10 Basic Tips for Strength & Muscle Growth

Build muscle and add strength with these simple, but effective, tips:

First off, let me make this clear…there is a big difference between STRENGTH, and muscle HYPERTROPHY.  If you’re just looking for tips on how to give your biceps a bulge, you’ll need to look somewhere else.  Old school warriors got big, by getting STRONG.  If you want the added mass that comes with being STRONG…then, I’m here to help!

Here are 10 BASIC, but effective tips:

1.  LIFT big, EAT big, SLEEP big.

All three of these are VERY important.  If you want to put on mass, you need to learn how to EAT.  Once you feel like you’ve eaten enough, eat more.  If you’re not the type that loves to eat a ton of meat and other great sources of nutrients, then adding mass isn’t going to be very easy.

You also need to lift heavy.  No more 15-20 rep sets with lite weight you’ve been using the last 3 years.  You need to consistently add more weight to that barbell.

Sleep is also crucial.  Priorities…if you need to stay up til the wee hours of the night, and get 4 or 5 hours of sleep…adding mass isn’t going to happen very rapidly.

2.  Focus on the BIG FOUR.

The deadlift, the squat, the overhead press, and the bench press. You won’t find the bench listed in this article, but click ::HERE:: for a recent post on my “Four Pillars of Strength“. If a certain lift ‘hurts’, the answer is simple…don’t do it.  But, usually, most people can’t or won’t do something (like the squat) because of flexibility and ROM issues.  First fix the issues, then focus on the lifts.

Must. Do. Deads.

Many people will disagree, and they may be right…but, I truly believe you will not get as strong as you possibly can without these lifts.

3.  Following up on the last one, keep the reps in the 3-6 range.

With that being said part, an exception…if you have serious shoulder or upper-body issues with pressing- go easier on the load and do it with something you can easily handle for 8-10.

Note: Most people will tell you, and it’s pretty accepted information, to build muscle mass aka Hypertrophy, you should be in the higher rep range from 8-12 reps.  For hypertrophy, you should take a very short rest period as well.  For BRUTE STRENGTH, your reps should be in the 1-4 range, and the rest periods should be a bit longer.

4.  Limit your cardio time, but not your sleep.

If your main goal is to add muscle mass, you shouldn’t be doing a ton of cardio on treadmills and machines, anyhow.  But since you’ll need to eat like stoned fat chick, you don’t want to get fat from it, either.

Don't be a treadmill gerbil.

Here’s the key;  HIGH intensity and LOW duration. Sprints, on a hill if possible, (my favorite) or even in the sand would always be my first choice.  Be cautious, they will very taxing if you give 100%! In other words; they’ll kick your ass.  You can also run stairs.  Without much room you could do burpees, jump rope or box jumps.  If you have the space and resources, a few other top notch options are airdyne bike sprints, sled dragging, or even better prowler and truck pushing.

There are plenty of ways to get it done, but it shouldn’t be for 60+ minutes on any cardio machine.  Depending on your current body composition (are you fat or not) now, 2-4 sessions about 20-25 minutes should be enough for you.

5.  Keep a training and food log.

If you don’t track it, you have no idea what’s working.  You also have no idea if you’re getting stronger or not.  If you have no idea what you’ve been lifting, how can you tell how much you’re improving…or digressing?  At the very least, you should be tracking training dates, weight loads, reps, rest, and the length of your workout.  You can also track your sleep hours the night before, how you felt prior to the workout.  You should have at least a simple training log.

Seriously, it's not that complicated.

The food log goes hand in hand.  You don’t want to get fat in the process.  Keep track of your eating times, how much you ate, and how it affected your workout.  You can use your food log to schedule your training around optimal eating times (whatever works for you)

6. Spend plenty of time doing mobility and recovery work.

If you’re addicted to strength training, you probably have some competitive issues as well.  Which means, you’re probably already banged up from sports and lifting.  RECOVERY AND MOBILITY WORK IS A MUST!!!  Foam rolling, stretching, and rest are essential.  I will go as far as saying, you should be spending as much time doing this as you do training.  If you choose to ignore this rule, don’t blame me when your 50 years old and have trouble getting out of bed every morning.  This is even more important if you’re sitting behind a desk all day.

TRUST ME:  Put in the time to heal your body.  If you’re broken…you CANNOT get strong.

7.  Train like a BEAST, but don’t over do it.

This may sound crazy, but when it comes to lifting…less is more.  First off, you have to know how to train hard, then learn how to take it easy.  Your sessions should last about 45-60 minutes, and it’s also a good idea to give yourself at least a day or even two off between sessions.  And yes, it’s hard for me to accept as well; but, you don’t have to feel like you’re going to die every time you train.  In fact, it’s very important to have plenty of ‘easy sessions’ mixed in to ensure your CNS isn’t being fried every time you hit the weights.  For long term strength, and muscle growth…there’s a fine line between training hard, and over training.  Think long-term.

8.  Eat your carbs, but make sure you cycle them in at the right time.

Depending on your body composition now, you’ll need to eat plenty of carbs to build muscle.  The most important time to load up on the carbs is within an hour of finishing your training session.  Keep the carbs higher in the mornings and around your workouts.  Cut back on the carbs a few hours before bed.  It’s also a good idea to look into a ‘carb cycling’ program.  There are plenty out there to look into.  Carbs are important for muscle growth and strength, but too many will leave you fat and depressed.

Excellent choice: Sweet Potatoes

9.  Drink a ton of water, and not much else.

Water hydrates the muscles.  Water speeds up recover and will lessen the effects of DOMS.  It shouldn’t be said, but you need to be drinking a ton of water.  If you haven’t been, start now.  A good rule of thumb to start with is half your body weight in ounces of water.  So, if you’re 200lbs, you should be drinking 100 oz of water per day.  This may seem like allot if you haven’t been doing it, but it gets easier as you progress.  Just start.

Avoid all sugary drinks.  Sugary drinks include the highly marketed sports drinks you see athletes advertising.  Don’t believe the bullshit.  You don’t need all the ‘electrolytes’ and other magic potion they claim to possess.  Water, green tea, and coffee…if that’s your thing.  The more you drink sugary beverages and alcohol, the longer it’s going to take to see the results you want.

10.  Don’t freak out when things don’t go as planned.

When you start any program you should be willing to go at least 6 months to see some solid results.  Don’t believe all the 3 and 4 week miracle promises.

When it comes to building muscle and getting brutally strong, it’s a life long battle.  If something hurts, you step back.  You need to track what works, and what doesn’t.  If you’re like me, you want to be lifting until you die…or at least being very active.  So, make sure you think long term when you’re training.

Many have come before you and I, and many will be here after we leave.  One individual who has thousands of training sessions under his belt, personally, and for clients is Jason Ferruggia.  Just google his name and you’ll see plenty of his accomplishments over the years.  He is one of the most sought out strength coaches in the nation.  For a simple but highly effective program, click the picture below to be taken to his “Muscle Gaining Secrets” website.  I have personally used his programs, and this dude is top notch.

Good luck, train hard, be a BEAST!

-Mike McNeil.