4 Ways to Increase Your Gains at the Gym
If you are heading to the gym in with the goal of being able to make some serious gains, then you will want to not only look at simply lifting weights.
While putting yourself through crazy challenging workouts that break you down and make you feel like you’re at a breaking point is an important component of muscle-building fundamentals, it is not the only thing you should be focused on.
Building muscle and making gains in the gym is seriously tough. You can’t just pound out the repetitions and expect to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. In fact, there are things you need to focus on both inside the gym and when you are back at home that will let your workout truly pay off.
Did you know that after you workout in the gym and lift weights, there is a 24-hour window of important things that need to take place in order for your muscles to actually grow? So not only do you need to do the work in the gym but before and after the gym too.
We have gathered up the top tips for increasing your gains in the gym so you can get strong, look strong and feel strong.
1. Max Out Your Muscles
Muscle builds after it is broken down. This means that when you are getting after it in the gym, you should be maxing out your lifts. So rather than simply knocking out twenty reps of a lighter weight, try to really push yourself so that you can really break it down to build it back up.
But this also means lifting smartly. Do not try to max yourself out by going from zero to a hundred. Instead, slowly increase how much you can lift by smaller weight amounts. Also, you should definitely ensure that you have a spotter when attempting heavy lifting and also make sure your technique is perfect. The last thing you want to happen is to get injured from pushing yourself too much and then having to take a longer period of time off to heal.
2. Eat More Protein
Another very important component of making gains in the gym is by focusing on what you eat in the kitchen. Your muscles need protein to be able to grow and recover. So make sure you are eating protein-rich food to support this important step.
This also means timing your meals right in accordance with your gym efforts. This means that you want to ensure your body gets protein back into the system at least thirty minutes after your workout is complete. It also means that you should fuel up in advance of your workout too.
3. Recover, Recover, Recover
Making gains in the gym is largely attributed to the consistency you are able to get after it. This means that recovery efforts are super important so that you can continue to have quality workouts and continue to progress, get stronger and get fitter.
One great way to enhance your recovery is by wearing compression socks. They are able to help enhance your blood circulation so that your muscles can get the oxygen and red blood cells proportionately to the areas that need it most. Good circulation means good recovery for your body.
Another important way to recover is through the amount of sleep you are able to get. You should be just as consistent with your sleep routine as you are with your gym routine. Sleep allows your muscles and your brain to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to get after it the next day.
4. Balance Out the Workouts
You do not have to crank out the same workouts every day to see gains in the gym. In fact, doing so will only push you to the point of burnout. Instead, give some variety to your training and focus o something different every day. That means that you do not have to kill yourself in the gym daily. Instead, go all out two or three times a week and in between mix it up with cardio or bodyweight exercises.
Variety is also the key to ensuring that you do not overdo your training physically and injure yourself. So mix it up and make a workout out and make gains fun.
Conclusion
If you are wanting to make gains in the gym, then these four tips are a great place to start. It is important to keep in mind that each component is just as important as the next. So you need to eat clean and protein-rich foods just as much as you need to sleep, stretch and recover.
Working hard will pay off and you will love having a body you are proud of. So get after it in the gym and make sure you have fun while doing so too.