There’s no arguing that the guy with the biggest muscles gets the most attention inside and outside the gym. You too can have everyone’s eyeballs on you — if you’re willing to put in the work and train smart. In this article, you will learn 5 different ways to build muscle, helping you take your physique to the next level.
Building muscle isn’t as easy as turning up to the gym and throwing a few dumbbells around. As important as it is to go to the gym 4-5x per week; if you want to build muscle, there’s a lot more to it. Bodybuilding is as much a science in regards to nutrition and supplementation as it is working out.
Also you can have the perfect plan when it comes to building muscle and have sound knowledge, but unless you have enough motivation to continue working hard week in week out — the following tips will be in vain.
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Use Supplements
There are various supplements that can help you gain muscle mass naturally. One of the best is Creatine Monohydrate — an amino acid that increases ATP (energy) production inside the muscle cells, resulting in noticeable strength and size gains.
Creatine also improves recovery and muscular endurance. It is available in food sources like fish, red meat and pork, although only in small quantities. Studies indicate that creatine is safe and can even lower blood pressure, however some people have reported various side effects when taking creatine; including kidney issues and blood pressure spkes. This indicates that some users are sensitive to this supplement and thus should use caution. To find out more about such adverse reactions read this article on Inside Bodybuilding.
Taking creatine monohydrate with sugary drinks may also affect absorption, thus increasing the likelihood of side effects occurring. Also, for anyone taking creatine, for maximum safety be sure to monitor your blood pressure regularly. If you develop side effects by any chance, visit your doctor or/and stop supplementation.
Diet Is Key
They say building muscle is really done in the kitchen, with 80% of your gains being the result of your diet.
For maximum muscle gains, ensure that you’re eating in a calorie surplus and protein levels are high (minimum of 1 gram per kg of body weight. Without adequate protein consumption, your body may enter a catabolic state. This means that your body is not in an optimal environment to build muscle, and instead your muscles may shrink due to a negative nitrogen balance. Try and get the majority of your protein intake from real foods as opposed to powders, with recommended sources being: red meat, fish, eggs, beans, milk and more. If you are a vegetarian, you can eat legumes, nuts and seeds.
Eating enough carbs is also essential to keep your muscles replenished with adequate levels of glycogen. Glycogen prevents muscle shrinkage, whilst fueling your muscles for workouts — enabling you to lift heavier weights for longer.
Unrefined, complex carbs should be consumed throughout the day to keep your blood sugar levels stable, preventing energy levels from crashing throughout the day. Examples of unrefined carb sources are: wholegrain rice, wholewheat pasta, brown bread, oatmeal and potatoes. Simple sugars can be consumed first thing in the morning and post-workout, when your muscles are craving energy after fasting or a hard workout. A healthy source of simple sugars are fruits, such as: apples, oranges, grapes, pears, figs, pineapple, peaches etc.
Such fruits are high in antioxidants, low in calories and contain necessary vitamins and minerals — aiding digestion. With this, you can eat until your stomach is full, preventing poor food choices which can result in stored fat.
Eat frequently throughout the day. Some bodybuilders eat as many as 8 meals per day, keeping their body in a constant fed and anabolic (muscle-building) state. Eating the right meal at the right time ensures you avoid unnecessary cravings, whilst maintaining a positive nitrogen balance inside the muscle cells (encouraging muscle growth). Many weight lifters will adopt a diet which consists of eating a meal every three hours whilst awake, in combination with drinking plenty of water to keep their muscles hydrated.
Compound > Isolation exercises
Exercises that work multiple muscles groups at the same time are known as compound exercises. These are the most difficult exercises to perform in the gym, but will produce the best results in terms of muscle gains.
These exercises also release more testosterone and growth hormone, helping to facilitate muscle growth. Compound exercises should make up the majority of your workouts, with isolation movements being an additional exercise to add at the end of your workout.
Bicep curls, chest flies or leg extensions for example should be used sparingly compared to pull ups, bench press or squats — if you want to pack on strength and muscle mass.
Many people think they only need to do bicep curls for big arms, whereas in reality dips and pull ups will give you bigger guns.
Examples of the best compound exercises are:
– Squats
– Deadlifts
– Leg press
– Bench press
– Dips
– Pull ups
– Lat pulldowns
– Push ups
Lift heavy when performing these exercises, hitting a rep range of 6-10. Then with each workout aim to increase the weight, overloading your muscles and giving them a reason to adapt and grow bigger.
Prioritize Strength
For you to get stronger, you need to lift heavier. With each workout have a target for how much you want to lift on each exercise — beating your previous workout. Having a notebook where you write down how much you lift and how many reps will help you track your progress over several months in the gym. When you hit a plateau, increase your calories or volume to keep growing. You may get sore when you perform new exercises or lift heavier weights, however this is a positive sign that your muscles are continuously being stressed with a new stimulus. Such muscle soreness is known as DOMS. This is not a painful sensation, like an injury; but more extreme discomfort and tight feeling in the muscles.
Rest and Recovery
Rest is essential for muscle recovery and growth. If you don’t get enough sleep, your body won’t have enough time to recover — helping your muscle tissue to grow back bigger and stronger. Insufficient rest thus slows down progression and increases the risk of injury.
Without enough sleep — cortisol, a stress hormone rises in your body. Therefore, you should take at least one rest day per week. Also try and get at least 7 hours of sleep per night, with less than 6 having a devastating effect on cortisol and testosterone levels.
Overtraining can result in smaller muscles, thus less can often be more when trying to build muscle.
It’s wise not to spend more than 1 hour in the gym, which will help to keep cortisol levels low. Hard, intense workouts may not last more than 30 minutes, yet can produce excellent results in users.
Bottom Line
There are no secrets when it comes to building muscle. Eat in a surplus of calories, follow a bodybuilding routine which is based around big compound movements and be consistent in your training and diet. No matter what your genetics are — if you follow the basics outlined in this article you will build muscle, whilst also getting stronger.
