You probably think that muscle building is a matter of hard work and dedication. These things are helpful, but all your hard work will be wasted if you don’t build muscles in an efficient manner. Read on to learn some of the secrets to efficient muscle building that you can use in your daily workouts.
Focus on squats, dead-lifts and bench presses. They are the cornerstones of bodybuilding for good reason. Experienced bodybuilders know that they not only provide basic conditioning, but they also build strength and bulk. No matter how you vary your routine, always perform these basic exercises.
Refrain from performing both strength training and cardiovascular exercises, if your goal is to build muscle, and not necessarily to improve overall fitness. The reason for this is that these two kinds of exercises cause your body to respond in contradictory ways. Focusing strictly on building muscle will help you to maximize your results.
To maximize your muscle building, avoid heavy amounts of cardiovascular training while you are lifting large amounts of weights. If you are trying to build great muscle mass, cardio workouts can get in the way of that. Blending weights and cardio is ok, but if you are doing one or the other to an extreme degree, you have to cut down on the other in order to get the results you want.
For good muscle growth, you must eat properly both before and after a workout. Without the proper fuel, you will slow down the progress you want to make. Some good foods to eat for those pre and post-workout meals can be oatmeal, low-fat yogurt, egg whites and whole grain wheat toast.
Eat plenty of carbs. If your body runs short on glucose after hard workouts, your body will use muscle tissue for protein and carbohydrates, undoing your hard work. Stay away from low-carb diets, and eat an appropriate amount of carbs given the intensity of your workouts–possibly a couple of grams of carbs per pound of body weight each day.
Tracking your progress is important when trying to build muscle. It can be hard to determine your progression if you do not take the time to track your muscle-building journey. This can easily be done using a measuring tape and a notebook. Write down your starting measurements and track any developments every two weeks or once a month.
Eat plenty of protein when you are on a muscle-building regimen. Be sure to eat whole proteins with every meal. A good rule to follow is to ingest one gram of protein for each pound of body weight. Good sources of low-fat protein include fish, low-fat milk and lean red meats.
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.
Remember to go to the gym with a friend when you are working on building up your muscles. If you try to do so alone, it is possible that you put yourself into a difficult situation, especially when using free weights. This can lead to serious injuries or lesions.
Add a couple plyometric exercises to your routine. Plyometric exercises target fast-twitch muscle tissue, encouraging faster muscle growth. Plyometrics are similar to ballistic moves due to the fact that acceleration is required. As an example, if you were performing plyometric push-ups, you would allow your hands to spring off the ground lifting yourself up as high as possible.
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.
In order to avoid burnout you should change up your routine from time to time. This means that you don’t want to follow the exact same exercise plan for more than 8 consecutive weeks. Not only does this keep things interesting, it also helps your body continue to grow.
To help in building lean muscle mass, try mixing up your rep counts. If you normally do 6-8 repetitions, try doing 4-6 repetitions. Your muscles will be forced to adapt in a different way, and you will give your routine a fresh kick. In this way, you will build your lean muscle mass faster.
Again, hard work and dedication are important parts of muscle building, but they aren’t as important as knowing what you’re doing. After reading this article, you should have a better idea of what methods work to build your muscles. Use the tips you just read to boost your ability to build your muscles.
