When we think about working out, there are a few goals we are shooting for. One is to lighten the load a little, and the other is to bulk up and build muscle. We know that working out is good for us, but having other goals attached to it makes it even more appealing.
Weight loss will naturally become a part of working out; that is just how it works. If the energy you burn is more than you consume, then the natural outcome is dropping the pounds.
But when it comes to building muscles, it is a different ball game.
You have to know what you want to build, how you should be building it, and so much more.
So here are some quick tips for building muscle.
Maximize The Build
You need to feed your body the right things in order to maximize what it can do. Your body is eating through protein reserves all the time, for things like making hormones. The overall result is that you have less protein to build muscle with.
Your job becomes to build and store protein faster than your body can use it. You can do this in a couple of ways, but one of the most effective is to introduce a supplement into your diet. Steel supplements have a range of supplements to work with your muscle-building goals when it comes to protein.
Eat More
This might sound counterintuitive, but you are going to need to eat more. You already know that you will be looking to increase the number of protein that you have. For example, if you are 220 pounds, you’ll ideally want 220 grams of protein a day.
Whatever you have left in terms of calories, you can split between carbs and fat. You need to increase your overall intake and increase so that you can put on at least 1lb a week. If in two weeks you can’t see an increase, then you might need to up your intake even more.
Drink Up
You know that you need to drink enough water to keep your body hydrated through the workout. But, this section comes down to your shake. Some studies have shown that if you want to increase your protein synthesis, then you need to have your shake before you work out. When you work out, you are increasing the blood flow to all of those working tissues. Drinking a carb-protein shake can mean that you get a great amino acid uptake in your muscles.
If shakes aren’t for you then you can get the right balance from a sandwich. 4oz of deli turkey, one slice of American cheese on whole bread, and you have the right balance.
Shakes are usually better, though.
Routine
Rest days are just as important as workout days. If you do a full-body workout on Monday, your body will still be synthesizing protein up until Wednesday. This only works if your workout was a challenge for you, though. Keep in mind that your muscles grow when you are resting, not when you are working them out.
Eat Often
You already know that you have to eat more, but you also need to eat more often. If you lower how often you are eating, you will clip your body from making proteins at the rate that would be most beneficial.
As a rough guide, you should be aiming to eat every 3 hours. So work out your daily grams of essentials and divide it between 6.
Chow Down
On rest days, you will rebuild muscle faster if you eat the right carbohydrates. Carbs increase your insulin levels, which slow down the breakdown of protein. Bananas, peanut butter, or even a rest-day shake.
Milk
Before you go to bed, enjoy a combination of protein and carbs: some cottage cheese, a bowl of fruit, or some raisin bran with a cup of milk. Eat as soon as you can when you get up too. The more you are rigid with this, the better.
Sweet Treat
Cheat days are the things that many people live for. It’s a chance to ditch the strictly measured portions and add in some of your favorites. However, after a workout, you will get into a post-workout protein breakdown. One of the best ways that you can kick that to the curb quickly is to have a small amount of ice cream, in literally any flavor. Research by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that ice cream triggers an insulin surge better than almost all other foods.