If your goal is to gain muscle and keep it on, you’ve got to work out hard and eat the foods that aid recovery. We recommend the following basic compound programme to be completed 3 times weekly, sets and reps change for each daily workout, follow A for Day 1, B for Day 2 and C for Day 3.  Keep a day in between each workout to allow rest and recovery.

Exercise: Dumbbell Clean & Press

• Sets:  Workout A = 3, Workout B = 5 , Workout C = 3
• Reps: Workout A = 5, Workout B = 5 , Workout C = 5
• Notes: Keep rest periods short.

Exercise: Squats

• Sets:  Workout A = 3, Workout B = 2 , Workout C = 5
• Reps: Workout A = 10, Workout B = 10 , Workout C = 10
• Notes: Add weight to each set.

Exercise: Straight Leg Deadlift

• Sets:  Workout A = 2, Workout B = 1 , Workout C = 1
• Reps: Workout A = 20, Workout B = 20 , Workout C = 20
• Notes: Slow negative phase (slow on your way down).

Exercise: Seated Row

• Sets:  Workout A = 5, Workout B = 3 , Workout C = 2
• Reps: Workout A = 5, Workout B = 5 , Workout C = 5
• Notes: Concentrate on the squeeze in the finished position.

Exercise: Pull Ups

• Reps: Workout A = 25, Workout B = 15 , Workout C = 12
• Notes: Take as many sets as you need until you complete reps.

Exercise: Bench Press

• Sets:  Workout A = 3, Workout B = 5 , Workout C = 3
• Reps: Workout A = 5, Workout B = 5 , Workout C = 5
• Notes: Concentrate on the squeeze in the finished position.

Exercise: Barbell Curl

• Sets:  Workout A = 3, Workout B = 3 , Workout C = 2
• Reps: Workout A = 5, Workout B = 10 , Workout C = 12
• Notes: Squeeze as hard as possible throughout exercise.

Exercise: Tricep Dips

• Sets:  Workout A = 3, Workout B = 3 , Workout C = 2
• Reps: Workout A = 5, Workout B = 10 , Workout C = 12
• Notes: Add weight if necessary.

Exercise: Barbell Shrugs

• Sets:  Workout A = 3, Workout B = 5 , Workout C = 3
• Reps: Workout A = 5, Workout B = 5 , Workout C = 10
• Notes: Heavy weight is key.

 

Mass Gain General Tips & Advice

The mass gain program has been designed for anybody who classes themselves as beginner to intermediate and is especially useful for anyone who hasn’t been training consistently for over 12 months. This programme will give you the fundamental exercises for packing on quality  muscle onto your frame. These workouts don’t work miracles, you will need a lot more than just training hard if you are to achieve your mass gain goals. Below you will find a list of general tips & advice to add to your programme to get the most out of each workout.

1) Record your weight & calorie track

We want to keep this as easy as possible and without becoming complicated with calculators and equations, record your weight and eat 2500Kcal a day for 1 week. Jump back on the scales and record your weight again. If you haven’t gained any weight add 300Kcal daily to your diet. Keep doing this until you start to see the scales going in the right direction.

2) Eat! Eat! Eat!

The chances are if you are looking at any mass gain programme you generally fall under the hard-gainer category . This is anyone who struggles to add or keep weight/mass on their frame. The trick is to eat and keep track of your calories. If you think you are eating enough but you still aren’t adding on the pounds, then you need to eat more. The best way is to keep track of all your     calories and food consumed. You will be surprised with how  little calories you are actually consuming sometimes.

3) Don’t Just eat when you are hungry

Once you have all your calories worked out and which meals you will eat throughout the day, then you have to work out timings. Try not to put off meals because you are full. If you have 5 meals to eat during the day make sure you split them up evenly and consume them when the time comes around. Yes! This means eating sometimes when you aren’t hungry. But if you are serious about gaining mass then you will need to make sure you are getting those calories in. It sounds a bit much but if you are left at the end of the day with a 600Kcal meal. That can be the difference between gaining weight or losing weight. There isn’t much calorie difference either side of your maintenance calories.

4) Get lots of sleep

Contrary to what people think, you do not grow in the gym. If you don’t get good quality rest you will not grow. If you are hitting your workouts with the intensity that is needed. While you are resting and sleeping your body releases Growth Hormone which is essential to grow. Growth Hormone is just involved in making your biceps bigger, it is responsible for  calcium retention (strong bones), promotes fat loss and reduces fat storage.

5) Compound Exercises

If your goal is to pack on as much muscle mass as possible, you need to focus on compound exercises. Compound exercises are any exercise which involves 2 or more joints moving throughout the exercise. These compound exercises put more muscles under stress and use more than 1 muscle at a time. Compound exercises are what will make you grow! Isolation exercises are mainly for shape once you have the mass. Concentrate on the exercises in the  mass gain programme and you should see yourself improving weekly in your fitness goal.