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Man building muscle by lifting weights in the gym.

How to Build Muscle

Building muscle has many benefits: it offers joint support, boosts your metabolism,F strengthens bones, and regulates blood sugar. Looking great in a swimsuit doesn’t hurt, either! If you’re just starting out with strength exercises, you might be wondering what steps you can take to ensure that you’re building muscle as efficiently as you can. By adopting healthy habits along with incorporating the right supplements into your routine, you can enhance your health and achieve your exercise goals.

1. Include Both Compound and Isolation Movements in Your Exercise Routine

Muscle building is specific to the muscles being worked in any given exercise. For that reason, it may be tempting to stick to working the muscles you want to bulk up.

Working one specific group of muscles (such as bicep curls, for instance) is referred to as isolation movement, and it’s a great way to target muscle development. However, for the best long-term results, you’ll want to also incorporate compound movements into your workout routine, which work multiple muscle groups at the same time (for example, squats engage your core, quads, hamstrings, calves, and glutes all at once).

2. Keep Challenging Yourself with More Weight

If you want to quickly build muscle, it’s important to ensure that you’re lifting weights that are challenging, and that you maintain that challenge by increasing the weight as your strength increases. Select a weight that exhausts your muscles after about 8-12 reps and perform each set of reps three to six times per workout for best results.

3. Eat More! (Especially Protein)

Food is fuel for your workouts! As you burn more calories through regular exercise, it’s crucial to eat enough to maintain your strength. Protein is particularly significant, as it forms the building blocks for muscle growth. Meats like chicken and fish are great sources of protein. For meat-free proteins, consider eggs, nuts and seeds, and beans and lentils. You can also use protein-based supplements for that added boost you need.

4. Have a Pre-Workout Drink

Hydration is key to a healthy body, and it’s especially important when you’re exercising hard. Water is always a good choice, but for something that offers even more benefits, consider incorporating pre-workout powders. They come in a variety of flavours and can be mixed into fantastic (and tasty!) shakes that will offer you a whole slew of extra nutrients to fuel your workout.

5. Don’t Skip Rest Days

When you’re determined to build muscle, it can be tempting to skip rest days and work yourself too hard. Unfortunately, this is both counterproductive to your goals and dangerous to your health. Without time between tough workouts, your muscles don’t have time to recover and grow.

6. Pay Attention to Good Form

Proper form is essential because it helps you avoid potentially serious injury. Learn how to perform exercises the safe manner and you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goals.

7. Get Enough Sleep

Don’t underestimate the value of a good night’s rest. Sleep is prime time for muscle repair. You’ll also be much more willing to head to the gym if you’re not already exhausted. Aim to get at least 6 hours per night, but 8-9 hours is optimal for peak performance.

Boost Strength, Endurance, and More at SupplementSource.ca

While there are plenty of muscle-building tips out there, one of the best recommendations is to incorporate supplements into your routine, since they can give you that extra boost you need to accomplish your goals. At SupplementSource.ca, we have a vast collection of incredible supplements designed to help you build muscle, along with increasing your strength and endurance. Our supplements are trusted and used by professional trainers, bodybuilders and social media influencers, so you can rest assured that you’re getting the best of the best. Browse our wide selection and start enhancing your workouts today!

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