How to build up muscle?

So Gordy, what kind of workouts would you reccomend I do every day? I don't want to do too many and I don't have tons of time, so is it possible to have only a few, simple exercises to not gain tons of muscle, but enough ;) :p
 
mattbrown91 said:
I dont want to be Herculean

Just don't want to look like some tiny stick. :)

Cheers Gordan
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You hear this all the time, so for you and anyone else of this opinion - don't worry, you won't get Herculean!
 
mattbrown91 said:
I dont want to be Herculean

Just don't want to look like some tiny stick. :)

Cheers Gordan
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No problem mate...

To be honest though, the same advice applies whether you want to be "herculean" or just to gain a little muscle mass.

People don't become herculean overnight. It takes years of dedication and hard work. (And in far too many cases illegal substances)

If you want to be less of a stick, then the whole heavy weights/good diet thing still applies.
 
dave2k2005 said:
So Gordy, what kind of workouts would you reccomend I do every day? I don't want to do too many and I don't have tons of time, so is it possible to have only a few, simple exercises to not gain tons of muscle, but enough ;) :p
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I've been doing like 20 dumbbell curls a day/arm since christmas at 6kg and have noticed my strength increase quite a bit. Now moving to 9kg \o/!
I'm 16 btw.
 
yhack said:
I've been doing like 20 dumbbell curls a day/arm since christmas at 6kg and have noticed my strength increase quite a bit. Now moving to 9kg \o/!
I'm 16 btw.
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20 a day?

you want to break that up into 8 reps of 3 sets :) with a 30 second rest
 
dave2k2005 said:
yeh, it's quite a famous saying, which I now found out is fake, although a lot of people I talk to still believe it is true.
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I was gonna say. :)
yhack said:
I've been doing like 20 dumbbell curls a day/arm since christmas at 6kg and have noticed my strength increase quite a bit. Now moving to 9kg \o/!
I'm 16 btw.
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Very similar situation as me, but Ive been doing them since the summer and I lift 12.50kg.
 
dave2k2005 said:
So Gordy, what kind of workouts would you reccomend I do every day? I don't want to do too many and I don't have tons of time, so is it possible to have only a few, simple exercises to not gain tons of muscle, but enough ;) :p
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The ones I have already mentioned matey... Compound lifts are where you should be focussing your efforts. Bench press, Rows and squats. Whether you decide to go for a split plan of for a full body workout is purely up to you.

3 hours a week (3 x 1 hour workouts) is enough to see some good results as long as you are in a calorific surplus.
 
Killa_ken said:
20 a day?

you want to break that up into 8 reps of 3 sets :) with a 30 second rest
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Yeah, it depends on what you want to do though. Increasing strength requires a low number of repetitions with a high percentage of the one repetition maximum, and then muscle hypertrophy requires more repetitions at a slightly lower percentage of the one repetition maximum, and then it goes on like that for gaining muscle stamina, etc. I personally do 7-12 repetitions of a weight I can do maybe 14 repetitions and then do several sets. Sometimes I try to work to muscular failure, (for example 15 seated hammer curls of 18 kg), I don't know how effective this is, but I have done it (albeit more rarely than just doing 7-12 repetitions).

One other tip I might suggest is to vary how you exercise, as if you do the same thing over and over, you might find you get bored, and stop doing it. I know this is a problem for a lot of people.

Angus Higgins
 
yhack said:
I've been doing like 20 dumbbell curls a day/arm since christmas at 6kg and have noticed my strength increase quite a bit. Now moving to 9kg \o/!
I'm 16 btw.
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great, now start doing tricep exercises. biceps make up a small percentage of the size of your arm, triceps make up the larger part.
also start some shoulder work, and chest and back and legs ;]
 
Was just thinking the same Morba.

Killa_ken said:
20 a day?

you want to break that up into 8 reps of 3 sets :) with a 30 second rest
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Maybe even a few more reps, it's only a small musle afterall.

Morba said:
great, now start doing tricep exercises. biceps make up a small percentage of the size of your arm, triceps make up the larger part.
also start some shoulder work, and chest and back and legs ;]
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So... the whole body? :p ;)
 
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