How To Build Muscle: 4 Basic Principles

By Mitch Graves

People generally have a lot of misinformation when they come to the gym.

Building muscle isn't hard if you do it right, but there are many wrong ways as well.

In this article, I'm going to give you the principles that will allow you to build muscle properly and consistently.


1. Progressive Overload

Your muscles will adapt to whatever conditions you put it under.

So you must overload your muscles to build them. They will adapt by getting stronger and bigger.

So in your weight training regimen, if you plan to build muscle and get stronger, week after week, you should be increasing the load you put on your muscles. And no, this doesn't just mean adding more and more weight. There are plenty of ways to increase the load on your muscles.

You can do this by adding more reps, decreasing rest, increasing weights, etc.

2. Progressive Variation

This isn't "muscle confusion". Your body builds neural pathways to your muscles to do the same motion efficiently. The more you do it, the better you get at it.

That being said, if you continue to do the same exercises week in and week out for the same muscle, you'll see that your ability to do more weight will increase, but you won't see growth.

Your body found an efficient way of doing the same motion so it didn't need to get bigger anymore.

3. Rest

Yes, you need more sleep. Many people overtrain because they don't get enough rest. When it comes to building muscle, often, less work is better.

Muscle isn't built in the gym. It's built when you sleep and the next day when your body repairs itself through the release of hormones.

To build muscle properly, you must get 8 to 9 hours of sleep each night. This is for your muscles, nervous system, and hormonal system to recover.

4. Nutrition

This means getting the right amount of carbs, the right kinds of fats, and proteins.

Your individual calorie requirements depend on your weight, body fat, level of activity, and age.

First, find out the calorie surplus you need to build muscle, then make sure you get that amount each day in the right proportions of foods.

Implement these strategies for consistent muscle growth in your routine. - 31525

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