So you’ve decided that you want to go to the gym, maybe you made it your new year’s resolution and finally plucked up the courage to go, or perhaps you are doing it for your general health, or maybe you are simply going because you want to gain muscle.
There are many reasons to work out and gain muscle, this could be for sporting reasons, it could also be to look good and wanting to impress, It could also be to help you at work as maybe you have a lot of heavy lifting.
Whatever the reason is, it can be hard trying to grow your muscles, but it is doable if you are committed to it and can spare some time to go to the gym or even just using weights at home, whatever you are using just keep it at.
With all that being said here are some tips on how to build muscles, keep scrolling to find out more, and maybe you will find working out that little bit easier.
1. Maximize Muscle Building
You will need to take in a lot more protein, this is because your body is constantly using up the protein in you to make things like hormones. So if you are not keeping up your protein levels it will be harder to grow your muscles.
To counteract this you will need to store new proteins faster than your body can break them down. You will want to consume roughly 1 gram of protein per pound of your body weight.
That means that if you are 120 pounds then you will need to consume 120 grams of protein, on top of the proteins you would also want to split your calorie intake with carbohydrates and fats.
2. Eat More
On top of consuming more protein, you will also need more calories, to help give you that extra protein and calories you should try eating more of the following:
- Eggs which are a great source of protein, fats, and B vitamins
- Salmon high in omega 3, proteins and full of over vitamins
- Chicken Breast is packed full of protein, as well as many B vitamins
- Chickpeas are full of carbs and protein
- Milk provides plenty of protein, carbs and fats
- Brown Rice have a lot of carbohydrates in as well as plenty of protein
These are just a few of the foods that you can consume in order to help your muscle growth, you can also try other supplements from places like the The Supps House which offer a great variety of supplements.
3. Work Big, Not Small
Do more than Bicep Curls, If you want to gain muscle you will want to challenge your body, aim to do exercises that will work on multiple joints, and muscles at once.
An example of this would be to do dumbbell rows, every single rep will challenge your biceps, lats, and abs. If you are using more than one muscle this will allow you to lift more weight. This will also push you to use your muscles together.
It is also important to include, Squats, Deadlifts, Pullups and bench presses into your workout to take full advantage.
4. Train Heavy
Building muscle and strength requires training heavy, but be sure to be safe and efficient as well. Heavy training wil challenge your muscles concentrically and eccentrically. If you do this right it will cause the muscle to tear and rebuild.
Not all high rep sets are of value, however they can still be good. However for multi joint moves like squats and bench presses, it would be better to do sets of around five reps, meaning you can use more weight, helping to build pure strength.
5. Drink First
Drinking protein shakes before a workout can be better than drinking after. Be sure that your shake contains amino acids, and carbohydrates as well as protein.
If you drink your shake before a workout having that extra amino acid in your system can be very advantagous, as it helps your muscles to keep them going.
6. Carbohydrates after workouts
Consuming carbs after a workout will help you rebuild your muscles afterwards. Make sure that a post workout meal has plenty of carbs included this will help increase insulin levels.
This will slow down the levels of protein breakdown.
You should also try to sleep more, sleeping between six to eight hours will help your muscles rebuild and give you the energy your body needs to recover.