"Don't have $100 shoes and a 10-cent squat."
— Louie Simmons
I’ve probably forgotten some, but these five tips are the most important in my opinion. Here are some personal, non-professional tips I have come up with for building muscle:
No matter what people say, building muscle will take time. Unless you take steroids, building good, strong muscles won’t happen quickly. It took me three years to get to where I am today. Now, if you really want to make it go faster, I would recommend going to a gym for at least 1-2 hours a day, alternating between working out your arms and working out your legs. Do not only work out one or the other! Doing a full-body workout is the best and most beneficial to your health.
There are many programs out there that claim they can get you fit in a matter of weeks, or have some kind of ‘specialty’ training. Don’t fall for that. All you need is a simple gym membership with plain old equipment. That’s all I’ve ever used, and it works fine for me! Don’t pay for Weight Watchers or anything – it’s really not that hard to do it yourself, it just takes a little effort. I hate to see so many people paying for these things that they think they need, but really don’t.
Of course, the tip everyone knows: eating healthy. A few months ago, I went on a healthy-food splurge and found that I actually lost weight and did not gain very much muscle. So, I decided to go back to my normal eating habits, which include eating whatever. Now, you do have to limit yourself. If you eat cake one day, don’t eat it the next. Eating foods other than those that are healthy is actually good for you. Don’t listen to what all the health experts say – you need to gain weight to build muscle. If you’re trying to lose weight, you can do this to, just limit yourself even more.
No matter how much you hate it, you must do it. Running is an essential part of your all-body workout, and you will see a tremendous difference just from doing this simple thing. Trust me, I hate it to and I get cramps all the time, but you know what I do? I do it anyways and power through the cramps. That’s the kind of mental strength you need to truly build muscle. When you’re running, you can almost feel the ‘strength’ going straight to your legs, arms, and heart. Also be sure to drink plenty of water while running. Don’t drink the bad stuff, like Gatorade or Powerade. Plain old water will do the trick. And when I say you have to run, I don’t mean for you to run 10 miles a day. If you’re new to running, start out small: 0.5 - 1 mile a day. If you’re not new, well, figure out what you can do and build up from there.
The reason I did not put this list in order of importance is because they are all equally important to this lesson. Having friends is an essential when working out in the gym and doing other things. While working out in the gym, it really helps to have some kind of verbal encouragement when trying to pass your lifting limits. I know when you go to a gym, you usually see everyone with earbuds in listening to music by themselves. In my opinion, this is not enough. I’ve tried this over the summer by myself, just listening to pump-up workout music, but realized it did nothing. Then, when I went back to school and had my friends with me in the gym, that’s when I suddenly built a lot of muscle. Go heavy, not light. If you don’t build up your strength, then what’s the point? Encouragement is the key.
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