The 10 Things Everyone Must Know Before Attempting to Build Muscle

What gives someone the right to teach exercise?

I watch “trainers” daily that dont know a thing about exercise posting videos “teaching” people how to train.

Just because they use the words “anatomical” and “its physiology” doesn’t mean they have the slightest clue what they’re talking about.

Or “teaching someone the basics first”. These guys don’t have the first clue what “basics” for exercise should be.

Listen, I don’t claim to know it all, and never will.

But for your own safety and for the sake of making progress, there are some VERY simple things you AND your trainer MUST know and apply for building and “shaping” muscle. (there is no shaping a muscle but i know a lot of women don’t like to hear that they’re building anything).

Exercise essentials:

1. Engage the working muscle FIRST(squeeze it before you move it).
2. Maintain continuous tension throughout the range. (This isn’t as redundant or as simple as it seems). This might be the last thing to master, but important to think about nonetheless.
3. Maintain tension at the extremes of the range (meaning when you’re fully lengthened or shortened). Do not allow the weight to bounce or change direction quickly.
4. Maintain proper posture. Chest tall, “stand proud” is the term i prefer all of the time. Chest up, chin straight ahead.
5. Take a muscle through its entire Range of Motion.
   NOTE: this does not need to happen on each exercise as long as it happens within a given workout.
6. Getting a muscle fully shortened will make the biggest difference out of any of these point to your success. Learn what this means for all body parts.
7. Learn a muscles full range of motion. Its not complicated.
   Trust me.
8. Heavy weights are only useful when used with control and tension. (Advanced athletes are able to use acceleration and control/tension at the same time).
9. Add acceleration ONLY once you’ve mastered all of these techniques.
10. Locking out is only bad when done with acceleration.
11. Read Number 1-9 again.
12. Print this off and give it to your trainer. Go kick some ass in all of your workouts this week and forever.

NOTE: Do NOT share this info with anyone who you  A) Don’t like  B) Want to remain fat and squishy  C) Are competing against in ANY way. 

Everyone else will probably appreciate you sharing some simple and useful info.

p.s. have you seen my insane muscle building online program MI40 Foundation?

 

Have you been training for a while and feel like there is that one body part that is not ‘up to par’ with the rest? Then you NEED to listen to this interview with Muscle Expert Ben Pakulski and Dr. Jacob Wilson.