Thursday, February 10, 2011

How To Gain Muscle Mass

While you gain an enviable physique by gaining muscle mass, it does not just benefit your appearance. Your health will also be tremendously benefited. This is because having additional muscle mass automatically speeds up your metabolism. It means your body will be able to burn fat more efficiently. You should realize that you also decrease your vulnerability to various diseases as you decrease your body fat. To gain muscle mass, you need proper weight training, proper diet and proper sleep.

Weight training is also resistance training. You can get the necessary resistance from free weights, weight training machines or even your own body weight. Some free weights are dumbbells and barbells. Push ups, pull ups, chin ups and dips are examples of body weight exercises. You are assisted in lifting weight by weight training machines through their cables and pulleys. By concentrating on free weight workouts you can gain the maximum amount of muscle mass more quickly even as all the weight lifting exercises are effective for strength training and toning. Using heavy free weights with low repetitions will also bring you rapid muscle growth. Choose a weight that is heavy enough that you are unable to lift it for more than four to eight repetitions. This will provide the necessary stress challenge to your muscles and nervous system to stimulate muscle building.

It is only by eating enough calories that you will be able to build muscle mass. All your calories should, however, be provided by the right kinds of food. You have to cut out unhealthy fats and simple carbohydrates that are mainly sugar and starch. These are the candidates for storage as fat. You must rather consume only lean protein, healthy fats like Omega 3 fats and unsaturated fats, and complex carbohydrates with high fiber content. Every day make sure you eat six small meals of these recommended foods. This means eating approximately every three hours but stopping three hours before bedtime. Your metabolism and muscle building efforts can be kept going by feeding your body at such regular intervals. Drinking enough water all through your day will hydrate your body properly and facilitate the elimination of toxic metabolic wastes that result from your workouts. Finally, supplement your diet with multivitamins and anti-oxidants to support the body.

Sleep is also a necessity in gaining muscle mass. The body can only repair and build muscles during deep sleep. Without enough sleep your weight training and your eating patterns can not be translated into maximum muscle mass building.

It is worth your while to do proper weight training, follow the proper diet and get proper sleep to gain muscle mass. Even if you want to do this just to look good, you will still gain all the health benefits associated with it.

Over at the FitnessArmory.com, you can let our expert advice on fitness and equipment reviews help you create the perfect home gym but without all the huge costs. We have the exclusive reviews on all your favorite brands and models to help you get in shape, get healthy and look great. Recent product reviews include: Timex T5H911 Heart Rate Monitor Watch, Timex T5J031 Heart Rate Monitor Watch, Weider Club Sidekick Weight Bench, Weider Powerbell Kettlebells. We invite you to stop by or drop us a line if you have any questions or need help with your fitness equipment selections.

Timex T5H911 Heart Rate Monitor Watch