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9 Tips to Gain Muscle Mass

By Adi Crnalic

Building muscle mass is easy, as long as proper techniques are applied.

Here are 9 tips to help you gain more muscle.

#1 Train With Weights

Train with heavy weights using lower reps. Using an appropriate weight, you should only be able to do about 7-10 reps. Using heavy weights and lower reps puts your muscles and nervous system under much more stress than using lighter weights for many reps. Rest time in between sets should be approximately 2 to 3 minutes.

#2 Eat More Protein

Diets high in protein help build muscle when incorporated with intense physical training. Without protein, your body will not be able to build new muscle tissue. Carbohydrates serve mainly as energy for the body and protein provides the necessary amino acids to build and repair muscle. For best results eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day.

#3 Eat More Calories

To gain muscle mass, you should strive to eat around 18-20 calories per pound of your bodyweight. The extra calories are needed to build new muscle tissue and to repair muscle tissue that is damaged during intense workouts. However, do not consume nutritionally void calories; go for whole foods which provide you with vital nutrients essential for muscle growth.

#4 Eat More Fat

Dietary fat has a direct relationship with testosterone production. As fat contains cholesterol which is the body’s precursor to testosterone. An increase in dietary fat intake will bring on an increase in testosterone levels, which is a must when you are trying to gain muscle mass. Your main focus should be to increase your intake of essential fatty acids and some saturated fats.

#5 Drink Water Often

To make sure that your muscles stay hydrated you must drink plenty of water. Dehydration occurs easily when you train hard. Dehydrated muscles take longer to repair.

#6 Take a Multi -Vitamin

If you want to gain muscle, you have to make sure that you are not deficient of any vitamins or minerals that your body needs. Hard and heavy training will deplete essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs.

#7 Drastically Cut Aerobic Activity

In order to put on serous muscle mass you need to stop doing lots of cardio. If you like doing cardio remember to limit it to low intensity once or twice a week at most.

#8 Rest

Resting is just as important as dieting and training. Try to get about 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Sleep is what actually causes muscles to re-generate and grow. Ideally you should train with weights no more than 4 to 5 days per week.

#9 Be Patient and Consistent Being patient and consistent is a must. You can be on the best diet, the best training routine, even hire a trainer but without consistency your efforts will be worthless.

About the Author:

Adi Crnalic is an ISSA certified personal trainer and fitness coach in Greensboro, NC. Get more muscle building tips by visiting his website at: http://www.how-to-buildmuscles.com