When you choose to change your body with muscle growth, you are in for a challenge. It doesn’t matter what your goals are, if you want to build muscle, you have to work out the right combination of diet, sleep and training to get the results that you want. Some people never get it right, but a lot of trial and error will help you to get the results that you want.
In this article, we’re going to talk about some of the best ways to boost muscle growth and get leaner. Let’s jump right in and start!
Go Old-School With Workouts
You may love a good HIIT workout online, but it’s the old school crossfit workouts that are really making a comeback. You can perform circuits and supersets where the rest time is short but you get the exercises nailed down. Workouts like this are excellent for your health in general, but they’re also great for bulking up – but only if you make this little change. Instead of resting for shorter periods between sets, complete all of the exercises in a set, rest for 1-3 minutes and go for the next one. Allowing your body to rest properly will help you to maintain the same strength level for the next set and more. The movements that require more energy should mean a little longer for rest, where isolation exercises only need smaller rest periods so that you can recover well. The more energy you have, the more you build up your strength. This can help you to get through those exercises and feel great by the end of each exercise set.
Enjoy Carbs
Most people heading to the gym to bulk up focus on their protein intake and think that they have to cut out carbs. WRONG! You have to think about eating the right balance of carbs in your diet. Protein is important, but when you eat carbs you increase the glycogen in your muscles. This will improve your energy in the gym, giving you more energy to lift heavier and better weights. Getting stronger is the best way to grow your muscles, and you can follow John Cena’s workout to help your body, too. Carbs like rice, oats, bread and pasta will be excellent additions to all of your meals. Add large portions (within your calorie allowance!) to your meals and you can watch your body grow. Carbs are not the devil – don’t panic about this tip!
Slow Down
Lifting weights isn’t a race. Cardio is for running and racing, not weight-lifting. Think about how you move and make your movements deliberate with each weight you lift. Lower the weights with control and slow down with each move. You should be able to feel it, not sling the weights around your head as if you’re tarzan in the woods. You won’t see results if you’re not slow and controlled about your movements, you can do your body more harm than good. The best way to control the movement is to lower the weight down for two seconds, don’t pause, come back up quickly in one second. This can help you to perform better, lift the weights better and hone your technique when it comes to lifting. It can also lead you to pack on as much muscle as possible in a short amount of time.
Gainer Shakes Have a Place In Life!
We talked about protein earlier, and the best way to pack on some muscle is to add protein shakes to your diet. You need to add calories when you want to build muscle, as you convert those extra calories into muscles and not fat. Being in a calorie surplus may feel odd if you’re used to being in a deficit to lose weight. The thing is, you may not want to add more meals or more to what you’re already eating, and this is the time you want to drink those calories instead. Protein shakes are delicious and you can find SO many recipes.
Cut Down Your Cardio
Cardio is going to burn off your calories faster than any other exercise and your goal is gaining muscle, not burning fat. If you’re burning a ton of calories working off your food with cardio, then you need to think about stopping the amount of cardio you’re doing and adding more weight training. You can still train in cardio once a week – it’s good for your health in other ways, but you don’t need to run every day and you’ll prevent yourself from building muscle with too much of it. Keep the cardio low-intensity and you can have fun with it. Swim, play ball with friends, go for a long and brisk walk. Here are many low-intensity ways to enjoy cardio without losing muscle.
Eat, Eat, Eat
Bulking up means introducing more food while you lift more. Lifting and eating go hand in hand – the more you lift, the more you eat! Eating should be something you prepare in advance so that you can make sure that you’re never too busy to eat. One big meal a day is not going to be enough. Eat big, lift hard and increase your muscle mass at the same time. You should consider making sure that you have enough protein: if it hits your macros, go for it. Eating more and lifting more will take some getting used to, so take your time.
Work Muscle Groups Twice A Week
The most important thing that you can do to build muscle growth is to train each muscle group twice a week. Whether you do a full body routine twice a week, or you work les, then arms, then core one week after the next, you need to go with a minimum of twice a week to bulk up fast.
Building muscle doesn’t have to be hard and with these tips, you’re going to be on your way to bulking up in no time at all.