Bodybuilding and Learning How to Build Muscle Mass

As I run a website on muscle building I've been provided with plenty of review copies of various books, plus temporary membership access to several muscle building and fat-loss related websites.

I've looked at over 20 of the most popular muscle building products and short-listed the best by category. If you are interested in learning more about these product then I strongly recommend you checkout the Best Muscle Building Programs Compared.

If you go to the gym and perform your weight training sessions without recording your routines, then how can you improve the next time you time go?

Weight training and bodybuilding is about making small improvements each week in order to gain muscle mass and strength. This post is about my free Printable Blank Weight Lifting Chart, which you can download from my site for free

Why use the blank weight lifting chart?

Whenever I go to the gym for a weight training session I take this blank weight lifting program chart with me, along with my previous session's workout log. This saves me time as I will know exactly what weight to load onto the machines and which exercises I'm going to perform.

Most importantly I will know exactly what I need to do to beat my last week's achievement. This could be simply adding a couple more pounds to my squats, or doing one extra rep on my last set.

Either way, a small improvement each week over time will increase my strength and lean muscle mass.

You can store each workout log in a folder, or you could record the information onto your computer.

I actually enter my training information onto my laptop where I have designed special spreadsheets that chart my progress. These free workout plan spreadsheets are also be available on my website

How to use the blank weight lifting chart

At every workout session you enter today's date and record the amount of time you spent doing your routine. By recording your weight training session time you can aim to train faster and more intensely next time, if you wish.

For every set of each exercise you perform you will want to record:

The Muscle Group Exercised - Back, Shoulders, Chest, Abs, biceps, triceps, quads, hamstrings, calfs.

Each Exercise - Here you record the exercise, for example leg press, bicep curls, barbell rows, etc.

Reps Per Exercise - Record how many reps of each exercise you've done.

Resting Time - How long you have rested between each set in minutes or seconds.

Weight Lifted - In pounds or kilos record how much weight you lifted.

Intensity Rating - Rate yourself out of ten how intense a particular exercise was, where 10 is perfect and you've beat every previous record. Be honest or you'll just be fooling yourself!

Notes - If you want to make any adjustments to your routine next time, use the notes section as the bottom of the page so remember next time.

Click Here to download the PDF from my website.

Miss a muscle building workout at the gym too often and your muscle gains will be slowed, or you may even start to lose muscle. However, many of us can't make it to the gym due to work or family commitments, but this shouldn't stop your bodybuilding workout program in its tracks.

What I suggest you do is create an alternative muscle building workout that you can do anywhere without using weight training equipment.

It's true that weight training equipment makes muscle gains easier and more convenient, but there are plenty of people out there with strong muscular physiques who never step foot inside a gym. This is why I recommend that you have a backup muscle building workout plan that you can do in about 30 minutes if you can't make it to the gym.

I've found that varying my workouts between high and low reps can stimulate muscle growth, so doing a weight free muscle building workout every now and again seems to help me progress.

Here are a few exercises I do when I can't go to the gym (3-4 sets of each):

Lunges

I find doing plenty of high repetition lunges without weights gives a real burn in my thighs.

Calf Raises

Standing on a step and using a wall for balance, I pump out between 50 and 100 calf raises using just my bodyweight. I take care to do my calf raises slowly, being sure to stretch my calf muscles at the bottom of the movement and squeezing them at the top of the movement.

Pull-ups

I recommend pull-ups as part of any muscle building workout, including workouts in the gym. Pull-ups require a strong grip as you are lifting your entire bodyweight. Pull-ups develop the entire back, plus the biceps, triceps, and shoulders.

Push-ups

Push-ups are a great exercise for your arms, chest and shoulders. You can make push-ups more difficult by balancing a heavy object on your back, or using a backpack filled with objects, like books.

Abdominal Crunches

Crunches are a superb all-round muscle building exercise for the abdominal muscles.

A muscle building workout without specialist weight equipment is simple to do and can be performed quickly, just about anywhere. I recommend Adding Muscle Mass if you would like to know more about creating great muscle building workouts.