Muscle Building

Shawn Lebrun asked:


Over the past 5 years, while working as a personal trainer, I’ve discovered a lot of muscle building hype floating around the internet.

Here are some of the most common myths that will effect your muscle building goals. Next to the myth, I’ve revealed the truth so you can learn how to do it right.

1. You need to drastically cut your calories to lose weight and build muscle.

False. You need to actually eat more food, it just has to be better food and smaller portions. The goal is to increase metabolism and this can be done by eating a smaller meal every 3 hours.

If you reduce calories by too much, your metabolism will actually slow down, causing you to hold onto stored fat. That is why diets DO NOT WORK!!!

My clients eat more food and still keep losing body fat. Eating often keeps metabolism running smooth and it helps keep nutrients on tap for your body to utilize in the repair of muscle.

Not only that, building muscle without enough calories is impossible. It takes calories (energy) to build muscle.

2. Aerobic exercise should be done every day.

False. Over-training can be done by doing too much cardio as well as too much weight training. Doing anything everyday will have a negative impact on your muscle building results.

When do you rest? Imagine yourself going to your job and working 7 days a week, 365 days a year. How long until you go crazy? Keep cardio to 2-3 sessions per week. Any more than that and you negatively impact your muscle building and your recovery time between workouts.

3. The longer the aerobic session the better.

False. It’s not the duration, it’s the intensity level of what you are doing. Again, more is not better. Doing something better is better. So instead of doing long, drawn-out cardio sessions, make them short (no more than 30 minutes) and intense (work harder!) This will bring about better muscle building results.

4. You need to spend hours a day, many days a week weight training to see results.

False. This is the quickest way not to see results. The process of building muscle is fairly easy. You just lift weights to stimulate muscle growth and then you allow that muscle to recuperate before you train it again and then you try to lift a bit more the next workout.

Keep workouts under an hour and try not to weight train more than 4-5 days a week. Adopt the “more is NOT better philosophy” to all you do.

5. Ab stimulators and energizers will give you a great set of Abs.

False. Abs, just like any other muscle group, need to be worked with resistance training in order for them to develop. Not to mention you need to do cardio to help burn off fat around the midsection and focus on proper nutrition to make sure you keep the fat off.

Abs are developed through overload and these electric stimulators do not overload the muscle. Ab stimulators create involuntary contractions. This may help the therapeutic effect on abdominal muscles but not the muscle building process. These will do nothing for the abs, plain and simple. They will work your wallet more than the abs.

6. You need to work a muscle more than once a week.

False. If done well and intensely, a muscle will not need to be worked more than once a week. In fact, you may get less results if you train a muscle group directly more than once a week.

Muscles need rest and recovery time in order to grow and get stronger. If you are training them all the time, they will not get the needed rest. It’s like trying to get a good tan when you are always sunburned.

These are a few of the top myths I’ve found floating around the internet. These myths have a negative impact on your muscle building goals, so avoid them at all costs!



Jacob

Shawn Lebrun asked:


There are many different muscle building exercises out there to try.

Some of them are more common than others so you may have already heard about them. It is a good idea to find out what is out there to choose from though.

That way you can select those you are able to do into your exercise plan.

You want to have a variety of muscle building exercises that you try in order to gain the most mass from your efforts.

Squats are the perfect muscle building exercise for you to get muscle mass in your legs. Take your time to do each one correctly and all the way through.

You want to work on repetitions more than on the amount of weigh you are using.

As you can do more and more reps you can increase the amount of weight you use. Make sure your feet are wider than your shoulders in order to help you balance the weight properly.

Straight leg dead lifts will also help you with muscle building in the legs. Such exercising will work your hamstrings.

Make sure you are flexing your hamstrings as you are lifting in order gain the most benefits from this type of muscle building exercise.

You also want to bend your hips so that you avoid any type of strain on your back during the routine.

Dead lifts are often returned to as simply weight lifting. This type of muscle building exercise is very common. It is going to help you build muscles in many areas of your body.

It is a good idea to do this type of muscle building exercise with a spotter. That way someone is there to assist you if you need it.

Work on your reps and continue to increase the weight as you are able to.

You also want to have a spotter when you use the bench press for muscle building.

Your overall form during this type of exercise is going to determine what type of results you get from it. Your body needs to remain in place.

Focus on keeping your bottom firmly on the bench as you lift. If you are raising it up then you are hindering your muscle building efforts.

Make sure you are using your chest muscles to help you with the lift as well instead of just your arms.

Paying attention to safety is very important when you engage in muscle building exercises.

Make sure you understand the right way to perform them. If you aren’t sure ask someone to show you.

If you are working out on your own then you can look in a book or you can watch a video online.

While you want to push your body to do the best it can dont require it to do more than it should.

