Four Ways To Gain Muscle

Most people who start hitting the gym on a regular basis want to add some lean, sculpted muscle to their physique. Adding muscle isn't always an easy thing to do though. You may find that your genetics make it more difficult to pack on the muscle as fast as some of your peers seem to be able to do. Does this mean that you should give up on the idea of being more muscular? Of course not! You just need to find some ways to jumpstart your body into adding that muscle to your frame. Here are four things that you can do to get started.

Increase the Weight in Your Workouts

If you want to pack on the lean muscle, you have to be willing to put in the time with the weights. While you might believe that you are working out to your full capacity right now, some things might be holding you back. If you don't have a workout partner, it is difficult to push yourself to the limit of your strength in the gym. Find someone you trust who wants to work out with you so they will be able to spot you properly.
Once they know how to spot, increase your weight beyond your normal limit without a spotter. Don't increase it dramatically, just by a few pounds. This little bit of extra weight can bring you some impressive gains.

Split Your Workout

If you have the time, consider splitting your workout. Do a workout in the morning that focuses on one part of the muscle group that you want to tackle for the day, and then do a workout in the evening that focuses on the other part. For example, you can have a morning workout where you dedicate your exercises to the quadriceps. In the evening, you can focus on the hamstrings and the calf muscles. This lets you focus more energy on a muscle in each workout.
You don't want to do these split routines all the time, but throwing them occasionally can stimulate some new muscle growth in the body.

Eat More Food

Are you eating enough? If you are putting your body through its paces in the gym and then you have a regular full day of work, you need to make sure that you are getting enough calories. When you are working out hard to put on weight, the normal caloric intake for a person of your size simply isn't going to be enough to repair your body and facilitate growth. Eat more, but keep the food healthy.

Get Plenty of Rest

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when they are working out – whether they are trying to gain muscle or lose fat – is in not taking enough time to rest. Your muscles need time to heal and you need plenty of sleep. If you don't get enough sleep, your body will turn against itself. You will find that you start to burn out and you will not be able to focus enough in your workouts. Even hitting the hay can make muscles grow!