Gaining Weight – Five Healthy Steps You Must Do to Bulk Up
We've heard it once, we've heard it a million times – losing weight is hard and tiring. And we completely agree with that! But believe it or not, gaining weight is not a walk in the park either. It requires intense physical training and a complete lifestyle change.
There are plenty of reasons why a person would want to gain weight. If you have dreams of becoming a powerlifter or a bodybuilder, it's definitely a must for you to bulk up. Majority of athletes are also required to go through muscle-building regimen to gain endurance and stamina.
However, aiming for muscle gains isn’t always about sports and weightlifting. Sometimes, it’s also about boosting self-confidence and promoting good health.
Whatever your reasons are for planning to gain weight, always see to it that you are doing it in a healthy way – as approved by your trainer. Here are five healthy tips for bulking up to get you started:
More Carbs, Protein, and Healthy Fats
Let's start with the basics. When it comes to gaining weight, your diet is equally important with your workout routine. Both carbohydrates and protein are crucial for increased muscle mass, so include more of them in your diet.
Carbs are vital because they give your muscles energy; they are ideal to be consumed an hour before working out and 15 minutes after. Protein, on the other hand, is essential in building, repairing, and maintaining the muscles.
It is recommended to eat 1.5 to 2.0 grams of protein per 2 lbs. of body weight daily.Healthy fats such as avocado, almonds, fish oil, and olive oil are also vital in your diet since they are high in calories (FYI, good calories).
Get a Good Night Rest
Most of your body's muscle building and repairing activities happen during the night while sleeping. This only means that you should also consider getting proper sleep to help your muscles recover and grow.
Trainers recommend that trained muscles should be given at least 48 hours to recover and you should aim to have 8 hours of good night rest.
Give Squats A Go
Squatting does not just enhance your lower and upper body strength, it also develops leg muscles including the calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings. But did you know that squats promote muscle building with the whole body too?
Doing squats properly can prompt the release of testosterone in the body and improve muscle mass.
Increase Reps During Workout
Fact: Higher number of repetitions can grow muscle size.
Repetitions are incredibly crucial in any kind of muscle-building program. And if you want more than just developing strength and endurance, then increase your reps between six to twelve per exercise.
Drink Up! Hydrate Yourself
And of course, keep yourself hydrated all day long. In case you don't know, water is retained in your muscle. So, if you don't drink a good amount of water daily, then the size of your muscle can appear smaller. Water is definitely the key to increasing muscle mass.
Additional Tip: Other Exercise Sets to Try
Aside from squatting, you should also do pull-ups, bench press, and even interval training. Deadlifts are also perfect to improve muscle mass but if you still a beginner, always ask your trainer first before executing them.
And always make sure that you are using training gears too, such as lifting straps.
And there you have it! Five failproof and healthy ways to help you bulk up.
