Having a sufficient amount of muscle mass is important for
everybody, no matter what your health or fat loss goals are. The reason
why people associate muscle with health is because nine times of ten,
those with enough muscle on their frame are in fact healthy. If you are
just starting out (or in case you forgot), these are the 3 fundamental
steps of how to build muscle.
1 - Resistance Training - Your muscles need (and want) a reason to grow. No reason equals no muscle. The goal of resistance training is to cause what is referred to as 'muscle hypertrophy'. This is a fancy way of saying that you have broken down the muscle fibres due to resistance. The way you choose to provide resistance to your muscles is up to you. The most effective way is through weight training. However, you are not limited to weight training. Body weight exercises, such as push-ups and swimming will produce similar results. One thing to keep in mind is to keep increasing the intensity, if you want to keep stimulating new growth.
2 - Nutrition - You have probably heard all of this before, but it needs to be repeated: Nutrition is the most important factor when it comes to gaining muscle. After breaking down the muscle fibres with resistance training, they need to be fed quality nutrients in order to grow back bigger and stronger. Protein is by far the most important nutrient that you should concern yourself with. Aim for at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day. This may seem like a lot, but if you plan your meals out, it is quite easy. Add in a protein supplement if you feel you cannot eat enough food.
3 - Rest - This is the third, and least talked about, step in how to build muscle. Your muscles grow when you are resting, which means that you need adequate sleep each night if you want to see results. Now when I mention 'rest', this doesn't just relate to actual sleep. The more that you rest a muscle (and feed it), the quicker it will rebuild. This means that you should avoid strenuous activity if possible while recovering from an intense exercise session.
Having enough lean muscle mass is a very important goal to have. Not only does it make us look good, it is very beneficial for your health. For example, the more muscle mass you have, the more fat you will burn while you are resting. So if you ever forget the fundamentals of muscle building due to being caught up in an information overload, keep these steps of how to build muscle in mind.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Stamford
1 - Resistance Training - Your muscles need (and want) a reason to grow. No reason equals no muscle. The goal of resistance training is to cause what is referred to as 'muscle hypertrophy'. This is a fancy way of saying that you have broken down the muscle fibres due to resistance. The way you choose to provide resistance to your muscles is up to you. The most effective way is through weight training. However, you are not limited to weight training. Body weight exercises, such as push-ups and swimming will produce similar results. One thing to keep in mind is to keep increasing the intensity, if you want to keep stimulating new growth.
2 - Nutrition - You have probably heard all of this before, but it needs to be repeated: Nutrition is the most important factor when it comes to gaining muscle. After breaking down the muscle fibres with resistance training, they need to be fed quality nutrients in order to grow back bigger and stronger. Protein is by far the most important nutrient that you should concern yourself with. Aim for at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day. This may seem like a lot, but if you plan your meals out, it is quite easy. Add in a protein supplement if you feel you cannot eat enough food.
3 - Rest - This is the third, and least talked about, step in how to build muscle. Your muscles grow when you are resting, which means that you need adequate sleep each night if you want to see results. Now when I mention 'rest', this doesn't just relate to actual sleep. The more that you rest a muscle (and feed it), the quicker it will rebuild. This means that you should avoid strenuous activity if possible while recovering from an intense exercise session.
Having enough lean muscle mass is a very important goal to have. Not only does it make us look good, it is very beneficial for your health. For example, the more muscle mass you have, the more fat you will burn while you are resting. So if you ever forget the fundamentals of muscle building due to being caught up in an information overload, keep these steps of how to build muscle in mind.