How to Effectively Gain Lean Muscle Mass: 5 Tips and Techniques for strength training
- Joseph LaRocca
- Nov 19, 2023
- 3 min read
Strength training has been a part of my routine since I started my fitness journey almost 10 years ago. During that time, I have learned a lot about what it takes to put on muscle. I have implemented these techniques with the people that I have trained in person, and I want to share some of the most successful strategies.
Keep in mind, that when it comes to fitness, every physical body responds to certain stresses that others won't. My wish is that you take the techniques that I share with you today, and test them in the gym. Some may work, some may not. Fitness is simple, but not easy. It takes hard work, trial and error, and consistency to figure out what works best for yourself.
#1: PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD
- Progressive overload is the technique of increasing the acute variables in a program in order to overload the muscles. With any program, your body is going to adapt to exercise. This is what the human body does. If you do not continue increasing the intensity of exercise, the body will adapt, and you will stop making physical progress.
"How do I implement progressive overload?"
- You can start with a simple structure. Increasing your reps and maintaining the same weight each week. This will help adapt your muscles and gain muscular endurance, especially when you are performing 12+ reps per set.
- You can also try increasing your weight and maintaining the same amount of reps each week. In this case, you will be working towards increasing muscle size, as the body will need to change in order to handle more and more weight.
#2: DROP SETS
- Drop sets are a technique used by bodybuilders and athletes. Its two main benefits are time efficiency and speeding up the process of muscle fatigue.
"How do I implement drop sets?"
- A simple drop set consists of using a heavy weight for low reps, or reps to failure, followed by reps at a lower weight, to increase the volume of the exercise. An example of this is using 50 pound dumbbells for a chest press. You only manage to get 6 reps using the 50lb weights, but you then drop those weights and immediately pick up 25lb dumbbells, and are able to get another 12 reps before muscle exaustion.
#3: SUPERSETS
- A super set is pairing two different exercises in the same circuit. You perform the first exercise, and then without rest, transition to the second exercise. You can get creative with supersets, either targeting one muscle group, or opposing muscle groups.
"How do I implement supersets?"
- You can implement supersets best by working on opposing muscle groups at the same time. An example of this would be performing a set of chest presses, immediately followed by performing a set of lat pulldowns. This style can also provide some aerobic benefits as well, as you are also increasing the time under tension during your workout.
#4: USING DIFFERENT MODALITIES
- I am referring to the type of equipment that you are using. This includes dumbbells, barbbells, cables, machines, etc. Utilizing different modalities month to month helps to force muscles to adapt to different stresses, which will help with muscle gain.
"How do I implement using different modalities into my routine?"
- In month 1, focus on progressing your strength using dummbells, in month 2, focus on progressing your strength using barbells, in month 3, start to implement cables for accessory movements.
#5: YOU HAVE TO PUSH YOURSELF
- No explanation is really needed here. Push yourself a little bit more each workout. We can talk about different techniques all day long, but none of them will work if you are not pushing yourself past your perceived limits.
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