When you go to the gym, you will likely have a particular end goal. Once you have achieved that end goal, you must maintain it. Furthermore, there are different goals that you may have when going to the gym. You could be looking to gain weight, lose weight, or put on muscle.
We understand that it isn’t easy to put on muscle mass if you are one of those who struggle to gain weight. Furthermore, this is a goal that takes time and could take up to three months before you start to see a change in your body, especially if you have a high metabolism.
How To Put On Muscle-Mass
To gain muscle mass, you need to consume the right foods and train the correct muscles. If you don’t eat the right food or train the correct muscles, you won’t put on the muscle mass.
It is easy to understand the concept. You need to consume a high number of calories. You also need to lift a weight so that you cannot perform more than 20 repetitions. However, some people who want to gain muscle will aim for a lower number of reps which will be explained.
To increase your strength, you need to aim for repetition between 1-5. To promote muscle growth, repetitions between 6-12 should help you achieve this goal. Finally, if you want to improve your muscular endurance, we advise you to aim for reps between 12-20.
Lift The Correct Weight
When you choose a weight for your exercise, you must ensure you cannot exceed 20 repetitions. Additionally, you need to pick a weight near to failure at the end of each set. If you can exceed the number of repetitions with that weight, the weight you have chosen isn’t heavy enough.
No matter whether you are aiming for two reps, six reps, ten reps or more, the final repetition must be a challenge for you where you can barely lift. It will tear your muscle tissue and this helps grow your muscles.
Choose The Right Exercises
When you go to the gym, you must do your research before you walk through the gym doors. Don’t worry, you don’t need to study too much. You just need to understand which exercises work certain muscles. For example, hammer curls and bicep curls will target the bicep. There are also many more but these are the exercises you may have already heard of.
To achieve gaining muscle mass, we advise you to choose compound and isolation exercises.
Compound Exercises
Compound exercises are harder than isolation exercises. Furthermore, these exercises may be more beneficial in real life such as lifting heavy objects. These exercises will not only build muscle mass but will also provide you with more practical strength.
Isolation Exercises
Isolation exercises target a more specific muscle. These exercises are encouraged for beginners because they are easier to perform and you are less likely to injure yourself with these exercises. Once you notice you are getting stronger, you can then include compound exercises.
Don’t Overtrain Muscle Groups
The mistake that many people make is overtraining muscles. Some people think training their muscles nearly every day of the week is a great way to gain muscle mass. That is not the case and if anything, it can damage them, meaning your muscles won’t develop and become more defined.
With each workout, you don’t want to do any more than seven exercises. The reason is that if you exceed this, you will overtrain them and will need a few days off from exercising that muscle group.
Another mistake beginners make is that they exercise every day for the whole week. We advise you to have a couple of rest days throughout the week, maybe train for four days of the week and rest for the remainder of it.
Consume More Calories
To put on muscle mass, you must consume more calories than you do to maintain your current weight. Furthermore, there are two phrases you may have heard of which are bulking and cutting. These are two phases that people who regularly go to the gym will often say. Bulking is what you will be doing if you want to gain muscle mass.
This does not mean you can start eating any food that you want. It is essential that during your strict routine, you consume the proper foods. Furthermore, you need to aim for around 500 more calories than you already consume. With this increase, you also need to ensure you are consuming a lot of foods rich in protein whilst maintaining a healthy diet and consuming other foods that are high in healthy nutrients.
Depending on the individual, you might not need to consume an additional 500 calories. You may only need to consume an extra 300 calories. All of this depends on age, profession, occupation, sex and the amount of physical activity they perform. All of these factors matter in your weight gain.
Foods To Consume For Your Weight Gain
Gym experts will always say your diet matters more than your exercise. This is also called the 80/20 principle. That means the result is usually down to 80% of the diet and 20% of the workout.
To ensure you eat the proper foods, don’t consume more than 1.5 grams per KG of your body weight in fat. The amount of protein must be around 1.6 grams of protein per KG of your body weight. Then the rest of your calorie intake should be carbohydrates.
Once you are consuming the right foods and erasing all of the bad things from your life such as alcohol, you will start to see the results you desire.
Summary
Many factors come into play when it comes to gaining muscle mass. The main priority is to alter your diet to ensure you are putting on weight in the right area. To do this, you need to consume the correct foods that we have stated.
Another thing you need to ensure is getting enough rest throughout the week. Once you have trained your muscles, they need time to recover. If they don’t have time to recover, it will take longer to get the results you like. So, grab your favourite gym set and achieve those goals you have always wanted.