Increasing muscle mass and strength is a common goal for many individuals and it’s not surprising given the aesthetic look of muscle and the feeling of being strong. If you don’t like to go to gym, you can buy home fitness equipment and work out in your personal space.
For some individuals, this goal can come easily and effortlessly but for many of us, this goal takes some serious hard work and dedication.
There are many ways to achieve this goal including steroids and the natural route, in this article we won’t be looking at the steroid route and how steroids are taken but the natural route instead.
While the natural route may seem like a hard slog to achieve your goal, there are some steps we can take to accelerate this goal.
Step 1: Stick To A Training Plan
This one may seem obvious but if it isn’t I will try to break it to you gently. You need to exercise to build muscle and strength, yes dreaming about it is fun but if you want the results you need to put the work in.
Consistency is important in building muscle and strength and a training plan will help build this consistency. The plan doesn’t need to be elaborate; it can just be a framework detailing your exercises, number of sessions, and rest days.
Having a training plan will not only get you to be consistent but it will also keep you accountable and help you to stick to the plan.
If you aren’t too sure how to go about creating a plan, you can always use a coach or personal trainer who will create a plan tailored to your needs.
Step 2: Mix It Up
When you start exercising you may notice that certain exercises will come easily to you and others will have you muttering curse words under your breath in seconds.
Whilst it’s easy to continue with the easy exercises and avoid the more difficult exercises, it’s important to have variety.
This means doing the exercises that your body finds challenging and exercising the different muscle groups in your body. This will help build multiple muscles in your body, strengthen the weaker muscles in your body, and to keep your body always guessing about what exercises you are doing instead of getting used to a specific set of exercises.
Step 3: Increase Slowly And Steadily
As you become consistent with your training plan, you will find that exercises will become easier and you will achieve the number of reps with less sweat.
This is why it’s important to increase the number of reps or weight you’re using. Increase slowly but still increase as the increase in difficulty will help to further increase your muscle and your strength.
Step 4: Do Your Reps
If you have ever paid attention to other individuals working out in the gym or have a coach or trainer, you would have noticed that exercises are generally repeated a specific number of times.
Muscle building and strength are built not only through different exercises but in the number of repetitions. 1-5 reps help to develop strength, 6-12 reps help to develop more muscle, and 12-20 reps help to build endurance. When you start training, you can match the number of reps to your fitness and body goals.
Step 5: Rest
It’s exciting when you have a goal and are actively working towards it. Taking rest days may seem counteractive to this goal but instead taking adequate rest will help you achieve this goal faster.
Resting helps your muscles recover from the workouts and helps the muscle to build new muscles. When you don’t rest, your body can’t do this and instead of building new muscle, the muscle can start to break down. Not resting can also increase the risk of injuries which will further prevent you from achieving your goal.
To prevent injuries from happening and to allow your muscles to recover, it is recommended that you have one to two days of rest per week. If this does not sound appealing to you, you can always do stretching or light restorative exercise such as yoga on these rest days.
Step 6: Sleep
Sleep, like rest, is also important for your body. During sleep, your body can heal itself from the workouts. Your muscle can repair itself and you can replenish your energy levels so you can hit it hard the next day.
Without adequate sleep, your body is unable to heal properly and your muscles aren’t able to recover properly. On top of this, your energy levels will not fully be replenished. This can lead you to not being able to give it your all in the next workout session. Working out tired also increases the risk of doing exercises incorrectly and ultimately causing injuries.
So how much rest is needed? This is very individualized but the amount of sleep is estimated to be between 7-9 hours for adults.
Step 7: Stretch It Out
Stretching may seem like the type of thing only the elderly do but it is important regardless of what age you are and what type of exercise you do.
Stretching at the beginning of a workout session helps to lengthen the muscle tissue and increases your flexibility. This will allow you to perform your exercises with more range of movement which will make the exercises more effective in building strength and muscle.
Stretching after a workout helps to reduce the tension in the muscles and will help boost your flexibility. Another pro of stretching is that it will help reduce the risk of injuries.
For maximum benefits, it’s recommended to stretch after a workout session and in the beginning after a brief warm-up session.
Step 8: Meet Your Caloric Needs
When you start exercising and building your muscle, your metabolic rate increases. This simply means you start burning energy more efficiently.
To support your body and this increase in energy, it’s important to consume enough calories and to match the increase in metabolic rate with the calories you consume.
Another reason to meet your caloric needs is that an increase in energy helps your body to gain muscle. It’s recommended that a surplus of 1000-3500 kcal per week is adequate to gain 1kg of muscle.
An easy way to do this is to have small frequent meals throughout the day. If you would like a more detailed approach you can start tracking the energy burned and consumed through a health app or consult with a Registered Dietitian or Nutritionist who can help determine your energy needs.
Step 9: Have A Snack After Workouts
Whilst nutrition is important throughout the day, it is important after your workouts as well. Having adequate nutrition after workouts will help replenish your stores and help you build muscle. Studies have shown that having 20g of protein within an hour of your workout can help to build muscle.
Step 10: Balance Your Macros And Micros
Balance in nutrition is important and this includes the balance in your macronutrients and micronutrients.
Macronutrients include carbohydrates, protein, and fat which are all needed to support your body. Whilst carbohydrates have been given a bad rep, they are still important in moderate amounts. Your body relies on carbohydrates for energy and if there are insufficient carbohydrates, your body will start breaking muscle for energy. To prevent this from happening, the acceptable range for carbohydrates is 45-65% of total energy where fat is 20-35% and protein is 10-35%.
Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals and support bodily processes such as energy production and muscle growth and repair. Having the macronutrients and a diet that incorporates a variety of fruits and vegetables will help you to meet the daily requirements of vitamins and minerals.
If you are concerned that you are not meeting your requirements, taking a vitamin pack can help to ensure that you meet your requirements.
Step 11: Get Your Water In
Water has a multitude of functions in the body and includes flushing out toxins, transporting nutrients into the cells, and regulating body temperature.
Some lesser-known functions of water include hydrating your muscles which can help to reduce tension and muscle soreness after your workouts. It also helps to transport nutrients to the muscle to help with muscle growth. Without adequate water, these processes cannot occur and your muscle growth and recovery can be delayed.
Water requirements, especially when you are exercising, vary depending on the source of information, with multiple recommendations. However the general consensus is 500-600ml of water 2-3 hours before exercising, 240ml during your warm-up, 200-300ml every 10-20 minutes during exercise, and 240ml within 30 minutes after exercise.
Final Thoughts
Working towards building muscle and gaining strength is an exciting time filled with lots of new information.
At times it may feel like you are climbing a mountain trying to achieve your goals but by following these simple steps, you will reach the metaphorical mountain in no time stronger and more muscular.
