There is only one way to grow your muscles bigger and stronger. All other techniques are based on this golden rule. This fundamental rule is basically concerned with a progressively increased overload in training. The argument behind this rule is that the body will basically grow in response to the stress that is placed on it. The muscles increase in size as they try to ready themselves for future increases in the amount of stress that will be put on them.

For this reason the muscles will hardly ever grow if you are just pegged on a static amount of overload week in week out. If you do this then the body will get complacent (or enter into a plateau stage) and no development will be observable. The best way is therefore to increase the overload gradually, nothing too drastic or abrupt lest one incurs injury. To increase the overload you need to increase the resistance in your weight training. Alternatively you can increase the amount of work that you are putting into the exercise.

One of the best ways to grow the muscles is by doing fewer reps that are more effective. As you increase the resistance, reduce the amount of reps and increase the resting time between each consecutive set. This will in effect help you to stimulate some new muscle groups that will be brought into the fray and contribute to the overall growth of the particular muscle group. The best number of reps to help in the gaining of muscle mass is often 4-6. There is a conflicting observation about fewer reps that is sort of unfounded.

Some people say that fewer reps are responsible for the susceptibility to injury. This is hardly so because as the resistance is being increased the body is not being overstressed in trying to meet the training demand. The muscles are gradually introduced to the new load and they adapt in time without exposure to weight related injuries. The muscles become stronger as a result.

Lower reps are by far the most effective ways to train the muscles. There is no need to concentrate on lighter loads and high reps. This will achieve nothing for the muscles. The effect cannot be compared with one which involves fewer but more intense reps. Further, if you can make as many as ten reps of any given exercise then without a doubt the exercise is too easy for you. This brings in the issue of how to determine the best weight to use in training.

The first weeks in the gym should be sort of a trial and error period. Test yourself with a range of weights and you will find out the best load for your purposes. One quick way to test this is to count the number of reps that you can do with each weight. If for a particular weight you can only do four reps chances are the weight is too heavy for you. Weights that afford you more than six reps are way too light.