Beginners Fitness Guide to Gaining Muscle

The planning and goal outlines are complete, and now you are anxious to begin constructing the body you’ve always idolized. Yet, packing on pounds of solid steel muscle is no walk in the park. In fact, a walk in the park models a routine that can actually hinder you from making the size and strength gains you so strongly desire, burning much needed calories for muscle growth. Along with the universal female obsession of a muscularly defined body, the muscular physique creates an amazing boost in confidence, well-being, and overall health when obtained through a smart and healthy fitness lifestyle.

When beginning your muscle fitness training, it’s important to avoid overly ambitious training habits, which often increase the likelihood of injury from improper technique and/or overtraining. The beginner’s best routine is generally performed three days out of each week, with workouts training the full body, rather than isolated muscle groups. Advanced trainers typically involve 4-5 days a week of training into their program, with each day concentrating on a different set of muscle groups. In beginners, this routine fails to allow optimal recovery in each muscle group, resulting in a potential reversal of measured strength.

The training days are best spread evenly throughout the week, most often Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This allows the body to recover between each day of intense muscle breakdown. To better understand the body’s method of muscular development, the “Bridge Repair” analogy is often incorporated:

-The muscle is much like a bridge, and weight training on that particular muscle acts as a hurricane or heavy storm, damaging the bridge and rendering it weak. The body’s recovery method is mimicked through repair and construction workers immediately beginning repairs and fortification following the storm. However, the workers note the damage done and create the bridge stronger than previously designed, preventing a storm of similar magnitude from causing the same level of damage as before.-

This analogy details the concepts surrounding methods through which size and strength are enhanced within the muscle, concluding that over time more weight must be added to the training routine in order to continue measureable progress.

Below I have constructed and outlined a sample beginner’s routine designed to increase muscular size and strength, which may be modified or changed to fit your desired goals..