How to Build Muscle – Be a Lean, Mean, Muscle Machine
Ever wondered why a cave man never had to ask, “How to build muscle?” As historical pictures illustrate, cave men seem to be built with rock hard bodies. The reason for that is really simple – they had healthy diets and they led active lifestyles.
During their times, there was no need or craving for fatty and processed foods simply because it didn’t exist. They ate raw meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables. Gyms didn’t exist back then, either. And even if they did, people wouldn’t have had the time to go to gyms. They were up in dawn and hunted till dusk; built their own homes without the use of an electric drill; climbed tall trees and high mountains; battled against lions and bears… need I say more? If you want to become a lean, mean, muscle machine like cave men were, you need to learn from them and follow their example.
Diet
Are you aware of the Paleo Diet? Inspired by our ancestors, the cave men; Dr. Cordain wrote a book wherein he promotes what he calls a “pre-historic menu”- the Paleo Diet. The theory behind it is quite simple. He says that no cave man was ever obese or too skinny, mainly because our ancestors had the proper diet, a diet which consisted of lots of lean meat, fish, seafood, fruits, and non-starchy vegetables. He advises people to avoid cereal, legumes, dairy products, and processed food.
If adhering to the Paleo diet strictly sounds a bit too drastic, you can still get excellent results just by following the basics. Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables; stay away from processed and fatty food; and most importantly, increase intake of lean meat and fish. Lean protein, the building blocks of muscle fibers, can mainly be found in lean meat and fish. The more muscle fibers, the larger the muscles.
Exercise
However, no matter how much protein is stored in your body, you cannot expect to build muscles without any activity at all. The best way to increase muscle mass is to do targeted strength training. The general rule of thumb in building muscles is to stress your muscles by lifting heavy weights. The theory behind it is that lifting weights basically tears the muscle fibers. Given ample time, the fibers then heal back together stronger and larger than before. With this in mind, remember that if it seems like your muscles are no longer challenged by the weights you are carrying it is time to gradually add more. Also, always keep in mind to give your muscles sufficient time to heal.
There are hundreds of ways to build muscles; however, most of them are tiring and hard to do.
For more information on how to build muscle quickly and with less effort, click here.
