Let’s define first what is Muscle mass. Muscle mass is actually the specific size of your muscle. Its tone and the noticeable details of it. You increase muscle mass by lifting heavy weights repeatedly until you reach your desired muscle dimension. It basically has to have a combination of the right diet, training and supplementation. Here are some of them:
Rule #1: Do it with the Right Diet.
There is this principle in mass building that consume the food for the specific activity you are going to do and not for the activity or activities that you have done for the day. Keep in mind that you want to build muscle mass and not fat. Keep in mind also the following:
• You have to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water during the day. This will keep you hydrated and energy flowing in your workouts.
• It is also important that you don’t skip meals when you a trying to lose weight. This is a no-no! This will only knock off your metabolic balance and will just signal your body’s protection to hold on to fat. Then in turn burn muscle for energy instead of fat.
• Record or keep a calorie journal. With this in hand, you will be able to monitor your calorie intake and identify if you have to add or cut-back on food intake. It is best also to keep track of your weight and your activity or workout done.
• Eat to four to five small meals a day instead of three large ones. This will signal your body to continuously burn the calories effectively and efficiently and thus minimizing craving for food. Food cravings tends to promote overeating.
• Be aware of the nutritional information found on food labels when shopping for your food. Watch out for sodium content which could allow water retention.
• And, keep your carb intake at a low level especially during your first few weeks of your workout.
Rule #2: Do it with the Right Training
Many people are still blinded by myths on building muscle mass. This include lifting too heavy weights or the “no pain no gain” expression to see quick results but only to find out that this may cause serious injuries. Doing resistance training instead to build muscle is one key. Your usual push-ups and pull-ups can only do certain extent in bulking up your muscles. But you need other forms of resistance like using dumbbells, weights and/or bands to getting your muscles grow further off the normal.
It is with the right intensity that would contribute more to muscle building. Intensity meaning being able to lift the right and maximum amount of weight you’re your muscle can handle throughout your whole workout session. Then do repetitions. Intensity not the weight of your equipment counts.
Rule #3: Do it with the Right Supplementation
Supplements do help in how to bulk up really quick. But let’s be very cautious in choosing the right supplements to take. Some manufacturers say that the supplements they sell can fast increase your muscles but let’s be very aware that supplements have no specific regulations in ensuring consumers on the effectiveness or safety of a certain supplement product.
Remember the “No Therapeutic Claim” that they write on their medicine bottles? So let’s be on the safe side, ask around to those who have used and tried the product and ask for the actual effects it had on them.
So remember these 3 … Right Diet, Right Training and Right Supplementation.
Need more ideas? Here are some successful Body Building Techniques
The most successful body building techniques incorporate proven weight routines. A weight routine is a set of exercises, done in repetition, that develops specific parts of the body. For example, to build chest muscles, a body builder may use a weight routine that incorporates flat bench press (3 repetitions), bench dumbbell (2 repetitions) and inclined bench press (3 repetitions). The other important function a weight routine serves is to split a training program so different muscle groups are used.
Building Biceps
Dumbbells are a common piece of equipment used to build bigger biceps. The most popular technique to get the desired result is to hold the dumbbell closer to the inside of the plates. Routines for building biceps include dumbbell curls either inclined or standing, or both.
Building Chest Muscle
Good chest muscle building exercises are routines that incorporate bench presses and flyes. An even more effective way to build chest muscle is to split the chest into 3 zones – upper, middle and lower. By working each separately, using exercises that specifically target that area, you can build up some impressive chest muscle fairly quickly.
For instance, do your upper chest exercises on a 30-45% incline bench. Incline barbell and incline dumbbell flyes are excellent for working upper chest muscles. On the other hand, the lower chest muscles are best exercised using a 30-45% decline bench. You would use decline barbell and decline dumbbell flyes to build these muscles. A flat bench works best for the middle chest muscles. So you’d do flat barbell and flat dumbbell flyes on a flat bench.
Moving Onto Shoulder Training
The shoulders are made up of 3 main muscles – the lateral, anterior and posterior deltoids. Effective shoulder training to get big shoulders requires working all 3. The anterior deltoid usually gets some work in chest workouts. To build up the lateral and posterior deltoids requires additional exercises targeting these two muscles. Generally the best way to do this is with heavy barbell and dumbbell pressing in short reps as opposed to a lot of rep work with lighter weights. You should also focus on shoulder exercises that work effectively with progressive overload, a technique used to progressively add more weight to what is being lifted.
Matching Up The Back With Back Exercises
The back is one area many body builders overlook. But if you want your back to match up with those impressive chest, shoulder and bicep muscles, you will need to include back exercises in your bodybuilding routine.
Good workouts for the Lower Trapezius or lower back muscles include stiff-legged good mornings and hyper-extensions. For the middle back muscles or Rhomboids, you can do a seated cable row and bent-over barbell rows. Your Latissimus Dorsi will benefit from wide-grip lat pull-downs and pull-ups. And last but not least, try upright rows and barbell shrugs for your Trapezius.
But before starting any body-building workout, be sure to warm up properly. This will reduce the risk of damaging muscles and tendons. Stretch the muscles you’re going to be working. Also avoid lifting more weight than your body can capably handle to avoid serious injury.