{"id":712713,"date":"2026-06-19T02:35:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T02:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/712713\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T02:35:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T02:35:14","slug":"the-4-building-blocks-you-need-to-build-more-muscle-from-every-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/712713\/","title":{"rendered":"The 4 Building Blocks You Need to Build More Muscle from Every Workout"},"content":{"rendered":"

If building muscle<\/a> was easy, every beach in the world would resemble a Dwayne Johnson<\/a>-lookalike contest. ‘People think they can do some sets and reps and suddenly walk out looking like a superhero. That just doesn\u2019t happen,’ says Men\u2019s Health US\u2019 fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S.<\/a><\/p>\n

Gaining even a couple of pounds of muscle mass is a difficult pursuit that takes time, nutritional precision and difficult workouts<\/a>. When we say ‘time’, intermediate gym-goers would be lucky to add a pound of legitimate muscle tissue in a month. You need to be in a slight caloric surplus, eating smart to pack on muscle and not (too much) body fat<\/a>. And you need to attack every workout like it\u2019s the last training session you\u2019ll ever have.<\/p>\n

If that sounds intense, don\u2019t sweat it. As a jumping-off point, you can refer to the muscle-building blocks Samuel says are the foundation of any legitimate muscle-building routine.<\/p>\n

The Muscle-Building Principles You Need to Follow<\/p>\n

When it comes to training for muscle mass, only a handful of things matter: your intensity, your form, and your exercise selection. The building blocks below are practical ways to encourage and facilitate those principles in your workouts.<\/p>\n

Use Multi-Joint Movements with a Long ROM<\/p>\n

‘You\u2019ve got to lift big to get big,’ sounds like utter bro science, but there\u2019s truth to the idea of maxing out your lifts in a lower rep range for more muscle.<\/p>\n

‘We think of this hypertrophy<\/a> range of 8-12 reps, and that every exercise needs to be there,’ Samuel says. ‘But that\u2019s been debunked by more recent research<\/a> [you can build muscle with as few as 5 reps and as many as 30]. We can train heavy, we just want to make sure we\u2019re doing it the right way.’<\/p>\n

In other words: how you perform each rep is as important as the weight you use. You need to apply tension to your muscles to grow them. Lifting heavy weight recruits more motor units within your muscles and lifting with a greater range of motion (ROM)<\/a> increases the time your muscles spend under tension. Lifting with a full ROM also stretches your muscle fibers to their fullest. More specifically, emphasising the most stretched portion of each exercise improves hypertrophy.<\/p>\n

‘What I’m talking about is working through that entire range of motion. When I\u2019m doing my reps, I\u2019m getting a full contraction at the top, lowering the weight slowly, and getting a full stretch at the bottom,’ Samuel adds.<\/p>\n

IN ACTION:<\/p>\n

Kick off your workouts with compound movements<\/a> (aka multi-joint movements), like squats<\/a> for your legs, deadlifts<\/a> for your hamstrings, dumbbell rows for your lats, and incline dumbbell presses for your chest.<\/p>\n

You can move the most weight with these exercises. As for how heavy to go, aim for 6-8 hard reps per set, but remember to execute each rep with textbook form. When you finish your final rep of each set, you shouldn\u2019t feel like you can complete another.<\/p>\n

Push to Failure<\/p>\n

We suggest 2 working sets for most of the exercises listed below, which you may scoff at, thinking it\u2019s an inadequate amount of volume for building muscle. But we\u2019re asking you to train hard \u2013 probably harder than you\u2019re used to \u2013 and we think you\u2019ll be shocked by how much gas you have in your tank when you push each working set to failure (and even beyond).<\/p>\n

‘Training is all about giving our body a stimulus, and our body responds to that stimulus by adapting,’ says Samuel. ‘That adaptation is adding strength or literally adding new tissue. Promoting and driving that adaptation requires us to push [our bodies] to the limit.’<\/p>\n

