If you work out to build large muscles or improve your strength, you will need to gain additional muscle. While any workout routine involving strength training exercises may provide some benefit in this regard, all routines are not created equal. The best workout routines for gaining muscle are those that allow you to gain the most muscle in the least amount of time.
Starting Strength
Mark Rippetoe’s “Starting Strength” program is based on the concept that increasing your strength dramatically will result in increased muscle gain as well. Rippetoe has over 30 years of experience as both a competitor and coach in the strength sports field, from power lifting and Olympic weightlifting to bodybuilding. The Starting Strength program is built around a foundation of basic barbell exercises, using multi-joint, compound movements such as the barbell squat, bench press, deadlift and power clean. The use of these exercises allows the athlete to lift more weight at one time, leading to an increased metabolic demand. This is a more efficient way to build muscle than using isolated dumbbell and individual muscle exercises.
Beyond Brawn
Stuart McRoberts developed his original bodybuilding program in 1991, titled “Brawn.” His sequel to this, focusing on similar exercises and theory, is titled “Beyond Brawn.” McRoberts focuses on multi-joint, compound movement exercises as well, for the same reasons that Rippetoe does. This is because they work well. Focusing on the same barbell exercises, in a sets-by-reps scheme of 3-4X10, McRoberts provides examples of the measurements that can be obtained using his routines, providing background to his claims that his method is ideal for gaining new muscle mass.
Starr’s 5X5
Bill Starr was one of the first strength and conditioning coaches in the National Football League, working for the Indianapolis Colts. One of the underlying tenets of his philosophy of strength training was that in order to get stronger, you had to get bigger. This plays well for the athlete interested in gaining muscle because his programs were designed to pack lean muscle mass onto young athletes in a hurry. His most famous program, commonly referred to as “Starr’s 5X5,” was based on the use of three basic exercises, all of them barbell-based multi-joint, compound movement exercises. Referred to as the “Big Three” by Starr, they were the barbell squat, bench press, and the power clean. Like the other two programs above, although aimed first at those interested in strength training, Starr’s program is one of the best workout routines for athletes interested in muscle gain.
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