How to Build Lean Muscle - A 3 Step Approach to Building Muscle

Building muscle is not about going to the gym and pumping iron. How to build lean muscle requires a 3 pronged approach, with actually building muscle through weight training as only one part. In this article, we will cover the three legged stool to building muscle, plus methods to build muscle without weights, which is an excellent way of build lean muscle without ever having to getting a health club membership.

The three step approach on how to build lean muscle involves diet, aerobic training, and strength training. One without the other two will not build lean muscle that is our goal. Let us look at all three in more detail.

1. Diet. First, eating smaller meals more often is a better approach to building muscle than eating two or three large meals a day. Eating more frequently keeps the digestive system humming along at a steady pace, rather than having it shut down when you are hungry, then get bombarded with a huge meal. If you eat before you hit starvation mode, you will be more likely to eat something nutritious (if you have planned for the snack) rather than grab the first junk food you find in order to relieve the hunger pangs. Just remember to eat smaller portions so your overall caloric intake does not increase. What you eat, and don't eat, will also be a vital part in how to build lean muscle mass. Each mini meal should contain sufficient protein, which are about 15 grams for a female and 20 grams for a male. Yes, that is quite a lot, which means that you won't have much room for excessive amounts of carbohydrates and sugars. Avoiding refined and processed carbohydrates and drinking as much water as you possibly can is the diet that will lead to building muscle.

2. Aerobic exercise. We cover many varieties of cardio exercises on our website, but pick one and stick with it for six days a week. A good one would be brisk walking (minimum four miles per hour) for two miles per day. It may seem like a lot, but should be accomplished in about a half hour if done at the right pace. Yes, it's true that muscles are broken down during aerobic exercise, but part of process of how to build lean muscle is breaking down that muscle and rebuilding it stronger. Massive amounts of cardio exercises, such as what marathon runner's experience, can decrease building muscle, but we are not talking about that amount of cardio exercise. But again, it must be supported by proper diet. Also, it promotes blood flow and oxygen transport to the muscles.

3. Strength training. This is what everyone thinks of when they bring up how to build lean muscle. One of the keys to this is not to concentrate too much on your favorite areas to building muscle. Work all of the areas of the body, and allow sufficient recovery time (24 to 48 hours), and combine them with stretching exercises.

As mentioned above, there are many excellent ways to build muscle without weights that can be performed without any outside equipment. Pushups, pull-ups, situps, and squats are just a few exercises that can be accomplished anywhere, anytime. Granted, free weights and weight machines can be regulated better for your workout, but build lean muscle through weight training does not require a health club membership. Our website or the internet will provide many interesting methods of training for building muscle.

Our goal is to inform those people who are trying to lose weight on comprehensive, realistic programs for weight loss. We are definitely not into quick-fixes, but programs that involve proper diet, cardio work, and muscle tone. Rich Carroll is a writer and health advocate now living in London.

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