1. Look and Feel Better
Lean muscle mass will not only give you that striking figure that turns heads, it also will add to your overall health. Muscle burns fat quicker and helps you to maintain a healthy weight. Muscles hold in our precious organs and to maintain good posture, important to prevent back strain and injury. If you keep the muscles lean and mean, then you will have an easier time performing all exercise and sport routines. Everyday activities will be less stressful, and you will find that you have more energy.
2. Keep Weights Light
You do not have to lift really heavy weights to build muscle mass. While heavy weightlifting will help you to bulk up if that is your goal, regular intense workouts with lighter weights will tone the muscles and increase their mass. Start with one-pound weights on the pulley machines at your gym. Increase the reps and the time you spend on each machine. Increase the weight when you fly through the routines effortlessly. Same thing goes for free weights. Start small and don't increase weight until you feel no pressure.
3. Pumping Blood to the Muscles
Keep moving for as many repetitions as you can handle during each workout. When you feel you heart rate begin to rise, keep pumping when the muscle building begins. Don't stop to chat with friends or wipe your brow. Working up a sweat while pumping means your blood is flowing. You need the oxygen delivered by the blood flow to add mass to your muscles and stay hydrated. Drink water before every pumping session and drink more when you are finished. When you feel your muscles begin to twitch, then it's time to stop.
4. Remain Focused
During each round of reps, keep the pumping action focused on one set of muscle groups. When working to build muscle mass, you do not need to include a lot of range of motion action. You will hit your breaking point too quickly if you always include the weakest joint in the muscle group. Exercise weaker muscles on their own with specifically targeted routines. Meanwhile, devote your rapid rep routines to the sports you want to build and tone.
5. Eat to Grow
You will be gaining weight as you build muscle. While you may be trimming down because you are working off the fat that covers the muscles, those ligaments will be building mass and it will show up on the scale. However, it is a good thing. You will need to add about 400 calories to your diet to maintain this growth. Make sure that your total daily caloric intake includes at least 10 percent of calories from protein sources.
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