How to Advance Your Muscle Building Program

Plateaus are a problem for both beginners and veterans of the weight room, even bodybuilders experience them. Check out these tips on how you can set yourself back on track for serious muscle mass.

Switch Up Your Numbers

Studies show that undulating periodization is an excellent way to smash through a plateau. It involves changing your repetitions to volume ratios every week! You will cycle through four phases during a four-week period. Afterward, you can begin again or focus on one stage.

Week One: Endurance

• 12 to 15 repetitions
• 50% to 65% of your one-repetition maximum

Week Two: Hypertrophy

• 8 to 12 reps
• 65% to 75% of your 1RM

Week Three: Strength

• 5 to 7 reps
• 75% to 85% of your 1RM

Week Four: Power

• 1 to 5 reps
• 85% to 100% of your 1RM

New Way of Lifting to Build Muscle Mass

Have you been sticking to the safe upper and lower split? Or maybe you’re still stuck on full body workouts? It’s time to change it up. You need to keep your body guessing. A few examples of proven lifting methodology that you need to consider:

German Volume Training

• 1 exercise per muscle group
• 10 sets
• 10 repetitions
• 50% to 60% of your 1RM

5 x 5 System

• 1 to 3 exercises per muscle group
• 5 sets
• 5 repetitions
• 85% to 100% of your 1RM

Pyramid Failure Sets

• Each exercise you complete will end in failure.
• On your last set, strive to do as many reps as possible.
• Rack the weight, lower the volume, begin again.
• Repeat this 1 to 4 times.

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is one of the latest fitness trends and with good reason: it works. Studies have confirmed the amazing benefits of I.F. including enhanced fat burning, amplified muscle building, and testosterone boosting. Here’s the breakdown of the daily 16-hour fast:

• 16 hour fast window – Begin at night
• 8 hour feeding window – Begin once fasting window is over
• During your fasting, you can drink water and non-calorie beverages.

CONCLUSION

Keep in mind that this is just a fraction of the ways in which you can give your workouts a boost and build muscle mass. Do you have any proven muscle building techniques? Let us know below. Check out the Best Muscle Building Exercises.

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REFERENCES

1. Rhea MR, Ball SD, Phillips WT, Burkett LN. A comparison of linear and daily undulating periodized programs with equated volume and intensity for strength. J Strength Cond Res. 2002 May;16(2):250-5.
2. K Y Ho, J D Veldhuis, M L Johnson, R Furlanetto, W S Evans, K G Alberti, and M O Thorner. Fasting enhances growth hormone secretion and amplifies the complex rhythms of growth hormone secretion in man. J Clin Invest. 1988 Apr; 81(4): 968–975.
3. Derave W, Mertens A, Muls E, Pardaens K, Hespel P. Effects of post-absorptive and postprandial exercise on glucoregulation in metabolic syndrome. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007 Mar;15(3):704-11.