You may think that working on one’s muscles is just for bodybuilders, but the truth is that anyone can benefit from a stronger body with stronger muscles. You can build lean muscle or bulk, and there are ways to do both. Here are some tips for building muscle, whichever type you want.
As you are lifting weights, do your movements slowly. Moving too fast uses the body’s momentum instead of letting the muscles do the work. Likewise, don’t swing the weights, because this keeps the isolated muscle from doing the work. This is why going slow seems harder. The isolated muscle is doing its work!
Making short-term goals, attaining them, and then rewarding yourself for doing so, can be a great motivator. You will need motivation in order to be able to keep going with this because it takes time. Your rewards can be ones that benefit your efforts in gaining muscle mass. Massages, for example, promote better circulation, which makes it easier to recover from your workouts.
Consume more calories each and every day. If you are trying to gain some muscle weight, you will need to be eating more. Make sure these calories come from healthy foods, do not allow yourself to fill up only on junk, it will not help you out at all.
If you are trying to build up muscle mass, be sure to get plenty of protein in your diet. Protein is essential to the maintenance and growth of muscle; working out without eating protein can result in loss of muscle. You might need about 1 gram of protein for every pound in your body each day.
Do not overwork your body. In order to build muscle mass, your body needs a chance to recuperate. When starting out, work your upper on one day, then work your lower body the next day. Take one day off each week where you do no workouts at all. This will make the workout less of a job.
Aim to maintain a journal when following a workout regimen. Jot down the exercises that you do, the number of sets and reps you do, and anything else concerning your workout. You should write down how much rest you get each night and even how you feel during workouts. Writing down everything that you can allows you to better keep track of how you are doing every single week.
Squats are perhaps the most important exercise for building muscle mass. Beyond building the leg muscles, squats are an excellent whole-body workout. They work out the arms, chest, abdominal muscles and even the back. Using a proper technique is essential with squats. For a proper squat, the hips should come lower than the knees and the body should remain balanced.
Mix your weight training up with some high volume intensity and medium volume intensity as well. This means how many reps you do, and also how hard you have to work. Lactic acid will be released while you are working out, and that will stimulate your muscles to grow.
Knowing the best basic exercises for muscle building will give you fast track results. Be sure to include squats, dead lifts and bench presses to maximize your use of time and energy. These are the three tip muscle builders that will strengthen and build your muscles. Incorporate them into your regular routine and increase the number of repetitions you do in safe increments.
Building lean muscle and bulking up may sound different, but they require some of the same steps. Stronger muscles lead to a stronger body, and you can achieve that by using the tips laid out in this article. By applying them to your workout and your life, you are well on the way to stronger muscles and a stronger body.