Building muscle involves proper dieting habits in conjunction with exercise. Supplements are often used to get an edge with muscle building and gym memberships are purchased to access weight lifting equipment. After a short amount of time, this stuff can end up costing you a lot of money. Taking a free approach involves using your body for resistance and making simple adjustments to your diet.
Step 1
Change your choices of food. Stop eating foods that have low nutrient values like chips, candy bars, sausages, french fries, pizza, caramel-coated popcorn and spare ribs. Eat foods that promote muscle growth and recovery instead like chicken and turkey breasts, beans, nut butters, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and oils.
Step 2
Increase your meal intake. Eat every two to three hours throughout the entire day and balance your meals with protein and complex carbs. Not only will this keep your muscles well supplied with nutrients, but it will also keep your energy levels elevated. A lean beef patty on a whole grain bun with lettuce, tomato and ketchup is one meal example.
Step 3
Drink water as your only beverage. This will actually save you money. Give up the soft drinks, processed fruit juices, lemonade, sweet teas, dessert coffees, slushies and alcohol. These beverages are high in liquid calories or they can cause dehydration in your muscles. Choose water instead to hydrate your muscles and prevent the gain of fat. The Institute of Medicine recommends that women get approximately 2.7 liters a day and men get approximately 3.7 liters a day.
Step 4
Perform exercises that target as much of your body as possible. Focus on doing compound exercises that involve more than one joint at a time. This in turn will cause you to recruit more than one muscle at a time and build faster size and strength. Decline, traditional and incline push-ups, dips, squat thrusts, lunges, bicycle crunches and alternating arm and leg raises are examples. Aim for 10 to 15 reps and do four or five sets.
Step 5
Move slowly with your exercises. Take three to four seconds to lower your body and one to two seconds to raise your body. This will keep your muscles under tension for an extended period of time and cause them to be fully taxed.
Step 6
Execute a full range of motion with your exercises. Take the traditional push-up for example. Start with your arms fully extended, back straight and feet together behind you. Lower yourself down until your chest is right above the floor and push yourself all the way back up until your arms are straight again. Follow this procedure with all of your exercises.
Step 7
Rest your muscles and body sufficiently to get the best results. It is during rest and sleep that your muscles are actually building. Take at least one day off in between workouts and spend your nighttime hours sleeping instead of partying. Typically adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night according to the Centers for Disease Control.
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