How I Made These Guns

I am not yet where I want to be in terms of muscle mass, but I have come a long way from where I started.

When I first started training with the weights, I really had no clue how to build muscle. I just did exercises and routines that I found in magazines and didn't put that much focus into my nutrition because I didn't understand it's importance in building muscle.

After doing research online and reading tons and tons of bodybuiding books, I learned quite a few things over the years about gaining muscle mass. So I thought I'd share some of the things that I learned and applied that I believe helped me in my quest for building muscle:

-I didn't go crazy with cardio. Actually, I didn't do any cardio at all. Only weights, 5-6 days a week with a bodybuilding split.

-Increased protein intake. I started having a protein shake immediately after workouts, and also before bed, as well as increasing my intake of lean meats, eggs, and fish in order to get at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

-Lifting heavy. In the beginning, I trained with reps in the 8-12 range, but in the last few years I started lifting heavier with reps in the 4-6 range.  I focused on big, compound lifts with fewer isolation exercises.
-Tracking workouts.  This helped me to make sure I was getting stronger and increasing my weights progressively. I kept track of exercises, weights, reps, and rest time in between sets. I really think this helped tremendously.

-Eating REAL food. This made a huge difference in my physique. I used to eat almost everything out of a can or a box, thinking that it was healthy if it said on the label that it was! I finally learned how to cook fresh meat and started eating more vegetables, more healthy fats, and less processed foods.

-Learning the importance of pre and post workout nutrition. I studied about what foods to eat before and after workouts in order to maximize muscle building.  I never trained on an empty stomach, and made sure to get in a fast digesting protein and carbohydrate source within 30 minutes of training.

-Progress pictures. It's sometimes hard to see how your body is changing because you look at yourself every day! I wouldn't have been able to tell such a huge difference in my physique if I didn't have pictures that I took over the years, showing how my body has changed.  The scale is not the best way to measure progress, whether your goal is building muscle or losing fat.
-TIME and patience.  These two things are key.  It took years to build the muscle that I have today, and I'm still working on it.  Don't give up on the weights if you aren't seeing the results fast enough.  Keep at it, and the results will come if you are doing the right things.  Just. be. patient.