How to Get Muscles – 8 Important Factors

Calorie Count

Figure out how many calories you need each day. How?
• BMR (basic metabolic rate – or calories burned at rest)
• Calories burned daily with activity
How do you work out your BMR? Use an online calculator such as this one (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/).
To then figure out the number of calories you burn with daily activity, use the Harris Benedict Activity Formula as provided below.

Harris Benedict Activity Formula

Sedentary (little or no exercise) – BMR x 1.2
Lightly Active (light exercise or sport 1-3 days per week) – BMR x 1.375
Moderately Active (moderate exercise or sport 3 – 5 days per week) – BMR x 1.55
Very Active (hard exercise or sport 6 – 7 days per week) – BMR x 1.725
Extremely Active (very intense exercise or sports plus physically demanding job) – BMR x 1.9

Now, in order to work in the ‘how to get muscles’ factor, you need to add a further 300 – 500 calories per day to the equation. Should you be a ‘hard-gainer’, set your mind on the 500 extra calories.

Cardio

Cardio has its’ place when you are focused on how to get muscles, but it should be limited. If you are looking to lose fat while also adding muscle, you can perform sprint intervals. For 30 minutes, three times each week, run all-out for a single minute, then slow to a light jog for a couple of minutes, then sprint for a further minute, and so on.

Do Less

Don’t do any more than 20 sets for each individual muscle group – in fact, between 6 and 12 is better. Keep your workouts to within 45 minutes, using heavy weights along with controlled speed. Sets should be of a duration between 40 to 70 seconds.

Use Either Full Body Workouts or Choose a Split Routine

Best results will come either through training your whole body within a single workout, or focusing on upper body within one session and lower body in the next. Work with lifts that include numerous muscle groups in one – deadlifts, squats, rows, presses, pull-ups.

Stretch

Keep your flexibility and prevent any potential for injury as well as improve your recovery between workouts by using a variety of stretching methods. Spend at least 5 minutes stretching before and after your workouts.

Eat Regularly

How to get muscles – you need to consume five or six small meals each day, with a particular focus on proteins and carbs. This way, you’ll get enough calories for muscle building along with a boost in metabolism for fat burning.

Drink Shakes

Prior to a workout – around an hour before – take in a protein shake. It should consist of about 1 gram of protein to every 2 grams of carbohydrate. You can if you like sip the drink throughout your workout session. After the session, go grab another shake. Shakes are very easily digested, where whole foods are not.

Recovery

Ideally, you should be getting about 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night. Don’t be tempted to train more than four times weekly.