4th March 2009
How to Gain Muscle Mass
The
keys to gaining muscle mass include eating a
balanced diet, a healthy lifestyle, enough sleep,
and regular and proper weight training exercise.
Diet
You
need enough protein for your muscles to
develop. The more protein, the better. Lean red meat
should always be a part of your diet. Lean meats
contain just about the right amount of nutrients to
help muscles grow. As a rule, you should take in at
least one gram of protein per pound of body weight
per day. This can be easily done by properly spacing
your meals into six small servings a day. The proper
combination of high protein diet and the proper kind
of workout will help you gain the right amount of
mass for your muscles. However, as a word of
caution, you must integrate all the food groups into
your diet daily since a protein-only diet cannot
sustain a healthy body.
lifestyle
Avoid smoking and excessive drinking. Smoking can
cause cancer, as well as a host of other medical
conditions. Taking in too much alcohol can also have
a bad effect on the health. The key here is
moderation.
It
is also a good idea to keep the mind sharp.
Activities like reading or a hobby can promote good
mental health. While the brain technically isn’t a
muscle, it still needs to be exercised as an
integral part of your body.
Sleep
Your
body grows and heals itself when you are asleep. You
must get enough sleep all the time to promote
optimum muscle development. You shouldn’t sleep too
late or wake up too late either. 6 to 8 hours of
sleep every night is just about right to maximize
your growth potential. Also, rest at least 24 hours
between trips to the gym.
Proper Weight Training
It
is wiser to use free weights when bulking up.
Dumbbells and barbells are more effective than
machines in building muscle mass. Free weights tend
to make your ancillary muscles work as well, since
you need to balance the dumbbells when you lift
them. The greater range of motion afforded by free
weights simply increases the number of muscles
utilized in the training and so results are better.
Here are a few additional tips in gaining muscle mass:
- When
lifting free weights, it’s advisable to do 12-16
sets per exercise. Find a weight that causes muscle
failure (when the muscles can’t handle any more
repetitions) within 8-12 repetitions per set. You
may need to pace yourself when only starting out,
then gradually work your way up to this setup.
- Pay
attention to muscles that are less developed and
work on them more to achieve a balanced physique.
- Exercise only two or three muscle groups in a day.
It’s advisable to work out your shoulders, triceps,
and chest on the same day, and your biceps and back
on the next gym session.
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