BULKING UP – HOW TO PACK ON MUSCLE MASS
So you’re looking to bulk up in a hurry? Doing it properly will reward you with the body you’ve always wanted – and you’ll be able to KEEP it!!
The two most important things to do when trying to stack on the muscle is to make sure you’re eating the right things as well as training in the right way. You may not have thought that you’d ever hear someone tell you to do LESS exercise for better results, but it’s true. It’s more about the type of training you do than the amount of training you do. If you do too much exercise, you’re actually just getting your metabolism into overdrive, making it very difficult for your body to build muscle mass.
So let’s go back to square one and start with what’s going into your body. Eat right to feel good and look great. Upping your daily intake by around 500 calories and eating a gram of protein for every pound of your body weight (remember that one pound equals 2.2 kilograms) will help with muscle gain. Good sources of lean protein include chicken, fish and meat, eggs, tuna fish, legumes such as lentils and chickpeas, nuts and seeds.
You should eat before and after training, and should ditch the traditional three daily meals for a programme of smaller protein-based meals (between 5 and 7 meals) each day. A protein supplement is a good way of packing in the protein without the hassle of cooking a meal – and is a quick way to boost muscle growth.
Now let’s have a look at how to exercise. Train hard and smart – but don’t overtrain. Give it a blast for half an hour to 45 minutes tops – and do between 12 and 20 reps per muscle group. Aim for sets of 40 seconds to 70 seconds long to really push the muscles hard. The optimum way for body building is to train the whole body during a single training session. Trying to isolate muscle groups won’t bring the desired results – it’s better to do heavy, mass movement weight and strength training that involves using lots of muscles at the same time, eg shoulder presses, pull-ups, squats, bicep curls, tricep push downs, rows and dead lifts. Heavy and short is the name of the game when it comes to strength training and body building.
Body building supplements are a must if you’re serious about packing on the pounds. A protein shake during the workout and one straight afterwards is manna from heaven for your body. An ideal protein supplement for body building is whey protein as it is quickly digested and can get to work on repairing and building muscle mass fast.
The long and short of muscle growth includes the following :
· Eat small meals often
· Pile on the protein and carbs
· Supplement with vitamins and minerals
· Take protein shakes and body building supplements to beef up your calories
· Work out hard and heavy – and keep it short
· Get adequate rest
Go well with your bodybuilding programme – remember to eat right, eat often, train smart, hard but not too much, take your supplements – and watch those muscles grow!
