The Big 25

FLEX's all-time best training tips for maximizing mass

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Flex Staff

Weve compiled 25 fresh workout tips to help you get what you want most: more
muscle. Included here are both cutting-edge advances and new angles on proven favorites. These are
methods you probably arent incorporating but should, to get bigger faster.

1. GO HIGH AND LOW

When you train high/low, you either alternate high-rep (12-20) sets of an exercise with low-rep (four to
eight) sets of the same exercise, or you do all high-rep sets of one exercise followed by all low-rep sets
of the next, switching back and forth throughout your workout. Use this technique occasionally to alter
your rep pattern.

2. TAKE A STAND
Some exercisescan be performed standing or seated, and both methods have advantages, yet most
trainers choose the seated versions. Jay Cutler, for one, likes to do shoulder presses standing to receive
additional core work and incorporate momentum to cheat a few final reps.

3. DO STRONGMAN CARDIO
Add the farmers walk to your cardio regimen. Hold moderate to heavy dumbbells at your sides with your
abs pulled and take long strides, walking until you can no longer grip the dumbbells. Rest 90 seconds
each time you fail and then go again, striding for 10-20 minutes total. This gives you the calorie burning
of cardio while increasing your grip and core strength.

4. GET YOUR FILL OF FILL SETS

Try hitting a lagging bodypart with one or two sets of 20-50 reps two or three days after that bodyparts
regular workout. These fill sets bring nourishing blood to the muscles to aid recovery and growth.

5. MAKE AND BREAK RECORDS

Consistently beating your previous bests is the surest way to increase not just strength, but also size,
and keeping a workout logbook allows you to focus on precise strength goals each time you enter the
gym. Throughout his Olympia reign, Dorian Yates was a loyal logger.

6. GIVE TRAPS A WORKOUT

Your trapezius is a relatively large muscle, so treat it accordingly. It gets work during compound
exercises like deadlifts, upright rows and shoulder presses, so it may not require a plethora of isolation
lifts, but, even if you do just four sets of dumbbell shrugs, always think of it as a trapezius workout,
deserving of your full focus and maximum intensity, instead of as merely a few sets you throw in after
delts.

7. STRETCH TILL IT HURTS

David Henry

and other Doggcrapp adherents believe static stretches of 60-90 seconds performed in a deep (and
painful) position soon after training a bodypart will boost flexibility and recovery, and may also lead
directly to greater muscle size via fascia expansion.

8. CLEAN UP
The power clean is a compound, free-weight lift that allows you to pack on the plates and work several
major bodyparts at once. In other words, its an excellent exercise, and yet bodybuilders avoid it like
distance running. Add cleans to your back or traps routine.

9. INCORPORATE REST-PAUSE
Rest-pause is a neglected technique for pushing your sets beyond failure. When you cant get another
rep, set the weight down or hold it in a resting position just long enough to regain a limited amount of
strength (about 15-20 seconds). Then eke out another two to four reps until you reach failure again.
Repeat this pattern a second time, getting one or two additional reps.
10. DIFFERENT ISNT ALWAYS BETTER
Ronnie Coleman has done virtually the same workouts for more than 15 years. Variety can spice up
your workouts, shocking your muscles into expansion, but if youre continually growing stronger in one
exercise, dont drop it for another merely for the sake of doing something new. Find the exercises that
work best for you, and use them until you reach a plateau.

11. HEAT UP
As reported in our Gym Bag (April 2007), scientific research on heat shock proteins indicates they may
boost muscle growth. To increase HSP levels in your muscles, sit in a sauna or soak in a hot tub or hot
bath after a hard training session. Ingest 500-1,000 milligrams of vitamin C, 400-800 international units
of vitamin E and 200-300 mg of alpha-lipoic acid postworkout to combat the free radicals that can stifle
heat shock protein-induced growth.

12. THERE ARE NO SHAPING EXERCISES

Weight training is for gaining muscle mass; diet and cardio are what bring out the details. Dont get the
two confused. Even if youre doing so-called shaping exercises, such as cable crossovers or leg
raises, your focus should be on muscle growth.

13. PREPARE FOR BATTLE

Give your body the fuel it needs to work hard: ingest 20 grams of whey protein, 5 g of creatine and 20-
40 g of slow-digesting carbs within 30 minutes before your workout.

14. PREPARE FOR RECUPERATION

Fuel for recovery is also important: ingest 40 g of whey protein, 60-100 g of fast-digesting carbs, 5 g of
creatine and five to 10 g of glutamine within 30 minutes after your workout.

