Building muscle occurs through the process of hypertrophy, when muscle is resisted to the point of damage. As muscles recover from micro tears, they grow larger. Optimal fat burning occurs when you move muscles repeatedly at a vigorously intense pace for 15 minutes or longer. The best way to promote muscle building is to lift heavy weights slowly and with correct technique and to give your body 24 hours or longer to recover and repair.
Step 1
Move your muscles to warm up prior to lifting weights. Swing your arms, jog in place, do jumping jacks or perform other moderately intense movements to warm and stretch your muscles. Warming up will help create better muscle contractions, according to performance coach Brian Mac.
Step 2
Lift approximately 60 percent of the maximum weight you can lift for your first set of exercises. Perform three to five repetitions of the exercise using proper technique. Use muscles to lower weights, rather than letting the weights or gravity drop your arms and legs after an uplift. This will increase the benefit of your work, according to fitness author and radio talk show hosts Dr. Gabe Mirkin. Hold each repetition for one or two seconds between up and down lifts. Breathe out during difficult muscle contractions to prevent a sharp rise in blood pressure.
Step 3
Rest three to four minutes before repeating the previous exercise in the same fashion, using 80 percent of your maximum. Rest and repeat the exercise three more sets, using the maximum weight you can lift. Perform the same number of repetitions, and take the same amount of rest between each set.
Step 4
Repeat the progression for each different exercise you plan to do. Alternate workouts each day to give your body adequate time to recover. Perform upper-body exercises one day, and then do lower-body exercises the next. If you are lifting twice each day, work on different body parts each workout, rather than doing two upper-body workouts one day, and then two lower-body routines the next.
Step 5
Perform a cool down after your workout. Prevent blood from pooling in your muscles by moving your muscles similar to your warm-up, gradually decreasing your intensity as you lower your heart rate. Stretch after your cool down, stretching muscles to their point of resistance, and then holding for 20 seconds or longer. Do not bounce as you stretch or stretch to the point of pain.
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