Building A Mass Without Supps - Part 2 - In The Gym

The second part of "Building A Mass Without Supps" blog serial. Today, it`s time to visit your favorite gym place. I know that looking good is your strongest wish. And you probably are not that much interested in any technical terms while trying to make it true. You just want to exercise as guided by your gym trainer, personal coach or a friend.

But, let me tell you that without a basic knowledge, you are certainly not going anywhere fast. I`ll give a few pretty good reasons why.

It`s ok to just turn off your brain and do the things mechanically by the book. But as you know, everyone is unique. And don`t you think your body deserves a proper care too? Aren`t you curious at reaching your true peak performance levels?

Since you are already way too overdosed with the gigantic internet blast of various information on anything, including building a quality muscle mass, I will make it super-easy for you.

As you already know, every exercise has its own working technique. And I`m not going to go over every specific one in detail. Because, first of all, I assume you will have a professional by your side to help you with that. Second, because these type of individuals also have their online tutorials. Whether in the form of text or video you can easily explore them and check with your dedicated gym instructor for any misleads.

But there are still some principals that work for all the exercises together. The principals that maybe some coaches don`t teach. The most important thing, the same principals that helped me get better in my workouts. Something that I spent basically one lifetime on exploring, testing and finding the right solution.

So by addressing the exercises with the same approach, you can get to your set goals much easier and faster. With obtaining the quality you expect and deserve.

So as said in the title, let`s first get technical, before we jump into the physical issues. Or are those the same? ;)

So you decided to build your body mass, or you need a clean streak? Want to start over right or change your old habits? Fix your repeated mistakes and see your muscles grow in healthier than ever?

This decision on its own is a huge step towards your ultimate success. Accepting where you did wrong and realizing you need to make some changes for the good and better self.

But you just don`t know where to start, or how to do it. Maybe you tried so many versions and can`t think of anything else. Because nothing is working. Or you just don`t see what are you doing wrong. Because you obviously feel the results of your mistakes. And they can be very painful and exhausting. Physically and mentally.

Don`t worry. We all have or had the same problems at some point of our lives.

What I do to keep balance with everything in life, especially when trying to catch up on multiple careers, is observe. I think this is the most crucial skill you could have at your disposal. Observation is not just focusing and watching. It`s informing and preparing your inner for the challenges that are coming from the outside world.

It may sound overwhelming at first read, but let me explain further. When I say observe, I don`t refer only to following the instructions from your video sources or trainer instructions in the gym. It is very important to listen to your body from the very start.

So Lesson 1 will be to observe the way your body and specifically your muscles react to the given force or challenge. See how every grip, move, exercise, day, month affect your body. And your muscles at the end of all things.

I go day in - day out watching how majority of people do things just so they could say they`ve done them. They start and they finish, without getting their body actually feeling grateful. And they leave the gym in even worse mood state than they had when they came in.

Perhaps living fast has made us look on most of the things way too superficially. When actually, if we just stop for a second to thing about it, we could see that we are only creating exactly the same thing we were running from in the first place. The dissatisfaction.

We want to feel great, healthy, full of energy. But somehow we manage to attract the complete opposite of all that. Then we dive into the "black hole" of same old boring routines, seemingly trapped forever. Our coaches try to help by changing the workout programs. Sometimes that helps. And it`s a big part of the right comeback.

But often, we fall back fast into that same hole again, because it wasn`t the right motivation for us. So we start to blame everybody and everything. Busy life, boring job, all of the sudden "bad coach" and everything falls apart.

Then you either quit completely or at least for some longer period of time. Just to come back and repeat all the same paths again. Ending up actually getting used to that state of body and mind for good.

Why is this wrong?

Because, you will be left with constant injuries, leading to chronic pains and more trouble in your daily routines. Stagnation of strength and of course muscle mass. Asymmetric muscle development that could lead to various health issues, mostly connected to your spinal ones. Every doctor could easily confirm this statement.

So, take your time, learn a little, observe a lot and talk to your inner self before you make any further step.

Moving on...

To avoid all that mess I just mentioned, learn the technique of every exercise. Check and double check if you are doing it correctly. And while doing that, try to enjoy it. And to fully enjoy it, you need to cut to the core of it. Don`t get too geeky about it. But try to see a bit deeper than the surface.

And only after you understand exactly what are you doing to help your body stay healthy and fit, you will see things more clearly.

Also remember that every body is different. So even though the principals are 90% the same, still not all of them will affect everyone the same. Maybe some part of the breathing technique will just be more exhausting than helpful for you. Or that one grip technique that most can benefit from, is just the one things you can`t afford your body to do.

This especially stays true for the elbows for example. Everyone has their own type of elbow joint construction. And so when doing "Scull Crushers" or "Barbell Overhead Triceps Extensions" for example, pay attention to the method of performing the exercise.

Yes, your elbows should be as close to your head as possible as the basic rule implies. But if your elbows don`t allow it and you feel uncomfortable at all time, don`t do it.

I`m not saying don`t do it at all. But feel free to widen them up a little. Not too wide, just find your sweet angle. The pain is always the most precise indicator that something is wrong. You are not here to get hurt ( just burned good :) ). You are here to fully enjoy and so make sure you have that pointer in your mind every time you hit your gym.

Never do anything excessively. It was, is and never will be the right choice.