Muscle Growth Secrets - Top 7 Fitness Tips!
Imagine this scenario. You join a gym, all charged up to become fit & muscular. You work hard on your muscle-building routines & keep pushing yourself. You feel happy with your effort. After all, you have managed to stick to your fitness routine, much longer than before! But no matter how hard you try, you are not growing your muscles anymore! Sounds familiar? More than likely, you have been getting one or more of the following fitness principles wrong.
1. Avoid Over-training
Each time a muscle is used in an intense activity, it actually breaks down muscle fibers. Hence, they need some time to recover & be ready for training again. Most good muscle growing routines target a group of muscles only once or twice a week. This ensures adequate time for muscle growth.
2. Avoid Prolonged Workouts
When looking to grow muscles, think quality over quantity. With longer workouts, your cortisol levels begin to rise. This can cause damage to the muscles rather than muscle growth. Your workout duration should ideally be between 45 minutes to an hour; with adequate periods of rest in between.
3. Grow Muscles While You Sleep
Sleeping for 8 to 10 hours a day is essential for ensuring muscle growth. The rest period gives the body a chance to grow new muscle fibers.
4. Restrict Alcohol Usage
Alcohol interferes with the body's ability to generate muscle mass. It can also reduce the general fitness levels.
5. Inject Variety in Your Fitness Routine
Make sure to change your exercise routines every 6 to 8 weeks. This ensures that muscles don't adapt to the same exercises; which will in turn restrict muscle growth.
6. Constantly Challenge Your Muscles
Muscles grow in response to the stimulus of working against a load; or resistance. Hence, it is of the utmost importance to try & increase the load with every exercise session. This ensures that the muscle is challenged all the time.
7. Get Plenty of Proteins for Muscle Growth
Proteins are called the building blocks of the human body. Thus, make sure that you include an adequate supply of proteins in your diet. You may want to consider using protein shakes or supplements; if your diet is low in proteins. A quantity of 1 gram protein equivalent for every pound of bodyweight is usually recommended for effective muscle growth.
Follow these principles & stay focused. Although there are many more factors that also play a part, the above fitness tips should help you get started on your way towards having the body your working for