Manufacture Muscle

Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I would like to discuss the importance of maintaining your focus while trying to achieve your fitness goals…especially for those of you whose goals are to increase your lean muscle mass.  Of course many people have different fitness goals, but usually they revolve around, one way or another, the same concept, gaining more muscle mass.  Increasing your muscle mass is the ultimate goal for those who are trying to get leaner, trying to get stronger, trying to improve athletic performance and even those trying to “lose weight”.  Unfortunately, increasing muscle mass isn’t easy to do.  However, with a proper diet, hard work, and a focused training regiment, it can be obtained.

Colleen was a gym client who had an athletic build and had come to the gym to meet her primary goal of getting leaner.  Her regular training routines consisted of cardio work with some weight training when she worked in a small group with a personal trainer.  Occasionally I would fill in for her trainer, and she would freak out when I tried to have her do either assisted pull-ups or lat pull-downs.  She claimed that when she did these exercises she would immediately get too much muscle in her upper back causing here to then not fit into her close and would be unhappy with the way she would look.  While I found the suddenness to be slightly ridiculous, I would have her to continue to exercise by doing some other exercises since I wasn’t her regular trainer.  But I would try to explain to her, and many other female clients who were against weight training because they were afraid that they would look too muscular, that building muscle wasn’t that easy, and she shouldn’t be afraid to lift weights.

Much to the dismay of most people in the gym, it takes a tremendous amount of effort to manufacture muscle.  Take a look at the people in the gym who have noticeable muscle mass and notice how hard they are working.  Also, think about all of the stores that sell supplements in order to help people gain muscle.  It’s difficult, and doesn’t take one or two workouts.  In order to manufacture muscle, you need to train specifically for it, as well as adhere to a strict diet specifically designed for those changes as well. 

With some clients I use the analogy of the Empire State Building.  I explain that in order for And don’t forget you need the material as well.  The Empire State Building couldn’t be built with a deck of cards, or toothpicks.  It took steel, iron, and stone.  Similarly, when you are trying to build muscle, you need to diet appropriately.  Building muscle requires you to consume the correct number of calories, and from the proper food sources.  Often times you will even need to supplement your normal diet with things like protein shakes.  Because again, building muscle doesn’t happen easily.

one of the worlds, most famous skyscrapers to be built, it needed exact blue prints and lots of material.  When training to improve muscle mass, you need to follow a specific training protocol.  This means you need to exercise the proper number of times a week, with the appropriate exercises, using adequate sets, weights and repetitions.  Using a knowledgeable personal trainer can help you with a plan for this.  Furthermore with each single rep, you have to focus your intention on building muscle.  With every movement, there are a number of muscles working, including supportive muscles.  So when you are working on building a specific muscle, you need to focus on that muscle growing during that specific exercise, each individual rep.

Muscle can be manufactured if you focus your training and diet.  Increasing muscle mass will help you become leaner, stronger, and perform better athletically.  Weight training shouldn’t be feared by anyone, and isn’t just for those people looking to get “bigger”.  Athletes will certainly benefit from the strength gains that come along with weight training.  And, even people who are trying to “lose” weight will do so by weight training, as the muscle mass gained will actually slim you down as muscle tissue is denser than fat.  But it takes a plan and focus.  Using a training program as your blue print, the proper diet for the material, and the focus on each rep and meal will get to that stronger, leaner fit new you!