How not to build muscle There are many people who for one reason or another want to put some muscle on, this could be for personal pride and appearance, fat loss…no its not a typo I definitely mean fat loss, or sporting reasons. Whatever the goals putting muscle on takes a lot of effort and commitment! However there are many people training in pursuit of additional lean tissue who still look the same each year. January brings with it another popular fitness magazine, with yet another article on how to get bigger biceps and a 6-pack! It takes a bit more than following the latest fitness publication workout of the year, every year to grow! To be a little different from other publications I thought it wise to put down some advice on how not to build muscle. 1) Perform the same training routine all year round The body adapts to the training stimulus in an attempt to reach a state of homeostasis where it can perform whatever is expected with the minimum effort.  Just look at how some peoples physiques change in response to their occupation, sport or lifestyle. The body will change up to a point beyond which further development will not occur unless new challenges are presented. The variables which can be changed will be included within the “building muscle” article shortly. 2) Always stay in the same rep range and the same weight This is very common and is another way of covering the first point above! Sometimes people will just do the common 3 sets of 10 reps.  Now I have to admit this does fall within the commonly quoted rep range of 3-6 sets of 6-12 reps per set for hypertrophy, but doing 10 reps every workout for every training movement/muscle just brings us back to the first point. How long can we realistically expect to gain any adaptation, above and beyond what allowed us to complete 3 sets of 10 initially at said weight? The sets of 10 method is thought to originate from Delorme (1945) as an ideal method for increasing strength specifically as an injury rehabilitation protocol (Beachle and Earle, 2008). Delorme challenged previously held assumptions regarding strength training for rehabilitation, which prior to Delorme’s work involved low resistance and high repetitions, essentially training the muscular endurance continuum (McArdle et al, 2001). The current (and very unlikely to change) recommendations specify a range of reps, sets, intensities, rest periods and tempos. 3) Do not adjust the training method when it is needed By now it should have sunk in that if the same routine is followed and never manipulated appropriately, you will look the same in 12 months time, if not worse! 4) Take steroids Steroids have the potential to stimulate growth of lean body mass without even training. So why am I suggesting this as a method for not building muscle? I do not and never have condoned steroid use, now that is not to say I do not have respect for top level bodybuilders, certainly for what they put their body through – they really do have to work hard, even with the substances they take. It just doesn’t sit comfortably with me due to the following risks: Lipid profile changes, high blood pressure, testicular atrophy, decreased sperm count, infertility and impotence, masculinisation in females, boobs in men, more spots, quicker onset of baldness, risk of liver damage, mood swings. I am aware that some of these manifestations may be reversible  on cessation of steroids, or may be dependant on type, dose and the other drugs taken but still it just isn’t worth it for me and I don’t recommend it to anyone else. If you want to manipulate your hormones check out biosignature modulation, sort out your diet and train optimally! 5) Train with poor technique This is my pet hate. Some people just wont listen and refuse to be corrected on this. Lets put it another way;  if I am typing too fast and random letters appear in my text which make it sound like garbage then I need to slow down, im not ready for that speed yet! Now if spell checker tells me I have spelled something wrogn, I will change it! Its better that way! So why do people not apply the same logic to their body? The body being something that will carry them through life and enable them to experience so many adventures! Could ego have something to do with it? Perhaps. Some people just don’t want to lift a lighter weight, or perhaps they are training for strength in the hip jerk movement assisted by the biceps through partial range of motion? If you want a muscle to develop the tension needs to be on that muscle, especially if your exercise is called a bicep curl! I think that gives it away really. Have you heard of manipulating the tempo to adjust time under tension? I guess not. 6) Do not plan or give yourself any direction Without planning how does one know where they are going? How can one possibly know what methods are best to achieve their goals if they don’t even have these goals in the first place.  Do you want the muscle mass of an athlete with the athleticism and movement ability that this brings? Do you want the muscle mass of a bodybuilder? What are you going to do if injured? How will you train around holidays? How will you train if domestic circumstances change? What will you do if your hour long training session has been cut short due to a meeting over running? I could go on but im sure you could think of your own “what ifs” that are relevant to your life and your goals. 7) Neglect the way the body moves There should be some emphasis on quality movement within a training program, not just isolated exercises. We spend most of our lives moving, debatable for some I know! We take stairs, we get into a car, we put shopping in the boot of a car, we carry a basket with one hand, we bend down to pick something off the floor, we hoover, we dig, we push cars (or enlist the help of others!)…there are so many more movements we do in life I know! I recall a story many years ago of a shopper within a supermarket suing because she injured her back picking up a pack of sausages from the floor. Ridiculous! This shopper clearly didn’t train for movement if at all and it was inevitable that they would get injured perfoming one of lifes activities. I don’t know of anyone who wants to risk injury getting in the way of building more muscle all because they approached their training with an isolated mentality. 8) Incorrect rest periods for the goal If you are resting too long, and you are definately looking to train for mass I suggest you read point 6 again. The goal of the training program should establish what the rest periods are. Point 9 below will probably clarify. Perhaps you do not want additional growth hormone or testosterone released when training? 9) Train with too many people  If your quick enough on changing weights you can probably get away with 2 people taking it in turns performing squats in the power rack to maximise the appropriate rest period during a hypertrophy stage of training. However 3, 4 or more people taking it in turns and you are not training efficiently. If you are on a well planned training program taking advantage of a maximum strength phase of training then fair enough you probably have plenty of time! In any group there is bound to be someone who is weaker than the rest. The weaker guy will probably not want to be seen in this way so will attempt the weights of the bigger boys, of course this saves time in changing the weights over and means the biggest plates can stay on the bar! After 2-3 reps their mates will probably end up doing the most of the work in an attempt to make the weaker guy get to the magical 10 reps (point 2)! That’s a lot of forced reps for every session, and possibly one way of blowing a rotator cuff or pec! 10) Resist change Resistance to change is endemic in many people, in many different environments and many situations. Fitness training is one of them. I have seen people follow a new program for a week, then go back to their old ways. What they were hoping to achieve in a week I do not know, but they probably achieved more in that week then the 52 weeks doing the previous program! To change is to make progress and the more people grasp this the better their results will be. Squats or deadlifts anyone? REFERENCES Beachle, T. R. and Earle, R. W, (2008) Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, NSCA. Champaign; Human Kinetics. Mcardle, W. D. et al (2001) Exercise Physiology, Energy, Nutition and Human Performance. 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