Indeed, you read that correctly. We said a couple of months, not the rest of your life.
If you have been training for a while you will have already noticed that the biggest issue holding people back in the gym is the volume of contradicting advice out there. People can't seem to stick to anything for long enough to get results because they have outside influences telling them that they need to purchase the latest product or try to next big thing in workouts...
You can turn anything into a rocket science if you analyze it enough, but the fact remains that the principles of improving muscular strength and size remain the same as they were twenty years ago and they are very, very simple.
#1 Compound exercises out perform isolation exercises.
#2 Use your rep range to keep progressing the resistance.
#3 Diet is important even when it comes to adding size.
It might seem quite simple, given the number of next big thing plans out there which promise to give the the 'secrets' of building a better body, but those three rules are dynamite in your pocket. If you can take advantage of those three steps you will not have any issues building the body you desire.
Building your workout routine around one or two compound exercises is a great way to start. Usually, people perform way too many isolation movements and way too few compounds. If you're unsure what they are, think bench press and deadlift. These large multiple joint exercises will force far more hypertrophy than exercises which try to isolate only one muscle.
Remember, you are not at the gym to train your ego. Take a glance at the dumbbell section the next time you go to the gym and I'm sure you will notice many people training their 'ego muscles', i.e. tons of bicep curls and tricep pushdowns but zero squats or wide grip pull ups. The ironic thing is those guys are clearly striving to increase their size but are unwittingly holding their own progress back by avoiding the proven exercises in favor of what gives them a better temporary pump.
Of course, there is more to this than just knowing which exercises will get you the results. You also need to know how many repetitions to aim for and have a system in place to consistently progress you to new levels.
For muscular hypertrophy you should be achieving around 8-12 repetitions in every set. Use this as a guide and it will also help you to progress at a very consistent rate. Each time you are able to push out over twelve reps with a certain weight you should be looking to increase the resistance, pushing yourself back down towards the 8 rep mark and working with that weight until your strength increases.
It's also worth mentioning the important role your diet plays in the results you achieve. You can't expect to build a great body if you are feeding it junk, after all. Many guys believe that diets are just for girls, but if you don't look after your nutrition you are writing off most of your results before you even get to the gym.
All calories are not creating on an equal playing field. It's important to realize that two people eating the same number of calories could get totally different results, as one could be feasting on junk food whereas the other is quite healthy. A split of 30%, 50% and 20% between protein, carbs and fats respectively will be a good start.
If you've had a certain body part which has proved difficult to get results with, you will find that the three steps will help you to bring it back up to speed. So before you spend hours pouring over the best shoulder building exercises or top chest workouts we recommend getting on top of the basics first.
If you previously felt a little lost and confused with all of the information out there giving you contradicting advice on how to build muscle you should now notice a new-found self confidence. Knowing the proven principles of size and strength training puts you on a fantastic platform to build from.
source : Three Rules Helping Hard Gainers Build Muscle Quickly
