People use weights to work out for many reasons – it could be to get fit, or shape up, or even to seriously make a difference as to how their body appears muscle-wise. If you’re one of the more serious gym users who want to build muscle, you’re probably wondering the best way to achieve maximum muscle gain.

Since one of the things that tends to put people off whenever they take up weight training is the apparent slow time it takes to show results, knowing how to maximize the workout to benefit you the most is very important. Below are some of the best ways to achieve the kind of results you’re looking for.

What Type Of Weight Training Is Best?

Although the weight machines that you’ll find in any gym are more than adequate for the average person that uses them, if you’re looking for maximum muscle gain, then free weights is the only way to go. This is where you use weights that come on barbells or dumbbells, as opposed to weight machines.

The reason for this is fairly straightforward – the more “stress” you put on your muscles, the more gain you’ll achieve. Since weight machines work by supporting the amount you lift via stabilizers and pulleys, they’re more suited to toning muscle than actually building it.

However, free weights work in the opposite way. When lifting a free weight, you’re straining to lift it more than you would strain when using a machine, from the simple fact that you’re the centre of gravity, as opposed to a machine. What this does is train your muscles to understand how much you can lift, resulting in you being able to train harder, and thus giving you maximum muscle gain in every workout.

Multi-Jointed Exercises

Another way to build maximum muscle gain is through the use of multi-jointed exercising. Since they target the large compound muscle groups, which are the ones that effect the most change when stimulated, they’re an excellent way to grow muscle faster and more efficiently, especially when used alongside free weight training.

Some of the basic yet most effective multi-jointed exercises for maximum muscle gain include:

Bench pressing, which targets the chest, triceps and shoulder muscles
Pull-ups and barbell rows, which focus on the back and biceps
Overhead presses, which work on the shoulders and triceps
Squats, excellent for your lower back and legs
Bar dips, which stimulate the muscle groups around the shoulders, arms and chest
Deadlifts, great for your legs, shoulders and back

If you use these exercises with your free weight training, you’ll quickly be able to build up to lifting heavier weights, and this in turn will give you the maximum muscle gain that you seek.

Heavy Weight Training

Although it may seem fairly obvious, inasmuch that the heavier the weight the bigger your muscles will become, you’d be surprised how many people get this wrong. Heavy weights should make you feel tired after only 10-12 reps. If you can lift more than this amount, you’re not really stimulating your muscle groups.

The best way to try this is to lift a weight that you feel you may feel will be a challenge – since maximum muscle gain comes from weight stimulating the muscle fibres you have in your body, the more you can lift the better, even if it’s a small amount of reps. You’ll soon see the results, and you’ll be able to progress onto heavier weights quicker.