Simple Strategies for Muscle-Toning Success
So many of us want to do nothing other than gain lean muscle mass, but knowing the secret of how to do this is a whole another story.
If you’ve already guessed that the secret has to do with training with weights, you’re right. But it’s not as simple as just picking up a dumbbell here and there, or jumping on one of those weight machines.
It’s not complicated either, but it does take a little thinking. Today we’re going to review 3 simple tips for lifting right so you have the biggest impact on your toning results.
And if you’re worried about bulking up, forget it. These tips aren’t meant to make you big and bulky, but rather boost muscle mass in a natural and lean way.
Make the Biggest Impact with these 3 Strategies
1. Do Compound Exercises
This is one of the most basic rules of lifting, but it’s also the most frequently overlooked by beginners. A compound exercise is any movement that involves multiple muscle groups and joints simultaneously. A great example of this is the dumbbell chest press, which utilizes your pectoral muscles, deltoids, and triceps to engage that push. Other great examples of compound exercises include: pushups, squats, lunges, deadlift, kettlebell swings (view my ultra popular Kettlebell Workout Routines), pull-ups and plank.
What’s the advantage? You’re going to be more productive with your time at the gym. Compound exercises also help you build strength more quickly, allowing you to progress faster in your routine.
2. Lift Heavier Weights
Lifting heavy is essentially if you want to build muscle. Again, you’re not necessarily going to bulk up by this strategy alone, but if you want to make any gains and boost your fat-burning potential, you’ve got to challenge your muscles.
What’s the advantage? Your muscles are going to be seriously stressed, and that’s a good thing. It’s during recovery that you gain lean muscle mass. Now if you for some reason notice you are getting bulky all you have to do is restrict your calorie intake or simply add more cardio.
3. Replace Cardio with CrossFit
Cardiovascular training is still important, but you need to get out of the cardio-means-treadmill mindset. There are a lot of ways to challenge your cardiovascular system, and CrossFit is one of those ways.
What’s the advantage? What’s great about CrossFit is that it challenges your muscles but also gets your moving. And yes, you can do CrossFit without taking a class or better yet do your own by reading my article on CrossFit Exercises.
One more tip: Gaining lean muscle mass also depends a lot on diet. Make sure you’re getting your daily dose of protein, and top up with a high quality protein supplement like Optimum 100% Natural Oats & Whey or Vega Sport Performance Protein. Don’t skip this step, gaining lean muscle means you need to flush your muscles with the amino acids found in proteins otherwise you won’t see a gain and in fact may notice less muscle mass since if you don’t feed them adequately you can actually cause more damage (known as atrophy).
Make a pledge to do at least one of these strategies by leaving your comment below. Of course, I’d be happy to hear any questions as well…
Sign up to the weekly Weight Loss & Training Newsletter & get a 50 Smoothie Recipes PDF for FREE!
Thank you for visiting! Weight Loss and Training is a health blog which features all the best weight loss tips that I have learned over my 20 years of training. My background includes a degree in Kinesiology from the world renown Simon Fraser University, certification in nutritional sciences from UBC, and Personal Trainer Specialist certification from Can Fit Pro.