What do you want out of life? Would you like to live for a long time, be happy and enjoy great health? It all starts with taking care of your body, and the first steps towards all of your goals is through building lean muscle. Read on for some simple ideas to help you do just that.
Try to consume some carbohydrates and proteins prior to going to sleep. The calories that you obtain will cause your body to reduce the rate at which it breaks down proteins while you are sleeping. Eating a small portion of cheese and a fruit is a great way to do this. You should also eat something soon after you wake up.
Don’t try to focus on both cardio and strength at the same time. This is not to say you should not perform cardiovascular exercises when you are attempting to build muscle. In fact, cardio is an important part of physical fitness. However, you should not heavily train cardio, such as preparing for a marathon, if you are trying to focus on building muscle. The two types of exercises can conflict, minimizing effectiveness on both fronts.
Many people who wish to build muscle use protein shakes and meal replacements. It is important to note however that there is a distinction between the two. It can be dangerous to your health to use protein shakes frequently as a meal replacement. A full meal contains many essential nutrients that are not included in protein shakes. In addition, living off protein shakes can leave your muscles soft which negates your muscle building efforts.
Try varying the order that you do exercises. People who workout typically do exercises out of habit. However, it is important that you switch the exercises around in order to promote additional muscle growth. Try reversing the order of your typical routine. This lets you do heavier weights on the exercises that you typically do last, which can increase the growth of those particular muscles.
In order to build muscle, it is important to maintain detailed records of your progress, and how you got there. By taking the time to jot down a few notes on the exercises and repetitions performed in each workout session, you will be able to consistently build upon what you have already done, and continue to grow stronger and build more muscle.
Do not work out for more than an hour. Your body will begin to produce cortisol, due to the stress it’s enduring, if you push beyond sixty minutes. Cortisol interferes with testosterone and will, therefore, stop you from building muscles. An excellent method of ensuring you maximize your workouts is to keep workouts at less than an hour long.
Eat plenty of protein when you are on a muscle-building regimen. Be sure to eat whole proteins with every meal. A good rule to follow is to ingest one gram of protein for each pound of body weight. Good sources of low-fat protein include fish, low-fat milk and lean red meats.
When doing a workout it is important to focus on only one exercise per body part when doing a full-body workout. This will help to ensure that you are maximizing your workout and not risking an injury. This will also help you to focus on your breathing and doing the exercises properly.
Change up your workouts. Research has proven that varying your reps, intensity, and exercises are the best combination for increasing muscle mass. Our bodies are very good at adapting to exercises, and they have to be shocked by changing up the exercises in order to achieve the most optimum growth.
Offset chest and shoulder presses with a few sets of pulling exercises, such as pull-ups, pull-downs, and rows. Balancing your exercises in this way will help to work out the muscles that are neglected during the presses, which will in turn lead you to bulk up faster and increase your strength.
If you choose to take any supplements to aide in your muscle building routine, do so cautiously. Many supplements are a complete waste of money, and some can even be harmful to your health. Discuss any of your supplement plans with your physician or a licensed dietician to make sure that you are not harming your body.
In order to avoid burnout you should change up your routine from time to time. This means that you don’t want to follow the exact same exercise plan for more than 8 consecutive weeks. Not only does this keep things interesting, it also helps your body continue to grow.
You have loved ones you want to spend time with, I’m sure. You might have a career you love, or a hobby that you enjoy. Whatever your reason for wanting to stay healthy and have great longevity, it’s up to you to take what you’ve learned from this article and put it to use today.
