4 Things Your Body Needs to Gain Muscle

Tap to Read ➤ Gaining muscle is achieved through hard work and dedication. However, it isn't all about brute force. Paisley Hansen

Gaining muscle is achieved through hard work and dedication. However, it isn't all about brute force. Your body has certain requirements that must be met in order for it to properly recover between workouts and build bigger, leaner, and stronger muscles. Providing these four crucial elements can help you gain the muscle definition you desire.

Rest

All work and no play can make for a very dull existence. It can also hinder your muscle development. Your body does need to rest between workouts, even if it is just for a short time. Understanding the process of muscle development can help you see why.

When you exercise, you actually create small microtears in your muscle tissue. Now you know why some people call it ripped. As those tears repair, a small amount of tissue will be added to your muscles. This is completely normal, and it should be expected as part of any healthy muscle-building program.

Schedule rest days at least once a week to allow complete rest. Alternate body segments for heavier weight training. Maybe try a core, legs, arms rotation, hitting each area twice per week. That is six days, which still leaves room for a full day of rest and recovery. At the same time, it allows each muscle group to recover before you work it fully again.

Of course, make sure you are getting enough overall rest, too. Aim for at least seven hours of sleep each night to stave off the effects of sleep deprivation and let your body recharge.

Water

Water is important for your overall health and is one of the key ingredients to any successful exercise program. It fuels countless metabolic processes within your body and helps flush toxins and waste from organs and muscles. This can help you clear the lactic acid that builds up in your muscles during exercise and may lead to less soreness after workouts.

You will need to increase your water intake during periods of intense activity, which are likely a normal part of your fitness routine. If recommendations for a sedentary person are about eight glasses of water a day, you will likely need at least twice as much to stay properly hydrated. If your urine isn't very pale, you need to up your water intake.

Nutrients

Water isn't the only thing your muscles need to grow. You want to have a good balance of macro and micronutrients. Protein is a key macro that you absolutely must have to build muscle mass. Look for food sources that contain complete proteins that provide the amino acids necessary to rebuild the muscles you have trained so hard.

There isn't a solid consensus on the amount of protein necessary to fuel and sustain muscle growth, but it should be a fairly large portion of your dietary intake. Ideally, you will be able to get the correct amount of micronutrients from your diet.

When you don't, however, there are lots of supplement options available to help you meet your needs. If pills aren't your thing, consider shakes or transdermal applications like the one used in the Le-Vel Thrive patch.

Training

You want to train smarter, not harder to ensure that you build muscle safely. Remember to allow muscles to rest between workouts. That doesn't mean you can't exercise, just that you need to differently. Cross training can add dimension and variability to your routine, and it may allow you to use your muscles in new ways that encourage additional development.

You might also benefit from adding moderate to strenuous aerobic activities to your training routine. These can help you achieve lower fat levels. And the less fat you store, the more room you have for lean muscle.

Developing strong and lean muscles is an admirable fitness goal. Going about it in a smart way can help you achieve that goal with less risk of injury, burnout, and muscle fatigue.