Let’s Get Physical

8. Eat More Healthy Fat

Most of the time there are quite often two types of people:

•    Those with a high carb diet
•    Those with a low carb diet

Some people will sit on the fence and choose a middle ground, but it seems to be slightly less common. While muscle can be built on a low carb diet some people generally speaking do get better results with a moderate to higher carb intake as a higher carb diet does tend to provide a better anabolic environment as far as mass building hormones are concerned.

But, it should be noted that fat intake should never be taken too low, which can be something that those who indulge in a high carb diet do wind up doing. They figure that if they keep their diet strictly carbs and protein and think it will limit the amount of fat they gain when building muscle.

Definitely you don’t want to overdo it on fat if it raises your calories too high and is more difficult to utilise in the body, but understand that fat does tend to help keep testosterone levels at a healthy level and as such, needs to be there. So if you are trying to add muscle you must not lower your fat intake below 20% of your total dietary intake.

7. Replace Some of the Isolation Exercises

Overloading with isolation exercises is another big thing that hinders many people’s results. Now there is nothing wrong with doing isolation exercises but they don’t have their place in programs geared towards purely mass building.

Your time can be much better spent focusing on the main core, compound lifts that will stimulate the greatest number of muscle fibres, as well as causing the highest natural release of testosterone by the body.

Performing a lot of those isolation exercises can take your body longer  to recover between sets, and then a longer time to wait before you can perform the more effective compound exercises.

Ideally you should only be adding a couple of isolated exercises in a workout session if you’re looking to build muscle mass. If your goal is to really bring out definition or develop a lagging body part, then you might consider doing more, but from a purely mass building point of view, those compound movements is where it’s at.

6. Do you understand what supplements are about?

An increasingly common mistake, and it’s a big one is when people here that they should be taking a particular because so and so is using a particular supplement and making gains and therefore you need to take it. So they go and buy the supplement and take as instructed. However it is much better to do your own research on the product that has been recommended so you can understand exactly what the supplement is and what it’s going to do for you.

Taking a supplement blindly without thinking about it and knowing what its supposed to do your efforts in the gym could be miscalculated and you will not be getting the results you are expecting for the work you put in.

Always remember that supplements as the name suggests are meant to supplement you when you are following a proper exercise program and correct diet. Most supplements will be highly helpful, but only if the correct training program is in place. Do not expect a supplement to do the work for you. Those who get the best results from the supplements they use know this fact.

5. Seek guidance, but know yourself

For this next bit of advice if you serious about your training and serious about putting more muscle mass on find a good mentor for advice. A mentor is good as well as been often a good source of knowledge, they can also be good motivators which can give you a boost in training.

With this in mind, never forget who you are in this. You are NOT your mentor. You must always remember that while you may take advice from your mentor and respect their physique and are looking to emulate their body type, you are physically different in many ways. You do not have their metabolic rate, their recovery capacity; they’re exact nutritional habits, and so on. Use what they do as a guide, but make adjustments according to your own individual needs depending on how your body responds.

Too many people make the mistake of following exactly what the other person is doing. While it may work extremely well for one it doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for all. Always remember that half the way to getting top notch results is understanding and learning about your own body as changes and adapts.

4.    Look After Your Stress Levels

If you tend to be heavily focused on what you’re doing in the gym and in the kitchen, so focused in fact that you have to be 100% with everything all of the time, and if you’re highly stressed in your job and daily life, this will without a shadow of doubt work against you in the long run.

When the body is under a great degree of stress it will release higher levels of certain types of hormones, which have a catabolic effect and will then work to break down muscle tissues rather than build them up.

If your body is in a constant state of breakdown you cannot expect build more muscle mass! It would prove to be quite the challenge. By looking at all aspects of your life and being sure you are taking steps to reduce stress, you will be taking one step forward in your quest to add more muscle.

Spend More Time Out Of The Gym

Despite what the majority of people generally think about working out, the best way to build muscle mass quicker is not to spend more time in the gym, but rather, it’s the time spent outside the gym that is most important. Don’t confuse this with not training at all and get lazy!

For some hardcore enthusiasts out there, they are spending to much time in the gym and as a result are breaking down their muscle tissue over and over through weight lifting activities that they are not allowing the body enough time to repair these muscle tissues and build back stronger and denser.

