If you’re serious about building an incredible physique, you must follow specific hacks and tips to increase your gains. And there’s no better time than today to do that. Men and women flock the gyms today to keep their bodies fit and healthy, while some build muscles to prepare them for a competition or to challenge themselves and build strength.
Given the sudden arrival of medical challenges in the past years, the health and fitness industry being the hardest hit by the pandemic is slowly recovering. Moreover, the forecasted growth of fitness, health, and gym clubs will be almost USD36.6 billion in 2022. Gym rats now have more confidence in flexing their muscles at the gym rather than at home. If you’re one of them, here are some bodybuilding tips you may follow for a more effective workout.
1. Don’t Forget Your Vitamins And Supplements
If you’re working out constantly but not seeing much gains muscle-wise, it’s because you might lack crucial vitamins in your body. The essential vitamin for a bodybuilder is vitamin D because it helps with muscle growth and recovery.
Another thing you need is selective androgen receptive modulators (SARMs). They’re therapeutic compounds that help with specific tissue growth in the muscles and bones. SARMs taken using sublingual administration are the most effective for bodybuilders.
2. Do A Progressive Overload Training
You may have heard of the term muscle hypertrophy. It is how muscles repair after sustaining damage or injury during an intense workout. After a workout, you would typically feel sore in the next 24 to 48 hours because you subject your muscles to a severe beating from the lifts and activities you perform.
Your muscle fibers will be fused by the nutrients stored in your body and the food you eat pre-and post-workout. Certain hormones like testosterone, human growth hormone (HGH), and insulin can impact muscle repair. After this stage, your muscles will grow stronger and more prominent.
Progressive overload training allows you to gradually increase the weight, frequency, and number of repetitions in your routine. This way, your body is challenged to push its limits. And, in time, you’ll be surprised that you can lift something you never thought possible.
The key here is gradual. You shouldn’t push your body to absolute failure because it might do irreparable damage, which could be dangerous. Add weights gradually, and increase reps and sets over some time.
3. Alternate Between Split And Full-Body Training
Exercises that isolate a single muscle and full-body movements can alternate during a workout routine. Doing high-intensity resistance training and separate muscle group training can be scheduled in a week, especially if you have ample time, like a two-hour, six-day training schedule.
Working on the muscles at slightly different variations helps improve muscle adaptation and growth. Plan out how you would approach this and write it down if it enables you to remember. You can set short-term and long-term goals and break them down into achievable routines. And when you have reached a plateau, don’t worry because it’s just normal, and you’ll see more progress as you increase the intensity of your training.
4. Do A Rest-Pause During Routines
While doing reps, once you’ve reached the 10th, you might feel strain or failure where you feel like you can’t lift or push one more. When this happens, do a rest-pause for 10 seconds and resume another set.
5. Do Not Skip Rest Day
Letting your muscles rest for one to two days will allow them to heal and repair. Rest days are critical to training progress, and skipping this may lead to stress and burnout. It also reduces the risk of injury, prevents muscle fatigue, improves performance, and improves sleep quality.
6. Keep Yourself Hydrated
Water is essential while working out. There won’t be optimal muscle building if there’s a deficit in water and electrolytes. You may also notice that you experience pain from muscle spasms more often if you’re not adequately hydrated. So drink plenty of water if you want to boost your muscle gain.
7. Fuel Your Body Before And After A Workout
Getting adequate nutrition through power-packed meals before, during, and after a workout helps maintain blood glucose concentration, maximize exercise performance, and improve recovery. The right food is compared to gassing up a vehicle because the car won’t run without it. The same goes for the body. You won’t have enough energy to maximize your workout and will have limited calories to burn without it.
8. Experiment And Find What Works For You
You may have heard suggestions that work best for a friend or a tip shared by a pro in this aspect, but in bodybuilding, what worked for one would only work for some. That’s because there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to exercise. Ultimately, each body is different and what’s best to do is to experiment with routines and discover one that would work best for you.
Conclusion
A practical workout to build great muscles takes a lot of planning and willpower because the road to an excellent physique is challenging. You must know how the muscle works, what to eat, and the vitamins to aid muscle gain so your workout will be worth it.