Wasif H's List: Time it takes to increase muscular strength

• While bicycling, jogging and other aerobic workouts are ideal for improving your heart function and lowering your risk for stroke, you'll need to dedicate time each week to resistance exercise --- also called strength training --- in order to build stronger muscles and overall body strength.
• Machine weights or free weights like barbells represent the primary tools for resistance workouts, although your strength also increases when you stretch resistance bands or carve out time for pushups and pullups.
• Your timeline for improved strength depends on the intensity of your resistance workout, as well as how often you visit the gym, according to Dr. Ed Laskowski, a Mayo Clinic fitness specialist. Lifting weights for 20 minutes on three days each week is sufficient to gain larger muscles and better strength.
• Although online bloggers often suggest that lifting multiple sets is necessary, your body gains the same benefit from one set of each exercise. An appropriate weight is one that fatigues your muscles after between 12 and 15 repetitions
• Although a disciplined routine typically produces higher strength levels in about a month, you'll hinder your progress if you test your muscles two days in a row. Resistance exercise promotes strength through a cycle of exhaustion and regrowth.
• An effective workout tires your muscles and triggers an alarm response --- or an adaptation process that allows the muscles to adapt to the challenge and strengthen for increased activity. Any muscle tested to a healthy level of fatigue often causes soreness and needs a minimum of 48 hours of rest. Your best chance to continue strength development and avoid muscle deterioration comes with a schedule that lets you work the muscle in your upper body on day and your lower-body muscles in the following workout.
• You'll have the greatest chance to meet your strength-building timeline by warming your muscles prior to a resistance workout with up to 10 minutes of mild aerobic exercise, including a brisk walk. Stretching your muscles at end of a workout is also beneficial in order to reduce discomfort and stiffness. Begin a resistance regimen only with your physician's consent.

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• Most sets are 8-10 reps, the ideal range for muscle growth. 

   

   The first two sets of the first exercise for each bodypart are warm-ups. The last two are working sets. The first working set comprises 8-10 reps to failure, plus 2 forced reps. The last working set will include 8-10 reps to failure, 2 forced reps and 3-5 partial reps at the end.

  • This is if you want to put on a lot of mass, this workout is for you.
• 1. CHANGE IT UP Don't let your body get used to anything. Every three to four weeks, change the exercises and the order in which they are done. Change the angles by using different hand/foot positions. Rest periods can also change; this is an often-overlooked training variable.
• . REST On at least two days per week, stay completely out of the gym. This means no lifting! And don't neglect sleep - this is one of the most overlooked factors in muscle growth. Sleep equals time to grow.
• GOALS Create mini goals. Don't just expect to put on a ton of muscle in one year without checking yourself along the way. Set weight-gain goals every 2-4 weeks and evaluate the results. If you fall short, make an adjustment for the next goal. When you stop setting goals, you stop critical thinking and stop making gains.
• MAINTAIN Every 8-10 weeks, take a couple of weeks to prevent a plateau. Don't stop training, but back off a little and let your body recover. Stop trying to get stronger and don't push sets to failure. After two weeks of maintaining your previous gains, go back to 110%. Reduce your calories during this back-off phase as well. This gives your body a break from digesting and utilizing all the food you nee
• FST-7 This is the advanced training technique I've used with all my athletes.
• Basically, you train that bodypart heavy as you normally would on any given day, keeping the rep range at 8-12, but on the last exercise you perform the 7 sets to finish off that particular muscle, with minimal rest in between to get the best pump possible.
• • Alternate the first exercise between dumbbells, barbells and machines. Use them all each workout, but change the order and angle.
   
  • On all chest moves, you must arch your back, throw your chest high and keep your shoulders back. This takes the shoulders out of the movemen
• • Low-rep flat-bench presses (fewer than eight reps) are a quick way to tear a pec.
   
  • Use a full range of motion on all exercises. The only exceptions are intensity multipliers used on the last set. When you reach failure, push your muscles further with assisted negative reps or partials.
   
