Build Muscle
Build Muscle – welcome to our short, introductory guide on the building blocks of muscle building and increasing strength.
If you’re like many people, myself included, you have a hard time building muscle. You’ve tried every supplement and muscle–building workout routine that promised big, fast gains, but you’re still just as scrawny as the day you decided to start to build muscle.
Don’t worry. You’re not alone. To Build muscle is hard, and
it’s something many people struggle with.
There are a few reasons why it’s so hard to build muscle. The first thing that most people do wrong is approach it with the wrong mindset. To put things shortly, in order to build muscle like you want, you need to create a muscle–building lifestyle and really get your head in the game. At that point, muscle-building becomes something more than what you do when you go to the gym.
The other reasons people have a hard time building muscle is that they don’t have the right diet and they’re not doing the right exercises.
What you put into your body will have a huge impact on what your body is able to do, which is why diet is such a vital part to build muscle. The right exercises, on the other hand, will properly impact the muscles in such a way that they will gain like you want them to.
The good news is that even if you have no muscle at all right now, you can gain the muscle you want by starting your foundation off with the advice found in this very book, then moving onto more advanced theory and programs depending on your individual goals.
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know to get started with muscle building so you can finally have the muscles and body that you want. If you’re willing to put in the work, anything is possible!
Let’s dive in…
Build Muscle – My Current Situation
The first thing you want to do before starting any type of exercise routine is an evaluation of your current physical state. While there is quite a bit of self–assessment that will go into this, you should also pay a visit to your doctor before you start on your muscle–building journey.
Why Visit the Doctor?
Visiting your doctor for a health assessment before starting a new exercise routine is important for a couple of reasons.
First and foremost, your doctor will be able to tell you if you physically capable of doing what you are setting out to do. There are some medical conditions that may require you to do modified strength–training exercises and your doctor can help direct you in this.
The other reason you’ll want to check with your doctor before you begin is if you are planning on taking any supplements. While the vast majority of protein supplements are perfectly safe, there are some types of supplements that could interfere with medication or medical conditions, so you’ll want to double check with your doctor before starting any supplements.
Build Muscle – Self–Evaluation Checklist
As you get ready to start building muscle, you’ll need to self–evaluate your physical state. This will help you know how far you’ve come when you re–evaluate every week or month. Without this baseline, it would be hard to know if you’ve actually gotten bigger muscles or improved your muscle–to–fat ratio, so be sure to get as accurate of numbers as possible.
Here is a checklist of everything you will want to get for a baseline before you begin:
- Body weight
- Body fat percentage
- Biceps measurement
- Triceps measurement
- Quadriceps measurement
- Calves measurement
- Waist measurement
- Chest measurement
- Bust measurement (for women only)
- Neck measurement
- Number of push-ups done
- Number of crunches done
- 1RM for every exercise
1RM stands for one repetition maximum. This refers to the maximum amount of weight that you are able to lift with just one lift. Because lifting the maximum amount is dangerous, you should instead calculate your 1RM by doing several repetitions with a weight you’re more comfortable with, then use an online
calculator to find out this number.
Be sure to keep the list of these measurements somewhere that you can refer to often as you re–evaluate to make sure that you’re on track with your goals. It will also help to keep these handy when you are setting goals for yourself, so you know how high to set the bar for yourself based on where you are now.
Now that we’ve set a path to build muscle and assessed our current situation the next thing to get in order is our mind…or mindset to be a bit more precise, which is what we will cover in the next part.