MedicalToday

Build more bulk with our week-by-week guide to training harder and eating better.

Few things are more frustrating than diligently slogging it out in the gym, doing everything by the book and still not reaping the rewards. Plateaus like these can be disheartening – but cast those thoughts aside because we’ve come up with a 10-week plan to maximize your muscle growth. All you have to do is keep up your regular weight training routine and add a new trick to your repertoire each week.

Carrots

Vitamin A content means the old-wives’ tale about seeing in the dark is just about true. Potassium helps regulate your body’s fluid levels. Small and young carrots are sweetest and most nutritious.

Pears

Lots of fibre in the skin is good for digestion. Contains pectin to help the body eliminate cholesterol. One pair provides 11% of your body’s daily vitamin C intake.

Pheasants

The three best fat-burning sports – with some added little tweaks for bigger results

Running

The trick: run ladders

Use the first and last kilometres of your run to warm up and cool down. In between, run 30 seconds fast, 30 seconds slow, 45 seconds fast and slow and then 60 seconds of each. Follow with 1 or 2 minutes at your warm-up pace then reverse the ladder (60, 60, 45, 45, 30, and 30).

1. Breast is best

For strength and endurance, adapt your breaststroke. Instead of frog kicks, keep knees and feet together and bring them up towards your chest then kick them out to the side and back to straight. You’ll work your abs hard – especially if you swim 50m and then do 45 seconds of knee raises in the shallow end. From standing, raise one knee as high as you can, then lower it and repeat with the other leg. This is one set. Rest 60 seconds between each set and complete 3 sets.

To get the best results in half the time, build six muscles with just one move. The pull-through is a super-fast exercise that works you from back to front

1) Lower back
Attach rope handles to a low cable pulley. Stand with your back to the weights stack. Reach down to grab the handles with an overhand grip, and hold it between your knees. Tense lower back and core to keep your entire back flat.