Why You Need Knowledge To Build Lean Muscle Mass

The other day a friend of mine told me a story about a guy at the gym. This guy always tried to train on instinct, and he never kept any records of his workouts. He would just train during each session until he felt like his body had had enough. Needless to say, this fellow wasn't making much progress in building muscle.

His philosophy was that you should listen to your body because this is the best indicator of your progress. Well, there's something to be said about listening to your body. It's important to know when you should back off from a weightlifting session because you're tendons are hurting. It's also good to listen to your body when you don't think you've recovered enough from the previous workout. In this case it would be better for you to listen to your body and not put too much strain on your system. There are also many other cases where your body can try to tell you something. For example, the digestive system may not like certain foods, and you can learn to avoid them by listening to your body's symptoms.

However, merely listening to your body is not enough if you plan to build muscle. Specifically, building large amounts of muscle requires that you gradually overload the muscles with more and more weight. It also requires a systematic eating plan and a solid recovery phase.

If you're serious about learning how to build muscle, here is your take home message. Don't just rely on your instinct entirely. Write down all of your stats. Know how much you're lifting during each session, and how long your workouts last. Know how much you're eating and how much sleep you're getting. You should be able to lift slightly more after each session, but if you can't then something is wrong. Always go back to your records to see what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong. If you're still not sure about the specifics of the weightlifting program, find yourself a good comprehensive guide.

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