Hard workouts in the gym can pay off quite well. Hitting the weights and getting stronger is a great feeling, and so is additional muscle growth. It is nice to see the results from the hours and sweat that you've poured into the iron, but eventually you are going to hit a point where the muscle growth seems to stop. Even though you are still working out just as hard, the muscles aren't getting any larger. What does this mean? Have you reached the limit of your genetic potential for muscle growth?

Chances are that you are nowhere near that limit. What usually happens is that the body grows used to the workouts that you are doing, and that means you are going to experience a period of stagnation. When you keep doing the same workouts without really challenging your body, you aren't going to get any larger. Diet can play a part in this as well.

Changing Workouts for More Muscle

You may have a great workout plan that you've been following for months. It has gotten the muscles to grow thus far, so many people stick with the same workout routine week after week, month after month. Eventually, the body stops responding. You need to change your workouts if you hope to stimulate more muscle growth, and you can do this in several ways.

First, consider adding more weight to your exercises. Lower your reps from the regular eight or ten all the way down to four to six. Make sure that you have enough weight for the exercises that getting out those four to six reps is a challenge. For some of the exercises you are doing, you will likely need to have a spotter who can make sure you remain safe and that you do them with the proper form. Increasing the weights will hit your muscles deep, and you should see some new growth.

Second, change the exercises that you are doing. Instead of using the Smith Machine for your squats, you can use the regular squat rack. Add dead lifts if you don't already do them. Use different machines for your chest instead of the same old bench routine. The key is to hit your muscles from different angles and with a different intensity to help spur growth in them.

Rather than grouping the same body parts in a work out, you might want to mix them up a bit. Rather than always doing chest and triceps together, do chest and biceps. Add the biceps to your back day. Do legs and abs, and add calf exercises into your shoulder routine. Keep the body guessing and wondering what you are going to do, and you will see that it really helps.

Your Diet Could Play a Part

You may think that you are eating healthy, and that might be the case. If you are only eating healthy foods, then the problem might be with the quantity. When you are trying to build muscle, you need to make sure that you have more protein in your diet.

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Some days, people just don't have as much time to spend in the gym as they wish they did. The still want to get in a great workout, but they have to do it in less time. It is entirely possible to get a high quality workout in less time. However, you have to be willing to move quickly and take less rest time between sets. Here's how a typical quick upper body routine might work. The types of exercises that each person uses may vary, but the speed and the alternation should remain.

 

Chest

Perform two chest exercises. First, do a single set of flat bench dumbbell presses with your typical starting weight. As soon as you finish the set of presses, begin a set of flat bench flies. After finishing the two sets, rest. Repeat this process two more times, but keep the weight the same. Finish off with a set of pushups to failure.

Triceps

Because the chest and triceps work together, move into the triceps next. Do a set of straight bar press downs with your typical starting weight. After the first set, immediately reverse your grip and perform reverse press downs. Rest and add weight. Repeat the process two more times.

Shoulders

Begin with upright rows with dumbbells. Perform a set and then move to a lighter weight for lateral arm raises. Rest, keep the weight the same, and repeat twice more.

Back

Pull downs on the lat machine are the first order of business. Do all three sets with limited rest in between. Move to the rowing machine and do three sets with little rest between.

Abs

If you are making good time on the workout, you can do your abs at the gym. Some crunches and leg lefts will help to finish of a fast upper body workout. However, if you are hurting for time, consider adding the abs when you get home. You don't have to have much room at home to do them, and you don't need to have any special equipment.

Eliminate Your Long Rest between Sets

How long do you normally rest between each set? Some people will rest for well over a minute, and this isn't doing them any favors. You want to hit the muscle quickly, so you should lower the amount of time that you rest between each set. On a normal day, you can rest from 30 to 45 seconds. When you are trying to get through a quick workout, you should cut the rest time in half. This will increase your heart rate, which can be a good thing even when you're working with weights.
If the gym isn't overly crowded and you stick to the lower amount of rest between sets, you can cruise through a workout like the one above in about half an hour. If you notice that the gym is busy, consider eliminating some of the exercises and simply adding extra sets to the exercises and machines that are within range and open.

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Many who head to the gym spend time in the weight room and focus only on certain parts of their body. Men seem to have this problem far more than women do. Men want to have large biceps and chests. They want to have a huge upper body, and they work on their torso exclusively. This causes an imbalance in the body though, and before long, the guy with the huge pectorals notices that he has chicken legs! Visit nearly any gym in the nation and you will see some of these specimens in action.

Banish the Chicken Legs

If you are a weight lifter and finally see an imbalance in your own body, you’re likely to want to correct it as quickly as possible. The good news is that you are probably already eating correctly. You would have to be to build a large upper body. You simply need to focus on the legs to start growing those muscles. Basic, muscle-building exercises should be the core of the leg workout.

Squats

The squat is one of the best options for building large leg muscles. Those who haven't done many squats need to be careful that they don’t pile on too much weight on their first attempt. Just because someone might be able to bench 300 pounds doesn't mean they can squat that much. Neglected leg muscles need to go through the same process of getting stronger as the other muscles do.
To do a squat, you are going to need a squat rack or a smith machine. Start with less weight than you think you should have. Step into the rack and place the squat bar along the top of your shoulders and your upper back. Take the bar off the rack and squat downward until your knees are at about a 90-degree angle. Some recommend a deeper squat, but when first starting out, it is better to go slow and easy.
Add weight on your consecutive sets, but don't go too heavy on your first leg workout. However, on each subsequent workout, you are going to want to add some weight, even if it is only 5 pounds.

Leg Press

The leg press is another staple of the mass building leg workout. Different types of press machines are available, but they offer the same basic benefits. You will be able to shift the position of your feet to work different areas of the leg. You go deeper with less fear because you have the safety mechanisms on the machine. In addition, most people find it easier to use more weight when they are on the leg press than when they are on the squat machine.

Sculpting the Legs

Building the legs takes time, just as it did to build the upper body. Even though the legs aren't one of the "ego" muscles like the chest or biceps, they are important if one hopes to have a balanced physique. Once your legs begin getting bigger, you can start to sculpt them with the leg press machine, the leg curl and lunges.

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