The rules for gaining muscle mass

For every type of activity there are basic rules to be successful, and the gym is no exception.

Before you start thinking about advanced training and aggressive diets, you first need to have the basics in place.

If you fail at the basics, advanced skills are of no use to you.

Here are the five key points you should rely on to gain muscle mass.

Proteins

Consume at least 2 grams of good quality protein for every kilo of your body weight.

If you want to gain muscle mass, you need to provide your body with the raw materials to make it happen.

Proteins are the raw material that will allow you to build muscle.

Two grams per kilo is a minimum number, and they should mostly be high-quality proteins.

In other words, lots of meat, fish and eggs.

Don't forget that as you gain weight, you will need to increase your protein intake.

You can even experiment with slightly higher amounts, instead of just 2g of protein.

See our article How much protein do I need per day?

Training

Always give your best in training, in every training session.

He sees training as a kind of mission.

The name of the mission?

Gain muscular mass.

Take something with you to record the loads, sets and repetitions you do if necessary, but above all, make sure you progress over time.

Increase sets, reps, weight.

You must progress in terms of training volume to be able to consistently progress in the mirror and on the scales.

Please note, the goal is to progress in the long term, not just in the short term.

It is impossible to increase the loads training after training.

Get boring

You're not going to do the last set of flat bench presses without anyone watching you, are you?

Call someone to help you, so you can lift loads without fear of getting stuck under the bar.

Please note that the idea is not for the person to do the exercise for you, but to help you with those last few repetitions.

Ask if you did the exercise correctly or not.

Ask for feedback.

Furthermore, try to learn from those who know more than you.

Ask questions to people who are familiar with the subject.

People with good results and knowledge.

In many cases, they will identify with you, because they have also been in your situation, and they will even be happy to help you.

That is, if you are truly determined to evolve.

But be careful who you listen to.

António, who has been at the gym for 5 years and is practically the same, is probably not the right person for you to learn from.

Rest

If you are training well and want to gain muscle mass, you will need to sleep enough to recover and evolve.

It is during sleep that recovery takes place, and not only.

If you are consistently sleeping only four hours a day, your results will be lower than your friend who does exactly the same thing, but sleeps eight hours a day.

Try to sleep at least six hours, and ideally, eight hours.

In addition to sleeping, it is important to have rest days where you do not go to the gym to train.

Training intensely every day is unlikely to bring good results.

But it can cause injuries and enormous wear and tear, both physically and mentally.

Calories

As you may have noticed at the beginning of the article, the proteins are essential for gaining muscle mass.

However, if you limit yourself to protein intake and don't reach the calories needed to gain weight, you won't get the results you're looking for.

To gain muscle mass, you need to consume more calories than you burn.

You need to eat good amounts of not only protein, but also carbohydrates and fats.

Aren't you gaining weight?

You're probably not getting enough calories.

Don't know how many calories you need?

See this article.

Conclusion

Is there a magic secret here for gaining muscle mass?

No.

But here is the basis, which if followed correctly and persistently, will lead you to achieve your goals.

In the world of the gym there is no magic, there is consistency.

You need enough calories and macronutrients to gain muscle mass, but a good diet is not enough.

You need good training, you need to rest well and you need to have people who help you evolve.

All this done consistently, and in the long term, will bring excellent results.