5 Rules to Follow When Trying to Build Muscle
Good Exercises is here to the rescue for all you men and women out there that have a hard time building muscle. When it comes to getting fit and ripped, there are two starting lines where everyone starts out: one line consists of all the people that want to lose weight, and there’s the other with all the skinny guys and gals who want to build muscle. For those who are in line one, these tips might not be for you (but you can still apply most of them). For those who are starting out at the skinny-guy line, keep reading. These are my 5 Rules To Follow When Trying To Build Muscle
When I was growing up, I was always slightly overweight and had to watch what I ate always. My brother on the other hand was one of those people who could eat 5x more than me while eating things that were 5x worse; and he would never gain a pound. While at first I started to get mad at him for this, I soon realized that It was also a curse to have that fast of a metabolism. It is a lot easier for someone like me to gain weight easily. Sure some of it will be fat, but when I try to gain muscle quick; it works. Although I am able to gain weight easily, at one point in my life I got extremely skinny, and had to build my body from the ground up like most of you. This article focuses on how I went from really skinny to sitting over 200 pounds lean.
1. Eat Big. Get Big.
This right here is my #1 principle. All the big guys out there are big because they eat a lot. None of them got to how they are now eating like little girls. You have to eat lots of food. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should eat everything that comes in your way. Eating a lot of chips, fries, or ramen noodles for example is not going to do you any good unless you want to be big AND fat. You need to consume foods rich in protein like eggs, chicken, red meat, turkey, egg whites, tuna, etc. I could keep going with the foods you can eat, but you get the idea. If you want to get big, you need to eat big.
The general guideline is to eat 500 calories over your maintenance. So first figure out your daily calorie needs. Then add 400 to 500 calories to that number. That’s how much calories you should be eating everyday if you want to gain weight. For your macronutrients, it should be like this (per pound of bodyweight): 1-1.5 grams of protein, 0.4-0.5 grams of fat, and 2-3 grams of carbs.
2. Drink Lots of Water
Just like eating, drinking water is just as important. Your body is made up of about 70% water, so you need to keep your body hydrated for it to function properly. Remember that your body can live for weeks without food, but only days without water. That’s how important it is to our body, and for your muscles. Without water, your body cannot break down all the nutrients that you consume. So all that protein that you’re eating will go to waste if you don’t drink any water.
3. Focus On Compound Exercises
I see a lot of beginners in my gym who do a lot of isolation exercises and rarely any compound exercises. This is a big no-no. Compound exercises are a must for skinny guys trying to get big. Focus on the big three: bench press, deadlift, and squat. Want to get bigger biceps? Do pullups instead of bicep curls. You’ll be working out your back and biceps at the same time and is actually more effective since you’re body isn’t that strong yet.
4. High Weight, Low Reps
Skinny guys must always work out with high weight while doing low reps. You need to work your muscles to the point that they can only do 8 repetitions per set. For example, if you can bench a certain weight 15 times with no problem, you need to man up and put some more weight on the barbell so that you’d only be able to do 4-6. Your muscles fibers need to do work to get bigger, and by doing sissy weights they’ll stay the same size. Just make sure that the weight is not too heavy that you can barely do a single rep.
5. Don’t Quit.
Don’t ever quit. If you think you’re skinny and want to build some muscle, you can’t ever quit. Just because you didn’t gain a single pound doesn’t mean that you will never get bigger. It just means that you need to work harder or eat more. There will be times when you feel like you just want to give up, but you shouldn’t do it. All the big guys that you see are big because they never quit. If you want to be the same, you have to have the same attitude. It’s as simple as that.
5 Rules to Follow When Trying to Build Muscle
50 Ways To Boost Your Fitness Motivation
To be successful in your weight loss or weight gain transformation, you need to learn how to properly motivate yourself. Sometimes all it needs is a little motivation to speed up your progress and get to where you want. Here are 50 ways you can boost your motivation. Good Exercises is giving you 50 ways to boost your fitness motivation
- Write down your goals on paper.
- Set due dates; if you want to lose 20 pounds, how much time are you giving yourself to lose those 10 pounds?
- Have an action plan.
- Visualize what you want your body to look like.
- Reward yourself after achieving short-term (or long-term) goals.
- Post your achievements on Facebook.
- Read some motivational quotes.
- Got haters? Let them hate.
- Take advice from people.
