I guess these tips would work for straight men too.
1. Keep cardio to a minimum
If you’re looking to pack on the pounds, then keep your cardio to a minimum and focus on heavy lifting. This isn’t to say you should abandon cardio altogether, it’s good for your heart (as the name implies) and can help keep your body fat from overtaking your muscle gains.
2. Go slow
This is good advice for new and experienced gym-bunnies alike. Slow and controlled sets will help to maximise each rep, getting the most benefit from every move you make. It will also ensure that you’re working the right muscles and will help to lessen the chance of injury.
3. More weight, less reps
Lifting heavier weights is how to build muscle, rather performing more reps which will increase endurance. For size, you should be looking to work in the 8 – 10 reps per set range, and loading that bar with as much weight as you can handle and still maintain good form.
4. Eat!
That phrase “abs are made in the kitchen” has been floating around the internet for as long as we’ve had memes. But there’s still a fair amount of truth to it. Lifting weights breaks down the muscle fibres so that they can grow bigger and stronger. But in order for them to do that they need feeding.
Keep yourself in a calorie surplus, with about 30% of those calories coming from protein.
5. Train muscles more than once a week
You may not be able to commit to working out every day of the week, but if you’re hoping to add some significant size to your muscle measurements, then once a week just won’t cut it I’m afraid.
A way around this is to train multiple muscle groups each session, cramming in as many compound movements as possible to make to best use of your time in the gym. That way you can train each muscle group multiple times and still just go to the gym 3 – 4 times a week.
6. NEVER skip leg day!
Another popular fitness meme that contains a fair amount of truth, friends never let friends skip leg day. I know you probably don’t give a crap about the size of your quads, but bigger leg muscles mean higher levels of testosterone, which means better muscle growth throughout the body.
I know it hurts, but just get it done!
7. Variety is the spice of life
(I wanted to make a Spice Up Your Life reference there… couldn’t quite make it work).
Variety is essential, not only because it helps shock your body and work as many different muscles as possible, but it will also help keep you sane. Doing the same workout every week for months will have you quickly losing interest and motivation.
8. Sleep
Muscles are broken in the gym and built in recovery. The best way to help your muscles recover is to get 7 – 8 hours of sleep every night. Put the screens away, cut down on the caffeine, and get yourself to bed early to prevent feeling sore and give your muscles the chance they need to grow.
Not to mention lack of sleep causes a shortage of serotonin, and when we’re stressed or tired, we want comfort. What’s the easiest way to feel comfortable? Comfort food!
Getting a little help
Should you want a little help with your own fitness journey, you can purchase one of our Gay Fitness UK training programs to get 6-weeks worth of training directly to your phone from just £12.99.
Or better yet, you could work directly with a gay personal trainer who will be there with you every step of the way.
And don’t forget to subscribe to our Weekly Workout Newsletter for weekly workouts (obvs).