As a guy you are not aiming for an hour-glass figure. Simply chasing a muscle gain number is a nearly guaranteed way to kill you chances of a lean and angular physique.Gaining untargeted muscle is easy and over-rated.
The problem with following the standard advice of concentrating on the "big 3" lifts (squat, deadlift, and bench press) is that it will most likely create a terrible looking, bulky physique.So even 100% pure muscle gains, can ruin your look if the muscle is added to the wrong places on your body.Think about that for one second. Wouldn't you rather look more like Jude Law versus a bloated looking professional wrestler in the WWE?You see, even if you are a little on the slim side you can still look "cool" and hip. You can wear designer clothes. You can look "GQ", etc.
but if you put on too much muscle on the wrong places you get that “cheesy” meat-head aura... and that is not a place where you want to be.Most women are repulsed by guys who are "overdone"!
In fact, a little bit slim is better than overly muscular and blocky.But Where You Gain the Muscle is Just the Beginning.There are two types of muscle growth that affect the look of a muscle.
Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy: This is growth caused by the increase in fluid (sarcoplasm) within a muscle cell. This is a fast way to increase the size of a muscle, but since sarcoplasm is a fluid and can't contract... it won't make the muscle significantly stronger.
Myofibrillar Hypertrophy: This is actual muscle fiber growth. This adds a lot less to the size of a muscle than sarcoplasmic growth, but since muscle fiber can contract... it will make the muscles significantly stronger.
Have you ever seen a muscular guy with large, but almost "puffy" looking muscles? This is a common problem I see in almost every gym I visit.Getting the proper ratio of both types of growth creates the ideal "look" of your muscles.Now... many trainers will tell you that muscle definition is simply a matter of gaining muscle and then "losing body fat" to reveal that muscle.
They have the right idea, but this is just part of the puzzle.Someone who focuses on the proper ratio creates full, dense looking muscles.Too much sarcoplasmic focused training? This creates that large "fluffy" look. The muscles look doughy and rounded -not- sharp and angular.Too much focus on myofibrillar training? This creates smaller dense muscles. Although the muscles are hard and angular, they tend to be undersized.Both types of muscle growth have their place if you want to create a sharp looking lean and muscular look.if you simply lift to put on muscle, then you are just hoping that your physique winds up looking the way you want (I don't like to leave things up to chance).
The majority of trainers will tell you that it is just a matter of reaching a low body fat percentage. They are only partially right...When you first get lean, your skin lags behind a bit and has to catch up to your new body size. This is a big reason that a lot of people who try to get lean for summer actually look their best in July or August instead of June.
This A New advanced techniques in gaining muscle in a way that creates a sharp physique with hard, full muscles.included a detailed 3 phase plan, where each phase "builds upon" the previous phase... creating a razor sharp physique by the end of the last phase. with countless exercise suggestions for each body part...
Do you prefer machines over free-weights? Do you like a mix of body weight exercises. Do you like to workout with resistance bands? Are you into kettlebells? The cool thing about this plan is that it allows flexibility of both exercise selection as well as the type of equipment you can use.
Don't fall for the myth that it takes "free weights" to gain muscle and get ripped!... I like using free weights, but I am not so narrow minded to believe that this is the only route to a great physique. There have been countless examples of people getting in outstanding shape with a variety of different methods of resistance.