How to build muscle

8 Best Leg Exercises For Muscle and Strength Reading How to Build Muscle: 10 Tips for Muscle Growth 7 minutes Next Power Rack Vs. Squat Rack | Which should you choose

May 9, 20220 comments

1. Set a goal

For a long time, the training method to increase muscle is often limited to the moderate weight range (8-12RM), but long-term moderate-intensity training may slow down your muscle growth rate! The body is adaptable, and it is easy to enter the comfort zone by activity in the same way for a long time.

It would be best if you worked hard to improve your strength, try the powerlifter's schedule, increase your training intensity, choose to do heavy training (1-5RM), and challenge your nervous system.

It would help if you tried bench press, squat, deadlift, pull-up, and shoulder press. When your strength has a breakthrough, your muscle volume will follow!

2.Keep a food diary

Just as you want to define your training goals and monitor your progress, you also want to track your nutritional status. Hard training won't translate into new muscle unless you're eating enough calories, and having a diet log will give you an objective measure of how much you're eating. It also allows you to easily make adjustments if you're not making the progress you hoped for.

Make a note of everything you eat and drink and what time of day you eat and drink. If you don't gain weight, try to see where you can add more calories to fuel your progress.

3.Focus on compound exercises

Exercises that involve multiple joints are called compound exercises. These include deadlifts, squats, the various upper body pushes and pulls. Compound exercises recruit large muscle motor units, increase training efficiency and release massive amounts of growth-promoting hormones like testosterone, making them the cornerstone of your workout.

There's nothing wrong with throwing in some single-joint isolation movements (crunch, leg extension), but only if they're a dessert after doing your compound exercises!

4.Go to bed 30 minutes earlier

Recovery is essential for muscle growth, and there is no better way to help you recover than sleep, and sleep is not as simple as sleeping more.

Regular and quantitative sleep is essential. If you sleep 6 hours today, 7 hours tomorrow, and 11 hours the day after tomorrow to make up for the first two days, it is not equivalent to sleeping from 23:00 to 7:00 for three days.

You could sleep 8 to 9 hours a night in a perfect world, but that's not always realistic. However, you can control when you go to bed, thus getting as much sleep as possible.

It is recommended that you go to bed thirty minutes earlier every night, put down your mobile phone, have a dark and quiet environment, a comfortable bed, clear your brain as much as possible, listen to light music that makes you feel relaxed, and then fall asleep peacefully.

5.Supplement nutrition during training

Nutrition before and after exercise gets a lot of attention, and rightfully so because both are important. But if you're trying to build muscle, having a glass of protein and carbs during your workout is a great way to help you get some extra calories without eating. This preserves your energy and enables you to train harder.

It is recommended that you choose a sports drink with 20 grams of protein and 40 grams of carbohydrates.

6.Build muscle 2-3 times a week

Bodybuilding programs are usually divided into weekly workouts for each body part (chest, back, shoulders, legs, hands). This means it takes a long to work for the same muscle group.

Although the intensity of each part can be sufficient for each training session, the frequency between the two training sessions will be very long. If the training of one piece is delayed for any reason, the time will be prolonged!

If you can only train three times a week, try switching to a full-body workout that works your entire body in each activity. Perform two to three sets of each movement. This way, you'll be training muscles three times a week.

If you train four days a week, try an up/down split so you'll be training muscle 2 times a week! Upper body training (5 sets of vertical, horizontal push and pull) and 5 stages of lower body training (squat, deadlift, single-leg squat).

Although this kind of training is not as intensive as single training for each part, it considers the increase of training frequency and the increase of total workout! To help you gain strength and muscle gains faster.

In addition, if there is something that delays the training of a day, you will not be worried because a particular part is not practiced, at least you have two days to complete the full-body training!

7.Don't ignore your legs

Even if your goal is to have a big chest and arms, you can't forget to train your legs.

First, muscle imbalances look bad, and second, heavy compound lower body exercises like deadlifts have a significant impact on your overall muscle development; your whole body needs to be involved, and your upper body needs to be strong to perform the movement—powerful isometric contractions to maintain body position. Your back, shoulders, and arms will be stimulated enough!

At the same time, heavy squats and deadlifts are the best way to stimulate your growth hormone!

Learn More: 8 Best Leg Exercises For Muscle and Strength

8.Eat more on "off" days

Just because you didn't train today doesn't mean you shouldn't eat more. Your rest days are often when growth resumes, so it makes sense to keep plenty of nutrients available for your body.

You can reduce your carb intake slightly during non-training times. You don't need extra training energy to avoid fat buildup, but keep your protein intake high and ensure your overall calorie intake doesn't drop by more than 500 calories.

9.Don't be afraid of carbs

Low-carb diets are trendy because they help you lose body fat, but this way of eating is the opposite of what you need to build muscle. You can't be afraid to add a little fat to gain power. As long as you're eating clean food, it's normal to gain some fat during muscle building!

You can put carbohydrates in your pre-workout and post-workout meals and your workout drinks during a workout. Then increase or decrease your carbohydrate intake based on your progress toward your goal.

10.Weigh-in weekly

Most people frequently weigh when trying to lose weight, and using a scale to track muscle gain is very important.

Weigh yourself once a week on the same day and at the same time, preferably as soon as you wake up in the morning. If you don't gain weight, you don't gain muscle. To reduce fat gain, control the weight gain of 200 grams per week. Also, use a mirror or take a photo to make sure the weight you gain is solid muscle.