How to Weight Train to Build Muscle Mass 

If weight training isn't the main focus of your weight gain program, you're gonna have a serious problem!  Sure, you still might gain some weight by eating excess caloreis, but the majority of that weight will be flabby unsightly body fat and not muscle!

Since weight training plays such a crucial role in the muscle building process, it's important to learn about each of the key elements before designing your program. 

Many beginners often storm in to the gym without direction, expecting spectacular results in a short period of time.  Of course, without a carefully constructed goal oriented weight training program, it's very difficult to achieve success. 

With that being said, even a well designed and executed weight training routine will get you nowhere if you neglect other important things like rest, recovery, and diet.

How Does Weight Training Build Muscle?

Before you attempt to design a weight training program, it's important to get back to basics and take a look at how and why weight training builds muscle tissue.  No need to get too technical here, but what's important is that you understand some basic concepts.

Let's take a look at what happens to the body during and after a weight training workout.

Every weight training exercise you perform breaks down the muscle tissue for the specific muscle you are targeting.  The main goal of your weight training workout is to break down as many of these small muscle fibers as possible.  That's right--you're actually getting weaker and breaking down muscle during your workout! 

Many people think that you are building muscle while you weight train, but this couldn't be any further from the truth.  The only time muscle grows is during your rest and recovery period.

Once the muscle fibers have been broken down, the body realizes that the muscle fibers need to be repaired and it  uses nutrients from your weight gain diet to repair them. 

At this point, the body takes the process of rebuilding tissue a step further, and builds slightly more tissue then you had before.   The body will now start to anticipate the increased demands, and will  progressively increase muscle and strength over time if you continue to train regularly, while consistently increasing the demands on the body.

Now we can take our understanding one step further and learn the characteristics of the different types of muscle fibers in the body, and see how each fiber type responds to weight training. 

This explanation will help you understand why choosing the right number of repetitions and weight used for each exercise is so important.

The Types of Muscle Fibers

1.  Slow twitch - Slow twitch fibers are used in activities that require a lot of endurance, like long distance running or cycling for example. 

These fibers don't increase in size like fast twitch fibers do.  Training slow twitch fibers involves a relatively high number of repetitions (usually 15 - 25) using light weights. Since you weight training program won't be targeting slow twitch muscle fibers, so there is no need to lift light weights for a high number of repetitions.

2.  Fast twitch (type I and II) - Fast twitch muscle fibers are used in activities that require explosive movements, like sprinting for example.  These fibers tire more quickly then slow twitch fibers, but are capable of much faster more powerful contractions. 

Fast twitch fibers are further classified into two subdivisions: type I, and type II.   Although considered a fast twitch fiber, the type I fibers are often referred to as an "intermediate" fiber type, since they have the potential to be explosive, but also posses a degree of aerobic ability. 

Type II fibers on the other are the most explosive, powerful muscle fibers in the body, and have no aerobic ability.

Both types of fast twitch fibers (and particularly type II fibers) increase in size when subjected to weight training programs that incorporate a relatively low number of repetitions (8-12) and heavy weight. 

Since the fast twitch fibers respond well to low repetitions and heavier weight, tailoring your weight training program to target the fast twitch fibers is essential.

What Determines My Primary Fiber Type? 

Unfortunately, you have no control over the number of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers in your body, and there is no way to increase or decrease that set amount. 

Your genetics determined the number of slow and fast twitch fibers that you were going to have before you were born.  The only thing you can do is work with what you have, and increase the size of the existing muscle fibers in your body.

Most people are born with roughly an even number of slow and fast twitch muscle fibers.  Of course, like most things in life, there are exceptions.  Some people have a higher ratio of one of the two fiber types.

For example, those with a higher number of fast twitch muscle fibers, are able to build muscle with relative ease, and excel at activities that require explosive movements.

At the other end of the scale (no pun intended!) there are those that have a higher percentage of slow twitch endurance fibers. 

These people are more efficient at endurance activities like long distance running.  Since they have a smaller number of fast twitch muscle fibers,  building mass can be difficult, and they often have to put much more effort in to their weight training programs to see results.

The bottom line: Targeting the fast twitch muscle fibers through low repetition (8 - 10), heavy weight lifting promotes muscle growth.  You cannot change the number of muscle fibers in your body, you can only increase their size.  Even if you were genetically predisposed with more slow twitch fibers, you can still build plenty of muscle.  You will just have to work a little harder!

Weight Training Builds Muscle Through Progressive Overload  

So far you've learned that building significant amounts of muscle mass requires a weight training program that targets the fast twitch muscle fibers, using heavy weights using relatively low repeitions.

However, even if you have chosen the correct weight and number of repetitions for your weight training program, you won't benefit from it unless you apply the principles of progressive overload which is the philosophy behind weight training.

Simply put, building muscle requires you to progressively overload the muscle fibers by gradually increasing the intensity of your workouts by increasing the intensity of your workouts.

As you slowly increase the intensity of your workouts you trigger your body's survival instincts.  It perceives this increased weight as a threat and in response it's defense mechanism is to increase the size and strength of your muscle fibers so they are better prepared for future demands.

The bottom line:  Your body doesn't want to grow muscle, and it won't do it on its own.  You have to force muscle growth by gradually making each exercise more difficult.  Once an exercise become too easy, either perform more repetitions or increase the amount of weight being used.

Putting it All Together 

Here is how you can apply the information in this section to your own training program: 

So what's the next step? 

Before you can design your own weight training program you still have to do a little more research.  Check out the following three sections:

1.   How to weight train - It's important to learn how to determine the correct frequency of your workouts, as well as their intensity and duration.  Exercise order, the number of sets and repetitions you perform, as well as the amount of weight you use are also crucial factors, as they will each play a large role in the success of your weight training program. 

2.  The Best Weight training exercises - Learning the most effective resistance training exercises for each muscle group will help you choose the right exercises for your specific goals.  You also have to learn correct technique for each exercise that you plan on using, to maximize muscle stimulation and minimize the risk of injury. 

3.  Where to weight train - Deciding where to weight train is a more important decision then most people realize, and it plays a large role in the overall outcome of your program design.  Before you can actually design your weight training program, you have to decide whether you are going to workout in a home gym, or at a commercial health club.  Ultimately your final decision will determine the type of equipment you have access to, and which exercises will be included in your program.

Once you understand how to weight train, have choses the exercises that will be a part of your routine, and have decided where your will be training, you are ready to design your own weight training program.