Proper Technique- The Art of Building Quality Muscle

Proper technique is almost as important as eating when it comes to packing on muscle. You see it all the time, the dude, in the gym screaming at the top of his lungs, back arched and compensating with his whole body, just to look like he is lifting more weight. Common offenders flock to the bench press and bicep curls to look good in the gym. I don’t know about you, but I would rather look good on the beach and I don’t much care for how I look in the gym. I am the guy you see without the matching shorts and T-Shirt combo. No “UnderArmor” or fancy sweat suit. I am the dude in some plain shorts, a ripped up T-Shirt and some ratty old tennis shoes. I am there to train, not to look good or make an impression. I don’t tend to go to the “hook up” gyms though, so I guess if you wish to pick up chicks, you might want to look the part. While I am on a rant, what is with all of the fat and out of shape personal trainers. I am telling you, there are a ton of them. If I am going to be a personal trainer, I am surely going to look the part. I mean come on, that is your job. I figure as a supplement company owner, it is my job to at least look big. I don’t have great genetics for being lean, but I can at least train hard and get big for my customers. A piece of advise, you don’t need a personal trainer if you start training right and eating healthy. Today’s machines are designed to give you a near perfect workout, all that is missing is the drive and proper form.

Anyway, that isn’t the point of this article… Proper training is key to solid growth. Your habits in the gym can be the difference between a rock solid, defined physique and lots of time in the gym with no results. It took me a lot of years to realize this, but now that I know the secret, I have never looked more muscular. I recently read an article with Tony Freeman where he was expounding on the value of proper form. I agree 100%! It isn’t about the sheer amount of weight I can lift, it is about my form. That is what builds muscle and gives near perfect definition. I am telling you to drop down the weight and do a proper set. I like the lower weight and 3 seconds down and 3 seconds up with a one second squeeze at the top. This won’t look so impressive, but it will sure build a defined dense muscle. Make sure you do a full range of motion or a near full range (I like to not bottom out, leaving tension on the muscle during the whole set) for best results and do a full one second squeeze at full contraction. This simple technique will add immediate gains to that old workout routine and give you the absolute best chance of building the size and definition you desire. Doing the absolute maximum you can put on a machine with poor form is useless and counter productive. Use weight you can manage with out cheating. This simple technique of proper form followed with full squeezing at contraction will give you the best chance to build the form you want.