If you continually pound your muscles with weights but don’t allow for that recuperation, essentially you’re just going to grow weaker over time, rather than stronger.

If you struggle gaining body weight (as muscle!), chances are you will do best on either a three day total body program or a four day upper/lower or push/pull type of split. While some individuals can grow very well on a body-part type of workout set-up, they are far and few between. Most people do better with more rest built in.

Consume enough calories

If you’re already eating well and consuming the daily requirement of calories needed to get you to your goal then that’s great, keep up the good work! If you are finding it difficult to get your calories in then you are going to find it much more difficult and you are going to have to analyse your diet and look at ways of consuming more good calories from good food.

One way of fulfilling this challenge is by bulking out your food with extra calories. For example, hospital patients or anyone who is ill and suffering weight loss due to malnutrition generally find it difficult to consume the foods they need. Their food will usually be bulked out by adding calorie dense foods like cheese so they can get more calories from eating less.

To help in consuming more calories for muscle building purposes try things like adding about a ¼ cup of raw porridge oats into your protein shake Adding a ¼ cup of raw porridge oats into your protein shake adds about 152 extra calories.  Doing this will change the consistency of the shake slightly, so grind or blend the porridge oats up first  so they are smooth and less noticeable. This should make the shake taste a bit thicker. You could even try vice versa and adding a scoop of protein to your cereal.

This is can be more advantageous compared to say a shake with just fruit because the specific carbs found in oats will work better towards the goal of restoring muscle glycogen, which is the primary focus when trying to build muscle mass.

When training in the gym especially for guys there is one thing that stands out as a goal beyond all others and that increasing strength and muscle mass, but I know of lots of guys who would sacrifice strength as long as they looked like they could.

So the question is how and what needs to be done to achieve greater muscle mass? Well if there are many steps and besides if it was that easy we would all be walking around like superstar bodybuilder body doubles (well, some of us who can be bothered and those that would want the freaky look)!

Keep with the program

Just because it hasn’t delivered results hours after you’ve worked out it doesn’t mean you should give up, neither is 2 weeks enough. A work out plan takes about 6 or more weeks before it begins to stagnate and need changing.

If you’re too quick to jump ship on every time, you’re likely to spend more of your time re-adjusting rather than building up muscle. Get yourself on a good plan and then give it a good four to six weeks of your attention before you evaluate and change too quickly.

For me exercise is part of life. It’s not a chore or something I’m forced to do, I do it because I choose to and I actually enjoy it. Exercise and activity are vital to maintaining a healthy mind and body.

However the gym isn’t for everyone. As it’s so important to our health we should all try our best to be and stay active, so what are the alternatives? Well it often said that activities are more fun when shared with others, so why not consider joining a club.

Whatever your activity of choice there will always nearly be a club to support it and the social aspect makes it more likely that you’ll continue to keep going. There is something o be said for groups of people in a similar situation or with similar interests that creates a bond between people. As a result they often seem to encourage each other to achieve their goals.

So if you’re having difficulties getting started on the road to fitness you might want to consider searching for a club covering your preferred activity and start work towards good health with friends.

If you’re considering walking for fitness you consider some preparation beforehand. You might think ‘Why do you need to prepare if you’re just walking?’ if you’re considering walking briskly over distance then preparation is important. You should take time to prepare yourself to prevent injuries, such as blisters on your feet or muscle strains or sprains.

Wear appropriate footwear and comfortable, protective clothing
Before you set out on walking, be sure to select comfortable footwear such as trainers already worn in or specific walking shoes. Just be sure the shoes suit the terrain. It would be wise to dress in loosely fitted, comfortable clothing. Wear layers in case you need to adjust to fluctuation in temperature. If you walk outside, choose clothes appropriate for the weather. Chose materials that allow perspiration to evaporate and always wear bright colours or reflective clothing after dark so that motorists can see you.

Warm up
Spend around five minutes or so walking slowly to warm up your muscles steadily building the pace. You can even walk on the spot. Increase your pace until you feel your body temperature increasing. Warm muscles reduce the risk of injury.

Stretch
After you have completely warmed up, stretch your muscles for at least five minutes before you start walking. Stretches should include the calf stretch, leg stretches (quadriceps stretch & hamstring stretch), lower back flexion stretch, chest and shoulder stretch.