Building lean muscle is often over complicated and dressed up in a lot of scientific explanation and hype. What is all too often overlooked is the basics. And the basics are incredibly simple. In simple terms it gets down to applying resistance (weight) to your body, then eating an adequate amount of calories or food (a good meal) and finally taking the time to rest (read this as do not overtrain).
Is that it? In a nutshell yes! However that’s what you do. How you do it is as follows: You should remember the mantra that says less is more when it comes to building lean muscle. Those extra workouts you want to do will over train your body and limit your growth.
For beginners its important to stick to basics. Train your muscles between 8-15 repetitions as heavy (with good form) and as intense as you can. Stick to free weights.building lean muscle Train each muscle group no more than once a week. Any more than that and you inhibit growth.
What exercises do you need to perform? Again you need to keep this simple. Stick to free weights and avoid machines at all costs. Stick to basic movements.
A sample routine for a beginner that would work nicely would be the following:
Monday – Bench press/parallel bar dips/shoulder press/french press/close grip bench press.
Wednesday – Squats/leg press/calf raises.
Friday – Chin ups/seated (or bent over) rows/lateral pull downs/bicep curls.
This is the perfect routine for a beginner and in fact its a great workout for anyone. It gives you plenty of rest, enables you to train your muscles once a week, and it focuses in on the basic movements to ensure you work all your muscles evenly.
Remember to work out hard. Rest often. Eat well. This is the simple formula in building lean muscle.building lean muscle