Regardless of the exercise and rep range, pick a weight that has you failing within each rep range. That means you\u2019ll be lifting pretty damn heavy for exercises in the 6-8 rep range \u2013 Samuel rowed 45kg for his working set of dumbbell rows \u2013 and then employing an intensity technique to push your muscles past their limits. Pushing your sets to true fatigue can be dangerous, so Samuel suggests saving intensity techniques for machine movements.<\/p>\n

‘I understand if you don\u2019t want to take your squats or deadlifts or barbell bench press<\/a> to [complete] fatigue; there\u2019s a chance you could lose the bar,’ says Samuel. ‘When you\u2019re on a machine<\/a>, that risk is mitigated, making them a great place to push to true fatigue.’<\/p>\n

IN ACTION:<\/p>\n

Samuel\u2019s favourite machines for pushing to failure and beyond include: the leg press<\/a>, cable row (as shown in the video), the seated chest fly, Hammer Strength rows, leg extensions, and leg curls.<\/p>\n

Say you\u2019re performing the seated cable row for sets of 20 reps. Your instinct may be to select a lighter weight so you eke out all 20 reps in one go, but that won\u2019t provide enough stimulus to grow muscle. Instead, you\u2019ll use rest-pause sets. Choose a weight that has you failing 6-8 reps short of your 20-rep goal. Once you reach failure around, say, rep 12, you\u2019ll lower the weight stack for five to 10 seconds and then perform another set. Keep rest-pausing until you complete all 20 reps. You\u2019ll repeat this method for all the prescribed sets.<\/p>\n

Maximise the Lengthened<\/a> Position<\/p>\n

Simply put: lifting weights places tension on your muscles as they generate force to move the load up (concentrically) and down (eccentrically<\/a>). That time under tension ultimately forces your muscles to adapt to get bigger and stronger. However, we\u2019re learning that where you accumulate tension can impact muscle growth.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s been found in research is that tension in the contracted [or shortened] position is less effective at building muscle,’ Samuel explains. ‘That stretch portion is really key for helping us build muscle. A lot of our growth potential when we\u2019re doing an exercise is going to happen because we\u2019re still trying to maintain tension during that part of the motion.’<\/p>\n

IN ACTION:<\/p>\n

Typically, a muscle is most stretched at the bottom of an exercise. You want to select movements that allow for a long range of motion, specifically in the bottom half of an exercise, and for you to load the muscle in its most stretched state. For example, the dumbbell preacher curl lets you stretch the muscle deeply by extending your elbow, and the dumbbell applies the most force in that position.<\/p>\n

‘Think about positions where your muscles are parallel to the sky,’ says Samuel. ‘The higher my biceps get to the point where they\u2019re parallel to the sky with a standard free weight, gravity has to face that lever so I can create a lot of tension in that lengthened position.’<\/p>\n

Examples of exercises that fit Samuel\u2019s criteria are dumbbell chest flys, preacher curls, seated cable rows, Nordic curls, Romanian deadlifts, and JM presses.<\/p>\n

You can also use an intensity technique called lengthened partials to push your set past failure. Recent research<\/a> has shown lengthened partial reps to be as effective as full range of motion reps for building muscle. When you\u2019ve reached failure during your set, you can extend it by performing reps in the bottom-half of the ROM. And those reps will elicit the same muscle-building stimulus as full-ROM reps.<\/p>\n

Own the Eccentric<\/p>\n

By now, you\u2019re probably sensing a theme. Form. Matters. Groundbreaking, right? But exercise science research has never been more widely available, and we now have a more specific understanding of how to get the most out of every single repetition. Building off the last two principles, the stretched position of any exercise is the most growth-promoting, and tension equals growth. Performing slow eccentric reps is the simplest way to accumulate more time under tension and spend more time in the lengthened portion of the lift.<\/p>\n

‘The biggest thing when it comes to thinking about the eccentric portion of a rep, is to think about fighting the weights on the way down,’ says Samuel. ‘The final exercise you do in the gym is a really good place to get that advanced technique in.’<\/p>\n

