With more muscles come more strength. When you start lifting
heavy weights, your body becomes stronger and the size of your muscles grow. If
you want to build muscles, high rep exercises alone will not be enough to pump
them up.
Understanding the
Concept of Muscle Building
To build muscles, you must first understand the concept of muscle building. Muscles grow when your body responds to a stimulus in the form
of resistance training. Technically, when you lift weights, it causes muscle
damage. It is in the recovery period that your body repairs the damage, adapts
and builds stronger muscles to lift more load in the future.
For rigorous muscle growth, you must make sure the amount of
stress you put on the muscles is optimal and the stress is progressive. The key
is to challenge your muscles to adapt.
But that’s not enough either, you must provide your body
with energy in the form of a proper diet. You will need 3 macro-nutrients i.e.
carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
To get on with the journey of building muscles organically, here are some useful tips to keep in mind
#1.Get Ready For the Gains
No matter what your body type, you can see results quickly when
you are first starting out. If you are eating and training right, you can put
1.5 % of your total body weight and build lean muscle mass in a month.
This might slow down to 0.5 to 1% of your total body weight
in the second year and so on. Don’t worry, enjoy the gains as they come. This
is totally normal.
#2: Create a Calorie
Balance
Your body will take some time to adjust to the right amount
of calories. There is no cookie-cutter fit when it comes to calories. It
differs from person to person. Start with your best guess and then based on the
results, introduce some tweaks.
You must figure out how many calories you need per day to
maintain your weight. This depends on factors such as age, gender, body
genetics, etc.
On average, a 160 lbs male who exercises 3 to 4 hours a week
needs 2,240 calories per day to maintain the weight. If they are active, they
will need more calories.
#3: Gear Your Workout
Routine
Most of the tested workout formula starts with moderate
reps, body part splits followed by rest.
So start by training your muscles with 3 to 4 sets at a
weight. Your muscles will begin tearing up between 8 and 12 reps. There is no
need to perform 6 different exercises per muscle group. This means you are
over-training and it is counterproductive to muscle building. Experts recommend
4 to 5 exercises per muscle.
Change your approach after every 6 to 8 weeks. You don’t
want to make your body get complacent.
Before you start the body part splits again, make sure the muscle groups
get enough time to recover. If you give your body parts 1 to 2 times a week to
rest, it will help the muscles rebuild and repair faster.
#4: Take It Slow
The tempo at which you lift the weights can affect the
outcome. If you want better results, move slowly.
Muscles grow better when they are under tension for a long
period of time. When the reps are slow and controlled, that means your muscles
are under tension. Slow reps also let you concentrate better. You will feel
your muscles working.
#5: Don't Worry About
Weight
When you are trying to build muscles, your concern should
not be how much weight you are lifting. You must have heard that lifting heavy
weights for fewer reps is a secret to mass muscle building. That was in the
past. New research says that is not how it works.
A study
in the Journal of Applied Psychology took 49 subjects. They performed 12 weeks
of body resistance training. One group lifted 30 to 50% of their body weight
for 20 to 50 reps. The other group lifted 75 to 90% of their body weight for 8
to 12 reps. The results showed that there were no statistical differences in
the size of the muscles between these 2 groups. So, quit worrying about the
weights. Focus on the reps instead.
The only thing that matters is training as it stimulates your body to build muscles.