Gym Or Home: Best Place To Gain Muscle Mass?

Many who wish to gain muscle mass feel that joining a gym is a prerequisite, and so, following a rather calorie friendly December, millions crowd the lobbies of local gyms, signing up for a 3+ year membership, believing that they’ve just taken the first step towards gaining muscle mass and transforming their body. But if we analyze the number of people who actually continue attending the gym following their initial contractual commitment, we find that the excited patrons who were fueled with desire for added muscle mass suddenly fail to walk through the gym’s front door as February approaches.

Most assume that sloth is the natural enemy that prevents most from pursuing a pattern of weight lifting consistency, and never analyze whether the gym environment itself may be offering an insurmountable obstacle towards building muscle mass for many, eventually causing most to quit and never achieve their muscle building goals.

But why? How could the gym actually reduce motivation to train, when in fact the environment should be more conducive towards building muscle mass than any other (it certainly is filled with plenty of exercise equipment!)? The answer will be found within the first few weight training workouts, and clearly becomes one of the main reasons why most lose their fondness for gym attendance before they produce any noticeable muscle mass improvements.

Imagine you are prepared for an intense workout, and you encounter one or more friends who decide to lift weights at the same time as you. What will likely happen next? Will the group experience the best weight training workout of the year, or will the next hour focus upon discussing plans for the weekend? Let’s say you visit the gym and happen not to find any acquaintances, but as you scan the territory, immediately sense that every machine you are planning to use is occupied, with a 10+ minute wait for each. Do you think this will contribute towards a productive muscle building workout session, or encourage a trip to the local fast food drive thru to try and munch the mounting frustration away?

Oh, and let’s not forget the many additional convenient excuses to skip the gym for a day, such as weather (two feet of snow might make navigating the highway difficult), car breakdown (a flat tire always interferes with melting a spare tire), and traffic (wouldn’t want to be late for dinner!). Some may say that these inconveniences are occasional, and cannot occur on a regular basis, but once momentum is ruined, and a weight training workout is missed, the mind becomes far more accepting of another skipped session, and this attitude will eventually lead to a new habit, one which is much more enjoyable – couch warming, without the distraction of a daily gym visit. If you wish to gain muscle mass, avoiding such a scenario is of paramount importance.

So, what is the alternative? I not only perform my weight training at home, but gained over 60 lbs of muscle mass in the process, proving that physical transformation does not require waiting in line for machines or paying expensive gym dues. In fact, I gained all of my muscle mass at home, in my basement, with basic weight training equipment, and I was able to produce far more consistency with my weight training workout regimen than most who must contend with the inconvenient gym environment, specifically because being at home allowed me to control my surroundings, instead of allowing roadblocks to interfere with my scheduled gym visits.

This is not to say that gaining muscle mass is impossible through public gym training, as many with such memberships produce excellent muscle gains, but for those who have the option to purchase some basic weight lifting equipment and exercise at home, I believe doing so is far more convenient, offers no distractions, and is significantly less expensive over a several year period than joining a local gym. Gaining muscle mass relies in great part upon mental focus, a factor which suffers greatly when subjected to an unpredictable set of circumstances, and this is why I have always opted for performing weight training workouts at home, and by doing so, have gained more muscle mass than most believe is possible naturally.

You may currently frown upon weight training at home, but may no longer feel this way if you experience the numerous frustrations inherent in trying to consistently attend a gym, so do yourself a favor; if you join a local fitness facility, make sure not to sign a long term deal until you have attended for at least three months and have proven to yourself that numerous potential distractions and obstacles will not interfere with remaining faithful to your weight training workout routine.

I built over 60 lbs of muscle mass by implementing an effective weight training workout plan at home, and have guided men and women around the world towards achieving natural muscle gains (as you will see by the hundreds of muscle building testimonials here at MuscleNOW.com). Now, I will show you how to gain muscle mass without bodybuilding supplements, regardless of whether you choose to exercise in a gym or at home.

Do Vacations Limit Muscle Gains?

Those who seek to build muscle mass have different views on vacations, with some believing that several weeks of consistent weight training workouts should be followed with a break of at least one week, while others fearing the very idea of taking a vacation from bodybuilding, to the point where they try to find a gym even when they are on a pleasure trip with family or friends. The true answer to how a bodybuilder must deal with vacations in order to avoid any significant negative impact on muscle mass is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.

It’s very easy to become obsessive with weight training, to the point where skipping a workout quickly brings about fears of significant muscle mass reduction, and this can cause those who pursue bodybuilding to actually try and avoid vacations so that they can remain consistent with their weight training workout routines at all times. This, to the outsider, seems excessive, and there is no doubt that, mentally, living such a one-track bodybuilding lifestyle can bring about depression and alienation from family and friends.