IN ACTION:<\/p>\n

A good rule of thumb is to never rush the lowering phase of any exercise you do. However, pick one or two isolation movements at the end of your workout and take three Mississippi seconds to lower your weights for each rep. Continue performing these slow eccentrics until you reach failure.<\/p>\n

Make it even harder by utilising drop sets<\/a>. Perform slow eccentrics until failure, drop the weight by 10 pounds, do another slow set to failure, and then drop the weight once more for a final set to failure. If you focus on your form and control your rep speed, you\u2019ll leave the gym with a gnarly pump.<\/p>\n

The Muscle-Building Back and Biceps Workout<\/p>\n

You can put these building blocks to the test by running through the workout Samuel demonstrated in the video. Follow these cues for proper form.<\/p>\n

FIRST EXERCISE:Single-Arm Dumbbell Row<\/p>\n

SETS AND REPS: Do 2 working sets of 6 to 8 reps. Rest 2 minutes between sets.<\/p>\n

\"db<\/p>\n

Men’s Health<\/p>\n

HOW TO DO IT:<\/p>\n

Lean into a dumbbell rack with your feet placed behind you and your supporting arm extended into the top row of the rack.Grab a dumbbell with your left hand, letting your arm fully extend. We suggest wearing lifting straps so your grip isn\u2019t a limiting factor.Keeping your back straight, row the dumbbell to the side of your torso, leading the pull with your elbow.Slowly lower the dumbbell back to the starting position with control. Complete all the prescribed reps and then repeat on the other side.SECOND EXERCISE:Seated Cable Row<\/p>\n

SETS AND REPS: Do 2 working sets of 8 to 10 reps. Rest 2 minutes between sets.<\/p>\n

\"cable<\/p>\n

Men’s Health<\/p>\n

HOW TO DO IT:<\/p>\n

Sit on the cable row machine, place your feet on the platform, and bend your knees slightly.Grab the handle with both hands and sit up tall, keeping your chest up and shoulders back.Pull the handle toward your torso by squeezing your shoulder blades together and keeping your elbows close to your body.Slowly extend your arms back to the starting position, letting your shoulders rounded forward slightly.THIRD EXERCISE:Incline Dumbbell Curl<\/p>\n

SETS AND REPS: Do 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps. Rest 2 minutes between sets.<\/p>\n

\"incline<\/p>\n

Men’s Health<\/p>\n

HOW TO DO IT:<\/p>\n

Set an adjustable bench to a 45- or 60-degree incline (whichever is more comfortable for you) and sit back with a dumbbell in each hand.Let your arms hang straight down with your palms facing forward.Curl the dumbbells toward your shoulders, keeping your elbows close to your torso.Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position, maintaining control throughout the movement.FOURTH EXERCISE:Dumbbell Preacher Curl<\/p>\n

SETS AND REPS: Do 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps. Rest 2 minutes between sets.<\/p>\n

\"preacher<\/p>\n

Men’s Health<\/p>\n

HOW TO DO IT:<\/p>\n

Set and adjustable bench to a 45-degree incline. Hug your armpit to the bench, holding a dumbbell with an underhand grip against the pad. Squat down and squeeze your shoulder blades and core to create tension.Keep your wrist in a neutral position, with the dumbbell and your forearm slightly off the bench. Squeeze your biceps to curl the weight up.Raise the weight until the point just before your forearm is perpendicular with the ground. Pause and squeeze your biceps at the top.Lower back down to the starting position, but don’t allow the weight to rest on the bench until the end of the set.FIFTH EXERCISE:Dumbbell Hammer Curl<\/p>\n

SETS AND REPS: Do 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps. Rest 2 minutes between sets.<\/p>\n

\"hammer<\/p>\n

Men’s Health<\/p>\n

HOW TO DO IT:<\/p>\n

Stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing in.Keeping your elbows close to your sides, curl the dumbbells to your shoulders.Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower the dumbbells with control.Avoid swinging the weights or using momentum.