Quick and Effective Ways to Speed Up Muscle Growth

29-11-2017   |   Posted By: Chhavi   |   2822 View(s)

Building muscle is as difficult as losing weight. When you start exercising for building muscle, you realise that it is a tedious process. If you are serious about building muscles and getting a toned body, you must stay dedicated, patient and follow your workout regimen religiously. But, sometimes just staying hopeful does not work; you need to put in some extra efforts to gain muscle mass. There are some ways that can help you speed up muscle growth. Let’s dig deeper.

Top 10 Ways to Speed up Muscle Growth

1. Slow it Down

Many people focus on lifting heavy weights to speed up their muscle growth. But, fitness experts say that doing this takes the focus off the working muscles. Adding weight to lifts definitely helps you grow, but it does not help much in stimulating the muscle through a full range of motion.

A fitness trainer Alderton explains that the key mechanism for building muscles is mechanical tension, which is formed when a muscle is stretched and contracted with a challenging weight. Experts say that you should watch yourself while performing each rep of an exercise so that you can check your form, and then focus on lifting and lowering the weight slowly. According to a fitness expert, if you slow down the reps in the eccentric phase of your lifts, it will not only cause you to lift through a greater range of motion but will also increase the time that the muscle is under tension. This, in turn, leads to muscle gain. It is best to hit the gym if you are trying to build muscle because fitness trainers can guide you well and help you make a proper workout regimen.

2. Increase your Calorie Intake

You cannot build muscle just by working out at the gym. Your fitness routine should be a blend of exercise and a nutritious diet. It is important to eat a lot of calories to build muscle. Fitness experts say that in order to speed up muscle growth, you need to fuel your body effectively.

And one of the best ways to do this is to consume more calories than you burn. You should add about 250 calories to your daily diet to speed up muscle growth. Now, do not start consuming too many calories, or else it will lead to weight gain. To count your required intake of calorie, you can multiply your body weight in pounds by 15- 17 calories (e.g. if you weight 170 lbs. then multiply that by 16 to get a daily calorie intake of 2720). If you are still not able to build muscle after a few weeks, increase your calorie intake by 10%.

3. Eat Protein-Rich Foods

It is known to almost all the bodybuilders that protein is the building block of muscles. You should eat 10- 25 g of protein with each meal or snack to accelerate muscle growth. Also, you must keep in mind that the amount of protein you intake will depend on your weight. You should try to eat approximately 1 g of protein per pound of body weight. You should add protein-rich foods such as lean chicken, fish, oats, Greek Yoghurt, eggs, almonds, chicken breast, broccoli, etc. to your diet to gain muscle mass quickly.

4. Consume Good Carbs

Carbs provide you with the energy you require while working out. But, consuming wrong carbs can do more harm than good. Look for low-glycemic carbohydrates such as pears, whole grains, sweet potatoes, beans and apples. Read the labels while selecting products and choose carbs that are high in fibre and low in calories.

5. Choose Flax Seeds over Flaxseed Oil

Flax seeds are undoubtedly one of the healthiest foods on this planet. Flax seeds are rich in omega-3, protein and fibre. Flax seeds oil does not contain fibre, and so it is better to use flax seeds rather than flaxseed oil. Also, flax seeds help in reducing inflammation which prevents muscle soreness.

6. Eat Lots of Veggies

Green veggies such as spinach and kale have a high nutritional value, high soluble fibre and low fat and so it is one of the best foods for muscle growth. If you want to speed up muscle growth, then add green veggies to your daily diet.

7. Go for Heavier Weights

Muscle building is a challenging process, and so you need to challenge yourself and push your limits to accelerate muscle growth. And to achieve that, you need to lift the heaviest possible weight you can lift for the number of reps you have planned. You need to ensure that you lift the weight with proper form for the given exercise. If you think that you won’t be able to complete the range of motion in the exercise, choose a lower weight. When people use heavyweights, their number of reps go down. But, if you go for heavier weight and use it with 8 to 10 reps, then you can accelerate muscle growth.

8. Stay Hydrated

Drinking water is essential to accelerate muscle growth. You should make sure that your body is properly hydrated before you exercise. You must drink 8 to 10 glasses of water throughout the day. When your body is hydrated, the body transports the nutrients you consume effectively.

9. Don’t Stick to One Machine

When you allow your muscles to get used to a particular motion, it slows down muscle growth. You will gain muscle mass only if you work with different types of equipment. You should not get focused on lifting with just one type of equipment at all times. It is okay that you love working out with dumbbells and barbells, but that does not mean that you do not use weight machines and cables at all. So, try using different types of equipment for the workout to accelerate muscle growth.

10.  Do not Focus too Much on Cardio

You should indulge in moderate-intensity cardio training to improve your aerobic capacity. Cardio exercises also help in increasing your ability to work hard for a prolonged period during weight training. But, cardio training is best for those who want to lose weight. If you want to build muscle, then you should limit your cardio activity because doing too much cardio makes it harder to achieve the size and strength gains you desire. Limit your cardio exercise to 75 minutes of vigorous activity such as running or 150 minutes of moderate activity such as walking per week.

Building muscle is hard, but with these tips, you will be able to build muscle quickly. Follow these tips to speed up muscle growth. If you know any other tips that help in accelerating muscle growth, share with us in the comments section below.