What do you need to build muscle?
Your body
– Training stimulus
– Adequate protein intake and calories
– Positive hormone balance
Training stimulus – in order to get the most out of your training you need to train with purpose and intensity. The key here is not to overcook it – Building muscle doesn’t require marathon sessions; excessive volume will reduce your capacity to recover and gain strength and size. The best way of thinking about it should be aiming for the minimum amount of work to deliver a training response. This is so you are not wasting any of your precious calories coming in on wasted gym time.
If you are a have a higher percentage of slow twitch fibres (typically an ectomorph – thin with not much mass). Don’t let this deter you, it may add some extra challenges, but overcoming challenges is half the fun. Work through all rep ranges during a session to boost your weaknesses and train to your strengths. Start in 3-6 rep range with big compound movements, then move into slightly higher rep ranges of 7-12 for the exercises in the middle of the session. Follow this by finishing with some higher rep movements of 12-25 reps to finish.
Progressive overload.
To get a continued training response over a period of time you need to be consistently progressing. You can’t lift the same weight every week and expect to continue to make progress.
I use a number of systems that are exclusive to my team Kingsbury members, but as a guideline I would suggest trying to increase your weight as often as possible, then the lift plateaus swap to a similar exercise and continue.
Calories and protein – if you are not in a calorie surplus you won’t add muscle.
Make sure you are hitting enough protein each day and make sure you are absorbing it. Digestive enzymes and probiotics are a great addition to your diet to ensure you are taking on the protein you are eating. They will boost digestion and results.
Eat Carbs, as a hard gainer you should be eating your carbs. Make sure you are including complex carbs like, rice, potato and oats to fuel your body to achieve your goals and replenish carbs after training.
Improve sleep, reduce stress and go easy on the caffeine. Keep cortisol in check with these simple tricks for managing cortisol.
Testosterone boosting for more muscle
This is an important muscle building hormone that can be supported with some time in the sunshine (15-20mins), more sleep, being a winner and lifting heavy weights. You can also add some herbs and supps to the mix to boost your levels (tribulis, fenugreek, d-aspartic acid, L-carnitine tartrate etc)
Cut cortisol
Cortisol is often referred to as the ‘stress hormone’ because of the way it influences or modulates the changes the body goes through when under stressful conditions, commonly known as the ‘fight or flight’ response.
Excessive levels of cortisol can mean that our utilisation of glucose is reduced, our immunity suffers, increases in abdominal fat, reduced muscle mass and even osteoporosis. If training and exercise are a key part of your life, then you will see from these implications why it’s important to control the level of cortisol you have in your system, and the good news is that you can do that. If you’re reading this, you’re probably half-way there already.
Because of cortisol’s links to stress, trying to maintain a lifestyle that is free from it entirely might be a bit of a stretch for most of us, but learning to relax more and getting more quality sleep will go a long way to helping. If you are sleep-deprived, then cortisol levels are higher because your body is in an almost constant state of alertness. By getting a good night’s sleep of at least 8 hours, it will bring levels down and also help to repair and replenish your muscles, tissue and organs.
Equipment – What kit do you need to train with?
To ensure progressive overload is achieved you will need some resistance with room to grow into it and this resistance will have to increase over time.
The equipment does not need to be complicated or advanced however. The basics work and a bar and plates will cover just about everything you need to add muscle.
A fully stocked gym isn’t necessary but it can be helpful for access to dumbbells, squat racks etc
Gym bag – what are my gym bag essentials
A plan.
Some shorts so you don’t get kicked out the gym.
Your supplements – Some BCAA’s, and a post workout shake if you use one.
A t-shirt if they are compulsory in your gym.
Fridge – what’s in the fridge of someone successfully building muscle?
Someone who is making quality muscle gain will have a pretty stacked fridge too.
They will have a lot of healthy ingredients not much on the unhealthy side of things.
They will also have an abyss of Tupperware stack from floor to ceiling with full meals or cooked ingredients to provide them with what they need for quality muscle.
How my plan helps cover these things?
I obviously can’t supply you with a full gym as part of my plan (I’m working on that) but what I do supply is the plan you need to achieve your results. Every detail of you and your goals are considered and it puts you on the path to the quickest and most sustainable results you can achieve.
Food is the hardest part when it comes to results. An hour In the gym isn’t too bad, but you have 23 more hours that day to stay on track with your food, prep meals and eat for your goals. I provide the recipes and meal plan that is easy to prep, enjoyable to eat and the exact macros and calories for you and your goals.
No boring food, no hours and hours of prep. Just results.
The structure of the plans allows me to work them around your schedule. If you can only get to the gym 3 days a week I can make it work, likewise if you want to train twice a day I can ensure you are on track. I don’t see training less often as a negative always, however it does mean you have to be more focussed with your training and keep your calories lighter.
The system
This is the part of the plan I am most proud of, the nutrition system is proven, the results pour in week after week from everyone on the plans.
The training system has also taken things to the next level. The progressive overload deisgn of my plans makes them challenging, effective and they will bring out the competitor in you. In order to do well on this journey you have to constantly better yourself, my plan will make sure you do this consistently.
What can you expect to see?
I wanted to show you the progress of one of my teamkingsbury members. These results show the change in his body over the first phase of his training. He has packed on some quality muscle and is now working through his next phase to get as lean as possible whilst holding onto all this hard-earned muscle.
Huge well done Guillermo
What made you decide to join Team Kingsbury?
I read an article online about Hugh Jackman’s wolverine workout and heard about David Kingsbury for the first time ever but I was convinced and motivated to get in shape for a Hawaii trip I had coming up with all my friends.
Was it worth it?
It was definitely worth it because I am in the best shape of my life and gained more muscle mass than I ever have before doing any other workout plan. My results convinced some of my friends to sign up with Kingsbury also.
How did you manage to fit in the food and prep in your lifestyle?
It wasn’t easy and takes lots of dedication and commitment but if you stick with it you can get amazing results doing these plans. I just decided it was time for a change and followed the plan exactly how it was written and never tried taking any shortcuts.
How many hours a week did you train on average?
The workouts took me about 1 – 1 1/2 hour to complete so I probably worked out about 6 – 7 hours every week which was totally worth it. Every week I noticed changes in my body which made me want to work out even more.
Would you recommend the plan?
Yes I recommend this plan to everyone who really wants to get on shape, I personally think this was one of the best decisions of my life.
Did you feel supported?
Coach Kingsbury always supported me and answered all my questions and adjusted my plan according to my progress and results. I always felt supported by my family and friends as well because everyone helped me with the cooking and motivation.
Can give some advice for someone looking to start a healthy lifestyle?
Sign up with Team Kingsbury and get ready to bring it everyday and your results are inevitable. I am extremely happy I got in the shape I got thanks to this plan.
If you would like to see these kind of changes then make that commitment today. Guillermo has achieved these results using my plan that costs less than 3 personal training sessions in the gym he trains at!
