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Gainz. Tone. Shape. Muscle Tissue.
Whatever term you prefer. Building muscle can be a difficult process, if you don’t know what you’re doing. So here are a few tips on how to build muscle successfully.
The most important muscle building factor
The first, and most important, thing you need in order to build muscle is:
A Calorie Surplus - This is where you are consuming more calories (energy) from food and drink, than you burn off during a day.
You can’t build something from nothing. So unless you are consuming enough calories to build muscle, then you aren’t going to build any. Simple.
*Caution. This doesn’t mean you can go around eating anything in sight. You only need to create a small surplus in order to build muscle. If you create a large surplus, you’re likely to put on excessive amounts of fat. This will detract from your overall aesthetics.
Resistance Training
In order to develop muscle tissue, you need to put muscles under load. How? LIFT WEIGHTS.
For some of you reading this, that may be a scary thought. Perhaps you haven’t lifted weights before. You may fear becoming too bulky. Or fear embarrassing yourself. I have 4 tips for you:
Start simple.
Find a few resistance machines you’re comfortable to use.
Keep the workout short and simple.
Ask for help / Hire a coach.
Once you get started and see some results that’ll give you the confidence to continue and will put those fears at bay.
Training frequency & intensity
I recommend training each muscle group 2/3 per week. That could be done in just a few gym sessions per week.
Most people will not consistently attend the gym 6/7 times per week due to other important lifestyle factors, such as family & work commitments. Do not set an unrealistic target for yourself.
You could get a greater training effect from 3 high quality workouts per week compared to 7 poor workouts.
“Leave Your Ego At The Door”
Therefore, a key consideration is the effectiveness of how you train within your gym session. We’ve all seen that person in the gym who is swinging heavy weights around with zero control.
You need to put muscles under tension and keep them under tension. There is no point swinging weights around without creating a good contraction in the muscle you’re training.
Protein
A common misconception is that muscle is built by working out. However, muscle is actually broken down in the gym.
In order to develop your muscle tissue, you have to make sure you have the raw materials to build them back up after training. The ‘raw material’ is Protein.
Try to consume roughly 1.6-2.0 grams per kg of bodyweight. So if you weigh 80kg, that’s roughly 144g of protein. I personally like to go a bit higher than 2 grams
Patience
It takes relentless consistency and time to build muscle tissue. If you’re not willing to consistently put in the work, then growing muscle is going to be very difficult.
Patience. Persistence. Perspiration.
The message
Consume Enough Calories.
Keep Training.
Train Smart.
Eat Protein.
You’ll get there!