Some people, for different reasons, want to increase their muscle mass. In most cases, it is about men. Perhaps it is because society has made it clear that a stocky body is much more attractive than a thin one.
In fact, we are constantly bombarded by the different media, to sell us the image of the perfect woman and man. Generally, this image is far from what is the reality of the majority. Hence, the insistence on improving their physical appearance.
To some extent, if this is done in a balanced way, it could benefit the person. Changing your eating habits, exercising, drinking plenty of water, among others, can make you not only improve your personal appearance, but your physical performance becomes optimal and your health improves.
So, if the purpose of increasing muscle mass is related to the right reasons, it can be achieved without causing negative repercussions and without having to resort to extreme measures, such as taking steroids, injecting other types of substances, among other things.
Now, how can you increase your muscle mass? What must you do to achieve it? Is there a secret that we don’t know? What can you are doing wrong? We will be talking about this in this short article.
Having the ideal body is possible, but this is a task that will require a lot of effort and discipline on your part. So the important thing is that you want to get down working in order to achieve your goals and be satisfied with your physical appearance.
So, look for a pencil and paper so you can take note of what your new life routine will be from now on. Pay close attention to the next subtitle to know what you need to do.
Instructions to increase muscle mass
While it is true that the process of increasing muscle mass can be slow in some cases, there are ways to speed it up effectively. To achieve this, food plays a fundamental role.
It is important that you give a 180 degree turn to your eating habits. To begin with, you should eat at least six small amounts of food a day. However, it is not just any type of food; it must be of quality, what do we mean by quality food? This means that you should not only eat what fills your stomach. Rather, you should eat what your body needs.
Eating several times a day has its benefits. For example, it increases your body’s metabolism, provides a steady stream of energy, and decreases your body’s ability to store food that turns into fat.
Change may not be easy, as it must start from your mind. You have to eradicate the idea of eating only three times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. From now on, it will be six meals a day. But what should you eat?
You should strive to eat complex carbohydrates and proteins at every meal. At first glance this could represent a great impact on your pocket. However, we are not talking about quantity but quality.
Carbohydrates, in general, are ingredients that are usually easy to integrate into our meals, since they are found in bread, rice, pasta and many other foods. But, you must keep in mind that not all carbohydrates are good for you. In order to get the right ones, you should stick to whole grains like oatmeal, brown rice, etc.
Now, in the case of proteins, you can find them in foods such as chicken, egg whites, lean red meats, fish, etc. If you combine both elements, that is, carbohydrates with proteins, you will be able to obtain an appropriate diet.
In order for you to gain muscle mass faster, strive to consume at least 10 grams of protein and some carbohydrates with each meal of the day.
As we already pointed out, it is important that you select the type of carbohydrate that you are going to consume well. You should avoid simple carbohydrates; these are those that are present in sugar, honey and soft drinks.
Consuming them could bring serious repercussions to your body, since they cause serious damage to the insulin of our metabolism, produce fatigue and facilitate the storage of fat. Which makes it difficult to increase muscle mass?
They may make you feel good at the moment. However, after a short time, you will feel that they left you the same place, because they do not provide nutritional value to your body. So, the most sensible thing would be to eliminate them completely from your diet, if you want to increase muscle mass.
But simple carbohydrates are not the only thing you should avoid. It is also important that you do not consume excess fat or salt. The fact that we talk about excesses is interesting. That means that you can consume them.
Salt and fat, when consumed in a balanced way, help increase muscle mass. However, you should try to eat only good fats. These can be found in olive oil, peanut butter, etc. While the bad fat is present in vegetable oil, butter, and animal fats.
Of course, you should eliminate foods such as soft drinks, so-called “junk” and fried foods from your diet.
On the other hand, it is important that you take nutritional supplements. However, you should not depend on them. To increase muscle mass, you must consume high-calorie foods and help yourself with shakes, which have been proven not to harm the body.
One of them is creating, a powdered protein supplement, which can be mixed with water and taken a couple of times a day.
You must not forget that it is important that you stay well hydrated. To do this, you can take a bottle of water with you wherever you go and drink from it whenever you feel thirsty. Ideally, you should consume about three liters of water a day.
You should increase your water intake when you do physical activity. Do not consume sugary drinks; these will only delay your strength training. Alcohol doesn’t help either, as it contributes to dehydration.
Of course, physical training is essential to increase muscle mass. You can start with a basic strength routine. Of course, as simple as the exercises seem, do your best.
You must exercise in order to increase your muscle mass, so you need to lift weights. When you no longer feel the burn from doing the reps, you can add more weight. Do not limit yourself to exercising a single part of your body; alternate the muscles so that you obtain better results.
Keep in mind that running and other cardio exercises can stunt muscle growth. So do them as little as possible. But, what do you need to increase muscle mass?
What do you need to increase muscle mass?
As we have already seen, to achieve your goal of increasing muscle mass, it is important that you change your routine 100%. This includes not only exercising, but monitoring your diet and the amount of water you consume per day.
Of course, this does not mean that you are going to slave in this routine. You must apply it in a balanced way. That is, you must leave room for rest. This is almost as important as the exercises, as it will help you speed up your metabolism.
Get a good night’s sleep so you can wake up energized for the next day. Sleep is very important for muscles to grow.
It is recommended to sleep 8 to 9 hours a day. However, the minimum you can rest is 7 hours. In order to get enough rest, get in the habit of finishing your activities early so you can go to bed early.
Rest is also essential between exercises. Give your muscles a chance to relax, and then continue with the routine you’ve established.
Now, what other tips should you takes into account to increase muscle mass? We will be talking about that in the next subtitle.
Tips to increase muscle mass
Getting started can be difficult. However, the most difficult thing is to continue with the routine. So it is vital that you stay motivated.
One suggestion is that you go accompanied. Invite a friend over and ask them to help you pull off the toughest lifts. It should be noted that this movement is risky and you need a little help to perform a couple of repetitions more.
Although exercise can be very beneficial. If you do it in excess, it can be detrimental to your health. Know your body and be aware of what your limitations are. Do not go beyond these limitations because you could cause an injury.
While it is true that dietary supplements can be good, consuming them without moderation could damage the kidneys. In addition, they become toxic molecules and do you a lot of damage.
Remember that exercise causes muscle to wear out. Therefore, after each routine, consume a large amount of protein. That will cause the muscle to regenerate and make it stronger.