Quickest Way To Put On Muscle

There are 3 exercises that will get your muscles growing like nothing else, but you’ll probably need to do them at a gym: Squat, Weighted Dips, and Weighted Pull-ups.

The reason why, from all the available movements in the known fitness universe, these three movements were chosen is actually quite simple:  Moving a lot of weight, hitting all the muscle groups, and full range of motion.

Moving A Lot Of Weight

Performing heavy weight training also trains something that is most times neglected during light weight training; the central nervous system connection.

By lifting heavy weights you’re actually improving the connection between the muscular system and the central nervous system. This improvement allows for more muscle fibers to be recruited. Here is where the trickle down effect occurs, leading to the importance of testosterone:

More muscle fiber recruitment means more micro tears occurring, more muscle tears means more repairs required, these repairs are done by protein synthesis - and protein synthesis is the key.

Testosterone binds to receptors on the surface of muscle cells and amplify the biochemical signals in muscle tissue that result in protein synthesis. With more repairs needed (caused by lifting heavy weights), more testosterone is recruited to allow for more protein synthesis. This is why training legs is so important for increasing testosterone levels, being such a large muscle group - you’ll have more tears that need to be repaired.

So that’s it, lifting heavy weights works your central nervous system which allows your body to recruit more muscle fibers, causing more muscle tears, causing a higher demand for protein synthesis which is alleviated by higher levels of testosterone binding to receptors allowing for recovery. So lift heavy!

Hitting All The Muscle Groups

For proper muscle development you need to be sure that you are effectively training all regions of your body.  You’ve seen those memes that say “This is why you don’t skip leg day”  Don’t be that guy that skips leg day, or any muscle group day…I can guarantee you don’t want to be that guy they use for “This is why you don’t skip arm day”  Things just got real.  The good news is these three suggested exercises will hit ALL muscle groups effectively.  Great!

Full Range Of Motion

In order to reach maximum potential of the development possibilities of any given muscle, you need to be working out the muscle for the entire range of motion.  We’ve all seen those guys that do half squats; we know that they’re not really benefiting from that.  How about instead of filming them so others can laugh, let’s be the example of proper form for whatever the movement may be!  To being a good person!  Cheers.

Get To Know The Movements

The Squat

The squat is now and always has been the definitive muscle/athleticism/strength building movement. That’s why you’ll see all bodybuilders, power lifters, cross-fitters, athletes, strongmen train with it.  The starting position is on a squat rack (usually the bar is at chest height).  With both hands about shoulder width apart and having a firm grip on the bar, step under the bar so that your traps bunch up into a shrugging motion, this will supply enough meat (your traps) for the bar to rest on for the duration of the movement.  Now you’re ready to perform the lift.  Lift the bar off of the rack, step back from the rig, and with your chest big (meaning facing up for the entire movement) and your feet shoulder width apart, begin the decent while bending at the hip and knee simultaneously.  Range of motion continues until your hamstrings touch your calves (ideally, this will take time and practice).  Now reverse the motion in the same manner to the starting position.  Once you understand how to do the movement properly, you’ll be growing in no time at all!

The Weighted Dip/Weighted Pull up

The Weighted Dip and Weighted Pull up are personal favorites of mine, they’re movements that you can’t really cheat on (because if you do cheat- you’re not really moving at all, it’s just a little jerk up and down and everyone is looking at you and you don’t want to be that guy who makes a big scene with a lot of weight around his waist only to do a whole bunch of no reps and get’s videotaped and put on the internet for everyone to see…) When done properly, as in from arms locked out – to – eyes to bar for pull up and arms locked out – to – chest to bars for dips, your body gets put in a scramble to develop the muscle to be able to perform these movements. Trust me I shot my bench press up to over 300 lbs from doing weighted dips alone!

That’s it; if you can go to the gym and just perform these three movements (Properly!) you’d be growing muscle in no time!

Have fun getting huge!

Moving a lot of weight, hitting all the muscle groups, and full range of motion.