5 Tips For Gaining Maximal Muscle with Minimal Effort

Short on time and wondering how to get the best results from the work you put in at gym? Meaning, you'd like to get the "biggest bang for your buck"?

This is something I've studied a lot over the years. After strength training for over 15 years and getting coached at the Olympic Training Center (OTC), here are the 5 of the best "tricks" that I've learned.

Tip #1. Leverage "Mini Cycles" (4-6 Week Cycles)

When it comes to strength training, you need to have a plan.

Seriously, it's hard to get motivated to hit the gym when you don't know what you'll do there, why you'd do it, or what you could realistically expect to gain.

So, break your training into 4-6 week cycles. This is a short enough period that it's easy to get started but long enough that you'll see measurable progress, which will keep you inspired.

Set a plan for these short "mini cycles" so that each time you hit the gym, you know exactly which exercises you plan to do. And of course, don't just think it, ink it (that is, write it in a journal).

Tip #2. Embrace the Big, Multi-Joint Movements

If you want the best "bang" for your buck, then focus on big multi-joint movements, also known as compound lifts.

First, they work a lot of active muscle groups all at once, which is a huge time saver. Second, they stimulate your body to have an anabolic response, meaning, they promote muscle growth.

Examples of such lifts include:

? Squats

? Deadlifts

? Bench press

? Back rows

? Shoulder press

? Pulls-ups

? Etc.

Tip #3. Play with Tempo

Tempo is the speed at which you lift a weight, for example, one second on the concentric "up" portion and one second on the eccentric "down" portion.

Varying up your tempo is a clever and effective way to stimulate new muscle gains, for the very fact that your body perceives in a change in tempo to be a new "stimulus."

Remember, you're body is highly skilled at adaption, so you'll want to give it varied stimulus over time to achieve the best gains with the least effort.

An example of how to change your tempo would be to slow down the concentric and eccentric part of your lift (for example, 2 seconds each). Or, you could pause at the top or the bottom of a movement.

Tip #4. Optimize Your Rest and Recovery

Surprisingly, one of the biggest factors that will accelerate (or set back) your gains is how you handle your rest between sets.

Meaning, the amount of time that you rest between sets should vary based on the volume of reps that you lift.

If you're doing sets with a high number of reps (say, more than 15), then your rest periods should be shorter (in the range of 30-75 seconds). 

However, if you are doing sets with heavy weight and only a few reps (5 or fewer), then you're going to require longer rest periods (around 2-5 minutes) between each set.  

Tip #5. Fuel Your Post Workout Nutrition

Right after you finish a lifting session is a critical time window. During this time, you'll want to take in around 20% of your daily protein needs in the form of a whey protein shake. 

Whey is one of the fastest digesting proteins you can consume, which is why it works best to facilitate muscle recovery.

If you had an intense session, you'll also benefit from simple (i.e., easily digestible) post-workout carbs.

Why? Because these types of carbs stimulate an insulin release that can help drive nutrients into your muscle cells.  

Which of these tips are you going to try? Let me know in the comments below.

Would you like to learn more about fitness, without all of the technical jargon? Explore the site CadeHildreth.com or connect with Cade on Instagram.

About Cade

Cade is a digital entrepreneur, real estate investor, former USA Rugby Player, and thought-leader on lifestyle optimization. From surviving deadly earthquakes in New Zealand to evading crocodiles in Australia, Cade can teach you how to expand your income, increase your adventure, or accomplish more in less time.