Throughout history, the body-worship society has been subject to established aesthetic-cultural canons. But, fortunately, current progress and correct scientific information have made both men and women appreciate the value in both health and aesthetics of the creation of muscle or muscle hypertrophy.
Do you want to gain muscle mass? In this article, we go over some basic guidelines for building muscle consistently and healthily.
Does more muscle mass mean better health?
Of course, there are more and better scientific studies that appeal to perform training cycles not only toning through functional exercises, also medium loads with machines or free weights, of course, depending on the level of the subject.
One of the key aspects of sports scientists is based on providing simple and understandable explanations to the average user, therefore, the simplest appreciation that corroborates this fact is based on the loss that all people suffer over the years, a deterioration known as: sarcopenia.
You just have to apply a logical-rational process to understand that the human body is a perfect machine, but that it deteriorates, and therefore, you have to keep it in good condition and take care of it as much as possible.
How? Delaying said muscle loss caused by aging, through adaptations to loads higher than those represented by habitual activities without a minimum intensity to promote muscular activity. In fact, one of the reasons why it is important to gain muscle mass is precisely the delay of premature aging.
Essential tips to build muscle
To carry the human body in any of its physiological aspects, it is necessary to apply an external stimulus that causes changes in it, be it cardiovascular, respiratory, cerebral, or, referring to today’s topic: Muscular.
1. The balance between Kilocalories
If our nutrient intake is less than that consumed as energy during the daily routine, including work habits, students or training itself, it is practically impossible to achieve an increase in muscle mass.
Imagine a railway that does not have coal injected into the boilers, it will never be able to advance on the rails. We must apply an optimal daily protein consumption. If possible, essential amino acids related to post-workout muscle growth and repair , plus carbohydrate and lipid support.
Without forgetting, be previously evaluated by a nutritionist or endocrinologist with an official title that tells us what eating patterns to follow with respect to our current state, basal metabolism or metabolic flexibility.
2. The key is not the method, but to apply a method of force with intensity
Science is not 100% certain. There are various theories about what loads are optimal for hypertrophy, nowadays there is talk of moving between 4-7 repetitions, where it was always thought that the gain was predominantly strength and neural factor, not so much muscle growth.
We also have the classic methodology of 10-12 repetitions which, today, a large number of users use with palpable results. And finally, it has also been shown that ‘dancing’ between 15-20, an activity greater base in muscular endurance, can develop muscle perfectly.
Conclusion? Train, and do it regularly, in one way or another you will get results with your workouts , simply that, with one mechanism or another, you will get mechanical and physiological adaptations for what you are training.
Therefore, use the variability factor, do not get stuck in one method, and apply monthly or quarterly cycles to obtain resources in all ranges.
3. Look for muscle failure, but with common sense
There is absolutely no use in walking from machine to machine without a certain level of physical commitment. Many people wonder: Why am I not growing muscle ? When due to ignorance, they perform repetitions with low loads, which have no impact on the muscle.
It is not about ‘losing the north’ and going crazy promoting joint injuries or bad postural habits, but it is about understanding that, if there is no fiber breakage, there will be no subsequent repair adapted to the loads that constantly go away. Applying in the bone-muscular system.
4. Recovery time between sets
If you wait too long between a series of forces with a predominance of hypertrophy, the fibers are de-recruited and return to their natural state. Understanding that there is no adequate frequency to promote the creation of fibers and their size.
For average users a break between 1.5 and 3 min is recommended. Depending on the search for sarcomere or sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, the first looks for an improvement in certain components of the muscle cells, the second in the volume of the plasma of the cell.
Even so, they are aspects of predominance, you cannot achieve an isolated hypertrophy in one aspect or another. And, the key, after all, if you are not high-level athletes, is to achieve that health improvement through muscle creation and its aesthetic result, which we all like.
5. Execution speed
In such a pattern, it can be played in various ways. Both in the concentric, eccentric or isometric phase. What is eminently recommended is not to miss the movement phases as if nothing happened.
Well, it is proven that the eccentric phase, the one that is exerted in favor of the gravity of the machine. If done at a slow speed, it has great benefits for building muscle.
6. Awaken your inner emotions of overcoming
If you are going to perform hypertrophy training, and you do not have that conviction in your gaze of overcoming a certain harshness, called external load. It is useless. Likewise, if you are going to spend a 10 minute conversation between sets with a friend at the gym, it is also useless.
You must understand that to get a good muscle building, you have to fight it with all your weapons.
Other quick tips to gain muscle that will help you
- Adequate hours of sleep.
- Do not apply excessively long sessions, and attend more times (frequency).
- Train based on your level, do not put yourself at the level of an advanced subject, one day that moment will come to you.
- Don’t expect immediate results, be consistent.
- Do not forget the lower body and the dorsal area or you will suffer pathos-mechanical problems.
