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If you ask 10 different fitness professionals about the best way to build muscle mass, it’s quite likely you would get several different answers. Ask a powerlifter and they will probably tell you that lifting heavy and with max effort will put on the most mass. Ask a bodybuilder and they’ll tell you that causing hypertrophy with mid range repetition and isolation movements is the way to go. Athletes and Olympic lifters might tell you that explosive movements build up both types of muscle fibers and result in the best muscle development. While it might be confusing for you if you are looking for one answer and one approach to focus on, this is definitely one case where “there is more than one way to skin a cat.�

 

Powerlifting focuses on using heavy weights and by necessity lower reps, to force the body to adapt by adding on more muscle. If you have more mass, your body and your bones will be better able to handle a larger load and the increased amount of muscle will help you to generate more power.

 

Bodybuilders typically like to isolate the muscles to maximize the work done with the hopes of building each muscle up individually. They specialize their workout days to focus their efforts on specific body parts, and they work in the 12-15 rep range to generate a good pump and flood the muscle with blood. Even though they aren’t working with the heaviest weights, their goal of maximizing time under tension causes hypertrophy and muscle growth.

 

The explosive movements of athletes and Olympic lifters utilize the Type II fast twitch muscle fibers more so than the Type I slow twitch muscle fibers, which are recruited for endurance lifting. Stimulating growth from these fibers (which typically aren’t used nearly as much with the other lifting styles) makes the muscles bigger by increasing the size of more kinds of muscle fibers than other exercises.

 

All three of these methods are viable ways to pack on loads of muscle mass. You can utilize all three methods in combination to cause growth you have probably never experienced before. Creating a workout regimen that uses all of these methods sounds like it would have a lot of different elements, but it won’t be too complicated if you incorporate the following:

 

Compound Movements (C1 & C2) - movements that work at multiple joints and that work more parts and muscles than isolation movements. These are usually your bigger lifts like squats, deadlifts, etc. Two rounds of these types of exercises-- focusing on heavier loads--should suffice to challenge your body to grow.

 

Explosive Movements (EM) – plyometric, fast movements, often done in rapid succession and with as much force and speed as possible. Things like jump squats, and explosive push-ups fall under this category, but you can also utilize the stretch and rebound qualities of bands to help you with these movements. Your Type II fibers don’t have a ton of stamina and fatigue quickly, so one round of these exercises should be more than enough to tax them and cause growth.

 

Isolation Movements (I1 & I2)– movements meant to isolate the work and focus on one muscle or part, these are single joint exercises like curls, extensions and flyes. These movements (especially when used at the end of the workout and in tandem with hypertrophy rep ranges) cause massive pumps to finish off the workouts. Two rounds of these to end the workout will engorge your muscles with blood and nutrients and ensure that as much muscle damage as possible is caused.

 

Using a bodybuilding-style, part-specialization program with the entire focus of each session on individual parts provides for a great rotation that also ensures that every muscle is being worked every 3-4 days due to the compound movements. Follow a regimen similar to the one below, eat massive amounts of quality foods and get plenty of rest. As a result, you should see explosive muscle development in a very short amount of time.

 

Quads

C1 – High Bar Full Squats 5 x 5

C2 – Hip Thrust 5 x 5

EM – Jump Squats 4 x 10

I1 – Step-ups 3 x 12

I2 – Lunges 3 x 12

 

Chest

C1 – Dumbbell Incline Press 5 x 5

C2 – Weighted Dips 5 x 5

EM – Plyometric Push-ups 4 x 10

I1 – Dumbbell Flyes 3 x 12

I2 – Cable Crossovers 3 x 12

 

Back

C1 – Weighted Wide grip Pull-ups 5 x 5

C2 – Rack Pulls 5 x 5

EM – Band Face Pulls 4 x 10

I1 – Underhand Grip Seated Rows 3 x 12

I2 – Prone Trap Raise 3 x 12

 

Triceps

C1 – Weighted Dips 5 x 5

C2 – Close Grip Barbell Press 5 x 5

EM – Band Extension Pulses 4 x 20

I1 – Skull Crushers 3 x 12

I2 – Rope Extension 3 x 12

 

Biceps

C1 – Weighted Chin up 5 x 5

C2 – Chest Supported Dumbbell Row 5 x 5

EM – Barbell Cheat Curls 4 x 10

I1 – Triple 7 Bicep Curls 3 sets

I2 – Reverse Curls 3 x 12

 

Hamstrings

C1 – Deadlifts 5 x 5

C2 – Glute Bridge 5 x 5

EM – Band Pull-Throughs 4 x 10

I1 – Good Mornings 3 x 12

I2 – Weighted Hyperextension 3 x 12

 

Peter Bauman – Peter is a chef first and personal trainer second. With a background in the biological sciences and degree in psychology, Peter knows how to make food that tastes great and keeps you lean and healthy.