  • Lean forward on dips to emphasize chest.
• • Work the angles. There are three sides to the shoulder muscles and countless angles to hit them. Sit, stand, lean; barbell, dumbbell, machine; use them all.
   
  • Start the workout with a press. Hit the big compound movement while you're strongest.
   
  • Don't be afraid to work your rear delts near the beginning or middle of the workout. If you always do them at the end they will never grow!
• • Warm up your shoulders, chest, triceps and rotator cuffs before training. The shoulders are vulnerable to injury.
   
  • Try seated lateral raises to really isolate the side delts. This is my favorite move to build round shoulders!
• BALANCE YOUR PROTEINS: Take in protein of all types from all sources — fast acting, slow acting, whey, casein, egg, fish and animal proteins (beef, chicken, turkey, etc.).
• WHERE'S THE BEEF: Beef is great for offseason growth. In addition to the amino acids, you get tons of B vitamins, iron and testosterone-boosting fats.
• JUNK IT UP: Don't be afraid to eat some junk food once or twice per week. This boosts your metabolism and gives your body a different type of fuel. Stick to the "clean junk." These are calorically dense, but not super greasy foods. Examples are pasta, burgers, steak, sweet potato fries and cheesecake.
• If you want to grow, insulin spikes are your friends. You just have to time them correctly, like breakfast and postworkout. These are the times to have some fast-acting carbs that quickly replenish glycogen stores.

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• The time frame in which you can expect to notice muscle gain depends on several factors: your current fitness level, the intensity and consistency of your workouts and your body fat percentage.
• According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine--an organization that educates personal trainers--those who are new to exercise can expect to notice muscle gain within four weeks of beginning a strength-training program.
• Everyone from sedentary adults to seasoned body builders possesses skeletal muscles, the muscles that support the movement of the skeletal system. Body fat acts like a blanket covering these muscles.
• The American Council on Exercise suggests male athletes maintain a body fat percentage between 6 and 13 percent whereas female athletes should aim for between 14 and 20 percent. With this body composition, you can expect to see visible muscle gain more quickly.
• Building muscle size requires fatiguing the muscle within eight to 12 repetitions of a given exercise in each set. Performing greater repetitions--20 to 25 per set, for example--yields muscle endurance, but this may not translate into visible muscle definition.
• To maintain muscle size and strength, engage in at least two resistance workouts weekly. To increase your fitness level, however, perform strength-training workouts every other day. Contrary to popular belief, you do not build muscle while lifting weights; you build it during the recovery time. In the gym, you're actually breaking down the muscle and producing microscopic tears. The muscle repairs itself during the down time, yielding size and strength gains over time. Consequently, eliminating rest days to see muscle gains sooner will only backfire.
• Because muscles are made of bundles of fibers, achieving muscle size and strength gains quickly requires targeting all of a muscle's various fibers. A single exercise, such as biceps curls, targets only one segment of the biceps muscle fibers.
• To target the remaining fibers, work the muscle from different angles by performing other biceps exercises, such as chin-ups, hammer curls and seated angle curls. The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends varying exercises with every workout, versus waiting until weekly or monthly intervals to make program changes.
• Performing exercises that target multiple muscle groups simultaneously--such as a one-leg squat with reverse wood chop--burns more calories, maximizes strength gains and saves time.

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• I don't think just one workout works the best. I am constantly changing rep rage, rep tempo and volume to make sure the muscle is always being shocked into new growth.

  In the off season I try to focus on the basics and doing heavy compound movements to build that dense hard muscle.

