Alex, speaking from experience it really only takes 3 hours per week. It’s not effortless at all, they are a gruelling three hours. The steps here are simple, but not easy. Now let’s say that someone needs to lose a lot of fat before building muscle, then 3-4 hrs would be sufficient. They would need to do cardio for 30-40 minutes, 6 days a week or so. Each session they should aim to burn more calories than the previous one. Couple this with a good diet and the fat will come off, it has no choice.
February 8th, 2007 06:57
I mean 6 sets per body part. So if working out biceps and triceps, 6 sets for biceps (e.g. 2 x dumbbell curl, 2 x barbell curl, 2 x EZ bar curl) and 6 sets for triceps (e.g. 3 x tricep extensions and 3 x cable pulldowns). So 12 sets per training session is this example.
February 8th, 2007 13:20
Hey Mark,
Thanks for the reply, that clarifies everything for me. I was actually at the ast website and have been reading about Max-OT, http://www.ast-ss.com/articles/article.asp?AID=97 . I’m going to add that to my routine for the next 3 weeks and follow the results. Good resource.
February 28th, 2007 19:45
Hello Mark,
Excellent advice. Thanks for keeping it simple and cutting through all the marketing hype. Playing organized sports introduced me to the long-term health benefits of progressive weight resistance.
Most beginners “over” train and “under” estimate the importance of nutrition. What protein supplement(s) do you recommend?
March 1st, 2007 06:28
Thanks Manchild. I recommend just plain old Whey Protein Isolate. I only take 1 shake a day, about 40 grams post-workout with 3grams of L-Glutamine.
March 6th, 2007 12:27
Sania directed to me to your blog Mark.
Can you tell me how I can go about putting on weight? I’m what you can call a hardgainer. I can’t afford to go to a Gym. Thank you.
March 6th, 2007 17:48
Yan, do you work out at all? Can you do weight training at home? Are you looking to put on muscle or just weight in general? I would need to know these things before I could advise you. Good news is, I’m a hard-gainer too. Thanks
Mark.
March 13th, 2007 18:52
Question on leg exercises…
Our company has its own gym. However, it’s …um… limited: a Bowflex, a weight bench (the bar supports are too narrow for the bar) and some dumbbells. My concern is, what options do I have for good leg exercises? Squats, except for using dumbbells, is pretty much out, as are a lot of the exercises on the website you link to. Are dumbbells going to be enough? Are there good dumbbell exercises (other than lunges) I’m not aware of? Thanks.
March 14th, 2007 16:52
Hi there Andrew. Without a barbell you are restricted as to what you can do for your legs. However lunges are good and here is a link to a few other dumbbell only exercises that’ll help you develop the legs you want. Thanks for the message.
Mark McManus
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?Real_New=%3C%3D+7&Name=&MainMuscle=Quadriceps&Equip=Dumbbell&Isolation=&order=Name
March 19th, 2007 03:27
Mark, I would like to know what you are doing for your abs. Also, any advice on how to work through an injury? My right delt has been hurting for months, making the bench impossible. What should I do?
March 19th, 2007 10:13
Hi there Jeremy, thanks for your message. Jeremy, I don’t do anything special for my abs. The best exercise is decline weighted sit ups. I hold a weight on my chest while I do these and this is the crucial thing - go slow. If you can do more than 10 reps of this, increase the weight. Abs are no different from other muscles, they need resistance to grow, not hundreds of reps. Also remember that good abs will depend on what you eat more than how you work out. Unfortunately Jeremy, I can only recommend a week off for your injured delt. I have to do this myself every now and then, I don’t like it but it’s necessary as your results are suffering in the long run. Get a good topical gel for it too as they can reduce pain and accelerate healing. Best of luck Jeremy, hope to see you back here.
March 30th, 2007 20:38
[...] reps? The weight lifted? Proper form? Rest Periods? Your diet? I have alluded to this principle in previous articles. It comes before all of the above and will be the most critical factor when it comes to deciding [...]
May 16th, 2007 06:43
Hey Mark. According to you and Dr. Atkins, ketosis is a muscle sparer. So if I’m doing HIIT cardio, are you telling me that I’ll be burning no muscle, and rather, massive amounts of fat? Or is it that in Ketosis, I should avoid the HIIT, as I’ll be burning fat either way (since there is no glycogen)? Just who should we believe when the issue of ketosis being anabolic or catabolic? The lowcarbmuscle.com administrator says its catabolic (muscle-wise) if on a calorie deficit, yet Atkins would say that it’s very muscle sparing? Who should I believe?
May 16th, 2007 15:46
Excellent question Kamran. I don’t work for any company and there is no reason for me to say the things I do other than the fact that they work. If other people say different, I’m fine with that, what I do works and that’s all I care about. So, I whole-heartedly recommend the low-carb approach for shredding fat and maintaining muscle, it works for me. Also, cardio is a must, choose the method you prefer - HIIT is fine. Eat until you are satisfied, never go very hungry and the fat will come off, it doesn’t stand a chance. I’ve tried all dietary approaches and all of them (apart from low-carb) has eaten away at my muscle - in large quantites, what a disaster!
May 29th, 2007 14:06
Hey Mark iv been hitting th gym for a good 7-8 months now on a 4 day split and im fairly happy with the gains, however i dont seem to be burning any fat, could you please advise the best way to go about this as i feel i need to shred up now? Thanks
May 30th, 2007 15:41
Hi Gurminder. Unfortunately you probably won’t be able to keep gaining size and lose fat at the same time. However, if you want to keep your hard-earned muscle and lean-up I would recommend a high-protein, low-carb approach. Eat until satisfied and allow yourself the odd cheat meal every 2 weeks or so. If yu have have great genetics, you will be able to still gain muscle while eating this way. Couple this with daily cardio and you’ll see great results. For more info on the diet see the top left of this page, ‘lose weight and keep it off!’
June 21st, 2007 22:01
Hi Mark, I’m back again!
I have a series of questions about my development. Not having an objective observer, I resort to numbers (chest size, weight lifted, etc). But I look at myself and feel like I’ve gained very little in the 90 days I’ve been hitting the gym *hard* (that means 3+ hours a week, over 5 days) and been consuming tons of protein, carbs and /some/ fat (10-20% of total calories is my guess).
What else can I be doing to accelerate my progress? Or, is my progress good enough? Or, am I actually progressing faster than average? I don’t want to spam your comment section with all my statistics, so all I can do is point you here: http://blog.myspace.com/xanadian
Your help would be greatly appreciated, as I’m feeling very frustrated; and I’m not sure if my frustration is justified.
Thanks in advance!
PS: I’m following the Max-OT routine outlined at http://www.ast-ss.com.
PS2: I’m doing the “dangerous” exercises now (squats, deadlifts) and am loving them.
February 15th, 2008 20:04
just want to know how to get back into shape in my 40s .any ideas ?i feel like im in need of some real motivation and want to get back to training .tips please
February 16th, 2008 14:08
Densel, please check out my new site at http://www.MuscleHack.com You can download my free exercise program there.
Thanks.