How to build every muscle

When you hear the word science, what does it mean to you? I'm guessing that when you hear the word, you have an image of a nerdy-looking guy in a lab coat holding a petri dish filled with bacteria.

And when it comes to building muscle, we all know that science often fails to give us the best solutions. This is due to the fact that there is very little funding for studies looking at the best way to turn little Henry into the Hulk.

Computer technology has advanced at an astonishing rate because there are so many resources for this and because the financial equivalent is so enormous. This is not the case in the muscle building world.

Yes, if you have a burning desire to build muscle in a stubborn muscle group, you're not going to have any luck looking for answers on Pubmed - even if you work all night.

So where are the answers?

When I was in college, one of my professors made a statement that I have never forgotten over the years. The good doctor's quote was "science is about observing the world around us."

If you want to cure Alzheimer's, for example, then it makes sense to study cultures where the disease is practically absent. Then you try to find out what the members of these cultures do that the rest of the world doesn't do.

And if you want bigger quadriceps, then it makes sense to look for a sport where the athletes have disproportionately strong quadriceps development and try to figure out what those athletes are doing that you're not doing.

That's intelligent science.

What qualifies a muscle group as a stubborn muscle group?

Before I get into the details of how to build muscle where you need it most, it's important to understand what truly deserves the title of a stubborn muscle group. Your proportionally challenged biceps may not be a tough muscle group at all. For this reason, you should first consider two points:

1. Be honest with yourself. Is the muscle group in question too small simply because you don't train it more than once a week or every two weeks? Many exercisers have puny calves because they rarely train them. There are no great mysteries or secrets here.
2. You should understand that muscle growth takes months. If you just started training three weeks ago and you're frustrated with your upper arm development, join the club that everyone once belonged to. No one has ever complained about building muscle too quickly. You need to be patient - even if you've found the training method that works best for your body type.

Now that we've got those two points out of the way and you've been training a stubborn muscle group consistently for a few months without seeing significant results, it's time to do something to solve this problem.

30 repetitions for bigger muscles

The first thing you should do is rethink the training parameters you have been using. 3 sets of 10 reps is not the ideal way to build muscle - not even for muscle groups that grow easily. For this reason, the initial approach to training a stubborn muscle group is to use a less traditional method that works better for building muscle.

The 30 repetition method is an effective modification of the 10 sets of 3 repetitions method that I have been promoting for a decade. Instead of performing 10 sets of 3 reps, you start with a weight that allows you to perform 6 reps on the first set.

Next, perform a second set with as many reps as possible (usually this will be less than 6 reps). Then perform a third set with as many repetitions as possible.

You will continue to do this for as many sets as possible until you have reached a total of 30 repetitions.

You will use the same weight for all sets and the number of repetitions will decrease from set to set. This is an ideal way to train as you never skip a repetition. This is also the way I approach muscle growth in my book "Huge in a Hurry".

Here is an example exercise pairing for the upper arms:

	Exercise	Weight	Sets		Rest
1A	Hammer curls	*	* *	* * *	30 sec.
1B	Dumbbell tricep press lying down	*	* *	* * *	30 sec.

* A weight with which you can perform no more than 6 repetitions on the first set
* * Until you reach 30 total repetitions
* * * as many repetitions as possible

This is an example of a training session. You only use one exercise per muscle group and you put all your energy into this exercise until you reach 30 total repetitions. Perform the 30 repetitions method three times a week with a different exercise per training session of the week. You can use the same three exercises for all four weeks.

Of course, the 30 repetition method can be used for any muscle group that requires more mass without sacrificing maximum strength. You can do straight sets with 60 seconds rest between sets, but I have found that it is more effective and efficient to alternate between exercises for different muscle groups.

You don't have to use antagonistic exercise pairings. For example, if your calves and triceps need help, you can alternate between calf raises and tricep presses. The options are endless.

Here is an overview of the parameters of the 30 repetitions method

• Duration: 4 weeks
• Number of exercises per muscle group per training session: 1
• Total repetitions per muscle group: 30
• Exercise selection: Use a different exercise for each training session over the course of the week

The 30 reps method is my first line of attack when it comes to building a lagging muscle group. Try it out for 4 weeks and I'd bet you'll like what you see. It's important to understand that you don't have to do the whole session using this method, although it is an excellent way to train.

For example, you might be happy with your current program, but feel that it neglects a muscle group that you need to make scary enough to scare the neighbors. Use the 30 reps method three times a week for four weeks to get things going.

Back to real world science

At this point, you may be wondering what my digression at the beginning of this article was about when I talked about the relationship between science and real-world observations.

