If you are new to muscle building and don’t know anything about it, you are at the right place.

Keep reading until the end to learn everything about muscle building as a beginner.

How Muscle Growth Works

First, let’s have a look at muscle structure.

A.  Ultra Structure of Muscle

Our muscles consist of muscle fibres. If muscle fibres grow, the muscle grows. And if muscle fibres contract, the entire muscle contracts.

The muscle fibres contain actin and myosin filaments. These filaments form a meshwork with each other.

Actin filaments have a head and a tail. When a signal for contraction reaches actin uses ATP, slides forward, and attaches to myosin. This process continues as a sewing machine. As a result, the whole unit of muscle shortens.

This explanation of how muscle fibres contract is “Sliding Filament Theory.”

B.  Features Of Muscle Fiber

Muscle fibres can grow. They increase in size and also in numbers! The earlier in age you start building muscles, the better. As in younger bodybuilders, new muscle fibres grow fast.

“Hypertrophy” is the ability of muscles to grow in size.

“Hyperplasia” is the ability of muscles to grow in number.

“ Muscle atrophy” is the ability of muscle fibres to degenerate.

Consistency

Consistency is essential in building muscles. Muscle atrophy if they remain inactive for a more extended period. It would help if you kept them in action.

To maintain and build new muscles, you have to be consistent.

Consistency Vs. Perfection

Bodybuilding requires consistency, not perfection.

Yes, it’s good to strive for better results. But in the long term, consistency wins.

 It would be best if you stuck with your training plan.

Don’t strive for perfection as a beginner. Many things will come easy to you once you give them enough time.

Patience.. 

Do you want to leap straight in? Try the Beginners Guide to Body Building.

Nutrition

You might have heard a saying, “You train muscles at the gym, but you gain muscles in the kitchen.”

Make sure you get enough proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

 You can get vital nutrients from various veggies, fresh fruits, red meat, fish, eggs, nut, and beans.

Let me be crystal clear here: You need to get a SURPLUS of calories if you want to GAIN muscles.

You can’t keep working out and neglect a proper diet.

Make sure you take calories from all the macros, including protein, carbohydrates, and fats.

Protein

Proteins make your muscles. Getting protein has to be your top priority.

 Two grams of protein per kilo of body weight is optimum for muscle growth. The best practice is to not take all the protein at once. Instead, space your protein-rich meals four times a day a few hours apart.

Carbohydrates        

5-6 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight is best for muscle building. Take carbohydrates from a variety of sources.

Fat

Fats are excellent and essential for a healthy body, especially when lifting weights.

Fats contain EPA and DHA, which help your vision, heart, and brain function.

Keep in mind there are good as well as bad fats. Good fats contain polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fatty acids. You can get good fats from oily fish, salmon, tuna, cod liver oil, etc.!

Never take fat before the workout.

It slows down digestion and hinders the amino acids and sugars from reaching your muscles during a workout.

Fat should make up 25% of your total calorie intake daily.

Water

Water is one not of the macronutrients, but it’s still essential!

 You should drink 7-8 glasses of water daily as an adult.

But as a bodybuilder, you need more of it! Consider increasing your water intake up to a gallon as you begin bodybuilding.

Water clears toxins from your body and helps in metabolism. It is good for your brain and t00 good for your muscle building. Not just that, water has a dozen more health benefits.

 

Sleep

If you work very hard at the gym but aren’t getting enough sleep, guess what? You won’t build the muscles you want to!

For a bulkier physique, you must be getting enough sleep.

Because sleep promotes muscle building in your body, a hormone named Growth Hormone (GH) is responsible for building muscles. And GH works when you are sleeping.

Ideally, 7-9 hours of sleep each night is essential for proper recovery and muscle growth

Supplements

As a beginner, you need to know about supplements.

They can be beneficial for you in bodybuilding.

You have to choose the right supplement that works for you.

Below are some of the most popular supplements you should know about.

Creatine

It is scientifically proven that creatine helps. It can help in muscle gain, power gain, and strength building. It makes your muscle look bulkier. And is quite effective as a pre-workout supplement, but should you try it? I would recommend a YES! Because it can help a lot in building muscles.

How does creatine work?

There are many mechanisms by which creatine works in muscle growth.

One of which is that all of the creatine is stored in muscles. The second is that forces use energy in the form of creatine. The third is that creatine increases osmotic pressure. So that more water is retained in muscles. Fourth is that it sends signals which induce new protein synthesis!

You can get creatine from foods.

Like: tuna, chicken breast, salmon, milk, cranberries, sausage, hot dog, and many more!

 Magnesium

Magnesium works in lots of metabolic pathways. Magnesium plays a crucial role in protein, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism.

 Magnesium regulates muscle contraction.

And it makes you sleep better. Magnesium has a positive impact on cognitive functions. It can enhance mood and relieve anxiety symptoms.

I would recommend including magnesium in your supplements as it has many benefits for the body and muscles.

Calcium

Calcium is necessary for your muscles to contract.

It’s good for your heart, bones, brain, and athletic performance.

Calcium helps in neuronal transmission.

Make sure you get enough vitamin D along with calcium.

Don’t take calcium and magnesium together at the same time. Instead, you should give space of at least four hours between them.

Training

As a beginner, you can be impatient, and you may try to lift heavy weights without a proper warm-up, stretching, or adequate form. That’s a mistake, and you should avoid it.

Warm-up and Stretch Your Body

It would help if you got the blood flowing through your body before starting your training.

 And that is why we do warm-ups.

According to the National Institute of Health, warm-up reduces your risk of getting an injury

I’m giving you some ideas for warm-up exercises below. Feel free to try some of them.

Proper Form

Proper form is crucial, and if I was a beginner like you, I’ll try my best to correct my form as much as possible.

To have an excellent proper form, you need someone to check your movements when performing exercises.

 For this purpose, you can hire a trainer.

 Or you can ask your friend to see if your form is perfect.

 Or you can perform the exercise in front of a mirror to see yourself as you complete each rep.

Quality or Quantity

As you start bodybuilding, focus on quality rather than quantity.

It’s not a race.

Each rep counts.

You need to go slow and perform proper movements.

 Your negative rep also matters.

What’s the negative rep?

You lift a dumbbell and your muscle contracts; that’s a positive rep. As you release the contraction, your hand goes back to its original position. Your muscle relaxes; that’s a negative rep.

Make sure you go slow during negative rep as it will improve the quality of your exercise.

Again proper form is essential. Make damn sure your condition is perfect. Otherwise, you’ll keep tiring yourself without getting any results.

DOMS

DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness is something that you’ll experience. Soon after your first training session. It’s a severe pain in your muscles in which it feels like you are unable to move your joints. You feel you can’t contract your muscles.

It may sound scary, but NOTHING to fear about it. It’s an overall experience. And even athletes experience it when they continue to work out after a long period of rest.

Why does DOMS occur? There are many reasons. Some are lactic acid accumulation, connective tissue damage, and enzyme efflux.

Is DOMS dangerous? No.

How to cure DOMS? The best cure is getting into the gym and getting the blood moving in your body. You can do lighter exercises during the DOMS period.

You can also try massaging sore muscles with warm oil.

How long does DOMS stay? It can stay from three days to a week. But generally, you’ll feel all okay after a week.

Recovery

After a strenuous period of exercise, your muscles need time to recover. Your muscles need to rest to regenerate and grow stronger.

Getting enough sleep and a proper diet will help you to recover fast.

So, are you ready to get started?