Everyone wants to have a beautiful body shape. So, girls make great efforts to lose weight at the waist and pump up the buttocks, while men, as a rule, concentrate on developing the muscles of the whole body. In both cases, we are talking about lean muscle mass. How to dial it is discussed in the article.
The concept of lean body mass
Before talking about how to gain lean muscle mass, we will deal with this concept in more detail.
The human body consists of the following main parts:
- bones (skeleton);
- muscle
- adipose tissue.
All of these tissues contain water, which in the body can range from 65% to 75%, depending on age, gender and some other factors. Muscle contains more water than fat and bone tissue.
Dry body weight is understood to mean its weight without taking into account fat, that is, only bone and muscle tissue is meant. Since the former is a value that is less or less constant (in fact, it decreases with age), it is the human musculature that is the dynamic characteristic in this concept. In order to have some idea of the percentages, we note that the normal fat content should be in the range of 15-25% in men and 18-31% in women. Bones weigh about 15% of the total body weight. This means that the content of dry muscle mass ranges from 60-70% in men and 54-67% in women. In fact, these figures are smaller, because in addition to the above basic tissues, there are other, for example, organ tissues, in the human body. Therefore, the average person’s muscle mass accounts for about 40% of body weight.
Basic dry weight gain knowledge
Understanding the basic principles of the functioning of our body is a key factor in answering the question of how to gain lean muscle mass without fat. To achieve this goal, it is always necessary to remember three main components, before each of which the word "correct" should be put:
- physical exercise;
- nutrition;
- relaxation.
If you do not load the muscles properly, they will feel great and will not grow, because the appearance and health of our body is a mirror of the lifestyle that a person leads. Is it possible to gain lean muscle mass? Yes, it is possible, and this is one of the amazing properties of our muscles. It adapts to intense physical activity by increasing its volume and strength.
However, the loads alone are few, “building” material is needed for the muscles to grow, and here the athlete swallows and chews in the first role. Musculature is a protein tissue, therefore, for its growth, not fats and carbohydrates are needed, but amino acids.
Finally, the question of rest, which is no less important than the previous components for the development of lean muscle mass. The fact is that muscles are restored and grow using the "building" material provided by them, mainly when the body is resting, that is, at night. Therefore, if you reduce sleep time, then all the efforts made to "pump up" will be in vain.
Physical exercise
Not all training to gain lean muscle mass will be effective. On the Internet you can find a huge number of lesson plans and recommendations on how to train so that muscles grow quickly. For most beginners, accounting for the whole huge number of nuances will seem difficult, however, all these plans and tips come down to three principles:
- intensity
- regularity;
- diversity.
The first refers to the amount of load per specific muscle group per unit of time (we are talking about seconds and minutes), the second refers to the frequency of this load (days and months are meant here), the third principle involves the number of different exercises and the dynamism of the training plan.
Let us consider each of them in more detail.
Exercise intensity
This is the factor that answers the question of how to quickly gain lean muscle mass. Many people set this goal, work hard and do a lot, but do not get the desired result. The reason is the lack of muscle development at the peak of their capabilities. If you perform cyclic general strengthening exercises (light running, cycling) in large quantities, then you can forget about gaining muscle mass. The fact is that these exercises, as well as any exercises in the facilitated mode, do not load the muscles sufficiently, do not stimulate them for further growth. These classes to a greater extent increase the endurance of the muscles and the body as a whole.
Hence the conclusion: the best for gaining lean muscle mass is intensive training, with great muscular loads, each muscle fiber should literally “tear” and be very sore after a series of exercises performed by an athlete.
How can I train intensively?
There are several ways to maximize your muscles.
- Firstly, you can reduce the rest between the series of exercises performed. For example, instead of doing a series of bench presses on the bench, and then resting 3-4 minutes before the next approach, an athlete can do 2-3 series in a row, resting between them for 30 seconds (this training scheme is called a superset).
- Secondly, you can increase the speed of the exercise. Let's say do squats at a slightly faster pace than usual. With an increase in speed, you should always follow the technique, violation of which leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of the exercise and an increase in the risk of damage.
