The difficulties faced in the process lead to a search for knowledge about how to get muscular, which is extremely positive.
This search for information, however, can become a search for shortcuts, which is not recommended at all. One of the most commonly used shortcuts is anabolic steroids, popularly known as “pumps”.
These products for muscle mass, however, carry a number of health risks. The real question, therefore, is one: how to get muscular without taking a pump?
How to get Muscular?
Getting muscular without the help of a pump is not impossible. In fact, it is the natural and healthiest way to gain muscle mass: by gradually adapting your body through proper nutrition and training at increasing intensity.
Gaining muscle mass is a process of adaptation. It is, therefore, necessary to put your body in a situation where gaining muscle mass is both necessary (through strength training) and possible (through nutrition).
Many factors regulate the level and speed of muscle mass gain, and many of them can be controlled naturally.
In this article, these factors will be covered briefly: training, diet, supplements, hormones, and determination. One last factor, however, will also be considered: the genetic factor, which unfortunately is impossible to change.
The Training
Muscle mass gain is only possible through the hypertrophy of the muscle cells, a process that is only stimulated by intense muscle effort.
Thus, there is no way to get muscular without training. To be able to gain muscle mass without a pump, however, training must be done in the right way to achieve maximum efficiency.
For training to have maximum efficiency, it must be planned and, above all, increasing. Gaining muscle mass is a process of body adaptation, your muscles will only keep growing if you keep challenging them.
There is therefore no single ideal workout: it is about using training as a way to keep your muscles challenged. Therefore, periodically increase the weights and repetitions to avoid stagnation.
Training should also be short and intense. The latest research shows that concentrated effort leads to greater muscle mass gain than long, light workouts. In addition, the training should be varied in two ways: first, do not train only one muscle group.
Besides creating a disproportionate body, training only one muscle group slows down the growth of muscle mass.
The second meaning of this variation is simply to change the training from time to time. Change the order, increase the repetitions, decrease the rest time.
Changing the workout, even without necessarily increasing the load, is a way of challenging your muscles – making them tackle something they are not used to.
The Diet
Encouraging the cells to perform hypertrophy, however, is not everything: the body must be able to respond to the stimulus to increase muscle mass.
This will only be possible if the body has the necessary energy and nutrients, so there is no way to get muscular without following a diet that is ideal for this.
First of all, gaining muscle mass requires a favorable caloric balance. Muscle growth requires a lot of energy expenditure, as does maintain existing muscles.
So unless weight loss is the most important point, a person looking to gain muscle mass should increase his or her daily calorie intake.
If this is not done, the energy consumed will be spent in training and there will be no way to get muscular. For thin people, the danger is even greater: with little fat to burn, the body can take energy from the muscle mass, causing it to be lost.
As for the nutrients needed for muscle mass growth, there is no way to mention another one first: protein is not absolutely essential. The human body is built by protein, and muscles are no exception.
It is essential that the body is supplied with a sufficient load of protein, usually something around 2g of protein for every kilogram of body mass, but your nutritionist can give a more precise indication of this amount.
In addition, it is important that the body is never deprived of the nutrients it needs. This means that for those who are looking to gain muscle mass, it is imperative to eat frequently during the day, with the old rule of eating every 3 hours.
The Supplements
Food is, however, only one of the ways to provide the body with what is needed to grow muscle mass.
Every way to get muscular quickly usually involves some kind of supplementation: that is, the use of safe substances that provide the body with favorable conditions for the growth of muscle mass.
The most commonly used, and also the most necessary, supplements are those that provide adequate levels of protein in the daily diet. Whey Protein, as well as others such as Casein, Albumin, and Creatine, are especially suitable for this purpose. Consuming them in the correct amount throughout the day is an important step toward gaining muscle mass.
Carbohydrate supplementation can also be of great help. Maintaining adequate levels of carbohydrates prevents the body from needing to burn protein for energy, which helps keep the protein level high enough.
The Hormones
Apart from training and diet, the development of our body is controlled by our hormones. It is the hormones that regulate, in each person, the most varied body mechanisms.
Metabolism and growth are regulated by a series of hormones, so there is no way to become muscular without good control of their levels in our body.
For muscle growth itself, the hormone most taken into consideration is testosterone. It is on testosterone levels that anabolic steroids work, directly raising them.
Testosterone is directly related to the speed of muscle growth, so it is extremely interesting to keep the levels of this hormone high. One of the best testosterone boosters is TESTOGEN.
Another very important hormone is HGH, the growth hormone. This hormone is also directly related to muscle mass gain, so keeping its levels adequate is an extremely important factor.
Besides these hormones, one can also mention insulin (which regulates fat accumulation), thyroid hormones (which influence the speed of metabolism), and the very dangerous cortisol (which encourages fat accumulation and causes loss of muscle mass).
Testosterone levels are stimulated by training itself and stimulated even more by intense training.
Furthermore, diet can be handled very well: consuming foods rich in zinc and healthy fats (such as eggs and fish) is a sure way to provide your body with the means for a higher level of testosterone.
HGH, in turn, is also stimulated by workouts, but especially by adequate rest. As with other hormones, the proper daily amount of sleep is important for HGH levels.
Insulin and its dangerous incentive to accumulate fat can be countered with a highly recommended dietary change: reducing sugar consumption. As you consume less sugar, your body will produce less insulin and the harmful effects will be avoided.
In addition, you can ensure that your thyroid is working sufficiently by consuming plenty of whole grains and fruits, as well as foods with vitamin D and iodine.
Cortisol, a curse for everyone seeking to gain muscle mass, is mainly influenced by stress levels. Reducing stress is therefore not only a quality of life issue: for anyone looking to gain muscle mass, it is an indispensable step.
The Determination
Of all the factors, this is the most subjective, but often the most important. There is no way to get muscular in a magic trick, so it is slow and continuous progress.
So it is not a process that will be completed without determination: the goals often take time to be reached, and the effort needs to be maintained even without immediate reward.
The Genetic Factor
Not all factors can be controlled, however. Genetic fitness determines a person’s ease or difficulty in gaining muscle mass, as well as many other bodily aspects.
There are people who with little effort will have the body they desire, while others will need a lot of effort to only slowly approach their goal.
The important thing at this point is to keep two things in mind. First, that there is a way to get muscular even if you have an adverse genetic pattern, as well as without taking a pump. This is one more difficulty to overcome, but nothing more than that.
Secondly, however, one must learn to respect one’s own body. The gain of muscle mass should be taken as a way to improve our body, and this can only be done by respecting the very nature of this body.
Genetic limitations are part of this nature, and respecting them does not mean giving up: it means seeking the greatest physical and psychological well-being: the primary goal of every athlete.
