Many athletes, bodybuilders and people who work out regularly want to know how to add more muscle to their physique. There are several ways to add muscle mass to your body and it doesn't just mean countless hours of weight lifting. You need to be committed to your body in and out of the gym by getting efficient sleep and eating the right foods.
Overtraining
The first secret to muscle building is to make sure you're not overtraining your muscles. Ronnie Coleman, an eight-time winner of the prestigious Mr. Olympia Bodybuilding title, tells Daniel Przyojski at Bodybuilding.com that you should work on stimulating muscles rather than exhausting them. Przyojski, also a bodybuilder, notes that you should choose a couple exercises for a muscle group and perform about five sets with repetitions in the range of six to 20.
Change it Up
The human body has a tendency to grow accustom to a particular workout if it's performed for too long. Bodybuilder Lee Hayward points out at his website that you may initially build muscle during a particular routine, but after a few weeks have passed your body is used to the workout and your gains will slow down significantly and may eventually stop altogether. You will likely make gains in the first three weeks after starting a new program but beyond that, progress is minimal. Hayward recommends a 12-week program where you workout four days per week without working out on consecutive days. He also urges you to change your workout routine every three weeks, and changing up the order of your exercises and placing some of them on different days.
Sleep
You need somewhere between seven and nine hours of sleep every night, explains Przyojski. Your body needs this time for muscle growth and recharging the "batteries" that you lowered in the gym. Muscle tissue tears in the weight room, and when you sleep your muscles grow. You can also try power naps for about 20 to 30 minutes during the day to provide energy and allow muscle growth to take place.
Considerations
Make sure you eat foods such as turkey, chicken, lean red meats, dairy products and egg whites. Always choose lean meats if you can because the saturated fat content is lower, according to Men's Total Fitness. Only spend money on a gym membership or fitness equipment if you're ready to make the commitment to a consistent workout program.
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