So, you’ve been hitting the gym for a few weeks now, but still aren’t seeing any results.
This is common issue experienced by plenty of people who have the drive, determination, and will, but still have trouble reaching their fitness goals. The best solution to this problem is to work with an experienced personal trainer to help you figure out what you’re doing wrong and how you can improve your fitness routine.
However, not everyone likes the idea of working with a personal trainer. So, for those who’d rather achieve their goals on their own, we’ve spoken to a few fitness experts, and put together this helpful list of 10 training tips to help you burn fat, enhance endurance, and build muscle.
Make Sure You Understand How to Build Muscle
Ask any personal trainer and they’ll tell you that there are a certain muscle-building basics that everyone should know. For starters, you’re going to need to increase your caloric and protein intake, which will give your body the building blocks it needs to build muscle.
Then, when you’re at the gym, you need to focus on your form and weight train at least three or four times per week.
Lastly, you need to understand that tissue growth happens while you’re not at the gym. Therefore, it’s important to give yourself time to rest and relax after your workouts so that your muscles can grow.
Always Eat with a Purpose
When trying to build muscle mass, everything you eat needs to have a substantial nutritional value to it. In other words, the food you eat always need to serve some sort of nutritional purpose to help fuel your workouts and help your body build muscle.
Do Meal Prep
According to this site transformedpersonaltraining.com, meal prep is one of the best ways to help you accomplish your fitness goals.
Preparing your meals in advance helps prevent the urge to skip meals or eat unhealthy foods, since everything is already prepared for you. We recommend taking a few hours once a week and preparing all your food for the next 7 days to come.
Make Sure You’re Eating Properly
Regardless of what your fitness goals are, the most important factor in achieving those goals is eating properly.
Since the food you eat is what will fuel your workouts, without proper nutrition and eating healthy foods, you’re not likely to reach your goals.
So, with that in mind, it’s vital to maintain a healthy diet consisting of complex carbs, complete proteins, healthy fats, as well as a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Eat More Often
Although most of us were taught that eating three meals per day is healthy, if you’re trying to lose weight or build muscle, you’re likely not eating often enough.
Most fitness trainers will advise you to eat about 5 times per day, or roughly every three hours, to help stimulate and boost your metabolism. A good rule of thumb is to break up your meals into two smaller, mini-meals, eaten between three larger, basic meals.
Then, since activity levels usually decrease as the day goes on, it’s best to decrease the amount you eat as the day comes to an end.
Be Mindful of Portion Size
Since you’re going to be eating more often, it’s also important to pay attention to portion size to avoid over-eating.
A good rule of thumb is to make sure that meat servings are no larger than the palm of your hand, and for starchy foods such as pastas, no larger than your fist.
Another good tip is to use smaller plates, bowls, and cups, since people generally serve themselves more food when they use larger dishes.
Don’t Overdo the Weight
When trying to build more muscle, people often think that lifting more weight is better. However, studies show that time and tension, as opposed to weight alone, causes muscle tissue to grow.
Therefore, we recommend that you use a weight that has you failing on your reps after 30 to 40 seconds. So, if you’re muscles are failing you at only 15 or 20 seconds into a workout, the weight you’re using is too much for your body.
Focus on Your Form
Never take shortcuts when working out. Poor form not only decreases the effectiveness of your workout, but you’re also more likely to injure yourself.
Therefore, it’s best to aim for a full range of motion during your exercises. This causes your muscles to do more work per movement, and results in breaking down more tissue by the time you’re through with the exercise.
Be Smart About Supplements
Most trainers agree that supplements can play a huge role in boosting muscle growth. So, with that in mind, it’s important to understand which supplements are used for which purposes.
If you’re trying to build muscle, you’re likely already taking a protein supplement. However, studies have shown that taking creatine is one of the most effect size and strength building supplements on the market.
You might also want to try using peppermint, which alters a person’s perception as to how hard they’re working out. This makes your workouts seems less strenuous and easier to complete.
Be Wary of Cardio
If you’re trying to get bigger, you should probably slow down on your cardio workouts. This type of workout causes your body to burn too many calories, which are needed for building muscle.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you need to avoid cardio completely. But, instead of running every day of the week, it’s best to aim for light jobs every second or third day.
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