By Sanumriaz 
Building muscles is a trend to keep you fit and healthy. Building muscles is a journey towards a healthy lifestyle. It doesn’t only keep you physically fit but it also keeps the mind and soul fresh. It also helps to gain weight through proper diet and exercise. It requires proper planning, dedication, training and understanding. Once you properly understand the need of muscle building then you will be able to train yourself according to your body need. It is basically a transformation of body into a healthy physique.
Working on muscles is essential for athletes and sportsman. It keeps them active and fit to meet the requirements of their field. These fields need more stamina and physical fitness. It is not necessary that only sportsman is needed to be fit but in everyday life adapting to a healthy and active lifestyle is essential.
When you are working on building muscles then you need to focus on three basic rules. These fundamental rules are diet, exercise and rest. These three components help to boost muscles. Here we are going to provide you with basics of these three elements and their utilization to gain maximum advantage.
1. Diet for Building Muscles
First step towards building muscles is diet. It is very essential for a person who is working out on his muscles to take prescribed diet.
1. Macronutrients
During building muscles more focused is on diet and eating proteins, carbohydrates and fats. one keep his body hydrated as well to gain maximum advantage.
· Proteins
Protein is a macronutrient. It is required for building muscles. When a person engage himself in activities and heavy exercises to enhance his muscles then his muscles breaks and new muscles forms. So it is important to increase intake of protein in diet. He must concentrate on eating more proteins.
· Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are a basic macromolecule which provides the body with energy. When person engages himself in intense workout then he needs more energy to fulfill his body needs. So it is essential to include carbohydrates in diet as well.
2. What to take in meals?
It is very interesting to know that while working on building muscles he must focus taking proper meals during breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are also instructed to take meals 4 times a day to recover from workout.
Before choosing meal one must understand that what his target in gaining muscles is. If he only want to build muscles for his physique or he want to become a professional muscles builder. He must take diet according to his targeted plan.
Here is suggested meal plan for one who is working on muscles.
· Breakfast for Muscles Building
It is important to have a healthy breakfast for building muscles. One should follow the following diet plan for breakfast
- 4 pieces of bread
- Cheese or butter
- 4 Boiled eggs( white part/ albumen)
- 1 glass milk
· Pre-Lunch for Building Muscles
It is suggested to take pre-lunch that is between lunch and breakfast. After 3-4 hours of breakfast he must take shakes and fruits. This will help him to recover from workout. He can take any kind of protein shake or any other shake to stay hydrated and energetic.
· Lunch for Building Muscles
Lunch is very essential for a person who is focusing on building muscles. He must take boiled rice or chicken in the lunch. It is up to person that what he prefers to eat. He can take chicken or meat according to his choice.
· Dinner for Muscles Building
Taking healthy dinner is very critical for a person who is doing work out on his muscles. He must take boiled red kidney beans or chickpeas in the dinner with boiled rice. He can add mince of chicken or meat as well in the dinner. He needs to eat plenty of boiled sweet potatoes as well.
3. When to take Meals?
Time at which a person eats also have impact on building muscles.
Pre-Workout
Pre means before so a person who is focusing on muscles building must take carbs and proteins before work out. It is essential because during workout he utilizes a lot of energy. And this energy would only be provided by meals. So it is suggested to have meal before workout. One must take meal about 1-2 hours before exercise. So that it will be digested and provide the body with energy.
Post-Workout
Post means after so when a person does exercise for muscles building then he uses all of his energy in the workout. He must take protein shake or white albumen of boiled egg or chicken to recover from heavy workout. He can take carbs in the form of boiled potatoes to gain energy. If he doesn’t take meal then it will affect his other functioning.
4. Hydration
Water is complementary ingredient towards a healthy life style. One must drink at least 8 glass of water in a day. While working on muscles one must understand that healthy diet and keeping body hydrated is complementary. Water helps the body to recover from intense workouts. He must drink plenty of water throughout the day.
2. Exercise: The Foundation
The next step in building muscles is exercise. It depends on which muscle you want to build. Whether you are working on biceps, triceps, abs, calf, thigh or deck, there is different exercise for each of them. You will exercise according to your targeted muscles. But here we are giving you a general overview of these exercises.
· Strength Training
First step towards exercise is to build your strength. You need to focus on exercises which will target multiple muscles. These exercises include squats, deadlifts, bench presses and pull ups. These exercises will help you to gain overall muscles mass.
When you are targeting a specific muscles then you must do exercise accordingly.
Exercise for Biceps/Triceps
If you are working of your arm muscles and want to build biceps and triceps then do the following exercises
- concentration curls
- cable curl
- barbell curl
- chin up
- triangle push up
- triceps kick back
- dips
- overhead extensions
Exercises for abs
If you are working on your abs then you need to do following exercises.
- Crunch
- Bicycles
- Roll Up
- Plank Toe Touch
- Standing Side Crunch
- Standing March Knee Tap
- Plank
- Standing Cable Crunch
- Cable Twist
- Kneeling Cable Crunch
- Ab Toss Roll Up
- V Sit With Weight Pass
Exercises for calf
When you are working on gaining mass on your calves then you may follow do the following four exercises.
- Double-Leg Calf Raise.
- Single-Leg Calf Raise
- Seated Calf Raise.
- Calf-Building Sports
Progressive Overload
You need to begin with simple exercise and a few sets of each exercise. In the same way you need to start with less weight lifting and then slowly and gradually increase sets as well as load of exercise. This will help you to gradually increase muscles without affecting your overall health. Gaining muscles over night is not possible and neither healthy as well. So gradually work on your muscles to stay healthy and fit.
Technique
It is essential to follow the proper guideline and instructions provided by the fitness expert. If proper instructions are not followed then it may lead to injuries. So it is complementary to do exercises under the supervision of instructor. You must use correct form and technique of exercise to gain maximum advantage.
Consistency
Whatever you are trying to gain in your life you must set a target and then follow the steps to achieve that goal. In the same way when you are targeting muscles you must follow the step. While following the steps you need to be consistent .only by consistency and hard work you can achieve your target.
You need to set a target and make a schedule accordingly. Plan it that how many times you need to do exercises to achieve that goal. And then with consistency and dedication follow that schedule.
Rest
The last step in achieving muscle according to your set target is too taking proper rest. It is very essential for body to take some rest after intense workout.
Sleep
When we are talking about rest then it is not just about nap but proper sleep. Body needs to take proper sleep to recover and get healthy. One must take 7-9 hours proper sleep. One must take this sleep during night hours that will help you to stay active and fresh throughout the day. It will also promote the healthy growth of muscles.
If you are taking proper sleep then it will increase the chance of injury. The main reason behind injuries is that your body shouldn’t recover from previous exercise and will get weaker. So sleep is crucial for building muscles.
Active Recovery
When you engage yourself in heavy exercises in process of building muscles then you need to engage yourself in activities that will help you to keep your mind fresh and promote blood circulation. These activities include yoga, meditation, gentle stretching and foam rolling.
Disclaimer
The facts presented in this article are for academic and informational purposes only and isn’t intended as clinical advice. The material is based totally on present day studies and understanding, however it cannot be relevant to every man or woman’s circumstances. Constantly visit a healthcare expert or a certified specialist before making any modifications on your diet, exercise, or fitness regimen. The authors and publishers of this text do not receive any responsibility for any results springing up from the usage of the information supplied. Your fitness and well-being are important, so please seek for customized advice tailored on your precise needs and conditions.