You want your muscle building exercises to be beneficial to you and that won’t happen if you don’t take care of your body properly.

As you become more comfortable with these common muscle building exercises you can move on to those that are more advanced.



Emma

Beesonbuck asked:


I currently take protein and lift 4-5 times a week. I recently decided to start running as well, but i am not sure if it will hinder my muscle building if i run right after a workout.

Shelby

Shawn Lebrun asked:


Starting a muscle building program can be very helpful to your body.

Not only will you burn more fat but you will look great. It is important that you have a plan of action on place though before you start.

Identify what you wish to accomplish from the program.

Some people just want to tone up because they have loose skin in areas of the body. Others want to get stronger.

There are also those that wish to engage in a muscle building program so they can bulk up and even compete.

There are plenty of different exercises out there you can choose from when you start a muscle building program.

Take the time to explore many of them so you can find those you like. You will be more likely to stick to the program if you are enjoying what you take part in.

It is vital that you understand the right way to do each of those exercises. You can injure yourself if you do them incorrectly.

You also will be wasting your time if you do them wrong as they aren’t going to help with the muscle building process.

Take your current physical strength and condition into consideration.

Too many people make the mistake to trying to do more than they can when it comes to muscle building activities.

You need to start where your body is comfortable and move forward from there.

Focus on being able to increase repetitions with weight lifting instead of moving on to heavier weights.

As you reach a goal of repetitions then you want to add more weight to what you are working with.

Give your body time to rest as well because that is when they muscle building process will actually take place. You should only be lifting every other day for optimal results.

Lifting every single day is only going to increase your risk of becoming injured.

You do want to work out each day but alternate days with cardio exercises which will help you with burning fat as well.

You definitely need to pay close attention to your diet when you start a muscle building program.

Your body is going need more energy so you will need to increase the calories you consume.

You will also need more protein so a healthy diet plan is essential. Your muscle building efforts will be hindered if you don’t pay close attention to this aspect of it.

Muscle building is an overall process that requires many things to be in place. You need proper nutrition in order for your body to be able to work well.

Eating right will help you to build muscle quickly. You also need to get enough rest so that your body can repair from the workouts.

Pay attention to signals your body gives you that you may be pushing too hard.

Instead of just jumping in with a muscle building program take your time to do it correctly.

Find out the information you need so you can be confident your effort are going to result in muscle building.

Get all of your questions answered before you start so that you are on the right track. Be realistic about your goals and your expectations.

It is going to take dedication and hard work for muscle building to occur. However, you will be very proud of yourself with the results that come from it.



Sophia

Thomas Brian asked:


Muscle building is a great experience and also a hobby that is highly recommended, since it is rewarding and also gives you some really great benefits; such as better look, increased strength, improved confidence and overall, a healthy body. It is a known fact that muscle is much more attractive than fat. Muscle building and fat loss go hand in hand. Muscle building helps in improving your actual physique along with overall health. There are many health benefits to muscle building. The mass of muscle is approximately half as big as the mass of fat deposits.

Don’t be surprised if you are exercising in order to lose weight but actually end up gaining weight. It is not a shocking or bad thing really and there is no reason to be sad about it. Such weight gain means you are building muscle mass and you will look much better than you were before. You will look slimmer around your waist. Muscle building includes burning calories very rapidly. Muscles tend to use energy, but fat just stores it. So when you have more muscles, you will tend to burn more energy and maintain a healthy body weight more easily.

In order to gain maximum benefits, it is not essential to build a lot of muscle mass. According to study, building five pounds of muscle mass will make you healthier and provide ability to fight off disease. Just thirty minutes thrice a week is enough to reach your goal.

The most obvious and common ways to muscle building is weight lifting. But there are other ways by which you can improve muscle building. They are running, swimming and even just brisk walking. Brisk walking actually means walking rapidly.

Another essential fact about muscle building is diet maintenance. If you are lean and wish to develop a better physique, you will definitely need to maintain a good diet. So, you will need to change your eating habits in order to maintain your newfound looks. Even lean people can gain a lot. Hence you should eat healthier diet, which will help you to improve your physical and mental health and allow you to have more strength and energy to do things.



Kevin

will k asked:


Im planning to start working out again at the gym. Im 14, around 6 foot and i weigh about 145 lbs. Im skinny, so im mostly muscle and no fat. Im very athletic so i cant really gain weight. Before or after my work outs, what should i eat or drink? Should i buy muscle building supplements?

Kiera

Tony Smith asked:


Eating the right foods is just as important as training hard. It can actually determine how fast you build quality muscle. So, what I’m going to do is share with you 15 foods that build muscle. That way, you can quickly and easily build muscle mass in a short amount of time.