    

  I feel like this gives me the best bang for my buck. I like Dorian Yates routine, I really like FST7, and even some Arnold type workouts with a lot of sets and reps.
• Exercise 1 

    

              Leg Extensions
    2 warm up sets of 15 reps, 1 working set of 10-12 reps to failure
      Increasing weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 2 

    

              Leg Press
    2 warm up sets of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 10-12 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 3 

    

              Hack Squat
    2 warm up sets of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 10-12 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 4 

    

              Seated Hamstring Curl
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 10-12 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 5 

    

              Stiff-Legged Deadlift
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 10-12 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 6 

    

              Calf Press on Leg Press
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 3 rest-pause sets to failure
      Desired weight (10-15 sec rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 7 

    

              Seated Calf Raise
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 6-8 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)
• Exercise 1 

    

              Decline Bench Press
    2 warm up sets of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 6-8 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 2 

    

              Incline Dumbbell Press
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 6-8 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 3 

    

              Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyes
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 6-8 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 4 

    

              Dumbbell Concentration Curl
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 6-8 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 5 

    

              Hammer Curl
    2 working sets of 6-8 reps to failure
      1 min rest between sets       

    

    Exercise 6 

    

              Standing Barbell Curls
    2 working sets of 8-10 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Superset 1 

    

              Knee Ups
    3 working sets to failure
             

    

              Crunches
    3 working sets to failure
             

     

    Superset 2 

    

              Cable Crunch
    3 sets to failure
             

    

              Decline Reverse Crunch
    3 sets to failure
• Day 3: Cardio

    

    Cardio 

    

              Cardio Only
   
             

     
    

  Day 4: Back/Triceps/Calves

    

    Exercise 1 

    

              Dumbbell Pullover
    2 warm up sets of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure
      Desired weight (increase weight between sets)       

    

    Exercise 2 

    

              Close-Grip Pulldown
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 3 

    

              One-Arm Dumbbell Row
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 4 

    

              Wide Grip Cable Row
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 5 

    

              Barbell Deadlifts
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 6 

    

              Triceps Pushdown
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 7 

    

              Lying Triceps Extensions
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 8 

    

              Seated Triceps Press
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 9 

    

              Calf Press on Leg Press
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 3 rest-pause sets to failure
      Desired weight (10-15 sec rest between sets)       

    

    Exercise 10 

    

