Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Why You're Not Sure Where To Start With Building Muscle

By Russ Howe


If you have ever asked a friend of work colleague for tips on how to build muscle you'll probably have been met with a massive spectrum of different answers, a lot of which contradict what others have already told you. Today we'll run through the proven, simple rules of building a more powerful physique.

There is so much nonsense out there in the fitness industry, information which has no scientific backing or evidence to support it's claims, that the majority of people in gyms around the world are completely lost.

It seems that every workout needs to be based upon the latest gimmick or it loses it's appeal, but the truth is building a leaner, more powerful physique is not as difficult as many people believe it to be. There are a few simple steps which, if applied correctly, will help you to turn your current physique into the one you aspire to own.

One of the first things you need to look at is a varied workout regime. If you keep doing the same thing in the gym you'll notice that early gains are offset by a stale routine which doesn't continue to yield results. One way to ensure you keep changing your routine is to adopt a holistic training approach. This means instead of staying on the same workout plan for months on end, you'll be switching styles every single week. That's right, one week you could find yourself going for high reps and lots of sets, followed by another week where you focus on full body workouts requiring lower rep ranges. This approach will stop you from hitting a plateau and will help fat loss and hypertrophy to continue at a fast rate.

Understanding the importance of rest is also a major factor in your potential success. Too many people, particularly beginners, get hooked on the feeling of seeing positive results and they don't take a day off. Believe it or not, taking a day off is exactly what your body needs when you're trying to get stronger and leaner. You should be training no more than four times per week with weights at the start.

The world of supplements is third on the list because although a lot of people do get lost here, it is perhaps purposely designed to have that effect. Supplement manufacturers make a lot of cash from the confusion. However, like most things on this list, it's nowhere near as confusing once you know what to look for. If you're after a weight gainer you need a shake which hits you with a lot of carbohydrates and calories per serving. If you're just after a leaner physique you will want to keep the carbohydrate content down quite low. Science also shows that there's no need to consume more than 30 grams of protein in one sitting, too.

You should also look to make the most of your eating habits outside of the gym, don't neglect them and presume that you'll get results just because you're putting the work in with your training. To establish a ball park figure for your daily calorie intake simply multiply your goal body weight, in pounds, by fifteen. Around 30% of your total intake should arrive from protein, with 50% coming in the form of carbohydrates and the remaining 20% arriving from healthy fats. All the macro nutrients will be needed if you are to achieve your long term fitness goals.

If you are trying to figure out how to build muscle and have found it to be quite a confusing path so far, the four steps in today's post will help you to cut out the nonsense. Approaches such as calorie intake and rest are staples of successful workout programs whereas techniques including holistic training add a modern edge to an already fine concept. If you are able to apply all the rules successfully you will begin seeing a positive change within a few weeks, with great long-term benefits beginning to show after 8-12 weeks.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment