Building
muscle is a fairly complex process, but by following a few simple tactics and
strategies, you can greatly improve your body's ability to create and conserve
muscle.
One huge important aspect of building
muscle is being on the right diet. Nutrition makes up almost 80% of the muscle
building process. Without the right mix of carbohydrates and protein, you won't
get very far.
Follow the 5 Steps below:
1. Stretch before and after your workout. Stretching of any kind, using a foam
roller, and getting massages will all help keep your flexibility, prevent
injury and improve recovery between workouts.
2. Warming
up is essential any workout, especially weight training. Make sure to get your
heart rate up and blood pumping by doing a few warm up sets before any hard
working sets
3. Get
your food frequently. You should be allotting enough time to intake 5 – 6
small to mid-size meals a day. Make sure these are clean, quality
meals—especially with protein and carbs— to ensure you will have the calories
to build muscle, as well as the metabolism boost you get from eating so often,
to lose fat.
4. Drink protein shakes regularly. By surrounding your workouts with
nutrition, starting with a high carbohydrate and protein meal about an hour
before, you’ll provide your body with vital muscle building nutrients to help
provide energy during your actual workout. You can also put together a protein
shake that has a ratio of about two grams of carbs for every one gram of protein,
and drink that throughout your workout. Keep in mind that after your workout is
a solid time to take another shake. Surprisingly, whole foods aren’t best right
after a workout, because they take far too long to digest.
5. Switch it up entirely. Every 4 to 6 weeks, you’ll need to switch
up some part of your routine, whether it’s simply the number of reps you do per
set, the exercises you perform, the amount of rest you get between each set or
any other training variable. Keep a workout journal to help you keep track of
your changes and record your progress. Plan before you work out.
6. Rest, recover and relax. Although the ideal amount of sleep is 7-8
hours per night, we sometimes have prior engagements. Feel free to not be so
strict a few times a week, but when you do, make sure to schedule in some time
to make up for it as soon as you can.
By training no more than 4 times a week,
you also allow your body the rest and recovery time it desperately needs. As
for your work schedule, do whatever you can to avoid excess stress and anxiety.
Chronic nervousness elevates cortisol, a hormone that makes your body store fat
and burn muscle, which is definitely not an ideal side effect.
Additional to know information :
· By involving more muscle fibers you’ll release a higher
amount of hormones. This will help stimulate muscle growth all day.
When you hit each muscle group with roughly the same
volume, this will guarantee balanced training, allowing you to grow and
progress quickly, preserving flexibility as well as avoiding injuries. Make
sure to keep proper form.
3-6 Reps will
work on strength building but will not necessarily build muscle mass.
8-12 repetitions of any given exercise
will begin to stimulate muscle growth.
15 -20 Reps will stimulate muscle mass growth, but not
to your bodies full potential.
· Do only between
6-9 sets. That’s all you need to be doing per muscle group/body part to
stimulate lean muscle mass growth. This will allow you to keep your workout
time around forty-five minutes.
· Stress makes the body enter a catabolic state, which
begins to break down muscle. A calm and relaxed person tends to build muscle
faster than his easily upset and hot-tempered counterpart. Try not to let
stress steal your weightlifting gains from you.
· Drinking enough water is vital to building new muscle.
Make sure to get at least a gallon of
water per day to cut down on dehydration, cramps and strength loss.
· Avoid training without a workout partner on moves where
you need a spot. (Like the Bench Press)
Heavy weights won't make you look like Arnold. Women don't have enough testosterone to look like that.
'
Information provided from: NASM Personal trainer
manual and Bodybuilding.com
