There are endless muscle building tips out there, but among all the workouts, supplements, and complicated articles, there are three simple points that can help you on your way to achieving your fitness goals. Building muscle or reaching your goals doesn't have to be complicated, and if you're looking for a simple "recipe" on how to achieve it, this article is for you.
1. Diet
When it comes to training and building muscle, diet is important, most people probably know that proteins are an important source of building muscle, invest in protein powder and think that it is a "quick fix" to achieve their goals. Don't get me wrong, proteins are a very important source for building muscle, and protein powder is a very good supplement to reach your protein intake, but this alone will not give you the results you want. Read more about myths about protein and protein powder here !
To build muscle and get the most out of your workout, you should consume good sources of protein, carbohydrates, and fat evenly throughout the day. After exercise, the body is more receptive to nutrition, and it pays to consume 10-20 grams of protein and 20-50 grams of carbohydrates immediately after exercise.
Good sources of carbohydrates: Oatmeal, wholemeal bread, beans, lentils, root vegetables.
Good sources of protein: Eggs, low-fat dairy products, meat, poultry, fish.
Good sources of fat: Fatty fish, avocado, rapeseed and olive oil, nuts.
How much protein should you consume?
The ideal for someone who trains a lot is to get about 2g of protein per kilo. This means that a person weighing 60kg should get about 120g of protein every day. More than this should not be necessary as the excess protein is converted into energy if you eat more than you need. An athlete often eats up to 3g of protein per kilo of body weight, while a person who does not train needs no more than 0.8g per kilo.
Research shows that being in a calorie surplus, meaning eating more than you burn in a day, makes it easier to build muscle. A good supplement for those of you who struggle to get enough calories and protein in a day would be a high-quality protein powder, which you can find here.
2. Training
To build muscle, it is important to train them correctly in relation to your goals. If you train with the purpose of muscle growth, it can be beneficial to perform basic exercises that train several muscle groups at once. If you want a training program for muscle growth, check out this post !
How often should you exercise?
When training to build muscle, it is important to use volume training. How often you should train each muscle group varies in relation to how many training sessions you have per week. It is recommended not to train the same muscle group within 24 hours, and it can therefore be good to train, for example, back on Monday, chest on Tuesday, legs on Wednesday and so on. This way you can focus on one muscle group at a time. If you only train twice a week, on the other hand, you can train your whole body both days.
3. Rest
Just as important as diet and exercise is rest. You have to listen to your body, and when it comes to exercise, not every day is easy. The more you exercise, the more your body needs to compensate with rest. How long you need to rest also depends on the intensity, type of exercise, duration and how well trained you are. Recovery involves replenishing your body with new fluids, nutrition and sufficient rest, so that your body can recharge.
How often should you rest between workouts?
If you are working to build muscle, you will often perform strength exercises, and in this case it is recommended to rest the muscle group for 48 to 72 hours. If you are doing cardio training, however, the rest period is shorter (24 to 48 hours), because strength training puts more strain on the muscles and joints.
Some people combine strength and cardio training, and in this case it would be best to do these every other day. This way you can train with only one rest day a week, while it is recommended to have a rest day every third day if you only do strength exercises. As mentioned, this should also be determined by how good your fitness is and your daily form.
Good workout clothes
We recommend training clothes from famme for strength training. The Norwegian brand has many different training tights , such as seamless tights, scrunch tights etc.