As a personal trainer, most of my clients will say "I do not want to get big, or bulk up." First and foremost, if you are not in a calorie surplus, you will not bulk up working out. Some clients build muscle faster than others. However, as a general rule of thumb - keep the portions of food at or below your daily calorie burn and all will be well. Below, check out our 5 easy yet effective tips to help build your lean muscle.
Tip 1- Control rest periods between sets
Our body uses ATP (your cells power or energy) for muscle contractions. Try only resting for 30 seconds between sets. This makes it ideal to recover while providing intensity. According to NASM, the body recovers half of its ATP stores within 30 seconds. This means taking shorter rest times increase the difficulty of the set. A great way to maximize your workout. A 30 second vs. 1 minute rest may suck (more painful) but my job is to make sure you get the most out of your workouts.
Tip 2- Focus on a well-balanced workout routine
Mix together both heavy and light lifting days to achieve ideal hypertrophy (muscle building) and endurance. Different training styles, such as heavy or endurance lifting are beneficial in their own ways. Heavy lifting increases anabolic (lean muscle building) hormones, while lighter lifting with higher reps increases muscular endurance. This in turn allows us to build more lean muscle tissue.
Tip 3- Understand your own body, its capabilities, and gratitude
What one person might consider heavy weight; another might consider light. Even though there are certain rep ranges to work with, take into consideration the weights used as well as what you can do with those weights. Look for the small weekly or monthly wins you are having. Be proud of yourself. We get to work out, not everyone does. I try my best to practice an attitude of gratitude and preach the same for clients. You are working hard toward making yourself stronger and improving YOU with each workout. I try to remember not to compare out. Comparison is the thief of joy for me.
Keep a log of your weights you lift. Pat yourself on the back when you see change. Be proud of your self-care and getting stronger.
Practice a daily gratitude journal for 30 days.
Ask yourself mindful questions in the morning like - "Will I practice something for my health and fitness goals today?
Tip 4- Increase protein intake
This in part helps control hunger, which plays a role in attempts to tone. According to Harvard Health, an easy equation to follow would be 0.8 times your body weight to determine how many grams of protein.
Quick ways to increase -
Add in a protein shake post workout. Personally, we use Dotfit.
Yogurt drink or 1 serving of Greek Yogurt
Eggs
Protein Bar
Jerky with low sodium
Rolled up lean meat with veggie and or low-fat cheese inside
Tip 5- Focus on multiple muscles rather than only one
For example, opting for a squat and bicep curl together. Instead of just a bicep curl. Full body routines involving all parts help create a bigger caloric need. Working more muscles together leads to a much bigger caloric deficit. This leads to fat loss assuming we keep our portions and types of food in control depending on BMR (basil metabolic rate).