How to gain weight – The following exercises are all important movements to build muscle, mass and strength, but nutrition is absolutely the primary key here. If you can combine an effective exercise routine with an intelligent nutrition plan then you will be primed for success!
HOW TO GAIN WEIGHT – UNDERSTAND CALORIE BALANCE
Calorie balance is the ratio between calories taken in and calories expended in any one individual at any given time. It is a good idea to measure this out over the course of a week to cancel out most fluctuations, such as drinking more water.
TIP: When measuring fat loss (or muscle gain) over time, weigh yourself first thing in the morning, before you eat or drink anything. Measure your weight 2-3 times per week and record all results. This will give you a clear and consistent record of your progress.
There are 3 states of calorie balance:
- Negative calorie balance (hypocaloric diet)
- Calorie balance (eucaloric diet)
- Positive Calorie balance (hypercaloric diet)
It is impossible to be in more than one of these states at any one time.
- A negative calorie balance will always result in weight loss. “Even though body water alterations may occasionally mask this loss of tissue, it is always going to occur, with ZERO exceptions so far discovered.”
- A eucalorie balance means that the athlete will not gain or lose weight because they expend as many calories as they consume.
- A positive calorie balance means that the individual is consuming more calories than they are using.
Check out the link below to learn more about this.
Regardless of your goals, effective training starts with picking the right exercises. The best exercises for weight and muscle gain are the best exercises for almost any goal. The big, hard compound movements that will help improve your overall strength, tendons, muscles, joints, bones and even your immune system. Add these into your training.
BUILDING MUSCLE WITH HYPERTROPHY
Hypertrophy training will help you gain muscle and mass. The following 5 exercises in this article are all excellent movements to stimulate hypertrophy.
HYPERTROPHY TIP 1 – REP RANGES AND HOW MUCH TO LIFT?
When it comes to hypertrophy training, the way you make gains is mostly by doing sets of 6-25 reps and over time using heavier and heavier weights for those reps.
Weights should be at least 65% of your 1RM to cause much growth. If you are not close to failure with the final few reps then the weight is simply not heavy enough or you aren’t doing enough reps per set.
HOW TO GAIN WEIGHT – DEADSTOP SQUAT
Dead stop exercises will help you to break through plateaus, get stronger and are a great challenge to test how strong you really are.
The Box Squat is the easiest way to use the dead-stop method with this movement. Use a wider than normal stance, open your knees and squat down until your butt grazes the top of the box. Hold there for a one-count, making sure to stay engaged; then drive up off the box. Use a knee-high box so that your pelvis is tilted forward and your back is arched. A box that’s too low will put your body in an undesirable bottom position, which could lead to injury.