If you browse the fitness – and specifically – muscle building media, you’ll always see headlines referring to the amount of ‘muscle’ you can gain.
This muscle gain is usually measured by the pound… as in “Gain 10 pounds of muscle” etc…
That’s all well and good, but what does a pound of muscle even look like? The picture above is approx 1 pound of muscle (in the form of a t-bone steak)
And if your goal is to gain weight, where exactly do you want that weight to be?
The muscle mass on your body is almost perfectly balanced between your upper body and your lower body, 52% in your legs and 48% in your upper body.
So if you wanted to gain muscle and specifically see an increase in bodyweight, you would need to do at least as much leg training as upper body training…but seriously…
… who wants to do that?
I’m not saying that you should neglect leg training, far from it. But what I am saying is that most guys have an image in their head of what they want to look like, and they always think it equals more muscle than is really needed.
Putting on 10 pounds of muscle is going to require at least 5 of it to be in your legs.
Putting on 20 pounds is going to require at least 10 of it to be in your legs.
But in your minds eye, I’ll bet all the changes you are hoping to see are mostly upper body changes such as bigger shoulders and chest, thicker wider back and kick ass arms.
The point is that big time changes in your upper body don’t require you to put on that much muscle to see dramatic effects.
A few pounds properly added to the right spots will make ALL the difference in the world.
Again, the picture attached to this post is 1 pound of steak (which is basically the same type of muscle that makes up your body)
That one pound is pretty damn big.
Next time you’re at the grocery store go over to the butcher’s counter and ask to see 2-3 even 5 pounds of steak/meat. It’s big! Now imagine slapping that much mass to your body and realize that a few pounds in the right places is all it takes to make a big time change in your look and shape.
There is simply no need to be chasing some lofty goal of gaining massive amounts of muscle, because:
A) its not possible without drugs
B) its not necessary to look great
C) Even if you do gain lots of weight half of it will have to be in your legs anyway.
Bottom line: Don’t worry about how much you weigh on the scale, but rather what your proportions look like in the mirror.
John
P.S. Of course this is exactly why I built the Adonis Index Workout
About Allen Elliott