How to gain muscle fast need to guarantee your determination and consistency in adhering to your training programs, which can give you the results you need.
In case you might be wondering is your have been working our regularly but feel like you are still not seeing the results that you have wanted all along, you might need to check how you are approaching your exercises programs.
Let fitness author Giselle Castro fill you in on things that you might be missing and help you re-assess your fitness goals.
Why You Aren’t Gaining Muscle (and What to Do About It)
That fitness expert on Instagram with glutes that seem to defy gravity can make you wonder, “How does she do that?!” It’s true, everyone’s body is built differently and doesn’t put on muscle the same way. By learning more about your muscles, you’ll discover the best way to get that lifted booty.
1. Muscle Can Maintain Your Weight
Functionally, muscles protect your bones, organs, and tissues—and even help you heal quickly. Kathryn Sansone, a certified fitness trainer and the founder of GreekGirl Beauty Protein, adds that muscles can also be important to maintain your weight. “Muscle requires more energy and therefore burns more calories than fat,” she says. “The more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolism is.” More muscle means burning more at rest, plus being able to work harder during your workouts. Double-win.
2. It Can Also Cause Gains, So Don’t Panic
Women might worry when they see the number on the scale go up. “A pound is a pound no matter what, but the volume of one pound of muscle is much smaller than one pound of fat,” says Jacklyn Sklaver, NASM personal trainer and CISSN sports nutritionist. Instead, measure your waist, your hips, and your body fat percentage to keep track of your physical progress.
3. Strength-Train for Optimal Results
Sklaver recommends women strength-train four times a week to see results. “Some women can stick to only weight training with no cardio,” she explains. “Others may need to do cardio 30 minutes a day three to five times a week for the best results.” Sklaver adds that it’s also beneficial to add compound movements (total-body exercises) to burn more calories. “Full-body workouts are ideal for maximum muscle growth,” she says. “The more a body part is used, the more hypertrophy that occurs.” Focus on working the largest muscle groups in the body: the glutes, quads, and hamstrings. Training the upper body in conjunction helps create an hourglass shape. You can cut back on that treadmill time, too—Sklaver says too much cardio can lead to difficulty gaining muscle.
4. “Bulking Up” Is Rarely a Thing
Don’t be afraid that you’ll come out of the weight room looking like John Cena. “Women who are ‘bulky’ are following a nutritional plan, have been working out for many many years, and may have goals of increasing strength rather than body composition,” says Sklaver. It takes A LOT more effort to gain muscle than to gain or lose fat. Meaning if you lift weights, you won’t become huge right away. If you are prone to bulking up, Sklaver advises focusing on your nutrition. “Find a daily caloric and macronutrient intake, meal prep, and eat for performance and recovery. Read the full article
Getting the right program that would target your choice muscle groups can sometimes be difficult to develop. Doug Lawrenson is a professional bodybuilder who can be your best source of information with regards to fitness diets, nutrition, weight management and training techniques to help you protect your gains.
Doug’s 5 Day High Definition Routine
Doug’s 5 day high definition routine is designed to increase muscle definition and burn bodyfat. A thorough cardio warm up at start of each day, stretches and cardio cool down at the end of the training session.
Workout notes:
2 Warm up sets to be completed on 1st exercise per bodypart. 1st warm up set at a very light weight, 2nd warm up set at approx ½ weight to be used in working set.
Cardio is low intensity for up to an hour twice per day; First thing in the morning before breakfast and evening time, at least 2 hrs before bedtime.
Abdominals are performed after each training session
30 Seconds rest between sets
Abdominal Exercises:
As stated above, in this workout you should train your abs at the end of each session. Use these exercises:
Decline Crunches – 4 sets of 20-25 reps
Hanging Leg Raises – 4 sets of 20-25 reps
Twisting Crunches – 4 sets of 20-25 reps. Read full article
People sometimes find it hard to think about how to maintain their muscle mass and at the same time burn fat. While some find it a bit tricky, others know what to do to protect it.
Let strength conditioning coach and author Justin Grinell share his thoughts on how to hang on to your hard earned gains while burning fat in your body.
LOSE FAT WHILE KEEPING HARD EARNED MUSCLE
When it comes to losing fat to look good, people tend to go to extremes. All winter long you have tried to bulk up and pack on the muscle. While this is all good, you may end up with some unwanted body fat. So, you decide to either not eat much, eat too little, avoid certain foods like the plague, and end up miserable with less muscle than you had from the start. This does not have to happen.
In order to retain muscle while shedding body fat, you need to have a sustainable approach, not an extreme one. Even when prepping for a physique show, the athletes who look the best typically stay on track all year long, and don’t force themselves to lose fat fast by depriving themselves.
