Mike Israetel shared his best methods to add more muscle to your frame.
Dr. Mike Israetel has shared many of his own workouts and diet tips to help others build the best physique possible. Recently, Israetel broke down his five best principles used to help build muscle.
[RELATED: Dr. Mike Israetel Breaks Down Best Ways to Reach Fitness Goals in 2025]
Holding a PhD in sports physiology, Israetel is well-versed in what it takes to produce elite strength and build elite muscle. With all his knowledge, as well as his sarcastic wit, Israetel has made it his mission in recent years to investigate the training regimes of anyone from actors to athletes and take them to task.
Dr. Mike Israetel’s Key Training Principles
In a recent video, Israetel discussed five major methods to add more muscle:
- Progressive Overload
- Compound Basics
- Technique
- Consistency
- Variation
Progressive Overload
Mike Israetel started his list with progressive overload. He stressed the importance of adding more and more weight over time rather than doing too much too fast. He used the example of how he used to add 5-10 pounds to a rep.
“A lot of times it’s just the mentality that’s keeping you behind and not really the physiology, push the pace gently in most weeks by a little bit. Five pounds, another rep and you’re going to do really, really well for yourself.”
Compound Basics
Israetel added the importance of compound movements. This is how he added muscle when he first started training with workouts such as squats, bench press, pull-ups, and deadlifts.
“They are never going to do you dirty. They’re going to build an incredible base of size and strength.”
Technique
The important of proper technique cannot be overstated when lifting weights. Israetel shared that he even suffered injuries during his high school years. Once he got into powerlifting, he was held accountable because of regulations in competition.
“Powerlifting is a standard. Like you can be under any impression of what a squat is, until and unless you try to do a powerlifting meet. Then they tell you this is a squat and nothing higher than this is a squat.”
Consistency
Consistency can be an issue for new gym goers. The passion for weightlifting might not be there at first but Mike Israetel urges those who do not have that passion to keep going and the consistency will be there.
“The only time I’ve been away from the gym, for more than a week and a half, was when I had hernia surgery. Eventually, you’ll fall in love and consistency will no longer be an issue.”
Variation
The final principle that Israetel discussed was variation. It is important to mix up your program — both for mental and physical reasons.
“Every few month, I’d change. It kept me progressing, it kept me safer, and it kept lifting way more fun for decades to come.”
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