When you think of weight training, you may think of a large, heavily muscled man who can't rest his arms at his side. This caricature really has nothing in common with the reality of weight training. You may not want to put on a great deal of mass, but you want to get stronger. Lean muscle exercises are an option.
Rest
Burning fat and building lean muscle go hand in hand. Your body needs time to recover, however. Muscles don't grow when you are exercising. They grow when you are at rest. This means that you can actually negate any lean muscle you would have built if you work out too much. Get eight hours of sleep every night and take at least a day off between all vigorous activity.
Compound Exercises
Compound exercises work many parts of the body all at once. Examples of compound exercises include eight-point bodybuilders, which combine elements of squat thrusts and push-ups to work the whole body, squats, chin-ups and barbell curls. This works because of the dynamic nature of the workouts. You also will be building muscle mass throughout various parts of the body. With the right selection of compound exercises, you can ensure that your body is exercised in a balanced and complete manner.
Reps
The number of repetitions also determines how effective an exercise is at building lean muscle mass. Perform 10 to 15 reps for each set you do. Select the amount of weight that you use so that it makes your muscles tired at the end of the set -- so tired that you have trouble performing the last repetition. Lower amounts of reps with higher weight are for those who wish to put on bulkier muscles.
Sets
When training to build lean muscle, you want to do a specific number of sets. This allows you to gauge your progress. Once doing 15 reps on a certain weight becomes too easy, it's time to add more weight. Increasing the intensity of your workout is essential for avoiding fitness plateaus. Using the same number of sets every time you train is the best way to know when you need to increase the intensity of your lean muscle exercises.
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