Top 10 Tips to Build Lean Muscle

Building lean muscle involves loads of commitment and hard work but if you follow the basic tenets of hypertrophy training, your dream of acquiring a sculpted and chiselled body would be well on the way to becoming a reality. Leading a healthy lifestyle, getting proper nutrition and following a well-designed, high quality training program are the essential requisites to developing the lean mass that you want. Our top 10 tips to build lean muscle will guide you to work towards your fitness objectives and lead you to your goals.

1. Train your legs

One of the most common mistakes people make is to focus only on the upper part of their body with the result that they completely overlook working out their legs. While it is true that everyone loves to flaunt their biceps, the actual facts state that training your leg muscles is crucial if you want to make a success of your body building goals. Your legs contain huge amounts of muscle tissue, which respond to the rigours of intense training workouts by triggering the secretion of testosterone and other growth hormones in greater quantity than when you limit your workouts only to toning the upper body. These hormones help to stimulate muscle mass and to burn calories in a more efficient manner. Therefore it would be a good idea to opt for workouts directed towards building leg muscles – like squats, dead lifts and lunges.

2. Eat real food – remove processed foods from your diet

If you stay committed to your muscle building aims, this is one bit of advice you will have to take very seriously. Processed foods contain chemicals, preservatives, sweeteners, artificial colourings and flavourings, cause toxins to gradually build up within the body. The liver then has to work hard to eliminate these toxins, diverting it from its intended function of metabolising fats and carbohydrates. Improper metabolism of nutrients leads to fat gain, inefficient burning of calories and a lowered metabolic rate which could prove highly detrimental to your muscle building goals.

3. Sleep more

Your muscles need ample rest in order to recuperate from the fatigue caused by your intense training programs. It is only in the resting phase that your muscles are able to repair and rebuild themselves. Even with the right workout and proper nutrition, if you overlook the rest factor, it could drastically reduce your muscle gains and could render you more susceptible to injury.  So make sure that you get that optimal eight hours of sleep every night and set aside at least two days of the week to give your body complete respite from the stress of workout and your muscles an opportunity to recover from any soreness and rebuild.

4. Eat more protein

Muscles are comprised of protein so it is obvious that you need to consume proteins in high quantity, if you want to build your body. Proteins, in turn, are made up of amino acids which are the building blocks of the body. An optimal intake of protein helps your body to attain a positive nitrogen balance, better known as an anabolic state. Being in an anabolic state is vital to building more muscle. Therefore you need to provide your body with adequate supply of protein throughout the day in order to enable muscle growth. It has been estimated that you need to consume approximately between 1-2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Some good sources of protein include Chicken, Eggs, Cheese, Steak, whey protein powder shakes, nuts and seeds, seafood, quinoa.

5.  Remove alcohol from your diet

Alcohol can cause a definite setback to your muscle building aims so it’s best to indulge yourself on extremely rare occasions if not eliminate it from your lifestyle completely.  Alcohol interferes with the protein synthesis of the body and brings down the efficiency of this process by 20%. It also lowers testosterone levels which is the hormone that is responsible for muscle growth. Alcohol depleted the body of vitamins which take a toll on the optimal functioning of all the delicate processes of the body, including muscle gains. Furthermore, alcoholic beverages contain large amounts of empty calories, which eventually get stored as unattractive body fat.

6. Use large muscle group compound exercises

Exercises that work more than one muscle group are called compound exercises.  Compound exercises are the most effective muscle builders. It is believed that compound exercises trigger the release of more anabolic hormones, leading to greater muscle growth. Another main advantage of compound exercise is that it gives you an intense workout in minimal time and is therefore also suitable for those who are hard pressed for time. Only 8 -10 compound exercises are required to successfully work all the muscles in the body and trigger muscle growth in the least time.

7. Supplement with whey protein after a workout

Whey proteins are the most effective and easily digested forms of protein, making them a top favourite of all those with muscle building aims. Whey protein powders are the most convenient ways to ensure an optimal supply of protein that would fuel muscle gains. 30 -40 grams of whey protein within half an hour after a workout stimulates protein synthesis as optimal insulin levels push glucose and amino acids into the muscle. Protein supplements post workout also help to shift the body from catabolic to anabolic stage and protect the muscle tissue from damage.

8. Eat more alkaline foods to improve anabolic effects

Alkaline foods are those that are closest to the natural diet that our ancestors ate – what nature designed us to consume. Foods such as fresh (mainly green vegetables such as kale and green peppers), some meat (lamb) and fish which produce an alkaline residue in the body, help to counter the effects of a steady build-up of acid in the body that takes place due to unhealthy diets and habits. Unfortunately, most of what we consume today eg – dairy, meat, eggs, sugar, cereals, coffee, alcohol would fall under the category of acidic foods. Experts suggest that in order to maintain a healthy acid-alkaline balance, your diet should comprise of 40% acidic foods and 60% alkaline foods. An optimal pH balance would help to neutralise the lactic acid accumulated in the muscles after a workout and enable quick muscle repair and re growth.

9. Always eat breakfast

This is probably the easiest of all tips that help build muscle. As your body wakes up after a period of 8 hours of sleep, it is on the verge of entering a catabolic stage, where it will begin to break down muscle mass to compensate for its depleted energy levels. Breakfast therefore assumes great importance as the first meal of the day, as it pulls the body out of the catabolic state by providing it with the much needed nutrients to fuel its needs. An ideal breakfast provides the body with high quality protein to supply amino acids to promote muscle growth, complex carbs and healthy fats to boost energy. Keeping to the habit of never skipping breakfast ensures that your body maintains optimal levels of metabolism which really is key to making the most of your workout efforts towards body building.

10. Train with intensity

Its only when you push the muscle to the point of failure, that the muscle is stimulated to grow. (However this should only be attempted by seasoned gym goers who have been practicing body building over the span of a few months.) Muscle tissue is built anew when the muscles experience stronger contractions and greater stress. The greater the training intensity, the higher will be the muscle gains. It’s when you push the muscle to its limits that it will respond by adding the muscle mass that you desire.