10 Things That Affect Muscle Gain

Building muscle and burning fat requires a serious devotion of time and tremendous efforts. I’m going to list 10 things that will affect your ability to burn fat and gain muscle.

1. Genetics:

Genetics plays a role in your body type and build. Parents pass on their genes to their children. That means, if parents are thin and have a small body structure, then their children will tend to have a similar build. Genetics however is not the final determinant in amount of muscle mass that you have or the amount of fat. Science is learning that genes can be turned on and off. Genes are affected by lifestyle, the environment, and the foods that we eat. If your entire family is overweight, YOU can CHOOSE to live a healthier life. You can potentially suppress genes that may cause you to gain excessive weight.

2. Metabolism:

Your metabolism can affect your body size as well. The metabolism is like a furnace that can effectively burn fat and calories. The metabolism can work for you and against you. If you do not exercise, eat, and rest properly your metabolism will work against you and slow down. A slow down in your metabolism will cause you to burn less fat and calories overall. This results in weight gain and the storage of excess fat.

If you are consistent with your exercise regimen, get proper rest daily, and eat a balanced diet full of fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins your metabolism will rev up and burn fat and calories. As long as your body burns more calories than you consume on a daily basis you will loose weight if you need to. If you are trying to build muscle then your body will burn fat and not eat away at precious lean muscle.

3. Universal Exercise Program For Weight:

There is no one size fits all exercise program. Everyone is different and each individual’s circumstances are unique and distinct. The best thing that you can do is select a program and monitor your results. You may need to tweak the program so that you achieve your desired results.

4. Sleep:

If increasing your muscle is your main goal then you will need to ensure that you get proper amounts of rest. Resting after intense exercise is important for muscle growth. Getting a good night’s sleep is essential too. During a workout your muscles are being stretched and torn. You are basically breaking them down. Your muscles grow when your body is at rest. While at rest your body repairs the stretched and torn muscles, making the bigger and better than ever!

5. Compound Exercise Benefits:

A compound exercise is an exercise with several muscle movements. This type of exercise can be more advantageous when compared to isolation exercises. Isolation exercises concentrate on one particular muscle group. One benefit of compound exercises is that hormones responsible for muscle development are produced from the stress caused by compound exercises.

6. Free Weight Benefits:

Free weights are beneficial because they force several muscles to work together to lift and lower the weight during a rep. When using free weights stabilizing muscles are utilized when performing movements, and may be effective in producing over all muscle gains. Free weight exercises also closely mimic movements needed in various sports.

7. Intensity:

Intensity is important for gaining muscle mass. During your workouts you should be increasing the intensity gradually. This will help you to excite the muscle fiber and aid in good muscular development. You may want to introduce “muscle confusion” into your workouts. Muscle confusion is a training method that involves consistently mixing up your workouts, so that your muscle don’t become accustomed to the same routine.

8. Keep Workout Sessions Short:

There is no need for extremely long workout sessions. The catabolic hormone is responsible for breaking down muscle fibers, repairing them, and rebuilding. If training sessions are long then the catabolic hormones will continue to break down muscle fibers instead of repairing them. Your workouts should last no more than 60 minutes.

9. Aerobics:

Aerobics will help you to burn fat. It will also help you raise your heart rate, get oxygen flowing through the body, and get your blood circulating. However, aerobics alone will not be as effective as aerobics, weight training, and a proper diet.

10. Diet:

To develop strong muscles, eating is essential. You must eat at least 4 - 6 times per day in small quantities. A good rule of thumb is to eat just enough to feel satisfied, but not full. Also spread your meals out evenly eating every 2.5 hours. This will help your food to digest properly and keep your metabolism revved up and burning calories all day long.

So there you have it 10 things you can start doing right now to burn fat and increase your muscle mass. To learn more and get free eBooks on weight loss, sculpting your abs, and burning fat go to YouCanLoseWeightThisWeek.com