10 Bodybuilding Tips on How To Build Muscle That Looks Good
Updated 26.02.2012
How to build muscle?
Bodybuilding can make you look great, if done right.
So here are my ten best bodybuilding tips that will help you discover how to build muscle that looks good.
The Top Ten Bodybuilding Tips:
• Alternate 1-3 Week Phases of Intensity-Training (heavy, low reps) with 1-3 Week Phases of Volume-Training (lighter, high reps)Example: Phase A, 8-10 sets (total) of 4-6 reps per muscle-group per workout. Phase B, 4 sets (total) of 25 reps per muscle-group per workout.
This type of training will ensure you keep progressing, by presenting a new stimulus to your body regularly. This in turn will prevent what they call a plateau.
Additionally, you train through a broad range of reps and intensities, making sure nothing is left behind: strength is taken care of as well as hypertrophy…that’s fancy talk for muscle growth, or simply: bodybuilding.
• BCAA’s Before, During and After Lifting
Example: 10 gram before, 10 gram during and 10 gram directly after the workout, or simply about 20-30 gram throughout, taken in between sets. Either use capsules or powder -preferably strongly flavoured, it tastes horrible… but it’s well worth it! 
BCAA’s are, at this dosage, both highly anabolic and anti-catabolic. After all why not make the most of your time and efforts in the weights-room?
• “A.R.T.” Muscles Regularly
Bodybuilding is all about building muscle, but for that to work well, these same muscle must be smooth, elastic, and with a good blood supply.
Example: When you treat a fibrotic (read: scarred-up) muscle by breaking up those lesions that build up over time, you restore it’s elasticity and circulation (read: more proteins, glycogen and oxygen to the muscle, more waste-substrates removed from the area) plus you stretch the fascia to create greater muscle growth-space. It really works!
Also you should regularly statically stretch the muscles, preferably after a workout. This will maintain flexibility, prevent injury and have at least some of the same benefits stated above.
• Use Eccentric Phases
Careful! Only after 2 years of professional training, phases at a maximum of 2 weeks duration, no more than 4-6 x per year! Eccentric Training creates a lot of damage in the muscles, hence there’s a lot of growth adaptation.
At the same time, the injury-risk is far greater, so warm up really well and be careful! This training should be not be used more frequently than once every 10 to 14 days on average. Generally it’s best to have only 2-4 phases per year at the most.
Here’s a sample workout:
Eccentric Chins/Dips
Add some weight with a dip-belt. Climb up on the bar, into the top-position. Lower yourself over 30-40 seconds. That’s one set. Alternatively, you can take just 6-8 seconds each eccentric contraction, for some 5-6 reps. Do about 6 sets each.
• Alternate Agonists with Antagonists during Training
This set-up makes it possible to train twice as much in the same amount of time (while using the same amount of rest for each muscle group) and it actually improves strength of the agonist (prime mover) a little bit by “inhibiting” (read: temporarily weakening) the antagonist.
It’s a neurological phenomenon. Here’s one way to apply this:
Biceps/Triceps
Do a set of biceps-curls, rest, then follow with a set of triceps extensions. Rest, go back to biceps….. repeat for given # of sets.
In this Arnold Schwarzenegger Workout you can find all the details.
• Use Finishers
Finishers will create huge amounts of lactate, which in turn will create a favorable hormonal response that’s optimal for recovery, hypertrophy and fat burning. Example: Sled-Work, Leg-Press, HIIT Training…the sled is a fantastic implement, but unfortunately not available at your average public gym.
So let’s use the leg-press as an example: say it’s lower body-day, and you’re done with the main-workout. Now it’s time for the Finisher! It doesn’t matter what type of leg workout it is, this fits for anything, even power or relative strength! Use a weight approximating around 50% 1-RM (your max). Do 50-60 reps within 120s. “Finished”! 
• Use Specialization Phases
This is a good way to “wake up” and build a stubborn body part. Is your biceps lagging behind? Try this strategy and be pleasantly surprised!
Train the emphasized body part in a brief workout of between 20-40 min. every other day for 2-6 weeks. Everything else goes on maintenance (2 sets of 6-8 rm per exercise once a week per muscle group)
Example: Do the same 20-30 minute arms-workout every other day for 4 weeks. During that time, train the rest of the body once a week, choosing 1-2 exercises for 1-2 sets each. That’s enough! Your arms will grow, and all other muscles will stay as big and strong as ever.
Bodybuilding Posing builds muscle faster!
• Flex the targeted muscle groups hard isometrically on Carb-Days/& at High Carb/Insulin-Times.This is a way to improve the so called “Nutrient Partitioning”. Basically you tell your body where to put the nutrients: into the muscles instead of the fat cells!
