The question, “What’s best workout for building strength and muscle?” has been the subject of heated debates for years.? My answer is always the same.? There is no one workout that is the best.? There is no one workout that works for all.? However, there are training principles that do apply to everybody.

Anatomically and physiologically we are identical.? A bicep is a bicep and has the exact same function from person to person.? An aorta is an aorta.? Our anatomical structures may have different shapes and sizes, but they all function the same.? This holds true for all tissues in our bodies from blood to hormones.? If this weren’t true medicine could not exist.? How could an anesthesiologist do his job if everybody were different?

Therefore, in order to get bigger, stronger muscles the same stimulus is needed.? That stimulus is short, intense training sessions.? Why short?? Because we have known for centuries the body can either train long or train hard.? A perfect example is to compare distance runners to sprinters.? Because of the types of training, one is emaciated looking and one is muscular.? Remember you can not sprint a mile.? Is it difficult to run a mile, yes?? But it is essentially impossible to run a mile with 100% intensity.

The other factor one needs to take into consideration for building bigger, stronger muscles is recovery.? How much or how often can you train?? Or better yet, how much “should” you train?? Here is where the differences in genetics lie.? Our muscles need the exact same stimulus in order to cause a chain of events that forces them to adapt by making bigger stronger muscles.? However, the rate at which we are able to recover from these intense bouts is as different as the shapes and sizes of our bodies.

So what are you to do?? If you’re training using the typical muscle building routine, which is 3 or more working sets per exercise and 4 or more sessions a week, and not getting anywhere, change it.? First, reduce your sets per exercise by half and only train each body part once a week.? If you still don’t make gains or you plateau after a short while, reduce your sets again.? Remember, if you’re training with 100% intensity and you’re not making gains, you’re not recovering.

More is only better when it comes to sex and money.????????

How often can, or more importantly, should I train per week? Optimum recovery time between training sessions is essential if one is going to continue to make progress. Training frequency, which is determined by ones recovery ability, is often a forgotten part of most training protocols. It never ceases to amaze me how many people train for months and years experiencing little or no success, and never consider the fact they may be doing too much.

Don’t be so concerned with how many training sessions you can handle per week. Be more concerned about the optimal amount. More is not always better. In fact, when somebody comes to me for advice because they’ve stopped making progress, usually I either reduce the workout volume or add days off. There is no reason in going to the gym if you’re not going to make progress. In every workout, if you have fully recovered, and you come ready to work, you should make progress, which is gauged by your strength.

How can anyone get stronger every workout? One can only bench press so much. Eventually, you have to hit a plateau. This is true. If one stays with the same exercises, the same number of reps and the same number of sets, progress may eventually stop. If the proper changes aren’t made at the right time, eventually the body adapts to the stimulus. And this is where the “art” of program design comes to play.

It’s easy to follow a workout. The real challenge is assuring the stimulus is sufficient and more importantly, you recovery from workout to workout so that progress continues over a long period of time. Sometimes this entails having the discipline to deviate from something that is not working. If you’re not making progrss, and you’re training with all out intensity, try taking an extra day off.

Do you train at home and feel there is not enough variety? To help switch things up, change what muscles you stimulate during push-ups by changing hand and foot positions. A study conducted by scientists from the University of Athens compared standard push-ups (hands shoulder width apart, legs supported on toes) with modified push-ups (?women?s push-ups,? with legs supported on knees), hands wider than shoulder width, hands together, hands above the chest, and hands below the chest. Women?s push-ups decreased the overall load by about 15%. The wider hand position stimulated the pecs more, while the triceps were targeted more with a narrow hand position. Next time you do push-ups, decide which body parts you want to stimulate more and position your hands accordingly.
(J Strength Cond Res, 19:146-151, 2005)

If you want to increase the difficulty of the movement above that of a standard push-up, use a stability ball. Start with the ball just below your knees. To make the movement more difficult move the ball towards your feet making sure to keep your body rigid and straight throughout the movement.

Are you typically a hardgainer or have you hit a plateau in the gym? Maybe stretching your muscles more is your answer to making gains again in the gym.

MensFitness.com lays out six ways to stretch for more muscle:

Chest. Grab a pair of dumbbells that you can perform 12-15 reps with on a dumbbell bench press, and get into the bottom position of the exercise (your hands near the outside of your chest).

Back. Hang from a chinup bar in the bottom position of a pullup, palms facing away from you.
Biceps. Set an incline bench to a 45-60-degree angle and sit on it with a dumbbell in each hand. Allow your arms to hang.

Triceps. Hold the end of a towel with one hand and grab the other end behind your back. Pull down with the hand behind your back so that your opposite elbow points upward and that arm’s triceps is stretched. You should look like you’re in position to do a one-arm overhead triceps extension.

Quads. Rest one foot on a bench set to a low incline, and bend the opposite knee so that you go into a split squat position. You should feel the stretch in your rear thigh and that leg’s hip.

Hamstrings. Rest one heel on a bench, step, or other surface that’s three or four feet off the floor. Bend forward and try to kiss your knee.

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If you’ve always been skeptical of the supplement industry, you’re not alone. But Bullz-Eye.com Fitness Editor Mike Furci says that the right testosterone supplement will not only help you build muscle, but also boost your sex drive. In the first part of this two-part series, Mike looks at supplements that work, and those that don’t.

And for those of you looking for Part 2 of Mike?s series, see below.

In the first part of his “More Muscle & More Sex” series, Mike explained that the right testosterone supplement can not only help you add muscle, but also boost your sex drive. In Part 2, he extols the importance of zinc and magnesium to your body, and warns of using supplements with the “wrong” ingredients.

Click here for More Muscle and More Sex Part 1

Click here for More Muscle and More Sex Part 2