In the last article I stated that your individual genetics can’t realistically be changed, but your attitude and diet, and training can go along way to making the best of your bodies abilities to digest food and add muscle.
The first key word you all know by now is protein. It’s important to flood your body with protein. Since you can’t possibly eat the amount of food it would take to absorb the necessary protein, you should seek to get a supplement, such as protein bars, powder, or a mixture of both.
You will need to try to consume 1 – 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, and for best results you should be taking in protein every 3 – 4 hours (now you see why you need to supplement your meals!).
Protein, as you all know, has been covered and covered elsewhere, and is the body’s muscle building fuel. The mere existence of protein in the body, as well as maintaining hair, eyes, nails and bones is a great start to letting your body know that you require more muscle.
Many people believe upping protein intake as an isolated action will up muscle mass. Once you start training heavy, and your muscle need to repair and rebuild, more protein means more muscle. It’s for that reason that many athletes hold protein as the most important part of their diet regime. It is true that both carbohydrate and fat play their own parts in the muscle building process, but without protein, your body will raid its other muscles to repair damaged ones. This effect, known as catabolism, will stop you reaching your potential, so be sure to get that protein in.
So you’re taking protein, great, but if you want to build muscle you also need to get the right attitude together. Are you going into the gym and attacking the weights, or are you lifting at the same level you were lifting 18 months ago? If your muscles don’t get strained when you are in the gym, they won’t need to repair, the fibres wont have split, and your brain won’t feel the need to send the right messages in order to make your muscle mass increase.
Think Heavy! I don’t mean over work your self. Firstly, wait at least 48 hours before retraining any body part, and if possible work a split routine that means you only work, say, chest, once per week. When you have done your session, expect to feel pumped, and expect to feel that your muscle are tires, even just a touch stiff. If you’re working out, and your not feeling the effects afterwards, this means the workout was too comfortable… and you wont get bigger. I’m not advocating you pulling muscles or injuring yourself, I’m advocating you push yourselves beyond the ‘comfortable’ and feel like you have achieved something.
We’ll cover attitude some more in the next article, but before I wrap up Id like to wish you all a happy new year, and add my respects to Stevie Knight who is putting on a charity wrestling event to raise funds for the Tsunami disaster. Unfortunately that date is one I can’t workout with my schedule, but I wish everyone the best of success and will be there in spirit. Stevie tells me today the planning is going very well.
Hope you all had a great Christmas and are having a good start to the New Year, all the best, for now,
Scott Future
[ScottFuture.com]