15. SLOW DOWN

Try using a significantly lighter weight than usual, but take five to 10 seconds to lower it and five to 10
seconds to raise it, emphasizing a full stretch and contraction. In this way, training lighter is harder.

See more at: http://www.flexonline.com/training/big-25#sthash.QZLyZHA1.dpufThe Big 25 -

FLEX's all-time best training tips for
maximizing mass
1083 26

408shared this
Flex Staff
Weve compiled 25 fresh workout tips
to help you get what you want
most: more muscle. Included here are
both cutting-edge advances and new
angles on proven favorites. These are
methods you probably arent incorporating
but should, to get bigger faster.
1. GO HIGH AND LOW
When you train high/low, you either
alternate high-rep (12-20) sets of an
exercise with low-rep (four to eight) sets of
the same exercise, or you do all high-rep
sets of one exercise followed by all low-
rep sets of the next, switching back and
forth throughout your workout. Use this
technique occasionally to alter your rep
pattern.
2. TAKE A STAND
Some exercisescan be performed
standing or seated, and both methods
have advantages, yet most trainers
choose the seated versions. Jay Cutler,
for one, likes to do shoulder presses
standing to receive additional core work
and incorporate momentum to cheat a few
final reps.
3. DO STRONGMAN CARDIO
Add the farmers walk to your cardio
regimen. Hold moderate to heavy
dumbbells at your sides with your abs
pulled and take long strides, walking until
you can no longer grip the dumbbells.
Rest 90 seconds each time you fail and
then go again, striding for 10-20 minutes
total. This gives you the calorie burning of
cardio while increasing your grip and core
strength.
4. GET YOUR FILL OF FILL SETS
Try hitting a lagging bodypart with one or
two sets of 20-50 reps two or three days
after that bodyparts regular workout.
These fill sets bring nourishing blood to
the muscles to aid recovery and growth.
5. MAKE AND BREAK RECORDS
Consistently beating your previous bests
is the surest way to increase not just
strength, but also size, and keeping a
workout logbook allows you to focus on
precise strength goals each time you enter
the gym. Throughout his Olympia reign,
Dorian Yates was a loyal logger.
6. GIVE TRAPS A WORKOUT
Your trapezius is a relatively large muscle,
so treat it accordingly. It gets work during
compound exercises like deadlifts, upright
rows and shoulder presses, so it may not
require a plethora of isolation lifts, but,
even if you do just four sets of dumbbell
shrugs, always think of it as a trapezius
workout, deserving of your full focus and
maximum intensity, instead of as merely a
few sets you throw in after delts.
7. STRETCH TILL IT HURTS
David Henry

and other Doggcrapp adherents believe

static stretches of 60-90 seconds
performed in a deep (and painful) position
soon after training a bodypart will boost
flexibility and recovery, and may also lead
directly to greater muscle size via fascia
expansion.
8. CLEAN UP
The power clean is a compound, free-
weight lift that allows you to pack on the
plates and work several major bodyparts
at once. In other words, its an excellent
exercise, and yet bodybuilders avoid it like
distance running. Add cleans to your back
or traps routine.
9. INCORPORATE REST-PAUSE
Rest-pause is a neglected technique for
pushing your sets beyond failure. When
you cant get another rep, set the weight
down or hold it in a resting position just
long enough to regain a limited amount of
strength (about 15-20 seconds). Then eke
out another two to four reps until you
reach failure again. Repeat this pattern a
second time, getting one or two additional
reps.
10. DIFFERENT ISNT ALWAYS BETTER
Ronnie Coleman has done virtually the
same workouts for more than 15 years.
Variety can spice up your workouts,
shocking your muscles into expansion, but
if youre continually growing stronger in
one exercise, dont drop it for another
merely for the sake of doing something
new. Find the exercises that work best for
you, and use them until you reach a
plateau.
11. HEAT UP
As reported in our Gym Bag (April 2007),
scientific research on heat shock proteins
indicates they may boost muscle growth.
To increase HSP levels in your muscles,
sit in a sauna or soak in a hot tub or hot
bath after a hard training session. Ingest
500-1,000 milligrams of vitamin C, 400-
800 international units of vitamin E and
200-300 mg of alpha-lipoic acid
postworkout to combat the free radicals
that can stifle heat shock protein-induced
growth.
12. THERE ARE NO SHAPING
EXERCISES
Weight training is for gaining muscle
mass; diet and cardio are what bring out
the details. Dont get the two confused.
Even if youre doing so-called shaping
exercises, such as cable crossovers or leg
raises, your focus should be on muscle
growth.
13. PREPARE FOR BATTLE
Give your body the fuel it needs to work
hard: ingest 20 grams of whey protein, 5 g
of creatine and 20-40 g of slow-digesting
carbs within 30 minutes before your
workout.
14. PREPARE FOR RECUPERATION
Fuel for recovery is also important: ingest
40 g of whey protein, 60-100 g of fast-
digesting carbs, 5 g of creatine and five to
10 g of glutamine within 30 minutes after
your workout.
15. SLOW DOWN
Try using a significantly lighter weight than
usual, but take five to 10 seconds to lower
it and five to 10 seconds to raise it,
emphasizing a full stretch and contraction.
In this way, training lighter is harder.
 See more at: -
http://www.flexonline.com/training/big-
25#sthash.QZLyZHA1.dpuf

