Everyone wants more muscle and less fat. We all want to feel strong and confident while looking our best.
If you want to build muscle, you have to understand the key components of muscle growth. If you get those down, you’ll be well on your way to muscle growth.
Strength Train
Hands down, the best way to build muscle is to strength train, ideally while lifting weights. When you train close to failure, microscopic tears form in your muscles. Via the protein in your diet, these muscles repair themselves. When they do, they become stronger.
In order to build muscle efficiently and effectively, you have to progressively overload, eat enough protein, work close to failure, sleep properly, and take enough rest days.
Progressive overload
Progressive overload is basically increasing the work you do every time you perform a movement. It could be adding more weight, moving faster, or increasing the number of reps you do.
If you want to get stronger, your body needs to adapt to more strain. If you perform the same movement at the same weight, speed, and reps, your body will not adapt and you will plateau.
Eating enough protein
Without adequate amounts of protein in your diet, your body will not be able to build muscle. The amino acids in protein are what repair the damage done to muscles during exercise.
Try to stick to lean sources of protein, like chicken and fish. If you eat a plant-based diet, go for things like beans and tofu. In general, you want between 0.8-1.2 grams of protein for every pound of body weight per day.
Working close to failure
If you want to get stronger, you have to work out hard. This doesn’t just apply to lifting weights. If you want to build muscle, you have to push your muscles to the brink of exhaustion.
The best way to work to failure is picking a weight that you can do for 2-4 sets of 6-12 reps. On your first set, you should be able to get close to 12 before failure. On your last set, you should struggle to get 6.
Sleeping properly
Sleep is incredibly important for muscle growth. When you’re asleep, your body does a lot of the work to repair your damaged muscles. Protein synthesis and the release of human growth hormone are most active when you’re asleep.
The proper amount of sleep is usually 7-9 hours per night. Outside of the physiological benefits of sleep, it does wonders for the mind. Working to your full potential in the gym is incredibly hard if you’re tired because you haven’t gotten enough sleep.
Taking rest days
Rest and work go hand in hand. If you don’t give your body enough time to recover, you won’t build muscle. It may seem counterintuitive, but rest is vital to your muscular health.
Apart from muscle reparation, rest prevents injuries. When they’re exhausted, your muscles can’t perform at their highest levels. This leaves you vulnerable to not only bad workouts but serious injuries that will set you back.
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