Nothing can be more impressive than having a nice body physique. It creates a great first impression from people around you. It provides a unique satisfaction not just from other people but also for yourself because you know that fact that your body is in great shape and so is your health. Of course, you cannot get those perfectly ripped abs and wonderfully toned muscles without exerting efforts and working hard for it.
Building muscle mass is not something you can achieve overnight. As they often say, “No Pain, No Gain”. In order to achieve your fitness goals whether you want to build muscles or if you’re aiming to lose weight, you must embrace the pain and overcome those challenging workout routines, which should be done on a regular basis. Once you achieved the frame or the built you want, you must learn how to maintain it through regular exercise and a balanced diet.
Take note that building muscles is not just about hitting the gym every day. There are many important factors that you must consider in order to get a satisfying result. Listed below are five of the most important rules you must consider to build muscle mass.
1. Watch Your Calorie Intake
One of the most important elements or factors you must consider in muscle building is your calorie consumption. When building muscles, you must create a so-called Calorie surplus. It is basically a state where you consume more calories than you burn which leads to weight gain in form of muscles and body fats. The main question here however is how many calories you must consume on a daily basis to produce great results. To estimate, you can simply multiply your total body weight in pounds by 20. So a 170 lb male must consume around 3,400 calories daily.
2. The Role of Protein
Calories play a huge part in muscle building but Protein is the key to achieve the best result. Protein plays a critical role in our body. Our body needs a higher volume of protein on a daily basis in order to live and in order for our body to function. Aside from repairing damaged cells, Protein is also responsible of building muscles. You get the complete protein which contains all the 9 essential amino acids from various food sources like meat, eggs, nuts, fruits and vegetables. For bodybuilding, however, you need to get more protein which you can effectively obtain from various Protein supplements like protein powders and protein bars.
3. Post Workout Routine
It is also important to establish your own post-workout meal plan. Take note that when we work out, muscles used up their glycogen stores for fuel. So as a result, the muscles will become partially depleted of glycogen. In addition to that, some muscles also break down and get damaged after a workout. To rebuild the glycogen stores and recover those damaged muscles, we need to supply our body with the right amount of nutrients just after our workout. Doing such allows you to decrease muscle protein breakdown, increase muscle growth, restore glycogen stores and speed recovery from heavy exercise.
4. Drink Plenty of Water
Whether you are aiming to build muscle or not, hydrating yourself is extremely important. Drink plenty of water throughout the day especially before a workout. This will give you a feeling of fullness and reduces hunger pangs. It is important to take note that you must consume at least 8 ounces of water every 15-20 minutes during the training. You can go for those low-calorie energy drink to fuel you up. If the body is dehydrated, the performance is also affected.
5. Be Patient
Last but certainly not least is to condition your mind and set goals and expectations. Take note that mass gains will vary depending on many factors including your body condition. Focus on what you do and discipline yourself by doing the right thing. If you do not see any improvements immediately, try to have more patience because results cannot be achieved overnight! Monitor your progress to motivate yourself.
