When you decided you'd like to add some muscle to your body, odds are that the first thing you thought of was buying a gym pass. Gyms feature a piece of equipment tailored for virtually every muscle on your body, but memberships are expensive, and such equipment can lead to injury.
According to a 2007 study by the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, emergency room trips related to free-weight usage numbered nearly 1 million over the previous 18 years--a 50 percent increase.
Luckily, you can build muscle without using a single piece of equipment.
Step 1
Push your way to a muscular upper body. Push-ups are the time-tested standard for equipment-free muscle building. They work most of the upper body, including the shoulders, chest, back and triceps, and you can modify them for specific muscle targeting.
If you want to focus on isolate triceps, put your hands close together, with your thumbs and index fingertips touching one another and forming a triangle. To work more on shoulders and chest, space your hands far apart, and to increase difficulty and results, elevate your feet on the couch while doing your push-ups.
Step 2
Buy a yoga DVD or join a class. Though it may carry the connotation as something done only by adult women, many others have gotten involved in yoga in recent years, including professional athletes. A wide array of yoga positions and exercises are aimed at both spiritual and physical fitness, as it's been around for 5,000 years, becoming increasingly popular in recent years. You'd be surprised at how physically challenging many of the moves are--especially if you're seeking "six-pack abs."
A study by Loma Linda University concluded that yoga strengthens and builds muscles, especially in the abdominal region.
Step 3
Eat more protein. Even if you're doing 1,000 push-ups a day, you won't realize the full potential of your efforts without getting enough protein in your diet. High-protein items such as chicken breast, eggs, nuts and tuna fish provide amino acids that help your body regenerate muscles, allowing them to grow in size and strength.
Keep in mind, though, that you should focus on high-protein items that are also low in fat and sodium--this means no "all bacon diet"--or you may end up hiding your newfound muscle with a new layer of fat and retained water.
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