16. PRE-EXHAUST DEADLIFTS

Victor Martinez usually ends his back
workouts with deadlifts (three sets of 10
reps), as did Yates (one set of eight reps).
As a bodybuilder concerned more with
growth than strength, try moving deadlifts
(sets of eight to 10 reps) to the middle or
end of your back routine. Of course, you
wont be as strong in deads if they follow
rows and pulldowns, but you will focus this
compound lift more on your pre-exhausted
back and less on your glutes and thighs.
17. MAKE YOUR RECUPERATION
PROACTIVE
You might think the best way to recover
from workouts is to lie on your back. In
fact, there are several things you can do
that are better than nothing. Low-intensity
activities like walking, swimming and
cycling can increase blood flow and aid
recuperation, as can stretching and
massage.
18. YOU DONT HAVE TO ________
Mass-gaining guides often say you need
to squat, deadlift and bench press to
maximize gains. These are excellent
exercises, and most trainers will see
benefits from doing them regularly.
However, sometimes an exercise just isnt
right for your physique. You dont have to
do any particular lifts. Find the ones that
work best for you, and make them the
focus of your workouts.
19. DO CARDIO LAST
If you pair cardio with your weight-training
workouts, do it after you hit the iron. This
order makes certain the cardio doesnt
fatigue your muscles. It also burns more
fat because weight training has already
depleted your muscles glycogen, and a
study shows this order raises your growth
hormone to a higher level than the reverse
order.
20. ALTER OLD FAVORITES
We tend to get in a groove with exercises,
taking the same grip and stance each time
and covering the same range of motion. If
were using proper form, this keeps us in a
productive, safe motion rep after rep. But
your body may be too comfortable, and
altering your stance, grip or range of
motion can provide just the new
stimulation you need. For example, a
narrower squat stance targets your outer
quads more, close-grip bench presses
focus on your triceps and inner chest, and
top deadlifts in a power rack hit your traps
more and your legs less.
21. 21S ARENT JUST FOR BICEPS
Youre probably

familiar with 21-curls biceps curls

performed by first doing seven partial reps
from full stretch to halfway up, then seven
from halfway up to full contraction, then
seven full reps. As Tony Freeman
advocates, this same principle can be
applied to other exercises, such as leg
curls and calf raises. (Also note that,
blackjack aside, theres nothing special
about 21; you can do 15s, 30s or any
other number divisible by three.)
22. STRIKE A POSE
Whether or not you ever intend to enter a
bodybuilding contest, one of the best ways
to increase your mind/muscle connection
is to practice posing in front of a mirror.
Maximally flex your muscles in the eight
compulsory poses. Focus on the feelings
and how subtle changes of positioning
alter these sensations, indicating that
youre contracting other muscles or
different fibers in the same muscle. The
more you pose, the better you can target
exercises to specific areas.
23. USE YOUR OWN WEIGHT
Some seemingly easy bodyweight lifts are
effective and convenient as the last half of
supersets. For example, you can do
pushups just after flyes, bench dips just
after triceps extensions or weightless
lunges just after leg presses.
24. RESCUE BAD WORKOUTS WITH A
STINGER
Sometimes, for whatever reason, your
workout just doesnt go as well as
planned. If you havent stressed a
bodypart enough, add something such as
a long drop set, a superset or an
additional exercise performed for high
reps. This stinger will give the
understressed muscle(s) a final shock.
25. DO NOTHING
When strength and/or growth gains stop,
dont keep doing the same thing the same
way. You need to alter parameters, such
as reps, exercises or training frequency, to
travel a different route to muscle growth.
One suggestion is to do nothing
literally. Once or twice per year, spend up
to two weeks away from the gym and,
when you return, you should find your
intensity is revitalized. FLEX
 See more at: -
http://www.flexonline.com/training/big-25?
page=2#sthash.xC0obMZ2.dpuf