Building Muscle 101

Posted by: Mark Nicholson on March 19, 2011 Under: Muscle Tips |

It can be easy to think that to build muscle, you just need to lift lots of heavy weights. Of course, lifting the weights might make you stronger but it doesn’t mean you’ll pack on muscle. Below we’ll look at building muscle 101, where we get back to basics and look at how it should be done.

Muscle Building Tip #1 – Get Used To Your Own Body Weight

Before you start lifting weights, you should do various exercises using your own body weight first. This helps you to get stronger but will also prevent you getting injured as you are building your muscles and strength gradually. So try exercises like push ups, squats and pull-ups until you can do lots of reps of them.

Muscle Building Tip #2 – Incorporate A Kettlebell Cardio Workout

Kettlebells are great for cardio workouts. They are easy to manoeuvre and you can do lots of various exercises with them. They are easier than dumbbells when lifting overhead and you can also get both hands on them, which allows you to do more exercises.

Muscle Building Tip #3 – Avoid The Multi Gym

Multi Gyms can look very appealing but actually they are very restrictive in the exercises you can do. Many people find it easier to build muscle by just using free weights as there are more exercises you do can and they are more flexible. If you are just starting out, get yourself a barbell and a set of dumbbells and some medium-heavy weights. Exercise with those first and you will find that you can do more exercises.

Muscle Building Tip #4 – Eat The Right Foods

Protein is the muscle builder for the body. So you need to make sure you are consuming enough of it. Chicken and fish are great sources and you can also compliment your diet by taking protein shakes containing whey protein. Protein helps the muscles to expand and it also repairs them.

These are just a few tips which should help you build muscle in a safe manner. It is better to get stronger first, then look at adding muscle onto your body by correct nutrition and weight training routines.