Limited time to workout? No problem. Don't quit the gym and destroy your momentum. This App shows you how to make gains in only 1-2 hours each week.
A lifter will be cruising along, making gains and eating right, and then life will kick his butt. The demands of school or work intensify, or life changes happen and reduce the amount of free time available to workout.
Discouragement sets in. The result? Nine times out of ten these lifters take time away from the iron and end up killing their progress.
This cycle often repeats itself. Trainees somehow feel that if they can't workout three, four or even five times per week that there is no point in even heading to the gym.
I am here to tell you differently. This might sound counterintuitive, but you can make progress training only once or twice a week. Worst case scenario, during those periods in life when you can barely find the time to eat, minimalistic programs can serve to maintain your strength and muscle gains until you get your feet back under you.
A secret of success
Here's a secret to reaching your goals that is rarely talked about: successful lifters generally don't take time away from the gym, even when life isn't perfect. They do what they can, when they can.
You must understand that perfection isn't obtainable. It's a fairy tale. If you wait for that perfect year to come along so you can finally focus and reach your goals, well...good luck. You might be waiting for a while.
Putting your gains in a holding pattern (at minimum) is a much better option that taking time away from the gym. All you will need to accomplish this mission is 1 to 2 hours per week. Turn off the TV, power down the Xbox, or prepare a few meals in advance so you can open up some free time.
Do whatever it takes to find that extra hour or two so you can train. That's what a successful lifter would do.
Building muscle is why most of us constantly return to the gym. It's the beacon of light that continues to drive our effort-driven workouts that many consider us crazy for, but how do we build muscle effectively? That's the question that trips up so many lifters.
The physical act of building muscle is easier said than done because in order to build muscle we need to have multiple variables aligned both in regard to our training and nutrition.
A great starting point for everyone on the quest of adding mass to their frame is to first define what muscle building actually is. The act of muscle building, or purposely causing muscle to grow through resistance training, is often referred to as muscle hypertrophy.
Muscle hypertrophy is the adaptation our muscles experience from continual exposure to progressively overloaded forms of resistance training, which then results in an increase in our muscle fiber size, both in diameter and length. Essentially, muscle hypertrophy is the process through which our muscles get physically larger through the act of strategically consistent and harder workouts.
Remember, effort is one of the most definitive drivers of muscle gain over time.
If you note the definition above, progressive overload was mentioned as being needed for adding mass and muscle to your frame. Progressive overload entails creating some form of increased, strategic effort based on the style of training you're doing.
This is why it's incredibly important to have a plan in place and build a framework for your training and nutritional habits that coincide with your goals. "Workouts without a plan just won't get you to the goals you want,"
Note, your muscle building strategy doesn't need to be so rigid that it leaves no room for fun. In fact, you can still eat meals you enjoy, and you don't need to spend hours in the gym, as long as when you're training and fueling yourself strategically a majority of the time. The goal is to create a muscle building plan that is realistic for your goals and needs.
