Does muscle building conjure up the thought of having to work out many times a week for the rest of your life? Bodybuilding involves much more than hard exercise though. You need to learn learn how to grow muscle in a way that is effective, without taking a wealth of time. Keep reading for some sound advice you can apply towards your muscle development regimen.
One common mistake is to be more concerned with the speed of your workout than the techniques you use. Regardless of the exercise performed, the repetitions should be slower while you focus on the technique. You are sure to get better results using this approach as opposed to churning out an equal number of repetitions quickly. Take things slowly, ensuring that you are doing the exercise the right way.
Not all exercises are created equal, so be sure to do the exercises that address your specific goals. Besides the fact that different exercises work on different groups of muscles, there is also a distinction between exercises that increase muscle mass and those that develop muscle tone. Be sure you use methods for building muscle and use a number of exercises for working your various muscle groups.
The “big three” should form the core of your exercise routine. These mass building exercises include dead lifts, bench presses and squats. Correctly completing these exercises on a regular basis will add muscle mass, help to make you stronger, and generally condition your body. Make these exercises a part of your weekly routine.
Protein Shakes
You must increase the amount of protein you eat when you embark on a bodybuilding program. A great way to get the proper amount of protein is by consuming supplements and protein shakes. They are particularly effective after a workout session, and also before going to sleep. If you want to shed pounds while building muscle, have one serving a day. However, if you want to gain weight as well as build muscle, you should consume as many as three protein shakes or supplements daily.
Limit your workouts to no more than 60 minutes. The body begins to produce more cortisol, a stress hormone, after sixty minutes of working out. Cortisol may block testosterone and thwart your muscle-building efforts. Restricting workouts to 60 minutes or less helps you get more out of each workout.
Upper Body
Work the right muscles to create an illusion of bigger bulk. Do so by putting more emphasis on your upper body, chest, back and shoulders. Doing so will often create the illusion that your waist is smaller then it really is, giving you an appearance of greater upper body girth.
If you want more muscle mass on your frame, get enough protein. Protein is a chief building block of muscle, and consuming not enough of it may cause you to have less muscles, which kills the reason of trying to bulk up. A good benchmark is to eat a gram of protein daily for each pound of your body weight.
Try training your opposing muscles in a single workout, such as your chest with your back, or your hamstrings with your quads. This procedure allows the muscle to rest while the opposing one is working. Therefore, you will have a better workout because you are reducing how long you are in the gym.
Muscle building isn’t just about getting ripped. There are a variety of muscle routines targeted at different goals, so it’s helpful to determine what exactly you want to achieve. Depending on how large you want your muscles, you may want to consider adding a supplement to your diet.
Work your muscles to exhaustion to get the best results from your exercises. Leave nothing on the table. Push yourself during each set until you are literally physically unable to complete another rep. If necessary, trim the length of each set as your body tires.
Try adding plyometric exercises to your workout regimen. When you complete these exercises you help stimulate muscle growth by developing muscle fibers that are fast-twitch. Plyometrics are considered ballistic moves in that they require a certain amount of acceleration. The plyometric push-up, for instance, involves launching yourself up as high as possible, removing your hands from the floor.
In order to maximize your muscle-building progress and reduce the risk of injuring yourself, put together a reasonable workout schedule and stick to it. You shouldn’t work out more than three times per week. Beginners should limit hard exercise even further; twice a week is sufficient.
Current Level
Set goals that you can realistically achieve. Motivation is a good thing, but you will injure yourself if you overdo it. First, find out what your current level of strength is. Once you’ve determined this, set a goal that involves improving your current level a little bit. At times you may be able to achieve more than you think. This can be encouraging and make you look forward to your next workout.
You most likely had the drive to work extra hard to gain muscle prior to reading this. Ideally, you now have a good idea of what you need to do to build up your muscles, quickly and efficiently. Use the advice you learned here to reach all of your muscle-building goals.