              Seated Calf Raise
    1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 6-8 reps to failure
      Desired weight (1 min rest between sets
• <div class="content-sub-sub-header">Day 5: Delts/Traps/Abs</div><br/><br/><div class="workout-title-bar"><br/> <span class="workout-title-bar-text"><strong>Exercise 1</strong></span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-box2"><br/> <span class="workout-image-box"><br/><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/328/Male/t/328_1.jpg" alt=""></a><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/328/Male/t/328_2.jpg" alt=""></a><br/><br/> </span><br/> <span class="workout-exercise-link-box"><strong><a>Dumbbell Shoulder Press</a></strong><br><br/> 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 warm up set of 8-10 reps, 1 working set of 6-8 reps to failure <br><br/> <br/> Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)<br/> <br/> <br/> </span><br/></div> <br/><br/><div class="workout-title-bar"><br/> <span class="workout-title-bar-text"><strong>Exercise 2</strong></span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-box1"><br/> <span class="workout-image-box"><br/><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/373/Male/t/373_1.jpg" alt=""></a><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/373/Male/t/373_2.jpg" alt=""></a><br/><br/> </span><br/> <span class="workout-exercise-link-box"><strong><a>Side Lateral Raise</a></strong><br><br/> 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure <br><br/> <br/> Desired weight (1 min rest between sets)<br/> <br/> <br/> </span><br/></div> <br/><br/><div class="workout-title-bar"><br/> <span class="workout-title-bar-text"><strong>Exercise 3</strong></span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-box2"><br/> <span class="workout-image-box"><br/><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/156/Male/t/156_1.jpg" alt=""></a><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/156/Male/t/156_2.jpg" alt=""></a><br/><br/> </span><br/> <span class="workout-exercise-link-box"><strong><a>Low Pulley Delt Raise</a></strong><br><br/> 1 set of 6-8 reps to failure <br><br/> <br/> Each arm<br/> <br/> <br/> </span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-title-bar"><br/> <span class="workout-title-bar-text"><strong>Exercise 4</strong></span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-box1"><br/> <span class="workout-image-box"><br/><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/375/Male/t/375_1.jpg" alt=""></a><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/375/Male/t/375_2.jpg" alt=""></a><br/><br/> </span><br/> <span class="workout-exercise-link-box"><strong><a>Reverse Dumbbell Flyes</a></strong><br><br/> 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure <br><br/> <br/> Desired weight<br/> <br/> <br/> </span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-title-bar"><br/> <span class="workout-title-bar-text"><strong>Exercise 5</strong></span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-box2"><br/> <span class="workout-image-box"><br/><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/97/Male/t/97_1.jpg" alt=""></a><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/97/Male/t/97_2.jpg" alt=""></a><br/><br/> </span><br/> <span class="workout-exercise-link-box"><strong><a>Barbell Shrugs</a></strong><br><br/> 1 warm up set of 12-15 reps, 2 working sets of 8-10 reps to failure <br><br/> <br/> Desired weight<br/> <br/> <br/> </span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-title-bar"><br/> <span class="workout-title-bar-text"><strong>Exercise 6</strong></span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-box1"><br/> <span class="workout-image-box"><br/><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/368/Male/t/368_1.jpg" alt=""></a><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/368/Male/t/368_2.jpg" alt=""></a><br/><br/> </span><br/> <span class="workout-exercise-link-box"><strong><a>Upright Row</a></strong><br><br/> 1 warm up set of 12 reps, 2 working sets of 8-10 reps to failure <br><br/> <br/> Desired weight<br/> <br/> <br/> </span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-title-bar"><br/> <span class="workout-title-bar-text"><strong>Superset 1</strong></span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-box2"><br/> <span class="workout-image-box"><br/><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/340/Male/t/340_1.jpg" alt=""></a><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/340/Male/t/340_2.jpg" alt=""></a><br/><br/> </span><br/> <span class="workout-exercise-link-box"><strong><a>Knee Ups</a></strong><br><br/> 3 working sets to failure <br><br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> </span><br/></div> <br/><br/><div class="workout-box1"><br/> <span class="workout-image-box"><br/><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/102/Male/t/102_1.jpg" alt=""></a><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/102/Male/t/102_2.jpg" alt=""></a><br/><br/> </span><br/> <span class="workout-exercise-link-box"><strong><a>Crunches</a></strong><br><br/> 3 working sets to failure <br><br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> </span><br/></div> <br/><br/><br/><div class="workout-title-bar"><br/> <span class="workout-title-bar-text"><strong>Superset 2</strong></span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-box2"><br/> <span class="workout-image-box"><br/><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/163/Male/t/163_1.jpg" alt=""></a><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/163/Male/t/163_2.jpg" alt=""></a><br/><br/> </span><br/> <span class="workout-exercise-link-box"><strong><a>Cable Crunch</a></strong><br><br/> 3 sets to failure <br><br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> </span><br/></div> <br/><br/><div class="workout-box1"><br/> <span class="workout-image-box"><br/><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/194/Male/t/194_1.jpg" alt=""></a><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/194/Male/t/194_2.jpg" alt=""></a><br/><br/> </span><br/> <span class="workout-exercise-link-box"><strong><a>Decline Reverse Crunch</a></strong><br><br/> 3 sets to failure <br><br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> </span><br/></div> <br/><br/><ul><style type="text/css">.mainheader h1 { position: relative; color: #ffffff; line-height: 115%; vertical-align:bottom}.mainheader h1 span { background: url(http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2009/maingrade.png); background-repeat: repeat-x; position: absolute; display: block; width: 480px; height: 31px; } .subheader h2 span { background: none; filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src='http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2009/maingrade.png', sizingMethod='scale');}.subheader h2 { position: relative; color: #ffffff; line-height: 115%; vertical-align:bottom}.subheader h2 span { background: url(http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2009/maingrade.png); background-repeat: repeat-x; position: absolute; display: block; width: 445px; height: 31px; }</style><p><table cellpadding="0" width="250" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td><font face="arial" color="#ffffff" size="2"><strong>Get A Printable Log Of Day 5.</strong><br></font></td></tr><tr bgcolor="#000000" height="4"><td> </td></tr><tr><td><font face="arial" color="#ffffff" size="2"><img src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2009/printer_new_small.jpg" align="absmiddle" alt="print"> <font size="2"><a rel="nofollow" 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Document&lt;/a>&lt;/font>&lt;/font>--></font></td></tr></tbody></table></p></ul><br/><br/><br><br/><br/><div class="content-sub-sub-header">Day 6: Cardio</div><br/><br/><div class="workout-title-bar"><br/> <span class="workout-title-bar-text"><strong>Cardio</strong></span><br/></div><br/><br/><div class="workout-box2"><br/> <span class="workout-image-box"><br/><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/653/Male/t/653_1.jpg" alt=""></a><br/> <a><img width="53" height="53" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/653/Male/t/653_2.jpg" alt=""></a><br/><br/> </span><br/> <span class="workout-exercise-link-box"><strong><a>Cardio Only</a></strong><br><br/> <br><br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> </span><br/></div> <br/><br/><br/><br><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><div class="content-sub-sub-header">Day 7: Repeat</div>

