Welcome to Muscle Building Tips

Basic Exercises

Basic multi-joint exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, bench press, squat etc. are the foundation exercises for building muscle.

Resting Your Muscles

As a general rule, 48 hours recovery time between training the same muscle group (this will vary depending on the intensity of your training, and your level of conditioning).

Six-Pack Abs

Aerobic exercise burns off abdominal fat, but if you're not overly heavy you don't want to do too much because it will interfere with muscle development. The best approach is to do 30-45 minutes of cardio three times a week and do weight training two or three times a week. Work your entire body, and do abdominal exercises every other day. If you can do more than 20 reps with crunches, make them harder by holding a weight on your chest. Do three or four sets, and a few sets of another ab exercise.

Overdeveloped Traps

If your trapezius is overdeveloped, it may be partly genetic and hard to get rid of. The best thing you can do is to avoid shrugs and other exercises that work the traps. This may be hard to do if you do a lot of overhead reaching or lifting. Another approach is to work the shoulders with lateral raises to make them broader so the traps won't be so obvious. Upright rows just to shoulder level can also make your shoulders stronger so that the traps won't have to work so hard.

Muscle from Cardio Training

Cardio exercise usually does not result in large leg muscles. There may be some muscle definition, but this would be partly due to low percent body fat. Some people have muscular legs because of genetic factors. If you want to reduce muscle definition, try changing or alternating exercises, choosing biking, stepping, or other cardio options.

Why exercise

Exercise has many health benefits, both physical and mental, including: Reduced risk of heart attack and stroke,more energy,delay aging process,reduce risk of injuries,relieve tension,stress,depression,better sleep pattern and better overall sense of well-being.

Eating to Gain

There are two requisites for gaining weight: eat more and work out. Eating several times a day works for many people, but not everybody. The important thing is to get a lot of calories without feeling stuffed. Try adding a little olive oil to salads and veggies, and drink fruit juice instead of water sometimes. Get a little calorie counter at the bookstore and go for the options that are more calorie dense. Make sure you work your whole body during the week, with several sets of 8-12 reps. It's important to eat within half an hour of working out. Try for at least 300 calories, with a three-to-one ratio carbs to protein.

Number of Sets

Performing 1-3 sets of each weight training exercise should stimulate your muscles enough to begin to build the size and strength you want.

Focus on Goals

Focus your musclebuilding program around your individual goals. In other words do exercises and movements which will get you to your goals. For example, if you want to be a bodybuilder you would not want to focus your program on doing olympic style lifts such as power cleans, snatches etc. The same goes for athletes or any other group. Use a program which is specific to you and your goals.

Muscle Growth

Muscle growth occurs when you are resting not when you are training.

Sleep Equals Growth

Getting adequate sleep is vital in building quality muscle, as this is the time when your body rebuilds and repairs itself. The amount of sleep each individual requires varies, however most adults need between 7-9 hours per night.

Proper Breathing

When lifting weights, in general you should be exhaling the air on the exertion or positive part of the movement, and inhaling air on the stretch or negative part of the movement. For example, on a biceps curl you would exhale as you curl the weight up and contract the biceps, and you would inhale as you lower the weight down and stretch the biceps.

Muscle Atrophy

Your muscles will atrophy--get smaller and weaker--if you are in a cast or otherwise immobilized. If your leg was in a cast, there are a number of exercises you can do to build up again, including leg extensions, calf raises, and step-ups. Work both legs, but do more with the weak one. Even climbing stairs will help. Ask you doctor to refer you to a physical therapist who can show you the exercises that will be best and safest for you.

Rounding the Butt

To shape the buttocks, the best exercises are squats and lunges. You should also do some posterior exercise like stiff-leg deadlifts or back extensions on the extension bench, sometimes called a Roman chair. Don't do these more than twice a week, as they are hard exercises and you need to recover.

Frequency of Training

Training with weights three times per week is a good place to start building quality muscle.

Goals

Setting specific manageable goals for what you want to accomplish in your quest to build muscle will help you design a workout program, see results in a faster manner, and stay more focused.

Building Muscle

Building muscle requires strength training of some type. This may include weight training with free weights or machines, or doing bodyweight exercises.