Aerobic exercise burns fat and carbohydrates through oxygen consumption to give you energy. Anaerobic exercise is what you need to do to grow you body mass because it only uses carbohydrates to provide the necessary fuel. Oxygen and fat are not required. The most common forms of anaerobic exercise are weightlifting and resistance training.
Body Weight Exercises
Exercises that utilize your body weight are effective routines to grow body mass. They don't require any special equipment, but instead rely on your own weight to provide resistance. Examples of body weight anaerobic exercises include push-ups and sit-ups. Perform each slowly, concentrating on technique rather than speed. Slow movements maintain your oxygen and fat levels while building muscle.
Weightlifting
According to the Cleveland Clinic, you should use heavier weights to achieve an anaerobic state and build muscles. You should concentrate on performing fewer repetitions with the heavier weights. Perform no more than eight to 12 reps on each muscle group. Increase the amount of weight you lift when the lifting becomes too easy. Allow about three minutes between each set of reps, moving to different muscle groups. Give your muscles time to recover and grow by working each set of muscles every other day.
Maintain Weight
You need to be careful about losing weight when you're trying to bulk up. While you should include some cardiovascular training in your workouts, keep it to a minimum and eat enough calories to offset the calorie loss obtained during your exercise. By eating fewer calories than you burn, your body turns to excess fat and eventually muscle to provide you with the energy you need.
Supplements
In addition to weightlifting and limiting aerobic exercise, you may consider supplements that add body mass. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, creatine is an amino acid that occurs naturally in the body and builds protein that's stored in the muscles. While creatine does not improve athletic performance, it can add lean body mass to your physique. Creatine may be so helpful in developing muscle mass that it is sometimes used in treating people with muscular disorders such as Parkinson's disease and muscular dystrophy. Creatine is especially potent when combined with weightlifting and other resistance exercises. In addition to increasing body mass, creatine also can increase strength and endurance and often results in weight gain. Side effects such as muscle cramps, nausea and interactions with other medications are possible. If you prefer not to take supplements, natural sources of creatine include wild game and lean red meat. Fish such as herring, tuna and salmon also are rich sources of the muscle building amino acid.
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