If you have an adjustable approach, depending on your goals at the time, you will always stay within your fighting weight, and be able to gain some muscle mass. Before laying out a sample meal plan, consider the following critical tips:
YOU NEED TO EAT ENOUGH FOOD TO FUEL YOUR BODY.
I am a big fan of intermittent fasting (IF). There are many benefits to IF that can help you reach your goals. Just be aware that cutting too many calories from your diet can lower you metabolism, leaving you hungry and primed to regain the fat that you lost. You also may find yourself eating the wrong types of foods after a long fast. So be mindful of the foods you eat to fuel your body.
YOU NEED TO EAT BETTER FOOD.
Piggybacking off #1, you will not make progress by cutting calories and eating processed foods when you are hungry. Sure, if you are in a caloric deficit and are eating gluten-free this and fat free that, you will lose weight, however this will not stick long-term. As Josh Hillis Says, co-author of Fat Loss Happens on Monday, weight loss will be determined by the quantity of the food you eat, but body composition (fat and muscle) will be determined by your food quality. Eat 70% of your diet in whole and minimally processed foods that you like. Eat 20% in whole and minimally processed foods that you don’t like, but don’t hate. This will allow you to explore your pallet. If you follow those two rules, eat 10% of whatever you want. You have to let yourself indulge once in a while for your sanity and to kick-start your metabolism. This also allows you some wiggle room when you are in a crunch.
MAKE SURE TO GET A WIDE VARIETY OF FOODS IN EACH DAY.
This is a guide to help you get an array of macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients) in each day. Read full article
You may want to be convinced a bit more about preserving muscle gains and it is also relatively important to understand that aging also plays a role in the process.
In the next article, you will find helpful information compiled by medical authors and experts from the Harvard Men’s Health Watch of the Harvard Medical School.
Preserve Your Muscle Mass
Declining muscle mass is part of aging, but that does not mean you are helpless to stop it.
The saying goes there are two certainties in life: death and taxes. But men should also add loss of muscle mass to the list.
Age-related muscle loss, called sarcopenia, is a natural part of aging. After age 30, you begin to lose as much as 3% to 5% per decade. Most men will lose about 30% of their muscle mass during their lifetimes.
Less muscle means greater weakness and less mobility, both of which may increase your risk of falls and fractures. A 2015 report from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research found that people with sarcopenia had 2.3 times the risk of having a low-trauma fracture from a fall, such as a broken hip, collarbone, leg, arm, or wrist.
But just because you lose muscle mass does not mean it is gone forever. “Older men can indeed increase muscle mass lost as a consequence of aging,” says Dr. Thomas W. Storer, director of the exercise physiology and physical function lab at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “It takes work, dedication, and a plan, but it is never too late to rebuild muscle and maintain it.”
The hormone factor
One possible contributor to sarcopenia is the natural decline of testosterone, the hormone that stimulates protein synthesis and muscle growth. Think of testosterone as the fuel for your muscle-building fire.
Some research has shown that supplemental testosterone can add lean body mass—that is, muscle—in older men, but there can be adverse effects. Plus, the FDA has not approved these supplements specifically for increasing muscle mass in men.
Therefore, the best means to build muscle mass, no matter your age, is progressive resistance training (PRT), says Dr. Storer. With PRT, you gradually amp up your workout volume—weight, reps, and sets—as your strength and endurance improve.
This constant challenging builds muscle and keeps you away from plateaus where you stop making gains. (See “Working on a PRT program.”) In fact, a recent meta-analysis published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise reviewed 49 studies of men ages 50 to 83 who did PRT and found that subjects averaged a 2.4-pound increase in lean body mass.
The power of protein
Your diet also plays a role in building muscle mass. Protein is the king of muscle food. The body breaks it down into amino acids, which it uses to build muscle. However, older men often experience a phenomenon called anabolic resistance, which lowers their bodies’ ability to break down and synthesize protein.
Therefore, as with PRT, if you are older, you need more. A recent study in the journal Nutrients suggests a daily intake of 1 to 1.3 grams (g) of protein per kilogram of body weight for older adults who do resistance training. For example, a 175-pound man would need about 79 g to 103 g a day. If possible, divide your protein equally among your daily meals to maximize muscle protein synthesis. Read full article
Preserving muscle mass may be something that you may have had difficulty with in the past, but no more, with these helpful articles to shed light on those age-old questions, you would surely be enlightened with these practical ideas.
Getting a boost on your efforts through supplementation can also be a good idea to explore and one of the best ways to protect your muscle gains is by taking Complete Whey from Cytosport.
It provides you with a a full-spectrum nutrition formula that is loaded with protein, essential amino acids and other nutrients the body needs to sustain muscle growth, health and recovery.
