“When I figured this out, hitting my caloric goal got a lot easier.”
I lifted for over 3 years before seeing any noticeable hypertrophy gains. My strength increased but my muscle mass appeared to be stuck. Slowly, as time went on, I began to see results. I experimented with different programs, diets, tips, tricks, etc. But I was making critical mistakes along the way, hindering my progress. Now I am going to share with you 7 things I wish I knew when I started lifting.
1. Begin with hypertrophy training.
You can only get so far without muscle mass and that’s something I, for some reason, didn’t understand early on. Strength training (low reps, heavyweight) appealed to me, so that’s what I did. However, I didn’t transition over to hypertrophy training (high reps, lighter weight) when my strength gains began to plateau. I instead pushed myself, training harder each session, trying to lift more with the minimal muscle mass I had.
I now alternate between hypertrophy and strength training, completing a ~3-month cycle before switching over to the other. This way I can gain muscle mass, then increase my strength gains, rinse and repeat. Another option I also enjoy is “power building”, a combination of bodybuilding and powerlifting, in order to reap the benefits of both strength and size.
2. Don’t play favourites among gym equipment.
What I mean is diversify your training among all the machines and exercises. Run on the treadmill, use the elliptical, at least try the lonely calf raise machine that’s wedged into the corner of the gym. You’ll figure out which machines you like best right away, but don’t stop there!
For example, many individuals believe that the barbell bench press is the best exercise to build a big bench, and it is, but utilizing the chest press machine or working dumbbell flys into your routine could give you that extra boost to take your bench press to the next level.
I would suggest changing one exercise per muscle group every three months, to “diversify your portfolio” per se. You’ll find new challenges in these exercises and you may even grow to like some of them more than you expected. If you stick with your favourites for too long, you’ll perhaps never discover new hidden strengths.
3. Front-load your calories.
Get ahead of the game and eat a large breakfast. The largest margin for failure when packing calories in is the evening when you’re tired, your willpower is beginning to break and you are just too stuffed to get another 300-400 calories in. When I figured this out, hitting my caloric goal got a lot easier.
If eating a lot of food in the morning makes you feel sick, too bad. I’m sorry for the tough-love approach but you’ll get used to it and even wake up hungry eventually. At least try this tip once. You’ll hit your caloric goal earlier than expected, and realize how life-changing it is.
4. Pick one program and stick to it.
Not everyone is going to experience this issue, but if you’re like me, you’re eager to get those gains and always trying new things. I used to switch from one program to another every 4-5 weeks, expecting something to suddenly improve my physique, or “explode” my chest. Pick one, and stick with it for 12 weeks. You have to give your body time to make those training adaptations. As long as you’re progressively overloading throughout the entire 12 weeks, you’ll make gains. This is because you’re exposing your muscles to a new external stimulus and they need time to build the adaptations.
That being said, don’t stay on one program for too long. How long is too long? When you stop seeing gains, switch exercise or modify a training factor. Everyone is going to respond differently to different training stimuli, so experiment, but don’t overdo it.
5. Supplements: Leave (most of) them alone.
You’ll hear me preach this elsewhere, but it is important and needs to be preached. Take creatine, and take protein powder if you need it. Leave everything else alone.
Creatine monohydrate boosts ATP production, an energy source your body uses for short-burst high-intensity tasks such as sprinting. Creatine is a naturally occurring amino acid we already have in our bodies. Take 5g a day, doesn’t matter when.
The widely supported protein recommendation for maximum hypertrophy gains is 0.8g- 1.0g per pound of body weight per day. If you weigh 160lbs, shoot for ~160g of protein. If you’re not already hitting this target in your diet, take some protein powder to make it up.
There you go, we covered all the supplements you need to take as a beginner. For now, leave everything else alone. The reason I feel so strongly about this is that I didn’t have this advice when I started. A supplement store is a magical place, full of flashy products, buckets of mass gainers, and cold hard empty promises. Everyone is looking for an edge, everyone is looking for shortcuts. They don’t exist; at least not in natural supplements.
Many supplements do have an effect, such as glutamine, or L-carnitine, or citrulline malate. But the effect these give you is marginal at best at a high retail cost.
6. Take photos and measurements.
Tracking your progress is important because you’ll want to have something to look back on and say, “Oh yeah, I have made progress.”
Weighing yourself every morning doesn’t cut it. In fact, it may harm your perception of progress. As a general rule, our weight can fluctuate up to 5 pounds due to water retention. Don’t be upset when you weigh yourself in the morning to find that you’ve lost a single pound, it’s OK. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if your someone who’s losing weight and gaining muscle at the same time, it’s not uncommon to see amazing gains in the mirror but only see a 3-4 pound difference on the scale.
Photos and measurements are more accurate and tend to show progress faster. Measure your arms, chest, legs, etc. Sometimes when we lean out, our muscles become more visible and something like our biceps can appear bigger.
There are many nuances to consider when tracking your progress, so be diligent and smart by collecting all the data you can. It may seem tedious in the beginning, but once you see undisputable gains, you’ll be hooked.
7. Consider hiring a coach.
If you’re reading this, that means you’re doing your research, and that’s amazing. There is a lot of free information online, but sifting through it all takes time and many individuals haven’t allocated their time for research. So, you’ve got the edge, right?
Unfortunately, while doing your research is critical, it will only get you so far. Consider hiring a coach or personal trainer. This list is “7 Things I Wish I Knew…”, well that’s what coaches are made of. Let someone help you who’s gone through the struggle themselves, and know the ins and outs. There are many factors that a newbie won’t consider, and having someone there to guide you can skip all the nonsense- that can be that trump card that you’re looking for.