Let's look at the shoulder muscles and the quadriceps. These are two muscle groups that are sometimes underdogs. They can be problematic in many good muscle building methods, which can even apply to the 30 repetition method. Yes, sometimes you need to break the rules and look for guidance. Sometimes multiple sets of heavy reps are not the best approach.

If there was ever a muscle group that grew well with high repetition training and lighter weights, it's shoulder muscles. You only have to look at the shoulder muscles of professional boxers for proof.

The quadriceps can be more complicated for another reason: it is extremely demanding and exhausting to perform 30 total repetitions of a quadriceps multi-joint exercise three times a week. Elite-level Olympic weightlifters may have the best quadriceps development of all power athletes, but we all know how impractical and time-consuming it would be to train at the frequency and volume of these athletes while keeping your joints intact.

So we need to look a little further. What other athletes have quadriceps development with proportions that would make even Tom Platz envious? Professional cyclists.

When you think of professional boxers or professional cyclists, it's easy to hypothesize that any muscle group can grow if you stimulate it with enough volume and frequency. However, while this may be true sometimes, it doesn't seem to be accurate in all cases.

Take the biceps as an example. If the amount of volume from boxing or cycling was transferable to other people's head-twisting biceps, then elite rowers would have the best biceps on the planet. But that is not the case.

Gymnasts who train on rings hold the title for the best kilo for kilo biceps development on the planet. This is because the biceps require high tension exercises for growth - unlike the shoulder muscles and quadriceps, which contain a higher proportion of more fatigue-resistant motor units. These more fatigue-resistant motor units love high repetition training like a fat kid likes cake.

If you need to build more muscle mass in your shoulders and quadriceps to avoid looking ridiculous on the beach, here's your solution.

5 minutes in hell

The two exercises I use to build quadriceps or shoulders when traditional training methods don't work are mountain climber exercise and boxer drill. Both of these exercises induce a lot of fatigue, which is why you should perform them at the end of your training sessions or on a day when you're not training with heavy weights.

As an added bonus, the following two exercises will help you burn more fat.

Mountain climber exercise

Adjust the saddle of an exercise bike/ergometer so that you can only extend your knee joint to 160 degrees when you pedal. Basically, you just need to make sure that you can't fully extend your knees during each rotation to maintain tension on the quadriceps. Next, set the resistance high enough so that you don't exceed 60 revolutions per minute when pedaling at maximum intensity.

Pedal at maximum effort for 5 minutes. As your quadriceps fatigue you will need to reduce the resistance of the ergometer. The ideal range you should be moving in is between 45 and 60 revolutions per minute. For the entire 5 minutes of this exercise from hell, do not let the speed drop below 45 revolutions per minute and do not exceed 60 revolutions per minute.

Perform the mountain climber exercise every other day or three times a week until you have built up enough muscle mass.

Here are a few tips for the mountain climber exercise:

• Remain seated throughout the exercise. Standing up and pedaling while standing will take stress off the quadriceps (as your body weight can push the pedals down).
• Do not grip the handles of the 'handlebars' as this will accumulate unnecessary fatigue. Keep your hands relaxed. It is best to let your arms hang down at the side of your body or tuck your fingers behind your head.
• Keep your chest up throughout the exercise. It's easy to slouch forward as you contort your face in pain, but this can lead to disc problems.
• If your cardiovascular system is not used to high intensity exercise, start with 3 minutes and add 30 seconds of exercise every other day until you reach 5 minutes.

Boxer Drill

The boxer drill is very straightforward and hard to do wrong as long as you put in 5 minutes of continuous effort. Simply grab a pair of 2.5 kilo dumbbells and do your best to mimic Arturo Gatto. Hit straight punches, hooks and uppercuts for five minutes without rest.

Perform the boxing drill every other day or three times a week for as long as you wish. Here are a few tips for the boxer drill:

• Keep your hands up throughout the exercise. You should never lower your hands during a fight and you should never lower your hands during this exercise as this will take the strain off the shoulder muscles.
• Move back and forth as much as possible while punching and change your stance from right to left every 30 seconds to keep the movements of your spine balanced.
• If 2.5 kilos is too heavy, start with 1.5 kilo dumbbells
• In order to get the most out of this exercise, you should be able to deliver decent punches. If you have absolutely no idea how to do a hook or an uppercut, you should ask someone who is familiar with the subject for advice.
• If your cardiovascular system is not used to high intensity training, start with 3 minutes and add 30 seconds of exercise every other day until you reach 5 minutes.

Final words

One of the best ways to build a lagging muscle group is to use the 30 repetition method. This can work for any muscle group. However, if you want to mix things up, or if a traditional approach hasn't worked for your quadriceps or shoulder muscles, you now have a few solutions that will also help you burn more fat.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/how-to-build-any-muscle-group

By Chad Waterbury | 11/15/11