I learnt this the hard way…. Swipe through these and let me know if anything resonates
- From forcing the gym numbers up… to letting them simply come to you 👏
- So the idea is to be okay with the fact that we might stall on some lifts for a couple weeks? And as long as Im close enough to failure then its alright if Ididn’t add a rep?
What many think is the way to build muscle
1/ adding more reps or weight in the gym each week
2/ increasing training volume
3/ just eating more food
My body didn’t start changing, nor my glutes start growing until I did this….
First…. what is actually needed to build the body you want?
1/ a sufficient stress from your training that you can progress & recover from
2/ a conducive environment with your nutrition & lifestyle
Lets break it down
TRAINING:
Lots of training can be hard… but it doesn’t = muscle growth
More sets, super sets, circuits, having your heart pumping can feel hard, but doesn’t = muscle growth
So what is HARD, EFFECTIVE TRAINING?
1/ hits & loads the TARGET MUSCLE well
2/ full range of motion
3/ the TARGET MUSCLE is the limiter
4/ you can easily progress it & push load
5/ PS; keep sets safe!
– pick effective exercises for your goals. Stable exercises should be a STAPLE in muscle focused training. Smith machine & other machines, cables, bench work etc… are ones you can safely push until form gives out! Yes include the other work too, but THIS should be a good chunk of your program.
It may FEEL hard and ouchy, but you don’t stop when it starts to hurt, the mental & physical effort needs to be here (see all 5 points above)
– train until your form fails. Learn to PUSH beyond comfort for this but make sure your BRACING is locked & technique dialled in. foundations first.
Most people think theyre pushing hard but find they actually had 3-5 reps left
– progressive stimulus! Things like kickbacks and banded or BW work simply don’t allow you to TRULY push big weights on it – there are more effective choices here. If you only train 3-4x a week, your selection matters more
– don’t chase PRs every week. On MOST weeks progress is keeping the same weight & having it feel better, making them LOOK better, adding reps, controlling it and hitting range of motion. Yes MOST weeks. From forcing the gym numbers up… to letting them simply come to you 👏
The EFFORT you put in = hitting stimulative thresholds. Then OVER TIME youll see #s follow
– respect the quirks of the muscle group – things like delts & arms are NOT going to progress at the same rate. Pulldowns and rows, presses… they will all be a fight each week to keep the same weight. That is PROGRESS. Stop chasing numbers at expensive of tempo or range of motion. STANDARDIZE YOUR REPS (back to the hard =/= conducive. Tame the ego)
NUTRITION: are you eating ENOUGH?
Most people aren’t eating enough but snacking too much
I know this scares the 💩 out of a lot of women who fear eating more will result in undesirable weight gain. So in turn we gravitate to snacking here and there, random pantry trips after dinner… wondering why we aren’t seeing the results we want.
MOST WOMEN are severely undereating protein
Having some eggs here, maybe some Greek yoghurt or cheese, some milk, perhaps a chicken salad and then your dinner meat is NOT enough for the physique you say you want
Its SO RARE for someone to come to me hitting their minimum protein requirements.
“not dieting” doesn’t = build muscle
“eating more” doesn’t = build muscle
You cannot force feed muscle growth & simple guzzling down more protein doesn’t just make muscle appear
Building muscle is all about YOUR TRAINING. Training HARD ENOUGH for LONG ENOUGH without flip flopping back into a diet when you get uncomfy.
you don’t need more than a 5% surplus, and if you have higher body fat level, you can see some changes at maintenance – you just got to make the trade off with the time it will take for real change.
- Forcing progress on your training logs is a sure fire way to REGRESS (maybe injure yourself & burn out)
- Many women cant grasp the idea of “NOT BULKING AND CUTTING IN CYCLES” which im so against. Yes you want DISTINCT building and fat loss cycles, but following the “bro” norms is almost like yoyo dieting where you end up with more fat mass & less muscle.
Accept that it WILL COME WITH TIGHTER PANTS, the scale fluctuating up!!
Stop chasing diets. Start chasing body composition, muscle & metabolism
You want a LOOK! Not a number that might mean a worse shape, no energy & weak metabolism!
Chase WELL FED, WELL FUELLED & STRONG
The SHAPE YOU WANT demands you to perform like you mean it!
It makes fatloss easier
It makes living lean easier
BUILDING is more about training than food, but if your nutrition isnt in check, you wont see the results you want, perform as you want, or feel geared up for a long-ass building phase. Which you need if you care for impressive physique change. NOT jumping into a diet when you feel fluffy or the scale goes up.
Your obsession with the scale is the #1 reason you are NOT at the physique you desire.
Smaller clothes are leaving you trapped in the old lifestyle you badly want to escape
You are not letting yourself go
You are NOT going to gain the pounds of fat
You are going to gain life, a lifestyle change, strength and a way of TRAINING, EATING & LIVING that creates the body you have always wanted.
Maintenance is where you should spend MOST of your tie
Get OBSESSED with living your best life and CREATING the best version of you. One habit at a time, one workout at a time, one day at a time!!
Want more tips like this or need some clear direction to achieve your goals? Slide into my DMs and we can see if I can help 👊🏼 OR comment RESULTS below
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TRANSFORM x RUBY 