Build Muscle

Build muscle

If it were easy to build muscle, everyone would do it, right? The truth is that it's both hard and easy - read on to find out why!

The easy part about building muscle is that there are no secrets to how it's done. The techniques are tried and tested, used and refined by several generations of body builders from the 1920s through to today.

The hard part is that there are no short cuts - if you want to build muscle you have to work hard and eat right, and be consistent in both for an extended period of time.

So what works and what doesn't? The rules are actually pretty simple:

* Progressive Resistance: This is the core to serious growth - you have to overload the body and keep overloading it. What does this mean? It means that if your workout is easy, if you finish each set with energy to burn, you'll never make progress. If however, you struggle to complete each set, straining every sinew to finish that last rep, you're on the right track. And as soon as that weight becomes easy? You increase it - that's the progressive part.

* The Right Diet: To sustain serious growth you have to give the body the fuel it needs. In the same way that a Formula 1 car can't run on regular unleaded, you must look at your food as the premium fuel you need to perform. That means a good supply of lean protein, quality carbs, and good fats.

* Supplements - A Helping Hand: No supplement is going to perform miracles - you have to do the work. But if you're doing everything right, then certain supplements - creatine would be the most obvious - will help you maximise your growth.

from: http://www.getfit.com