Great MMS overview! Thanks Dan!
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For those of you who want a "lite" version of "Mass Made Simple," I put together a few ideas from here and there for you. It's a simple approach, but it has merit.
The "Ten Secrets to Building Mass:"
First, although there are truly no real "secrets," here is the overriding principle: Mass building, like fat loss, has to be done at the exclusion of everything else. A guy with 14 inch arms will ask me about a mass building program, but worry to death about his "six pack" (meth addicts have six packs, for the record), his cardio, his "game," and about five other things. Once you get 16-18 inch arms, I will allow you to worry about all those other things.
Second, there is a need to spend time under the bar. This has been called a number of things in the past few years, but you have to find ways to load your body and move the weights for up to several minutes without releasing the load (putting the bar down or resting on a machine). This program is going to be based on this insight.
Third, Great White Sharks seem to be big and eat "big." Killer Whales seem to eat big, too. Alpha predators don't seem to count calories. You are now going to stop worrying about every calorie like a college cheerleader. On a mass gaining program, you must eat. When I put on forty pounds in four months my freshman year in college, I used to some sandwiches BEFORE dinner so "I wouldn't be so hungry during dinner." Think "Shark Week" when you sit down to eat and warn the others at the table not to reach across your plate.
Fourth, you must master "resting." I know that there is this urge to do this and that and this after every workout, but for a mass building program you must learn that cardio is changing channels with the remote. If you don't sleep eight plus hours a night, it is going to impact your mass gains. Many famous bodybuilders have advocated the "Muscle Nap," a long nap in the afternoon to simple gain muscle. Remember, you grow while you rest. Pick up basketball games are not rest!
Fifth, this is a difficult point for many: bulking programs have very few movements. Well, let's put this way: GOOD mass building programs have few movements. When I had my most success with mass building the number of movements is always around seven or eight TOTAL movements. Learn to love them.
Sixth, although people have gained amazing mass on lower reps (1-5) for most people (and mortals), the load needed to gain mass on a low rep program is "difficult." So, until you handle a 400 bench, 500 squat and 600 deadlift, you are going to need reps to get your load into your workout. There is something magical about mass gains around the 5-10 range and the last century of strength enthusiasts will bear this out, too.
Seventh, I got good advice that I prom...
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