Everyone dreams of having a healthy and beautiful physique, but only a few dedicate themselves to achieving it. Many men, as well as women, aim to burn fat and build muscle as a part of attaining the body they wish to live in. Although it may seem like a long journey, muscle building is, in fact, a process that involves, routine workouts, diet checks and a lot of determination.

With the help of a personal trainer near you, shedding those extra pounds and growing muscle will definitely become easier. In this article, we will discuss the various essentials required for you to achieve the perfect muscular physique you wish to gain.

Understanding your body

Everybody has different needs. When it comes to muscle building, just because a set of routines worked wonders for your pal doesn’t necessarily mean that they are great for you. The initial step to your training is to gather as many details about your body and eating habits as possible. Your personal trainer in Alchemy personal training will then design a bespoke muscle building routine, which considers your workout sessions as well as your diet.

Pumping up the training volume

For building muscle, the primary step is to build your stamina. This is usually done by increasing your training volume. The training volume is measured by the number of repetitions multiplied by the number of sets. So, in short, you will have to go down the weights and increase the number of reps and sets, without giving away to muscle fatigue.

Unlike in the case of strength training, your intensity is being tested in this stage. To increase the volume as needed by your muscles, increase the number of reps and sets rather than the weights you lift. This increases hypertrophy or skeletal muscle gain.

Trigger hypertrophy through easy moves

Each exercise is known to have two phases – the hard ‘concentric phase’ and the easy ‘eccentric phase’. Personal trainers know that for triggering hypertrophy or muscle gain, it is necessary to increase the duration of the easy phase. For instance, for a person doing squats going down is the easy phase and coming back up is the hard phase. For muscle building, increase the duration of lowering to the floor and stay there. Muscles tend to move eccentrically rather than concentrically. This is why easy way is the right way for muscle building.

Decrease the set break periods

If you are all out on a muscle gain trail, it is best to decrease the time between the exercise sets. Your personal trainer will encourage you to bring down the resting period between sets between 30 to 90 seconds. This will encourage the release of muscle building hormones, and also fatigue your muscles really hard.

Consume Enough Protein

Any kind of workout will break down your muscle, one way or another. This is why we at alchemy personal training recommend you consume enough amount of protein to build them back up. Research shows that weightlifters have to eat between 0.25 to 0.30 grams of protein per kilogram weight of body per meal. Eggs and Greek yoghurt are excellent natural sources of protein.

Never go on calorie deficit diets

Unlike people who are on their path to weight loss, muscle builders must never stop consuming calories. For effectively building muscle, you must consume more calories than you burn on an average day. If you consume less calorie than you burn a day, your body’s ability to build muscle comes down. A calorie deficit will reduce your body’s ability to build muscles as it starts thinking that food is in short supply. For building muscle, you must consume 250 to 500 extra calories per day. Snack on casein protein-rich products like Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese or milk before bed as it helps boost the amino acid levels in the body, which in turn helps muscle growth.

Sleep better every day

Muscle recovery needs the right diet as well as proper rest for the best results. Sleeping for 7 to 8 hours is quite necessary to help the muscles grow and keep the stress levels down. Apart from your diet and exercise, your personal trainer will also recommend you get a good night’s sleep for the proper muscle building.

So, start training with a personal trainer near you today for a fitter and better version of yourself.