Training for muscle mass

Repetitions

The most effective way to build muscle mass is to train for hypertrophy. Hypertrophy training involves training for 8 to 12 repetitions. The goal is to choose a weight with which you can just barely complete these repetitions. The exact number of repetitions is up to you. Personally, I recommend doing 8 repetitions for the heaviest exercises and 12 repetitions for the lighter exercises, especially when the muscles are already fatigued.

Example: Today you're training your chest and biceps. You'll do four chest exercises: bench press, incline dumbbell press, pectoral fly machine, and low cable flys. The repetitions for this exercise are as follows:

- Bench press: 4 x 8 repetitions

Incline db press: 4 x 8 repetitions

- pectoral fly: 4 x 12 repetitions

- Low cable fly: 3 x 12 repetitions

Sets

The number of sets that has proven effective for hypertrophy training is 3 to 5 sets, but in practice, aim for 4 sets. Ensure you hit the exact number of repetitions during these 4 sets. If you can perform more repetitions correctly, you can choose a higher weight. Even if you think you could perform a 5th set with the chosen weight, it's wise to increase the weight next time. If a particular muscle is already significantly fatigued from training, you can choose to do 3 sets for the last exercise(s), as shown in the example above.

Classify muscle groups

Classifying muscle groups can be tricky and not everyone does it efficiently. Asking around at the gym about why someone classifies their muscle groups in a certain way doesn't always yield a well-founded answer. By considering a few concepts, you can classify your muscle groups correctly.

First, you need to consider how much rest your muscles need after training. For hypertrophy training, this is two (sometimes three) days. Once the muscle groups have rested, it's important to train them again as soon as possible; otherwise, they'll get used to the inactivity and lose muscle mass again. For example, if you train three times a week, it's unwise to divide your muscle groups over four workouts. This would mean training a muscle group approximately once every nine to ten days, making the rest period too long to stimulate muscle mass. In this case, it's wiser to use a full-body workout routine, training each muscle group every two or three days.

If you train five times a week, a full-body routine is not recommended because your muscles won't get enough rest. In this case, a split routine is more sensible, such as upper and lower body or front and back.

In concrete terms, I advise you to maintain the following division:

Training up to 3 times a week: full body

Training 4 to 5 times a week: 2-way split

Training more than 5 times a week: 3-4 way split

Finally

You've read about the sets, repetitions, and muscle group distributions you can use to build muscle mass. Now I challenge you to compare this to your own program. You might find components you can adjust or add. Apply this knowledge consciously, and increased muscle mass will be a natural consequence of your efforts (provided you eat enough to complement them). Tip: Buy a measuring tape and track the circumference of your arm, chest, and leg for a month. This will give you a good idea of ​​your muscle growth.

Author: Bart Kaats