The Beginning
When beginning a workout routine we often all have the same question: “Do I work-out to gain muscle or to lose fat?”. Although both goals require some form of working out, gaining muscle generally takes work in the gym. The best way to gain muscle basically involves exercises that involve a low number of repetitions with a heavier weight which will build more muscle than a higher number of reps with lighter weight.
Getting Started Tips
For those who are serious about gaining muscle mass, here is a short list of Coquitlam fitness tips to remember while working out.
Limit Cardio Workouts
Exercising is important obviously but you want to limit your cardio workouts. At most, you want to do no more than two Coquitlam fitness sessions per week at 30 minutes per session. For beginners you may want to lay off cardio entirely for at least 8-12 weeks. During that time you will want to work on your training and diet routine to pack on some muscles.
Your goal during this time is to gain 15 to 20 pounds of muscle. After that, you can start your cardio program as mentioned above. The bottom line is that everyone should be doing some kind of cardio while gaining muscle but beginners should wait until they have their muscle building program established.
Stretching
Any type of stretching is very important along with getting occasional massages. Stretching the muscles will keep you flexible and help to prevent injury and is also effective in helping improve recovery between workouts.
You should never stretch cold muscles. Before stretching you will want to do some low intense activity for five to ten minutes. This will warm up your muscles before you stretch them.
You should also stretch with no pain. While stretching you can get to the point where you feel a slight pull but don’t go any further to induce pain. To get the full benefit of stretching, hold the stretch for up to sixty seconds.
Other important aspects of stretching include remembering to exhale as you stretch and inhale while you are holding a stretch. And always stretch the targeted muscle groups. Finally, remember to stretch after your workout as well.
Eat More Regularly
Eating is very important for your overall goal to find the best way to gain muscle. Depending on how much you eat, you will either lose weight, gain weight or maintain your current weight. To gain weight, you need to eat more than you burn so your body can use that excess energy to build muscle.
When beginning a muscle gaining program, you will want to increase your caloric intake. However, the question is, how much more should you eat? If you are working for a substantial gain in muscle, you may want to add an extra 750 – 1000 calories to your daily diet. Over the course of a week, this amount of calories will really build up.
However, the common calorie increase for most is 500 calories per day. There are ways to scientifically calculate how much you need to increase your caloric intake to help gain muscle but here is a good rule of thumb: To gain one pound of muscle per week, you need an extra 500 calories per day. Want to gain two pounds? Then eat an extra 1000 calories per day.