As men, there comes a point in our lives when we catch a glimpse of ourselves in the mirror and reach the swift conclusion that we need to get in good physical shape. For some of us the goal is to drop some extra pounds, and the best way to do that is by replacing the fat with muscle, as muscle burns fat faster. Others may feel they are too scrawny and wish to bulk up with the kind of muscle tone that will have the bikini clad ladies at the local pool checking you out and gossiping about you to their friends. In either case, you’re going to want to figure out the best and safest way to put on muscle.
While it may seem tempting to load up on calories and pump iron until the cows come home, you might want to skip that route. Sure, you can turn yourself into the latest version of a professional wrestler, but keep in mind that you’re not going to be young (or even middle aged) forever, and unless you plan on spending eight hours a day in the gym when you’re eighty five years old that muscle will revert back to fat, only then you’ll be too old to really do anything about it.
Like almost everything else in this strange life of ours, the best answer is the most boring one. The most effective way to safely gain muscle is to be normal about it, and the way to be normal about it is to get on a healthy eating and exercise routine.
Starting out on a new diet can be a relatively painless experience if you keep a few important things in mind. First, don’t deprive yourself to the point of torture – that’s a good way to quit your diet and throw in the towel. You’ll end up four hundred pounds in front of a television screen at age forty, wondering what just happened to your life. Eat what you want, only do it in moderation and cut out the unnecessary evils like candy bars and sodas – even though they give you a temporary pick me up, these sugary and empty calories will make you sick and drain your energy.
A good rule to follow is increase your portions as the day progresses. For example, have a healthy bowl of hot or cold cereal and fruit for breakfast, making sure to keep your coffee black (or switch to tea), have a meat and vegetable sandwich for lunch with some juice, and maybe a nice steak with a moderate side dish portion and salad for supper. If you make a point to eat supper no later than 6pm, your food will have plenty of time to digest before you fall asleep for the night.
As the Buddhists say, the key to well being is balance. Balance your diet with an exercise regime. Make some time each morning to get your blood pumping and your muscles working. This will give you an energy boost you’ll be buzzing on throughout the day. When you get off work each afternoon, hit the gym or home workout system and put in a good long semi-strenuous workout. Doing so will raise your metabolism to a level that quickly burns through your dinner and transforms the calories into muscle building goodness.
Summon your will power and stick with it, and once you fall into a healthy eating and exercise lifestyle you’ll eventually find yourself trim and toned and looking good to the ladies at the pool. When you’re looking and feeling like a champ, you can decide whether or not you’d like to build even more muscle mass. If that’s something you want to do, you’ll be able to ever so slightly increase your calorie intake and your exercise routine until you reach the desired results. Slow and steady wins the game, while supposedly easy shortcuts often end in tears of frustration.
It takes awhile to safely build up muscle mass through proper eating and exercise, but keep in mind that anything worth doing in life is going to be hard. If you’re dedicated and sensible enough about it, you’ll get it done.