• Motivation is key! My Motivation comes from a deep love for weights and to see how far I can push myself everyday in the weight room. I want to be the best I can genetically be. As healthy and as strong and lean as possible.

    

  I sometimes have to remind myself not to overdo it. As I've gotten older I realized how important recovery is. Ultimately I want to be the next Steve Reeves...

    

  I want a body that is appealing to the masses. My goal is to have the perfect balance of size, shape and symmetry.

• While good quality supplements can make a difference (especially when dieting) they aren't an excuse to have poor nutrition and sleep habits.

    

  By taking the right supplements for your goals and in the right amount, one can achieve results faster than without supplementing. It's important to know exactly what you are putting into your body.

    

  Follow the instructions...just because some is good doesn't mean more is better!

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• You will need to be about 16 years old in order to begin gaining muscle. The largest muscle gain in males will generally be between the ages of 18 and 21, if they are working diligently at it. Although this is the normal range, I have seen a 17 year old whose muscle development was very striking. Additionally, before the filming of "New Moon", Taylor Lautner was able to increase his muscle mass substantially.
• Each individual has an "upper limit" of muscle that they are able to attain, without the assistance of drugs, and this limit is determined by a genetic predisposition. As you reach this genetic limit, building additional muscle will become more challenging and take longer.
• Therefore, you should understand that gaining 15 pounds of additional muscle, when you have already increased your body's muscle by 15 pounds, will be a slower process. These general guidelines will not hold true if steroids are being used, however. Learning how to build muscle will not be an issue if steroids are being used.
• If you are willing to spend a substantial amount of time and energy each week on gaining muscle, then "how long does it take to build muscle", will be a process that takes much less time.
• Take for example the seemingly overnight transformations that can be observed in some actors that are preparing for specific film roles. These types of dramatic results will only be possible when training is a very big part of your weekly routine. The actors that we mentioned commonly train 7 days per week, twice each day, when getting ready for a film.
• This is fine if you're an actor, but if you lead a normal life, this type of regimen isn't very practical. Although the objective of gaining muscle is reasonable, you should not allow it to become an obsession that rules all aspects of your existence.
• n the first 2 years that a novice is training, 15-20 pounds is a reasonable goal for muscle gain. This standard applies to individuals 17 years of age and older. Subsequently, 2-3 pounds of muscle growth each year is typical, for the next several years. These numbers are general guidelines, and your genetics will play a role in your specific results. Therefore, the question of "how long does it take to build muscle?", doesn't have one simple answer. We can only look at what is typical.

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