The Fun and Not-Fun Factors of Gaining Lean Muscle
On your path to getting your best body ever you really need to get down to the nitty gritty and work on gaining lean muscle mass, but easier said than done right?
We all already know that building lean muscle is a process that depends on a number of factors. There’s genetics, of course, as each of us is born with a different physical makeup and predisposition to lean muscle mass. There’s also the issue of natural strength and stamina, which can vary greatly from person to person based on age and training level.
Bottom line though, is the fact that the other sometimes insufferable factors under your control are diet and exercise. The good news is that we’re going to take away all the work for you and review how to gain lean muscle mass in a serious way.
The Guide on How to Gain Lean Muscle
1. Choose the Right Muscle Building Workout
First thing’s first, you need to have the right muscle building workout plan. Generally speaking, if you’re trying to make serious gains in lean muscle, you should be weight training at least 4 days a week. You should also be engaging in a routine that hits all of your major muscle groups and challenges them in a serious way.
If you’re looking for some good muscle building routines, check out my ultra popular articles listed in Exercise Programs for Women that Kick Butt and Weight Training Programs for Men.
2. Confuse Your Muscles
Muscle confusion is also an important strategy for building lean muscle. Once you have a solid workout plan down, you need to change things up on a relatively regular basis. I recommend confusing your muscles about every 2 to 3 weeks by adjusting the order or variety of your exercises. This will prevent your muscles from getting used to your previous training regimens. Doing so will help you avoid plateaus and keep seeing killer results.
To do it right, take a look at my article on Muscle Confusion Workout Routines here.
3. Allow Your Muscles to Rest
Rest is absolutely an essential factor in gaining lean muscle. Without adequate rest, you’ll never allow your muscles to heal properly, and it’s in the healing that real gains are made. Make sure you have at least 2 days a week of complete rest from weight training, and every 6 to 8 weeks, I actually recommend taking a full week of rest. You’ll see major gains from this alone!
How to Gain Lean Muscle through Diet
Although your weight training approach is important, diet is definitely key. Let’s look at how to get your diet right to gain lean muscle.
4. Eat More Protein – This one’s pretty well understood, but it can’t be understated. In order to continuously make gains in lean muscle mass, you need to eat more protein. Protein contains the building blocks of lean muscle tissue, so without it, all your efforts at the gym will be for nothing.
If you’re looking for a solid protein supplement to add to your diet, I recommend the best on the market protein with no added fillers– Optimum 100% Natural Whey. You’ll notice serious gains with this stuff and it’s not too sweet so you can mix it with anything.
5. Eat More of Everything – But it’s not just protein that you need more of in your diet. You need to take in more calories overall, in order to provide your body with the energy it needs to repair and build muscle tissue. Just make sure you stay healthy about it. Eat whole grains only when it comes to carbs, and cut down on the fat and sugar.
6. Add On the Amino Acids – My last big tip for gaining lean muscle is to take a good amino acid supplement. Different amino acids are found in different types of proteins, and the greater the variety in your diet, the greater the capacity for your muscles to grow in size. Luckily, there are some great amino acid supplements on the market to improve your intake.
My top 2 recommendations for amino acid supplements are BPI Sports Best BCAA, which contains the super effective branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), and Optimum Glutamine. Add these to your smoothies and you’ll see significant gains in lean muscle.
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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.