Muscle growth can be maximized by an easy formula:

Maximal Muscle Growth= plenty of the correct nutrition

+ heavy training + sufficient rest and sleep

In order to achieve muscle growth, you always have to give your body more calories than it consumes during the day. Only under such circumstances can it build up new muscle mass after being stimulated with the proper weight training. Therefore, it is very important that you take 4-6 balanced meals during the day with lots of vegetables, legumes, nuts, brokkoli, spinach etc, avoiding sugar and fried products, so you guarantee your body all the vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, complex carbohydrates, fiber and good protein sources it needs for its optimum response.

Trust the basic exercises

As far as your weight training goes, the key is in the basic exercises in combination with progressive increments in the weights used. This will increase both your strength and your muscle mass. At the same time, you have to give your muscles enough time to recuperate so they can rest and regenerate. The optimum weight program is to train each muscle group once a week with short intense workouts.

Choose the Exercises, which offer the biggest growth stimulation

Here is a simplified list of basic exercises for each muscle group to include in your weight training program. They activate to the maximum potential the impulse of muscle strength and growth of muscle mass.

fQuadriceps: Squats and leg press

fFemoral: Dead lift with stiff legs and machine

fBack: Dead lift, rowing on the rope, dumbbell row

fChest: Bench press, dips with wide grip

fShoulders: Shoulder press with barbell or dumbbell,

fBiceps: Bicep curl with barbell or dumbbell, preacher curls

fCalves: Calve lifting in standing and sitting position.

Experience the impulse of total growth

Squats are the most important weight lifting exercises. It is considered the queen of all exercises because it provides the highest growth stimulant; and this is not exclusively for the legs, but for the entire body. This is because when performing heavy squats, the whole body is in tension and all the muscles are activated. When squats are carried out with the correct technique, the body releases the maximum amount of human growth hormone.

There is no muscle growth without resting periods

Get sufficient rest. Heavy and intense workouts are stressful for the body, and we know by now how counterproductive stress is for the body. It not only leads to loss of muscle mass, but it also stimulates the gain of fat. Vitamin C is an effective weapon against the release of stress hormones which will even reduce testosterone levels. So do not forget your vitamin C after workouts and when you wake up because in that particular moment your stress hormone level is high.

Enjoy free time training

As an alternative you may train different muscles each day of the week, but as a general rule the body recuperates faster in days without training.

In order to achieve an adequate and complete resting period for each muscle, you have to train it once a week. You should therefore train different muscle groups in each workout. Most bodies do not tolerate more than 3 sessions a week.

For example, you can train:

Mondays: Chest, biceps and triceps

Wednesdays: Legs and calves  Finally Fridays: Back, shoulders and abdominals

Avoid keeping the same training routine during the whole year

You have to change your workout routine the year through to achieve maximum results. Muscles tend to get used it and stop growing unless they react and adapt to new exercises. Therefore you have to periodically change exercises, weight repetitions, etc. in order to fully benefit from your workout sessions.

Increase the quality of the training and not the quantity

Many athletes train with the slogan “More is Better” But this philosophy always leads to overtraining. It is preferable to exercise as hard as possible for a maximum of 30 minutes. Small muscle groups like biceps and calves should not be trained for longer than 20 minutes. High intensity means heavy weights performing 4-12 repetitions per set with short rest periods between sets. More volume is not better, the intensity should be increased and you really have to sweat during the training.

.Do not refrain from cardio training since it enhances the absorption of glycogen into the muscle cells. This improves the metabolism which in turn will lead to a better synthesis of muscle tissue. But you have to keep an eye on the time you spend on it because long and intense cardio sessions can lead to overtraining. The best results are obtained doing 30 minutes, 3 times per week. Exceeding this recommendation, you run the risk of overtraining.

Get stronger with the right stretching

Stretching should be included in each training program but not as warm up exercises. Trained muscles tend to shorten and pull from joints and tendons causing postural discomforts and overloads. These damages are more common than normal deterioration. Stretching supports the skeletal structure and strengthens the tendons. It helps the body to recuperate faster after workouts so that you may train harder and more intensely in the next session.

How to train more intensely

Increase the weight you use in each exercise.

Add another exercise to your training routine.

Decrease resting time between sets.

Take advantage of pre-exhausting the muscles with isolation exercises.

From time to time, perform super sets or negative sets.

Change the speed in which you do each repetition.