- Thirdly, of course, increase the weight of the sports equipment. It should be remembered that if an athlete performs some exercise with considerable effort 3-7 times, then he mainly trains the strength of the muscles, if 8-15 times - its mass, more than 15 times - endurance. Thus, such projectile weights are suitable for the issue under consideration that the athlete can, with sufficient effort, perform 8-15 repetitions in one series. It is on these scales that you need to build a training program. For each exercise, of course, the weight of the projectile will be different, it is selected by the sample method.
Regularity of classes
This means that an athlete who wondered how to gain lean muscle mass for a man should exercise 3-4 times a week. In this case, the training itself should take place within 45-60 minutes and include three stages:
- preparatory phase (warming up the muscles for 10 minutes using light exercises);
- main phase (performing 5-6 different exercises of 3-4 series of each);
- completion of a workout (breathing exercises and stretching).
It should be borne in mind that it is preferable to load each muscle group 2 times a week, so you need to plan your exercises based on this recommendation, which is achieved by appropriate combination and alternation of exercises.
Various training
This is an important principle for effective and rapid muscle growth. The fact is that the human musculature is a dynamic substance that is able to quickly adapt to the types of load it offers. Therefore, in order to constantly maintain it in an excited state and not allow it to go into a state of stagnation, it is necessary not only to carry out a large amount of intensive exercises, but also constantly change these exercises, modify old ones, include new ones in the training program, change their places, create new training complexes and so on.
Strength and cycling exercises
If an athlete wants to build beautiful and large muscles, then he should include as few cyclic exercises as possible in his training plan. As noted above, they increase stamina by spending extra calories that could be used to "build" the muscles. Moreover, cyclic exercises do not allow the muscles to rest between exhausting strength training.
In connection with the foregoing, it is recommended that the main attention in their exercises on muscle mass be given to “iron” (barbells, dumbbells, weight training equipment), and cyclic exercises should be practiced occasionally (once every 10 days) in order to maintain the main body systems in a healthy state.
Food and sleep
Sleep and nutrition for gaining lean muscle mass are as important as physical activity. Here you need to understand that the number of calories consumed should exceed energy costs during the day, only in this case muscle growth is possible. However, not all calories contribute to this, but only those found in foods rich in proteins, high-quality carbohydrates and vegetable fats.
The menu for gaining lean muscle mass will be great if it includes meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, dairy products, eggs, cereals of various cereals. All of these products contain proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, fiber and vegetable fats, which are necessary for metabolic processes throughout the body and for muscle growth in particular.
From your diet you should completely exclude all kinds of pastries, cakes, cakes, soft drinks, sugar, lard, mayonnaise, sauces. These foods contain a large amount of fats and hydrocarbons, but since the athlete’s menu has already been drawn up with an excess of calories, all of them are unnecessary. Otherwise, their calories will contribute to the development of adipose tissue.
The athlete is recommended to eat 5 times a day so that the muscles constantly have access to the "building" and energy material.
As for sleep, it is recommended to get enough sleep every day, 7 hours - this is the minimum, ideally 8-9 hours.
Should I take special medications?
As noted above, the athlete’s menu, which is gaining muscle mass, is full and balanced, so taking any medications is optional. However, the athlete can experiment and add to his diet sports nutrition, which includes protein casein and nitric acid creatine. Scientifically proven that these compounds contribute to the development of muscles.
Nevertheless, it is always necessary to observe the dosage regimen of these drugs and not to abuse them, because when decomposed in the body, many additives lead to the formation of toxins, which in large quantities can harm health.
Some tips
Exhausting intense training leads to large losses of water in the athlete's body, so it is recommended to carry a bottle of water with you everywhere and drink it throughout the day.
The company helps to be constantly motivated to achieve this goal, that is, it is recommended to train with a partner. In addition, he will insure when performing exercises with large weights.
Before and after training, you should consume enough protein foods and drink a protein shake.