How to gain weight and build more muscle

For many slim guys around the world, gaining weight without using illegal steroids has been a challenge. For thousands of skinny young men, the dream is to gain weight, but no matter what they eat, they stay slim. Some people are naturally thin, meaning their genetic makeup is such that the body burns more calories than others. The basic method of gaining weight is to eat more calories than the body burns.


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For many thin men around the world, gaining weight without using illegal steroids has been a challenge. For thousands of skinny young men, the dream is to gain weight, but no matter what they eat, they stay slim. Some people are naturally thin, meaning their genetic makeup is such that the body burns more calories than others. The basic method of gaining weight is to eat more calories than the body burns. By providing more calories to the body, it is possible to change this balance and increase body mass. Strength training is of great importance in this context because it allows the body to absorb more nutrients from food by increasing the levels of certain hormones and increasing muscle mass.

There are many incorrect beliefs and theories about bodybuilding. The type of foods to eat is an important factor that determines the type of weight gained, whether it is muscle mass or simple fat accumulation. Some types of calories are not equal to others for building muscle mass, because most processed junk foods contain empty calories, completely devoid of nutritional value. These foods promote accelerated fat storage and do not provide the body with the right nutrients essential for gaining muscle mass. High-quality protein, which the body breaks down into amino acids, should be the centerpiece of all your meals. Intense exercise increases the demand for amino acids, which promote muscle repair and growth.

Another factor is choosing the right type of strength training. Resistance exercises promote muscle growth. While aerobic exercises can lead to weight reduction. For maximum muscle gain, your workouts should focus on free weight exercises, rather than machines or bodyweight exercises. To get a highly effective workout, you need to stimulate as many muscle fibers as possible, and machines don't do that. The main reason for this is the lack of development of stabilizing and synergistic muscles. Stabilizer and synergist muscles are supporting muscles that help the main muscle perform a complex movement.

Strength training results vary from person to person and generally depend on your consistency and commitment to your program. You need to have the patience and motivation to build a powerful body through a consistent diet and exercise program.

Exercise Guidelines for Building Muscle:

Strength training involves the use of equipment that allows for variable resistance. This resistance can come in the form of free weights like dumbbells, machines that use cables or pulleys to help you lift the weight, and bodyweight exercises like pull-ups or dumbbells. The more stabilizers and synergists you use, the greater the number of muscle fibers stimulated. Exercises that work large muscle groups are called compound (or multi-joint) movements which involve stimulating many muscle groups simultaneously. These compound exercises should form the basis of any strength training program because they stimulate the greatest amount of muscle in the least amount of time. Multi-joint free weight exercises, like the bench press, require the assistance of numerous stabilizers and synergistic muscles to perform the lift.

Free-weight exercises like the dumbbell press or squat place a lot of stress on the supporting muscle groups. You'll get tired faster and won't be able to lift as much weight as you could on the machine. But you will gain more muscle, get stronger very quickly and get a real sense of your strength.

If you use machines in your program, they should be used to work isolated areas and only after all multi-joint exercises have been completed. Beginners should start with a limited combination of machine exercises, bodyweight exercises, and multi-joint exercises with free weights. Before increasing weight levels, they should become familiar with the correct form and execution of each exercise.

Here are some basic exercises that are proven to help build muscle and strength like no other exercise.

Bench presses – work the chest, shoulders and triceps.

Overhead presses – shoulders, triceps.

Pull-ups/Barbell Rows - back, biceps

Squats - legs, lower back

Deadlifts - legs, back, shoulders

Bar Dips - shoulders, chest, arms.

To gain mass, you need to train with heavy weights. To consider a weight heavy, you should only be able to perform a maximum of 4 to 8 repetitions before your muscles temporarily give way. A weight is considered "light" if you can perform more than 15 repetitions before muscle fatigue sets in. Heavy weights stimulate more muscle fibers than light weights, resulting in greater muscle growth. Heavy weight training puts a strain on your body, so adequate rest and recovery after your workouts is essential.

Diet Guidelines for Building Muscle:

A protein-rich diet is an inevitable part of any bodybuilding program, especially animal-based proteins. The proteins you need to be concerned about are those found in whey, casein (cottage cheese), eggs, beef, poultry and fish. Soy protein, tofu and bean curd are alternatives. By eating the right amount of foods regularly, you will force your body to grow beyond what you think possible. The diet should also contain an adequate amount of carbohydrates (potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, oatmeal, cream of wheat, cream of rice, rice, beans, bread, pasta, all grains) and fats. Green leafy vegetables and fruits should also be included.

When training with weights, you should consume at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. You should also eat protein with every meal. To allow your body to actually process and use all the calories you're going to ingest, you need to reduce the size of your meals and increase their frequency. Breaking your calories into smaller, more frequent portions will allow for food absorption and nutrient utilization.

Over the past 20 years, scientific understanding of the role of nutrition in health and physical performance has evolved significantly. Studies show that you need to ingest enough dietary carbohydrates (55-60% of total energy intake) to be able to maintain training intensity. Excess dietary saturated fat can exacerbate coronary heart disease; however, low-fat diets lead to a reduction in circulating testosterone. It is therefore necessary to maintain the balance between proteins, carbohydrates and lipids.

Weight gain programs should therefore focus on two elements: lifting heavy weights, which will stimulate the greatest amount of muscle fibers. Your body responds to this stimulus by increasing your muscle mass and, secondly, by eating more calories than your body is used to. When you overload your system with lots of protein and fat, your body has no choice but to gain weight.

A mass gaining program is incomplete without timely measurements to track your progress. Without it, you won't know exactly how your body responds to your diet and workout program. Just looking in the mirror and guessing is not acceptable. If you want to start getting good results, you need to get into the habit of tracking your progress accurately. This will also motivate you to continue your weight gain program and keep making progress. So, even if you have a very slim body and have not been able to gain weight no matter what you have tried, you will definitely succeed with a well-planned weight gain program.