Despite the fact world is constantly focusing on how to lose weight, there are many people who are actually struggling to build muscle and gain some additional pounds. Is perfectly normal to want this as long as you are naturally thin and, it seems, every effort you put into achieving this seems not enough.
Whether you’re a male or female, building muscles and gaining some extra weight is a process that is done exactly the same in both sexes. There is no doubt about that. Wherever you stand, it’s an undoubtable fact that gaining some weight in a natural way, is only done through everyday actions! There is not a big surprise that you might actually be making some small, invisible every day mistakes that have lead you to these unwanted results. Below, find the Do’s and Don’t’s of this gaining process.
Do choose your pre and post workout meal correctly
One of the most common and biggest mistakes people do is to underestimate the importance of a correct pre and post workout meal. When right before your workout session, make sure to have eaten enough carbs and proteins to provide the sufficient energy fuel so your muscles can properly work and eventually, build themselves up. Also, after the workout session, eating a small to medium meal filled with fibers, proteins and good fats is essential if you’re trying to gain some muscle mass and in the meanwhile you’re ensuring to repair your muscles and replenish your energy stores.
Do eat right all day, every day
It’s important to not only focus on your pre and post workout meal. Eating a right, healthy diet is vital if you really aim to have the body of your dreams. Try to include plenty of fruits and veggies into your day. Preferably, you should start your days with a smoothie to ensure you get all the necessary fruits. Especially leafy green vegetables that usually are not quite enjoyable to be eaten in a raw or cooked method. Meat, eggs, fish, dark veggies, all kinds a fruits, whole grains should be always part of your daily meal plan. That is if you want to get the best out of your body’s potential.
Do: Be patient
If you’re a beginner, then, expecting some quick and instant results it’s not the right way to go. In the first phase, all the changes made are not quite visible for you. Even though you can’t really see any changes, and still think you’re doing all the right things to gain muscles, then, you maybe just need to wait. The fact you can’t really see the results doesn’t mean they are not there. Just keep going, insist following your training schedule properly, eat right and you’ll see how the results will show up. Be proud, the progress is half-way to you, don’t give up!
Don’t trust protein supplements
Even though protein supplements can be a useful replacement in packing some extra size, they should never become your number one supporter. Today, unfortunately, too many people, especially men, think consuming protein drinks instead of food is the same thing. But nothing beats the real deal! You should never compare these two. The food you choose to eat that will boost your protein levels works 100 times better on your body and muscles when compared with any kind of supplement.
And you know why? Because the food you choose to eat, that is naturally build with additional essential nutrition, help the protein to be better absorbed. It is also more familiar to our inner system. You see, is important to get the whole nutrition package when you eat certain foods, not only the protein. So, if you really want to build muscles and gain some weight, start preparing yourself a decent, natural unprocessed meal.
Don’t do too much cardio
It is important to not let cardio dominate your training routine. If you really want to gain weight and muscles, you should perform cardio only as a warm-up part. Try to always keep it simple by doing only the essentials of cardio training. A 30 minutes run or bike riding, is a perfect start of your training session. But, try to add at least one and a half hour of weight training after it so you can have the wanted benefits. If your program doesn’t last that long, then, reduce the cardio part in half. Remember, your number one priority is strength weight training!