Others aim for breaks from weight training workouts every several weeks, performing their weight lifting and aerobic sessions for 4-6 weeks, and then taking a 1-2 week sabbatical from building muscle mass before beginning another 4-6 week cycle. This technique can delay bodybuilding progress significantly, so I recommend, instead, planning breaks from weight training around special occasions (Christmas, summer vacations, birthdays, etc), and saving unexpected vacations for times when illness strikes (flu, injuries, etc), so that you can comfortably move away from building muscle mass for 1-2 weeks during times of the year when you have places to see and people to spend time with, or when you are sidelined with an unexpected illness or injury.

The amount of muscle mass lost during a vacation from weight training can be significant if the time away from such workouts is excessive, so a reasonable period of time to vacation from weight lifting is one week, and preferably, a vacation should never exceed two weeks, as the body begins to reduce muscle mass after a 1-2 week period (depending on individual genetics). If you are taking a trip that requires a longer time away from your normal weight training workout session, consider following an abbreviated schedule, where each body part is trained once per week with lower volume, at least to try and encourage maintenance of muscle mass during your trip. This technique can be used for a vacation of any duration, but is especially important if you are taking a trip that will exceed two weeks. Such an approach allows for very short weight lifting workouts that stimulate the muscle sufficiently to delay catabolism (muscle loss).

In regards to the frequency of breaks from weight training, this will depend on your individual schedule and lifestyle. Generally, if you wish to build maximum muscle mass, the less breaks of an extended duration that you take, the more progress you will achieve, yet a one week vacation several times per year is beneficial for the mind and body. Just make sure that such vacations occur at extended intervals, with at least two months (preferably three) of weight training consistency preceding a break.

Also, do not neglect the importance of proper diet during a vacation from weight training, as abandoning sufficient protein or carbohydrates during time spent away from your bodybuilding workouts can cause rapid muscle mass reduction, where otherwise, by observing an effective eating plan, very little negative change will occur. Most are not opposed to eating on vacation (that’s half the fun), but just make sure to consume sufficient protein during such periods, and aim for carbohydrates at maintenance levels in order to discourage unnecessary muscle mass loss or fat gain (although some fat increase is fine during vacations if you remain dedicated and consistent with your weight training workouts and diet throughout the remainder of the year, since you can quickly burn any accumulated fat when returning home from vacation).

Do Genetics Limit Muscle Gains?

Unrealistic expectations have proven to be the downfall of many who wish to gain muscle mass, as bodybuilding far too often becomes a pursuit of transforming into someone else, as opposed to maximizing your own individual genetic potential. We may frequently see individuals on the Internet, TV or in magazines who have the bodybuilding physique we aspire towards, so we somehow feel that by weight training and eating a certain way, we can develop an identical appearance, when in fact our physical makeup is unique, meaning that results others produce do not in any way indicate we are capable of the same, or conversely, we may even be able to greatly exceed the bodybuilding success of those we admire. Yet, there is no way of knowing our own individual bodybuilding genetic potential without first following an effective diet and weight training workout routine to determine how our body responds.

The unfortunate downside of basing our own level of bodybuilding satisfaction upon pursuing the physique of another is that, although we may gain a level of muscle mass that impresses nearly every person we meet, in our own mind, we remain inferior, as our standard is not based upon how much we’ve achieved, but rather how close we are to the person we choose to emulate. With such a mindset, regardless of how our progress appears to others, we continually seek the impossible dream, and eventually either quit bodybuilding altogether, or decide to experiment with dangerous drugs or bodybuilding supplements instead of modifying our expectations to match our own genetic potential.

Bodybuilding genetics offer a muscle mass barrier which we all must obey, no different from one who wishes to become a basketball superstar but lacks sufficient height; yet, even though genetics differ, in bodybuilding, very few ever achieve their potential for muscle mass gains, not necessarily due to lack of effort, but as a result of serious diet and weight training errors. Certainly, if one were lifting weights and eating perfectly, genetics will then eventually limit future gains, and will also impact the overall speed of results, but most who feel genetics are curtailing any positive change actually eat and weight train without any sense of direction, which is the true culprit behind disappointing progress.

The amount of muscle mass we can gain is as unique as our individual personalities, and we should never try to emulate or become another in our pursuit of physical fitness, rather forging our own road by maximizing the individual bodybuilding potential each of us has, doing so through an effective diet and weight training workout routine. When we begin to view bodybuilding as an experiment in personal achievement, we then can finally relish in the improvements we make, as opposed to feeling constantly deprived by focusing on the appearance of another who may have genetics that are far different than ours. If we do not have the possibility to experience satisfaction with our accomplishments, bodybuilding becomes a never ending pursuit of the unattainable, and can morph from a worthwhile pursuit into a detrimental, stressful, fruitless hobby that leads to nothing but disappointment and frustration.

If you seek to gain as much muscle mass as your genetics will allow, then you must begin to follow an effective diet and weight training workout program. I have achieved tremendous success (over 60 lbs of muscle mass gained), and have guided men and women around the world towards achieving amazing muscle building results (as you will see by the hundreds of muscle building testimonials here at MuscleNOW.com). Now, I will show you how to work towards your genetic potential for muscle mass using proper bodybuilding diet and weight training techniques alone, not supplements or steroids.