The right advice can be priceless in helping you build muscles. Researchers have studied the science of strength training and have determined that there are some methods that work better than others. Carefully read over each piece of advice presented below and think about how you can put it to use in your own muscle-building routine.
Always take in enough vegetables. Discussions about good diets for weight training tend to obsess over complex carbohydrates and proteins; vegetables are largely ignored. Vegetables provide valuable nutrients that foods high in proteins and carbohydrates generally lack. Veggies are also good sources of fiber. Getting enough fiber means your body will assimilate proteins efficiently.
One common mistake is to be more concerned with the speed of your workout than the techniques you use. Regardless of the specific exercise that you are doing, performing your repetitions slower, while focusing on your technique, will provide significantly better results than trying to do the same number of repetitions as quickly as possible. Take time to be certain you are doing the exercise correctly.
If you want to increase your muscle mass, you will need to begin eating more of almost everything. You need to eat the amount necessary to pack on one more pound each week. Find some ways to take in more calories. If you have not gained any weight within two weeks, try eating even more.
It is important to warm up your muscles with stretching exercises to avoid injuries. As you build muscle and get stronger, you can actually be vulnerable to injury. You can prevent hurting yourself by warming up and cooling down. Don’t do any heavy lifting until after you’ve done some light exercising for five or ten minutes, followed by a few light to moderate sets to get warmed up.
Protein is the foundation of any weight training diet. Protein provides the building blocks that create muscles. Lack of protein makes increasing muscle mass difficult. In order to keep your muscles well-supplied, make sure that there are healthy sources of lean protein in most of your meals as well as your snacks over the course of the day.
Recognize that the requirements of serious weight training and intense cardiovascular exercise (such as marathon training) are not compatible. Getting a good cardio workout is essential, but it can diminish your efforts to gain muscle. Strength training exercises are the best way to increase muscle mass.
Compound exercises may be the key to maximizing your muscle-building results and getting the most out of your workouts. These exercises work multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Take the standard press; it works your triceps, chest and shoulders all at once.
Do not work out for more than an hour. Once a workout goes beyond the hour mark, the body will produce excess cortisol, which is the human stress hormone. Extra cortisol may block testosterone and your efforts at muscle building can be wasted. Restricting workouts to 60 minutes or less helps you get more out of each workout.
Apply the advice you just read. Stay motivated and your goals will be within reach. It’s not an overnight fix, but by consistently using the tips that were in this article, you will be able to achieve the muscles that you are hoping for.