Example: 3×6-8s. isometrics, alternate Biceps & Triceps: you can use immobile resistance, or just flex/pose in the mirror, which is a regular routine in bodybuilding…it doesn’t really matter how and where you do it, just contract your muscles as hard as possible for 6-8 seconds for 3 sets each.
This will increase the body’s ability to load carbs for 4-6 hours… it’s both backed up by scientific as well as empirical evidence!
• Alternate Phases of Isolation Exercises with Compound Exercise Phases
This will prevent overuse injuries and again make sure of plenty variety for your body, paving the way for continuous improvement.
Example: (Triceps) Phase A, 3 weeks: Bench-Press/Dips Phase B, 2 weeks: Triceps Ext./Kickbacks
• Use Super-Sets/Tri-Sets/Pre-Exhaustion Methods
This is just simply one of the best ways to finish off a muscle group in the shortest amount of time.
Example: Doublé Training: Reverse Curls -10s.rest- Incline Dumbell Curls -10s.rest- Reverse Curls.
Pre-Exhaustion Biceps: Barbell Curls -10s.rest- Close Grip Chins-Ups.
Pre-Exhaustion Triceps: Overhead Triceps-Extensions -10s.rest- Dumbell Pullover-Extensions.
These bodybuilding tips build your arms fast!
• I know I promised you 10 tips to build muscle, but I believe in over-delivering, so here is an extra bonus: Use the 10×10-Method. (Also called German Volume Training)The GVT is infamous for creating record amounts of muscle mass. It’s one of the most effective “body builders” out there by far! And it’s simple to boot: Do 10 sets of 10 reps of ONE exercise per muscle group (1 to tops 2 muscle groups total per workout) using short rest intervals between sets.
Example: Squats, 10×10, 120s.rest.
If you’re strong, AND if you think you’re tough, try this: 10×10 on the bench paired with 10×10 Chin-Ups (NOT pull-downs), 60 s. rest between sets, eg.: Do 10 reps on the bench, rest for a minute, do 10 chin-ups, rest again one minute, go back to the presses…and so on, repeat for 10 sets each!
But don’t blame me when you can’t brush your teeth the next day! 
So this is how to build muscle with these 11 advanced bodybuilding tips.
Now if you apply all these tips given here, there’s just no way you will not vastly improve your training results and build muscle that looks good.
Mark
10 Comments
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Damn, that is an awesome yet compact set of methods about bodybuilding! I have tried that GVT and let me tell ya… Its not easy
Still trying to find an ART practitioner.
BCAA’s are king!
Sõl
Yeah the good ol’ GVT… my athletes just love it…NOT!
Just come on up here sometime Brother and I will torture you, no problem (ART)
Mark
Interesting thing about the flexing, I’m certainly going to try that one!
Hey thanks Dóri, yeah you’re basically telling the body where you want it to store the nutrients you know? It has been shown in research that the nutrient uptake if muscles is improved for a whole 4 hours after contracting them, and that without insulin!!!!!
Mark
Thanks Mark for the post, you are a genious man !
I have almost hit the wall, and that sucks
I look forward to testing some of the tips, especially the finish off workout part, i think i need to ad some volume to my training wich is mainly heavy sets.
I was thinking of doing the Alternate 1-3 Week intensity training with 1-3 week high volume training and maybe after each period do 1-2 week with the Eccentric phase.
One question about BCAA’s post, during and after training. you have good experience in taking it ?
LOL, thanks Emil!
Yeah the Finishers from Finland will leave you finished, for sure!
It’s awesome stuff, also and especially to overcome a plateau…
The eccentrics I’d recommend to do only about every 3 months, it’s otherwise not enough recovery time/too much damage too often, could get you injured…
Yebbs, BCAA’s rule!
Tastes like soap water mixed with pepper and paint-thinner, but hey! Every little helps, right?
Serious I’d recommend to NOT use the flavored powder, I think that’s probably toxic as hell!
Good Luck man, please keep me posted!
Mark
Hey Mark great post as usual!
Hey thanks Bryndís, much appreciated!
hey thanks.after reading your post i am able to mark my mistake in my routine.
but do you have some routine for ABS as i became very frustated while seeing flabs on my abdominals
Heya, I got this post on an all out six pack abs program:
http://www.tsmethod.com/blog/how-to-get-a-six-pack/
But if the abs are covered by fat you might wanna lose that first:
http://www.tsmethod.com/blog/how-to-lose-weight-fast/
Good Luck,
Mark