With the COVID-19 pandemic coming close to an end as vaccines begins their introduction throughout Canada, many of those who have been dormant the past 9 months are now looking to get back into working out and strengthening their bodies. From ex-athletes to office workers to teens, body building is a sport that not only enhances your body structure, but also keeps your system healthy and lessens the risk of diseases.
To save time, money, and mental energy, there are 7 golden hacks to follow that will help Canadians build muscle faster than competition.
1. Defining Your Personal Fitness Goals
It is important to set SMART goals when it comes to fitness. Specific, measurable, assignable, relevant, and timely. Aim high, but make sure your goals are humanly achievable. If you create goals that are unattainable you are setting yourself up for failure and disappointment, which could lead to boredom and burnouts. On the other hand, don’t sell yourself short, or you’ll get as equally bored.
Without goals, you might end up spending more on equipment than those you actually need. It’s fun to build your own “gym” with all the top-rated equipment, but if you aren’t utilizing them properly it could be a huge letdown.
By defining your personal goals, you know what to aim for, how much time you have to get there, and the exact steps and supplements to take.
2. Warm Up Before Your Exercises
To prevent your body from harm, make sure to warm up before beginning your work out. Make this mandatory every time you hit the gym. Regardless if you’re doing high reps with easy weights or low reps with heavy weights, it’s important to warm up your muscles to prevent strains or injuries. Begin by doing 5-10 minutes of light cardio on a treadmill or bike. Then before each exercise, warm up to 1-2 sets of 10-12 reps of approximately 30% of the weight you usually use.
3. Eat a Healthy Diet
Likely the most important hack in body building, eating a clean diet alone will go a long way to building muscles fast. Before beginning a cycle, consider consulting a licensed dietician. Look out for local or online seminars on diet and nutrition. Understand everything you can about a clean diet and develop a plan to stick to that diet.
Many bodybuilders believe that since they’re trying to build muscles, the most important thing is to eat as much as they can, regardless of the type of food. This is not true, as eating a dozen donuts with fries a day will only build fat instead of muscles. Thus, it is important to eat food filled with protein, such as chicken or eggs. Foods rich in vitamins and fibre is also important for the body’s wellbeing as well.
4. Mix-Up Your Workouts
Contrary to what our usual programmed mind opts for, it’s important to switch up your workouts and to avoid doing the same workout in a row. Keep shocking your muscles. Don’t let your body adapt to any set routine. There are countless ways on how you can alter your workout routine, even if it means interjecting a few new movements each time. Even the smallest changes can be all the difference.
Consider the use of different exercises, set and rep patterns, do things in a different order. This is good for your motivation as well.
5. Utilize Available Supplements
Supplement your diet with high quality protein. Also consider the use of high-quality anabolic steroids to beat out the competition. Compounds such as Winstrol and Testosterone are classic steroids often used to build muscles. Before you start, first consider the length of cycle and the stacks you will use. It is also important to plan for a PCT period where you let your body rest.
6. Hydration Is Key (Drink Lots of Water!)
Wherever you go, always carry sufficient quantity of water with you. On average, a body builder needs to drink 8 glasses or more water per day. While this can be substituted with juices or other soft drinks, water is the ultimate hydration vessel, as the former often contains unwater sugar and empty carbs.
Water helps to build muscle by transporting nutrients throughout the body and helping deal with your high protein diet by flushing the kidneys. Drinking water is also good for the body’s overall health as our bodies are made up of 70% water.
7. Take Sufficient Rests and Sleeps
Make sure you get adequate sleep and rest. While your muscles are strained and in the healing period, your mind should be at ease too. When training, you’re actually breaking down muscle tissues, allowing them to repair and become stronger as they rejuvenate. Therefore, letting them rest is critical to growth. Without adequate rest, you’re limiting your muscle growth potential.
Additionally, during your workouts, keep your rest intervals between sets at 45 seconds to a minute. This time interval will allow your muscles temporary rest while still keeping them fatigued.
The purpose of body building can differ between athletes. Some want to shape up their body, while others exercise for competitions and win awards. Whatever your goal is, consider the above 7 tips for achieving the most ideal results. Follow our blog for more updates on body building and anabolic steroids.
