Is It Possible To Build Muscle At Home?
Contrary to what some believe, the gym isn’t the only place you can build muscle. In fact, you can build muscle in different settings and in a lot of ways.
For many, the most convenient and efficient way to work out is at home. This begs the question: can you build muscle at home?
According to HomeFitnessBuilder.com, the answer to that is a resounding Yes! Today, we’ll discuss five ways you can do exactly that.
What To Keep In Mind Before Starting Your Program?
Starting that muscle-building journey at home requires devising a suitable program. Since muscle building is the goal, it’s important to focus on the following:
Calisthenics (Bodyweight Exercises)
Ideally, you want your home muscle-building program to include push-ups, pull-ups, squats, planks, and lunges using mostly your own body weight for convenience and efficiency.
Execution
It’s one thing to know what to do, but it’s another to know how to actually do it. Calisthenics may sound simple enough, but there is an art to performing these exercises that ensure you are targeting the right muscle groups and avoiding injury as much as possible.
Diet
A good workout can only take you so far. It has to be accompanied by a healthy and well-balanced diet to create the ideal outcome and really make a difference.
Here’s What You Need To Build Muscle At Home
What does a home muscle-building program typically revolve around? Here’s what you actually need to build muscle at home:
1. Upper Body Workouts
Programs are usually divided into days for working out the upper body and lower body. Generally, a good program would allocate two days each for the upper body muscles and lower body muscles.
Ideally, you don’t want to train the same muscle group two days in a row. Instead, alternate between different muscle groups, working out one group while the other rests.
Building the upper body means targeting the chest, back, and shoulder muscles. Exercises that would address these specific parts are pull-ups, push-ups, and dips in their different variations.
Depending on your fitness level and goal, you can do three or four sets of 12, 15, or 20 reps for each exercise. You may even do two or three of them back to back in what they call supersets or circuits.
To figure out what works for you, do your research or consult an actual trainer from your local gym. Your doctor is another professional you may want to consult before trying out an at-home fitness program.
2. Lower Body Workouts
As any seasoned fitness enthusiast would tell you, “don’t forget to work out your legs.” The legs are key to building muscle, to begin with, as they help naturally increase the levels of testosterone in the body.
If you didn’t already know what that means, it means more gains!
Start off leg day doing squats and lunges to really build those glutes and give the rest of your body the best foundation for building muscle.
Try squats and lunges in their different variations and build those legs in the best possible way.
3. Routine
Being “routine” about building muscle helps you become more consistent and less likely to miss workouts. It also establishes training as a must-do daily activity that you have no way around.
Once a muscle-building program is part of your routine, you tend to make time for it even when your mind and body say otherwise. And when you miss it for whatever reason, your day will be incomplete, and you will feel unfulfilled.
4. Diet
Workouts are just one part of building muscle; the other (most would say more important) part is diet. If you want to become more built, you’ll want to focus on your macros: protein, fat, and carbs.
Make sure to hit your required dailies of these macronutrients while also hitting your micronutrients or vitamins.
Having a healthy and well-balanced diet boosts muscle growth more than any workout does.
5. Rest Days
Muscle grows faster when it’s resting. Remember that when you’re working out, you’re actually “tearing” apart those muscles and rebuilding them, so they become bigger and stronger.
The “rebuilding” part takes place when the muscles are at rest. When all you do is tear and tear without giving your muscles time to recover, you will end up losing instead of gaining muscle.
Speaking of “rest days,” sleeping is vital to growing muscle. Make sure to get at least eight hours of sleep for optimal muscle recovery. Plus, you want to be physically and mentally fit for the next day’s session.
Conclusion
A muscle-building program that revolves around these five essential elements ensures consistency and results. Moreover, it makes the journey more straightforward for beginners and seasoned fitness enthusiasts alike.
Your journey doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t need an actual gym setup at home (though that would be great, too!). It only needs a program suited to your body type and goal.
