Muscle-building can seem like a daunting task. You must follow a workout schedule that is intense and rigorous, plus adhere to proper nutrition. If after working so hard you don’t notice positive results, you can easily become discouraged. Read on to find some great ideas for achieving very successful workout results.
If you want to increase muscle mass, you need to warm up the right way. As muscles grow stronger, they are more stressed and prone to injury. You can prevent hurting yourself by warming up and cooling down. Prior to doing heavy lifting, spend five to maybe ten minutes exercising lightly, followed by three or four warm-up light and intermediate sets.
Set small short-term goals that are easy to achieve to help you reach the long-term results. Building muscles is a long-term commitment, so it’s important for you to keep yourself motivated. Set rewards which will reinforce healthy muscle building behavior. As an example, get a massage, which will help increase your blood flow and benefits muscle growth.
If you are currently training to do a marathon, or doing any type of extreme cardio work, now is not a good time to try to build up your muscles. Cardio exercises are excellent for overall fitness, but intense cardio workouts will interfere with efforts to bulk up your muscles through strength training. When you are trying to build up your muscle mass, concentrate more on your strength exercises and a little less on conditioning.
Compound exercises will help you develop your muscle mass. The theory behind these exercises is that you should use a variety of muscles during one exercise. For example, bench presses work out your shoulders, triceps and chest all at once.
Sixty Minutes
Limit your workouts to no more than 60 minutes. Your body will begin to produce cortisol, due to the stress it’s enduring, if you push beyond sixty minutes. Cortisol blocks testosterone–a hormone that promotes muscle growth–and undermines all of the work you are putting into building muscle. For best results, keep your workouts under sixty minutes so that you don’t produce excessive amounts of cortisol.
Stretching after a workout will help to repair muscles and decrease any muscle soreness. Those under forty should spend thirty seconds holding each stretch. If you are over 40, hold the stretch for a minimum of 60 seconds. This will help to insure that you do not get injured after doing exercise to build muscle.
Protein is a necessity for adding muscle mass to your body. Protein is a primary building block for muscle. Not consuming enough of it can actually cause your muscles to deteriorate, which ruins your purpose of trying to bulk up in the first place. You may require daily protein in the amount of one gram for each pound you weigh.
Some people mistakenly consume too much extra protein at the beginning of their muscle-building program. This can cause excess calories to accumulate. If those calories aren’t burned while working out, fat gain may result. Your body will be able to increase muscle growth best when you gradually increase your protein intake by several hundred calories several days apart.
The best exercises for increasing your muscle bulk are those that utilize the large muscle groups. Those are movements that will allow you to achieve fitness more rapidly, and continue to build muscle. You can add more exercises to your workout regimen, but those three exercises should make up the core of it.
When building muscle, ensure that you are getting the correct caloric intake. It is important to eat a well-balanced diet to help build muscle mass. If you don’t eat correctly, you’ll gain fat instead of muscle.
Use caution when it comes to how heavy you lift because certain exercises are not good for lifting heavy. Dips, neck work and split squats can involve unfavorable joint positions where you really risk serious injury. Lift heavy for other big exercises, such as presses, dead lifts, rows, and squats.
If you workout your muscles, you will be adding a lot of benefits to your life, even though the thought of being muscular does not appeal to you. You can improve your self-esteem, feel more confident, and strengthen your joints and lungs when you combine muscle development with cardio workouts.
Set realistic goals when you create your bodybuilding program. The optimal results are attained over a period of time spanning hundreds of individual workouts. Trying to build muscle quickly using stimulants, steroids or other potentially harmful substances can damage your body, and in some cases actually lead to serious health risks and consequences.
Building muscle can be difficult. Workouts must be intensive and regular. In addition, you have to pay attention to your diet. Putting in a big effort and not succeeding could discourage you. Use what you have learned here to help make your workout as effective as it can be!