Rapid Fat Loss Diets

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Curtailing Mistakes: Useful Tips for Building Muscle

By Brad Morgan

When you are trying to build muscle, there is a lot of conflicting advice out there. You may not know where to get started.

There is more than one way to build muscle, more than one exercise that works, but there are also many things that can hurt your efforts to build muscle. Let's take a look at some things to avoid.

1. Overspending on gym memberships

According to gyms, their equipment ? fancy, shiny computerized and hydraulic machines ? are the only way to build muscle safely and effectively. Before you buy into that line and into an expensive membership, consider that the exercise can do at home is low-cost and high-effect. Save yourself some money, and work out at home.

From working with relatively inexpensive free weights to doing squats and lunges in absolutely no equipment, you can get a great muscle building workout. The best equipment you have is your body and a few free weights.

2. Letting your body get bored.

It is easy to see results immediately after starting a muscle building program. Be careful of becoming complacent, however. It may not work as well as you progress.

Your body is a remarkably efficient machine: doing the same workout causes your body to become used to it. It is much less work to execute moves you've done over and over. Once that happens, it uses fewer calories to complete the exercises, making the workout much less effective.

When your body becomes used to doing the same workouts, it needs to use fewer calories. To avoid this problem, don't let your exercise routine become too routine. Add some variation and/or intensity into your sessions. This has two benefits: one, you continue to build muscle, and two, you don't get bored.

3. Ignoring Cardio

Cardiovascular exercise is an important part of building muscle, yet it is something that many people trying to gain muscle mass usually ignore. Focusing only on weight training can halt your results.

Cardio has multiple advantages, including preventing your body from gaining fat and helping your body recover from rigorous weight training. To get the maximum benefit from your cardio, do it immediately after your weight training session when your body is primed for fat burning. Also, limit it to high intensity intervals totaling no more than twenty minutes.

4. Not resting enough.

Taking breaks from your training regimen is vital because muscle repairs itself and grows during these rest periods. Training four or five days a week is optimal, because it allows days off to recuperate.

Also, alternate which muscle groups you work on. For instance, if you work on your arms and back one day, the next day do your abs and legs. This will keep the muscles from becoming fatigued or injured and allow them to do their work.

5. Ignoring Diet

Not eating properly is a big reason why many people fail to build muscle. Food is necessary for your body's health and to put it into optimum muscle building mode.

One of the best things that you can eat when you are trying to build muscle is protein. This is found in lean meat, fish, eggs, poultry, and dairy foods. Within thirty minutes after you workout, eat a snack that is high in protein.

6. Giving Up

Everyone's body is different, and it takes some people longer to build muscle than others. Quitting because you are not seeing results fast enough is a huge mistake.

If you feel discouraged at your progress thus far, it is a good time to look at your routine. What can you do to change it? Should you add some intensity? Are you resting enough? Do you use supersets or compound moves? It may be that you simply need to stick with it a little longer in order to start seeing results.

Either way, quitting won't give you the body you want. Keep up with your efforts; if it is not working, then by all means change something. Just don't give up. - 17273

About the Author:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home