We hear loads of advice and guidance on what to do to build up muscle but much of it is conflicting. For that reason we are going to clear up a few things right now about what not to do to build up muscles. Here we go, 7 things not to do when trying to build muscle up:
1) Train for more than 45 minutes. training longer than this can be counter productive as at this point a hormone is released that actually inhibits the muscle building process, train for less than this and the hormones are at the right level for building muscle.
2) Follow a ‘see food’ diet. Often you hear people say to eat as much of everything as you possibly can. Well of course we need extra calories to add muscle mass but do you really believe that stuffing yourself full of E numbers, fatty red meats, fast food, simple carbs (sugars) and so on is going to be healthy for you long term. Of course not, stick to sensible nutritious foods and you will put on lean muscle mass and save your body from long term health problems too.
3) exercises that isolate individual muscles. That refers to exercises such as tricep presses that place focus on one individual muscle alone. Your time and energy could be put to use a lot better. Stay with compound multi joint exercises such as squats, pull ups,presses and so on. These exercises stimulate muscle growth in more than just one muscle at a time.
4) Do not ignore aerobic exercise. I’m sure you have heard that you should steer clear of aerobic stuff as it consumes valuable calories that could be put towards building muscle. yes this is true but come on there is a sensible balance here. Sure get big but do you want to be huge and not be able to walk up a few flights of stairs without panting. Train aerobically two or three times a week and just consume additional calories to make up for these sessions.
5) Alter your exercises a great deal. You may know that variety ensures muscles keep growing, that is correct but naturally at the same time not letting your muscles establish an exercise rhythm can also limit your progress that you might otherwise make. Stick with an exercise for a couple of months before dropping it.
6)Train too much. Over training is probably the biggest cause for lack of progress. For most people 2-3 sessions a week will be suffice.
7) Give up. Too many bodybuilders quit just because there muscle growth eases up a bit. This is the exact time when you should be rising to the challenge and training with more intensity, paying attention to muscle building nutrition and showing determination.
Go get huge!