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Muscle Building Made Simple: The Essential Framework For Building Muscle Simply & EfficientlyPeople tend to make muscle building a lot harder than it should be. I can't say I blame them. With a plethora of muscle building magazines, stores full of hard to pronounce supplements, and advertisements promoting the latest fitness fad it's pretty easy to get overwhelmed quickly. The truth is...the basic concept of muscle building is actually pretty simple. To gain muscle you must do two things: 1. Eat more calories than you expend 2. Break down muscle fibers through physical exertion in order to grow them back bigger (usually through weight-training) These 2 critical principles are the foundation for any sound muscle building program. Now...here's where things can get tricky. If you don't already know how to eat or weight-train properly then you must to learn how to do them CORRECTLY. To tell you the truth, this is hard part. It takes many hours of research and many, many grueling weeks and months of real live application to master nutrition and weight-training. The reason that it is so hard is because nutrition and weight-training for muscle growth have many in-depth intricacies, rules and best practices. So rather than try to teach you everything, I will provide you the essential framework for muscle building in a simplified fashion. Eating Made Simple: * Determine Your Daily Muscle Building Calorie Intake Level. There are many advanced formulas to do this. A very basic one is to multiply your body weight by 20. (So if you weigh 140lbs eat around 2800 calories a day) * Eat 5-6 Times a Day. Yes it's possible. Initially it will be hard, but your body will adapt if you are disciplined enough to make yourself eat every 2-3 hrs. * Eat Well-Balanced Meals. Feed yourself the right way. Just because you are eating more calories does not allow you to eat unhealthy. NO JUNK FOOD. You should eat balanced portions of complex carbohydrates, proteins, and essential fats. * Consume Plenty Of Protein. Protein is an essential ingredient for muscle building. An old rule of thumb is to consume at least 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight a day (If you weigh 140lbs consume 140g of protein). * Drink A Lot Of Water. It cannot be overemphasized how important water is. For a very basic calculation drink a minimum of ½ your bodyweight in ounces. (If you are 140lbs drink at least 70 ounces a day) Training Made Simple: * Develop A Weight-Training Routine. Weight-Training Routines are widely available through books in print and on the internet. A weight-training routine will outline which exercises need to be performed, when they should be performed and how many times they should be performed. Any sound muscle-building weight-training routine will require you to... * Weight-Train INTENSELY. Place your muscles under stress far above and beyond normal circumstance to promote growth. This means train with maximum effort every repetition of every exercise. * Lift Heavy Weights. Lift HEAVY weights to achieve maximum muscle fiber break down. * Progressively Increase. Systematically increase the difficulty of your workouts to continually challenge your muscles. This means increase weight or repetitions performed (or both) for each workout. * Allow Adequate Time To Rest. Muscles need time to FULLY RECOVER after being subjected to intense stress. Do not work out a single muscle group directly more than twice a week. (Working a muscle group directly only once a week is often the recommended standard) * Limit The Length Of Your Workouts To 60 Minutes Or Less. Prolonged intense physical exertion beyond one hour can lead to increased muscle loss. * Workout No More Than 3-4 Days as a Beginner. Over-training is a fundamental error of many beginners. To reiterate your body needs time to FULLY RECOVER from previous weight training sessions. * Workout All Of Your Muscles. Incorporate weight lifting exercises to stimulate muscle growth throughout your ENTIRE body for maximum overall muscle growth and to keep muscular symmetry. * Be Safe. Exercises performed with free weights can be very dangerous if not performed properly. If you are inexperienced it is highly recommended to do adequate research on the matter to perform the exercises safely and correctly. Where To Go From Here: Remember what I have provided is just the essential framework for building muscle in a basic simplified format. If you follow the key points here you WILL gain muscle, however, you still should continue researching to gain a FULL understanding of the principles I have laid out. There are many great guides on the internet that will give you an in-depth, comprehensive review of the basic information I have provided you. Just remember everything you learn about muscle building going forward should relate back (in some fashion) to the two the simple overarching principles outlined here (Nutrition & Training). Good luck on your muscle building journey! Other articles by this author »
About CK Clark
CK Clark is a fitness author, fitness advocate, and founder of http://www.bestmuscleprograms.com which provides reviews of the top internet muscle building programs. Related
And here is another random article you might be interested in... In Leadership, Results Are LimitlessResults are limitless. That's not a supposition. That's a fact. Leaders who don't believe that don't understand the power of leadership to achieve great results. Leaders who believe it and live by their belief have an unmatched advantage over those leaders who don't. To begin to understand how and why results-are-results are limitless, consider these facts:
The point isn't that experts are wrong. Experts, we know, have been wrong countless times. The point isn't that things change. That's obvious. The point is this: BECAUSE THINGS CHANGE, RESULTS ARE LIMITLESS. IN OTHER WORDS, WHATEVER RESULTS YOU ARE ACHIEVING, YOU CAN ALWAYS ACHIEVE MORE. This may seem like a non sequitur. After all, leaders know that things change. But many leaders whom I have encountered don't make the connection and fail to realize that results are limitless. But there is a connection -- a profound connection. And leaders who don't make that connection, don't live that connection, are giving short shrift to their leadership and the people they lead. Living by the results-are-limitless credo can set you apart as a leader who consistently gets results, no matter what the challenge you face. Start to take a small but well-defined step to manifest results-are-limitless leadership.
Repeat: This as a leadership endeavor. Determine who are the cause leaders you need to make the change happen. Talk to them about how they would take leadership to affect that change. You should not only have "What if ... " discussions but more importantly, "Why not ... "discussions. 2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com Other articles by this author »
About Brent Filson
The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results," at www.actionleadership.com. Related
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