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There is so much conflicting information out there when it comes to the topic
of building muscle, and sometimes it can be very difficult to know where to
start. If you’re an average beginner looking for some basic guidelines to follow
in the gym, the following 8 points will start you off on the right track.
1) Train With Weights and Focus On Compound, Free Weight Movements.
If you want to make solid, noteworthy gains in muscle size and strength, you
absolutely must train with free weights and focus on basic, compound exercises.
A compound exercise is any lift that stimulates more than one muscle group at a
time. Examples of these lifts are the squat, deadlift, bench press, chin up,
barbell row, overhead press, dip and lunge. Compound movements allow you to
handle the most weight and will stimulate the greatest amount of total muscle
fibers.
2) Be Prepared To Train Hard.
One of the biggest factors that separates those who make modest gains from
those who make serious gains is their level of training intensity. In order to
stimulate your muscle fibers to their utmost potential, you must be willing to
take every set you perform in the gym to the point of muscular failure.
Muscular Failure: The point at which no further repetitions can be completed
using proper form.
Sub-maximal training intensity will leave you with sub-maximal results, plain
and simple.
3) Track Your Progress In The Gym From Week To Week.
Our bodies build muscle because of an adaptive response to the environment.
When you go to the gym, you break down your muscle fibers by training with
weights. Your body senses this as a potential threat to its survival and will
react accordingly by rebuilding the damaged fibers larger and stronger in order
to protect against any possible future threat. Therefore, in order to make
continual gains in muscle size and strength, you must always focus on
progressing in the gym from week to week. This could mean performing 1 or 2 more
reps for each exercise or adding more weight to the bar. Keep a detailed
training log to track your progress as your strength increases over time.
4) Avoid Overtraining.
Overtraining is your number one enemy when it comes to building muscle size
and strength. When most people begin a workout program, they are stuck with the
misguided notion that more is better. They naturally assume that the more time
they spend in the gym, the better results they will achieve. When it comes to
building muscle, nothing could be farther from the truth! If you spend too much
time in the gym, you will actually take yourself farther away from your goals
rather than closer to them. Remember, your muscles do not grow in the gym; they
grow out of the gym, while you are resting and eating. Recovery is absolutely
vital to the muscle growth process. If you don't provide your body with the
proper recovery time in between workouts, your muscles will never have a chance
to grow.
5) Eat More Frequently.
The main area where most people fail miserably on their muscle-building
mission is on the all-too important task of proper nutrition. Training with
weights is only half of the equation! You break down your muscle fibers in the
gym, but if you don't provide your body with the proper nutrients at the proper
times, the muscle growth process will be next to impossible. You should be
eating anywhere from 5-7 meals per day, spaced every 2-3 hours in order to keep
your body in an anabolic, muscle-building state at all times. Each meal should
consist of high quality protein and complex carbohydrates.
6) Increase Your Protein Intake.
Of the 3 major nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) protein is without
a doubt the most important for those who are looking to gain muscle size and
strength. Protein is found in literally every single one of the 30 trillion
cells that your body is made up of and its main role is to build and repair body
tissues. Without sufficient protein intake, it will be physically impossible for
your body to synthesize a significant amount of lean muscle mass. If your body
were a house, think of protein as the bricks. A general guideline is to consume
1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day from high quality
sources such as fish, poultry, eggs, beef, milk, peanut butter and cottage
cheese.
7) Increase Your Water Intake.
If you want a simple, easy and highly effective way to maximize your muscle
gains, drinking more water is it. Water plays so many vital roles in the body
and its importance cannot be overstated. In fact, your muscles alone are made up
of 70% water! Not only will drinking more water cause your muscles to appear
fuller and more vascular, but it will also increase your strength as well.
Research has shown that merely a 3-4% drop in your body's water levels can
impact muscle contractions by 10-20%! Aim to consume 0.6 ounces for every pound
of bodyweight each day for optimal gains.
8) Be Consistent!
Consistency is everything. Those who make the greatest gains in muscular size
and strength are the ones who are able to implement the proper techniques on a
highly consistent basis. Simply knowing is not enough, you must apply!
Building muscle is a result of the cumulative effect of small steps. Sure,
performing 1 extra rep on your bench press will not make a huge difference to
your overall results, and neither will consuming a single meal. However, over
the long haul, all of those extra reps you perform and all of those small meals
you consume will decide your overall success. If you work hard and complete all
of your muscle-building tasks in a consistent fashion, all of those individual
steps will equate to massive gains in overall size and strength.
Sean Nalewanyj is a bodybuilding expert, fitness author and writer of
top-selling Internet Bodybuilding E-Book: The Truth About Building Muscle. If
you want to learn how to build maximum muscle in minimum time, visit his
website: http://www.MuscleGainTruth.com/
Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com |