- Post up your skinny/fat “before” picture on your fridge.
- Post up a picture of your favorite fitness role model on your fridge.
- Set motivational quotes or pictures as your computer’s screen saver.
50 Ways To Boost Your Fitness Motivation
- Make goals with that buddy.
- Compete with your buddy.
- Compete with other friends.
- Make a bet with friends.
- Hang around with fit friends.
- Always keep a positive attitude.
- Make a workout log (and try to constantly beat your personal records).
50 Ways To Boost Your Fitness Motivation
- Make a diet log.
- Log your transformation stats: weight, body fat percentage, etc.
- Change your workout routine once in a while.
- Take a full week off. You’ll be pumped the next time you go back.
- Plan a vacation where you would need to wear a swimsuit.
- Envision your workout before you hit the gym.
- Beat yourself up at every workout.
- Focus on your workouts when you’re at the gym.
- Learn to do exercises you don’t usually do.
- Listen to music that pumps you up in and out of the gym.
- Make it a goal to be the fittest person at your gym.
- Make it a goal to be the fittest person wherever you go.
- Watch Arnold Schwarzenegger videos.
- Watch videos of your favorite fitness role model.
- Watch workout videos.
- Read transformation stories.
- Read fitness-related blogs and articles.
- Read www.good-exercises.com
- Become an inspiration for your friends and family.
- Help others that want to transform their bodies.
- Learn about your idol’s training routine and their diet.
50 Ways To Boost Your Fitness Motivation
- Put away your Xbox/PS3/Wii for a few weeks.
- Turn off your TV and go outside.
- Read fitness magazines.
- Think of the long-term health benefits.
- Date someone you would want to look good naked for.
- Buy new clothes that fit your new and improved body.
- Bookmark this page and go through it whenever you need to.
50 Ways To Boost Your Fitness Motivation
The 10 Best and Cheapest Sources of Protein for Building Muscle
If your a regular at Good Exercises, chances are that you already know a lot about protein and how it’s important for your body to build muscle. What you might not know is that you need at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight if you want to build your ideal physique. So if you weigh 200 pounds, you need to be eating at least 200 grams of protein per day. Knowing how much protein to eat is easy, but actually taking action and eating your protein requirements is much harder to do.
For some of us, we can’t afford to be buying meal replacement drinks from the store every time you want to consume protein. The better alternative is to get them from foods such as red meat, fish, poultry, dairy, and nuts. Below are the The 10 Best and Cheapest Sources of Protein for Building Muscle.
1. Whole Eggs
Protein Amount: 7g/egg.
Don’t throw the yolk away, otherwise you’ll only be getting half of the protein.
2. Milk
Protein Amount: 8g/cup.
For hardgainers who have trouble gaining weight, milk is a must. If you’re really skinny and want to gain muscle fast, try and drink up to 1 gallon a day. You’ll put on some mass in no time. It’s not all muscle, but it will help you build a good foundation.
3. Canned Tuna
Protein Amount: 26g/can (varies on brand).
Some stores have them cheap change, so make sure to find the right place to get them. Choose to buy the ones in water instead of oil.
4. Ground Beef
Protein Amount: 25g/100g of ground beef.
Get 80% (or higher) ground beef for less fat content.
5. Chicken Breast
Protein Amount: 25g/100g of chicken.
Easy to cook and can be found almost anywhere.
6. Turkey
Protein Amount: 25g/100g of turkey.
Like chicken, stick to eating the white meat part instead of the dark meat. Also, the skin contains saturated fat so stay away from it at all costs.
7. Cottage Cheese
Protein Amount: 28g/cup.
Great slow-digesting protein like milk, so it’s a great food to eat before bed.
8. Whey Protein
Protein Amount: 24g/scoop of 100% Whey Gold Standard.
Whey protein is a staple supplement that you should have if you want to build muscle. Read my review on Optimum Nutrition’s 100% Whey Gold Standard. I take it in the morning and post-workout.
9. Salmon
Protein Amount: 25g/100g of salmon.
Another great source of protein from fish. Good for your heart too because of the Omega-3 fats that it has.
10. Almonds.
Protein Amount: 20g/cup.
One of the best protein-packed snacks that you can bring around anywhere you go. For other healthy snacks that you should munch on, read this list.
The 10 Best and Cheapest Sources of Protein for Building Muscle
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