I know we're all in a hurry to get big, lose body fat, and otherwise enhance our athletic performance. In that light, I'm starting a series, a Top Ten if you will, on getting things done better and faster.

The first part of this Top Ten is all about building muscle: What are the tricks, tips, and techniques for building muscles that are bigger, faster, and stronger?

Without further ado, here they are:

1. Do compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows, pull-ups, and overhead presses. In that order of preference. These exercises stimulate more muscle growth because they employ more muscle fibers at once, cause increased growth hormone production, and also facilitate the mind-muscle connection.
2. Do 2-4 sets of each exercise.
3. Do sets of 6-10 reps.
4. Train to concentric failure on the last "heavy" set of at least one exercise per workout. This means that if you work chest, back, and shoulders, do at least one set of Bench Presses, for example, until you cannot do another rep without help.
5. Throw in a forced rep or two every few weeks.
6. Cycle your training. Don't go stale. I suggest using mini-cycles of 3-6 weeks on, one week off. The harder you train, the fewer weeks of hard training you do before a rest.
7. Cycle your supplementation. I suggest 3 days on, 1 day off. Repeat. Make your diet coincide with your training. This means that every 3 to 6 weeks, you take some time off.
8. Work toward progress. A little progress is better than none at all. Tweak here and there to keep progress moving. There's no sense in trying to build Rome in a day. It won't work and you'll get hurt and/or disappointed.
9. Get plenty of rest and drink a ton of water. Reduce inflammation by cutting out junk food including sugar, high fructose corn syrup, caffeine, and other crap. It does you no good. Even if it tastes really yummy and gives you a killer buzz. Nothing in life comes easy.
10. Everything is subject to change. Nothing is written in stone. Including these "rules."

That's it for now. Next up: Fat-loss Top Ten.

You may notice some new buttons on the Muscle-Build.com site. Yes, there are Forum and Sales buttons, and NO, they are not functional! They are future features of the site that I hope to bring to you.

However, I've not had time to set everything up.

You may remember that I sent out a reader survey a while back. That's where the Forum idea came to bear. Some readers really want a user forum. So I've started to make one. I'll let you know when it's live. The Sales button is going to be a redirect to another site I've put up where I'll be selling some fitness courses. Some you've already seen, like the Hardgainer Manifesto.

Others will be new. I'm working on a 16-week course that will take you from looking like this: 

To this:

In 4 months. Of course, your mileage may vary. Results not typical! Arnold was awesome. But you can go from fat (or skinny) to buff in 4 months with hard training, diet, and dedication. Anyway, that's the update. Two new features for Muscle-Build.com coming online. Hopefully before the end of the year. Stay tuned. Or, better yet, sign up here for all the updates to the site.

I just posted an article about how to avoid overeating. If you ever have issues with eating too much (as evidenced by jeans that are too tight and shirts you can no longer button), then you’ll want to check this one out.

I just wrote an article called “Fastest Way to Build Muscle” over at Muscle-Build.com. You’ll want to check it out. It’s more “3 Pillars” stuff! You cannot get away from a proper balance of training, diet, and recovery. It’s impossible. Don’t even try it. You will undermine your own goals if you try to disprove this time-tested strategy.

If you aren’t making the gains you want, look to exercise, nutrition, and recovery, and I guarantee you’ll find the source of your poor results.

Building muscle is like any other project you might undertake in life: It’s a process that requires specific steps be taken, in the right quantities and at the right times. Plus, there needs to be time for recuperation. Muscles that are broken down by hard training must be given the nutrients and the rest intervals they need in order to not only repair themselves but to grow bigger and stronger.

There really is no other way.

Welcome to the May 22, 2009 edition of the Hardgainer blog carnival.

Oystein Lund presents So what does fitness mean anyway? posted at Muscle building for fat loss, saying, “What’s your motivation for doing this anyway?”

Joe E presents New Diet Craze: I Gross You Out So Much That You Quit Eating Crappy, Disgusting Fast Food! posted at Promote Health, saying, “Here’s 12 reasons why you should quit eating fast food!”

Steve Faber presents Aerobics is a Waste of Your Time if You Want to Burn Fat posted at Belly Fat Loser.

Conan Stevens presents Gain Weight – 20kg In 3 Months posted at Conan Stevens Online, saying, “Before i was a hardgainer, i was an easy gainer, then…”

FitJerk presents Building Muscle Mass By Eating More? Carbs? Why Gluconeogenesis Is Your Enemy posted at FlawlessFitness, saying, “Most know that protein is the fundamental element that you need to eat to build rock hard muscles, and carbs are something you should cut down on to avoid getting fat. Right? WRONG! Learn the secret carb to protein ratio that explodes muscle mass!”

Verna Morris presents 25 Bookmark-worthy Cheat Sheets for Healthy Living posted at Nursing Assistant Guides.

Ralph Jean-Paul presents Lessons Learned During My Self-Discipline Fast posted at ralphs words, saying, “The benefits and lessons I learned during a challenging juice fast.”

FitJerk presents Supplement Review: Purple K Creatine From Fusion Bodybuilding posted at FlawlessFitness, saying, “I stumbled upon a buffered type of creatine which is pH balanced, doesn’t need to be cycled, comes in a pill form and best off all, gives you the same results with a smaller dosage! Find out if it lived up to its claims!”

Colin Timberlake presents Training Log: The 2009 Arnold Classic 5K Pump and Run- Day 35 posted at colintimberlake.com, saying, “Former Mr. Olympia and the King of Perseverance Samir Bannout is used as the inspiration for a day of hard training.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Hardgainer blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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