Tip Tuesday: 5 Things You Should Be Doing to Build Muscle

I'm back at you with a Tip Tuesday! You can check out my other tips here.

Are you looking to build muscle?

Here are 5 things that you should be doing to build muscle!

5 Things You Should Be Doing to Build Muscle

1. Lift More Weights, Do Less Cardio

Want to get stronger and build more muscle? Or want to get "toned"?

Weight training is a must! Weightlifting provides stress to the muscles. This causes them to adapt and grow. Weightlifting can be performed with dumbbells, barbells, weight machines, or resistance bands.

You can always do cardio, as it is great for fat-loss and health but do not over do it.

2. Eat Lots of Protein

Want to build muscle? Protein is essential! Protein is the building block of tissue growth and repair and without it you won't be providing your body with the necessary tools for it to grow new tissue.

3. Get Sleep

If you want to build muscle you need to sleep! Optimally you should be sleeping between 7-9 hours a night. Especially if you are looking to change body composition and increase muscle mass. Sleep can enhance muscle recovery through the process of protein synthesis and human growth hormone release.

Remember there are no awards given for living off of 4 hours of sleep.

4. Be Patient

Building muscles does not happen over night so you have to be patient. It is a fairly slow process. It can take between 3-4 weeks to see visible changes to your muscles. You'll see real results at about 12 weeks of weightlifting and consistency.

So be patient!

5. Surplus of Calories

In order to build muscle you have to be in a calorie surplus. Meaning, you need to eat MORE! For muscle growth to occur, a sufficient amount of calories are required. I suggest eating between 10-20% extra calories of what your maintenance calories are.

It doesn't need to be complicated.

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-Sarah