We live in a world where lots of people are beginning to pay more attention to their appearance, so it only makes sense that some will want to build muscle to become more toned and defined, regardless of gender. A lot of people have this idea that you need to take lots of supplements to become stronger and have bigger muscles, but this isn’t the case. They also think they need to spend hours at the gym, but the fact is that muscles are made after the work out is finished.
Muscles grow bigger when stress is put on them and causes microscopic tears in the fibres. When the damage is repaired by fusing more fibres together, that is when the muscles grow bigger due to the increased thickness. Things such as genetics, diet, hormone levels and recovery play a part in building muscle, but here are some tips on how to build muscle naturally without the need for lots of supplements.
Allow Recovery Time
Most people think that they have to keep pushing themselves to the point where they are sore, but this isn’t always a good indicator of if your muscles are growing. It is important to incorporate recovery time in between your workouts to re-build the muscles properly. There should always be at least one day’s rest between your muscle building sessions, or you won’t see any progress. A way to ensure that your body is repairing itself is to get between 8 and 9 hours of sleep every night, as this is when most of the repairing takes place. If you don’t get enough sleep, you will feel fatigued and won’t be able to perform to your best.
Eat More Food
When we say eat more food, we don’t mean eat anything and everything. It is important to eat nutritious food that will cultivate muscle growth and help recover the damaged tissue from the workout. A lot of athletes will eat more carbohydrates to provide them with energy and maximise the storage of glycogen. They will also eat more vegetables that provide the body with nutrients and minerals to aid in recovering. Something that people love to shout about is broccoli as it offers iron, vitamin C, fibre and even zinc, as well as protein. Eating smaller meals every 2-3 hours will help your body build muscle naturally.
Lift Heavy Weights
If you are lifting the same weights all the time, you will never see any progression. Instead, you need to challenge yourself to lift heavier weights, but you don’t want to overdo it. If you lift heavy weights sooner than you should, you risk damaging your muscles to the point where you will need months off to recuperate. You need to increase the weight limit gradually to prevent damage. Do this by training three times a week and aim to increase the weights every three to four weeks. By this point, the current weights will seem too easy and that is when you up the limit. It is also important to remember to work different parts of the body to build overall strength.
Focus on Intensity
You do not need to lift weights for long periods of time to build muscle. In fact, it is often advised that you keep the duration of your weight lifting sessions to under an hour and focus on intensity rather than duration. Most athletes like to focus on one or two different parts of the body per session, such as combining arms with the back or just sticking with legs. That way you can focus solely on those muscles by keeping the rest between sets under a minute, with each set containing a certain amount of reps.
Up Your Protein Intake
Some people think you have to take a lot of supplements or steroids to build muscles, but you don’t. Supplements should only be used to add a little boost because if you have a healthy diet, you won’t need many. The best supplement to have is protein in the form of a powder or shake. If you find one that has natural ingredients, you will see that it can support muscle growth and speed along the process of creating muscles naturally.
These are just a few tips on how you can build muscle naturally, but it is important to remember that it doesn’t happen overnight. As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day!