The top 15 foods you should eat to build muscles are:

1. Steak (red meat)- good source of protein. Steak has vitamins and other nutrients in it that are crucial for muscle growth. The fats in steak has been shown to help increase your testosterone. If you’re serious about putting on muscle, add this to your meal plan.

2. Brown Rice- great carbohydrate source. Slow digesting, which means it won’t spike your insulin levels.

3. Pasta- great source of carbs. Two cups provide about 90 grams of high-quality carbs. This will definitely help you build muscles.

4. Avocado- Helps increase your testosterone and also has other health benefits.

5. Eggs- This is a must if you are trying to build muscles. Great protein source.

6. Chicken- Lean protein. Great for anytime of the day.

7. Fruits (apples, bananas, strawberries)- Carbohydrate source. Also, fruits have many health benefits.

8. Oatmeal- Complex carb. Great for helping with carb intake.

9. Turkey- Great for lunch. Excellent protein source.

10. Salmon- Good source of protein. Salmon has omega fatty acids in it. Its a serious mass builder. You should eat this at least three times a week.

11. Cottage cheese- slow-digesting protein. Cottage cheese is a great late night snack.

12. Salad- Add olive oil and vinegar to your salad. It has alot of health benefits.

13. Tuna- Lean protein source. Tuna also has fatty acids in it. It’s great for helping with muscle growth.

14. Whole wheat bread- Great carb source.

15. Almonds- Great as a snack. Almonds have a decent amount of protein in it. It also has healthy fats in it. And is good for increasing testosterone levels.

Eating these foods is important if you’re trying to build muscle. Don’t skip meals. Make sure you eat every 2-3 hours. You should intake at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day and 1.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight per day.

An example would be if you weighed 200 pounds, you would consume 200 grams of protein per day and 300 grams of carbs per day. This will ensure that your body is constantly in “muscle-building” mode. If you don’t intake enough protein, your muscles won’t grow.

These are the 15 foods that build muscle. Add them to your meal plan. Train hard. Drink plenty of water. And watch how fast your muscles grow.



Victoria

Ryder asked:


I’m 13 and I’d like to be ripped, but I hear that building muscle at such a young age can stunt your growth. Is this true? Thanks in advance.

Ana

Jimmy Smith asked:


Muscle building can be really easy unless you are a skinny fat guy. You know those guys who have skinny arms and legs but have a nice little pouch for a stomach. Luckily I have spent years research why exactly certain people like me and you are skinny and fat at the same time. It really has a lot to do with your training. Most people are so dead set on training a certain way that they can not see the long term implications, which is a bigger stomach and less muscle on your arms and legs.

Skinny fat people must train with full body works and bodypart split

I get really confused when I hear about skinny fat guys doing all full body workouts or having a arm or chest day in the gym. Both of those training methods should actually be used if a skinny fat guy plans on building muscle.

The only really way that someone is going to build muscle and burn fat at the same time is to train with frequency, volume and intensity. All three of those characteristics have to be met or else the skinny fat guy will not build muscle. By doing so you can raise your metabolism as well as increase your muscular size.

For skinny fat muscle building I typically recommend two full body days and two to three body part split days depending on your time.

Skinny fat people must do both high intensity and slow steady cardio

The recent trend by many experts is to recommend nothing but high intensity interval cardio. This is good advice but most experts do not know anything about how to train a skinny fat guy. After all, I am not the number 1 expert on skinny-fat muscle building in the world for nothing.

You see both high intensity and slow and steady cardio have advantages. For a skinny fat guy, high intensity cardio will help burn the excessive calories that are floating around and go right to your stomach. Slow cardio on the other hand will help him burn fat when you do not want to risk the chance of burning muscle tissue.

Skinny fat people must perform more leg work

I know that everyone hates it but leg work is a must for skinny fat guys. Leg work increased the amount of testosterone, the most powerful muscle building hormone that we have. The problem with skinny fat guys is that they have low amounts of testosterone. This is one of the main reasons that they have a bulging stomach. Testosterone is linked to building muscle but in a lack of testosterone, our body will hold onto fat. The best thing that a skinny fat guy can do is squat and deadlift at least twice a week. Now do not worry, you do not have to both squat and deadlift twice a week. One day should be centered on your squat and improving that lift while the second day should be centered on building the deadlift.

Training lower body allows you to increase both your metabolism and muscle building hormones, which is the aim of skinny fat guys, which is to increase muscle building hormones and increase metabolism.



Alexandra

kgpen1991 asked:


Can someone please tell me what excersises target the shoulders,chest and arms specifically.And what is the best way to build muscle fast without taking protien and all that.I really dont care how hard the work out is,I’m ready for that,it’s just I dont know what to do and how to do it to build muscle fast.And when i get to where I want to be,how can I maintain that without building more muscle.

Alexandra