Who's goal isn't it in the gym? Broad shoulders and back muscles, tight round buttocks or muscular legs. Who doesn't want it? It does require a lot of exercise, motivation, a healthy diet and patience. In this post I will tell you several about muscle building and tips for increasing it.
How muscle building works
How does muscle building actually work. To put it simply, muscles grow because you damage them. When you are exercising and doing all your strength training, you ensure that you make very small tears in your muscle tissue. Because the cracks are so small, they can heal very easily and the new muscle tissue becomes slightly stronger.
There are several ways to promote muscle growth. You can pay attention to this during training. Consider, for example, the type of strength exercises, but also training frequency, training duration and training pace. Below are several tips to promote your muscle building.
Do the right exercises
If you know what your goal is. Then focus on those muscles. With squats you also train your abs, but you will never get a six pack. My preference is a full body schedule, but for faster results you have to do several exercises for a muscle group.
Also train the small muscles
The large muscles are important for strength and appearance, but as a physiotherapist and future osteopath I think the smaller muscles are more important. These muscles provide stability and more safety. And if you have more stability, you can also train better strength.
Consider the correct training frequency
Research shows that different repetitions can give different results on your muscles. Do you want to train strength? Then think of 6-12 repetitions with 3-6 series. You can rest for 30 to 60 seconds between each series.
Listen to your body
Your body knows when a weight is heavy enough. Most athletes want to train heavier and heavier and heavier. This is of course not that bad, but the harder you train the less safe it becomes. So the chance of injuries increases. When an injury gets you, you can not train for a few weeks to months, so you can start over again.
Take enough rest
Time to catch your breath in between your exercises. The optimal rest time between exercises for muscle growth is about 30 to 60 seconds. Short breaks have a positive effect on the growth hormone that is in your muscles. After 30 seconds, your muscles and you are recharged for the next set of reps! It is also important that rest is taken between training sessions. After a strength training it is important that these muscles are not used at a high intensity for 48 hours, otherwise the risk of overload increases.
Eat enough healthy foods that promote muscle growth
Strength training is extremely important for your muscle building, but you will not get anywhere without nutrition. Just imagine that training is a car and your nutrition is gasoline. And your muscle growth is the destination to drive to. Without gasoline, your car will not be able to drive, so exercise and nutrition are just as important. Eating enough protein is necessary to keep your muscles healthy and therefore for your growth process to run smoothly. If you are a real athlete you will also have to eat like this.
Sorry to talk in kilograms!
You need between 1.2-2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight for muscle recovery. Proteins can be found in various types of food such as poultry, meat, fish, nuts, legumes and grains.
Questions, feedback, Ideas for new posts? Message me.
Kind regards,
Sascha Bargi BSc. Pt. & MSc. Ost. In training
