People usually think that a regular workout routine is enough for building up muscles. But, one needs to understand that the activities performed before and after the workout also play an important role. It may either support your workout routine or may nullify all your efforts. All these activities include personal habits, social life and also the exercises you may prefer doing.
The following Seven easy steps will help you gain better results for all the effort that you put in to build up muscles.
Avoid Skipping Basic Exercises:
Many people think that performing isolation exercises like chest flies and leg extensions will help them build muscles faster. But, very few actually know that basic exercises like bench presses and squats force many muscles in the body to work together. This later enhances increase in the growth of muscles.
Lunchtime Hoops:
Playing too many games at a stretch may also cause hindrance in muscle growth. Typically, the muscles require some 48 hours to adapt to the stress placed on them at the time of exercising. When the body is busy performing too many activities, it uses up calories as fuel. These calories could be useful to build muscles. During workout, you should try and ease up the muscles that you may use while performing other extra activities.
Smoking Harms Muscle Growth:
Smoking is the main cause for increased deposition of carbon dioxide in the body. This reduces the amount of oxygen that is being supplied to the muscles. This reduced supply of oxygen will reduce the muscle’s ability to contract and thus their capacity to work more. Moreover, we all know that Smoking is not good for other health issues also. So, it is better that one avoids smoking to stay healthy in all aspects.
Do not stay Hungry:
Eating immediately after a workout may help you in a positive way. Once the workout is done, the body then tries to convert glucose into glycogen, which helps muscles recover themselves and grow. If we do not eat anything after a workout, the body will then break down the muscles into amino acids to convert into glucose. A high carbohydrate diet along with the appropriate protein intake is a must after every workout.
Adequate Sleep is necessary:
Sleep is a form of relaxation for the body. If you do not get adequate sleep, it may not allow your muscles to recover. Studies have shown that people with insufficient sleeping schedules, usually perform low intensity workouts even though they feel that it may be high. This reduces the amount of stress that the muscles would need to grow. It is important that one should follow a regular sleep routine. Set a specific time for sleeping and follow it every day. This will help you keep your sleep cycles regular. Avoid the intake of caffeine and exercising 4-6 hours before bedtime.
Avoid intake of Sugar:
It is usually observed that people tend to consume sugary drinks like soda to feel refreshed. Intake of such drinks increases the blood sugar level. This might also make you prone to skip the other nutrition based foods that might be necessary for muscle growth. Water and other sugar free or low sugar health drinks can be taken instead. Food like dry fruits and nutrition bars can also be consumed in order to gain energy.
Drink lots of Water:
Drinking an adequate amount of water is always good for one to lead a healthy living. Active men are usually advised to consume 1 gram of protein for every 2.2 pounds of their body weight. When the body absorbs protein, the nitrogen part of the molecule is removed and gets converted into glucose. Plenty of water is required for this conversion to take place. Drinking at least 10 glasses per day and dividing the protein into 5 or 6 small meals is helpful for the overall functioning of the body. This will reduce the amount of stress on your kidneys and allow your body to use an adequate amount of proteins that you consume during the day.
Muscle recovery can be made an easy task if an individual considers all the above points seriously. It is important that a body remains active, but at the same time an adequate amount of sleep and rest is required for the muscles to recover. Regular meals with the intake of protein and water also play an important role in the muscle recovery process.