Everyone loves a fit body with minimum fat and perfect muscle mass ratio. From going to a gym to consuming high amounts of protein, there are several things you need to do to get a jacked body. Muscle Building is a step by step exercise that starts with losing extra fat. The process requires intense workout but along with the gymming, a healthy diet is equally important. There’s a difference between gaining weight and gaining muscle mass. The former includes fat whereas the latter helps you in getting bigger in size without increasing the fat percentage in your body.
But a lot of people get confused between weight gain and muscle mass gain and it is often accompanied by mistakes related to workout and diet plans. You need to understand that fat burning and muscle mass gaining are two different exercises and going for both simultaneously might leave you somewhere in between. The chances of committing mistakes in such cases are higher. I’m going to tell you about the most common muscle building mistakes that can hinder your progress.
- Not Taking In Enough Protein: Protein is the most important nutrient when we talk of muscle building. ‘Muscle Protein Synthesis’ is the process of repairing the damaged muscles that break due to intense workout. The intake of sufficient amounts of protein is very necessary for building muscle. When you work out, your muscle fibres break. And when they repair, they build back bigger. It is the protein that promotes the building of muscles back. Speaking mathematically, you need 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. If you don’t take enough amounts of protein, the process of muscle building is slow and you can lose the enthusiasm for working out.
- Not Consuming Enough Water: It is no secret that the human body is over 70% water. Two-thirds of the water is found in muscles. Muscle cells are made up of protein and water and both the components are equally important for better growth. It is advisable to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water. Water also prevents you from getting dehydrated and keeps you energized throughout the day. When you drink less water, your body may get dehydrated and that may affect your workout performance.
Also Read, Post Workout Meals: 6 Best Things To Eat and Their Importance
- Overtraining: ‘Go Heavy or Go Home’ is the formula but not always. There’s a difference between an intense workout and a breakless workout. It is logical that your muscle tissues break when you workout, but doing excessive workout may burn up those tissues and recovery might be very difficult. Rest is an equally integral part of the muscle-building exercise. Your muscle tissues require enough rest as it provides them the time to recover and rebuild. If you ignore this aspect of your workout, all your hard work may go in vain.
- Not Sleeping Enough: A good sleep is a very important aspect of muscle building, and the importance of rest can’t be undermined in the process of getting ripped. There are several downfalls of not getting enough or uninterrupted sleep. Good sleep is like a rebooting exercise for your body. A healthy individual requires 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Sleep promotes better muscle growth as it is the only thing your body focuses on when you are sleeping. If you do not take an uninterrupted sleep, it may derail the process of muscle building.
- Not Lifting Enough: Just like lifting too much can steal the recovery time from your muscle tissues, a lazy attitude might delay the process of breaking and building new muscle tissues. You need to challenge yourself with every passing day if you want to grow big and strong. For instance, if you are able to do more than 20 reps of any particular exercise in a set, you are not lifting enough weight. For compound exercises, 8 to 12 reps are highers where weight increases with every passing set while reps decrease. For exercises like deadlift, 8 to 10 reps are enough and you can conclude the final set with a challenging weight where 5 to 6 reps will do the task.
- Not Consuming Enough Carbs: No matter how popular keto diet or low-carb diets are, the importance of carbs cannot be undermined for those seeking healthy gains. There’s no replacement. Carbs not only help you put on healthy weight, but they are also a key source of energy. Your body needs high amounts of energy for an intense workout and you can’t do that without consuming enough carbs. However, make sure that you consume clean carbs that you can get from foods like rice, oats and sweet potatoes.
