How To Increase Muscle Definition
The process of gaining muscle seems simple – heft enough dumbbells in the gym, chug a good amount of protein shakes, take plenty of rest and you will eventually get brawny. The problem is that you may notice some improvement in your physique after hitting the gym for a few weeks and staying disciplined with your diet, but you will have to do much more to get that seriously chiseled physique. You know you’re not there until you have those washboard abs with the muscle fibers of your forearms and heads of your deltoids showing from your t-shirt. In order to increase muscle definition, you need to work hard in the gym and learn how to lower body fat percentage.
More About Muscle Definition
Muscle definition is the right combination of properly developed muscles and a very low body fat percentage. If you find a way to continue gaining muscle while losing body fat, you will notice your muscle definition increase quickly. Understand that simply having muscle is not going to cut it, especially if your body fat percentage is around 15%. When your focus is only on increasing mass and not gaining muscle definition, you will not be able to distinguish your deltoids from your traps. You need to be lean and have your body fat percentage between 8% and 12% to actually look shredded.
While you can try so many techniques and methods to help lower fat and gain muscle, the following tips will go a long way in improving your muscle definition.
Know The Right Way To Do Your Cardio
Cardio is an effective way of losing excess weight. It helps to shed extra pounds of fat from your body. While you don’t have to engage in distance running, you will still have to spend time on conditioning workouts. Bear in mind, you should never go overboard with the idea of doing cardio to lose fat quickly. That’s not how things work and you will actually start losing muscle mass.
The recommended duration of cardio is around 30 minutes a day, not exceeding a total of between 150 to 200 minutes per week. Select the right cardiovascular workout. There are various types, including jogging, swimming and bike riding (or even assault bike riding). Not only do they help in losing fat, but have many other health benefits too.
Stick To The Right Intensity
Once your body gets used to with cardio workouts, it’s time to increase their intensity. Intense cardio exercises help burn fats faster and more effectively as compared to mild workouts. It also enhances your metabolic rate which further assists in the rapid killing of body fat.
Eat The Right Stuff
In the journey of weight loss, your body not only needs exercise but it also a balanced diet. You have to watch what you eat and instead of focusing on stuffing your body with the desired number of calories, you must pay attention to your food choices. Your body requires all the essential nutrients to stay healthy and active. It is recommended to increase the intake of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein while cutting down fats and white carbs. Also, switch to low-fat products and avoid full-fat milk and other dairy products.
Start Slow
If you are a newbie in the gym start with little warm-up exercises for few minutes then move on to beginner level cardio exercises and weight training. Once you master the basic skills. Opt for intense workouts and various weight lifting postures. Toning particular muscles is a good idea when you have shed a good amount of fat.
Work With A Partner
A partner during weight training is immense support. They may help you as a stand by for supporting your muscles for lifting weights, especially above your shoulders and over your head. When toning a muscle group, you may have to engage in isolation work, which is when lifting heavy weight can become a serious task. With a partner around, you will be in a much better position to target a specific muscle while staying safe.
Keep Modifying Your Workout Regime
Following the same workout regime for longer durations is boring. Furthermore, the attainment pace of your goals slows down with a monotonous routine. Modifying and changing your exercise routine every now and then helps maintain your concentration and assist in faster weight loss and muscle building.
If your prime focus is gaining muscle mass then perform less aerobics and more weight training. Allocate half to one hour per week only for cardio exercises and utilize your energy in building body muscles.
If your prime goal is to shed weight and shape your body than focus more on cardio workouts like jumping, jogging, swimming, and cycling.
Isolate Your Weight Training With Cardio Exercises
While you are planning your workout regime it is essential to set your focal point and set yourself goals as there are different schedules of cardiovascular exercises and weight training for different purposes.
If your aim is to develop muscles and gain muscle mass then you should avoid excessive cardio. Cardiovascular exercises often drain your energy. It exhausts the body and leaves little margin for muscle repair.
It’s better to schedule different times and days for muscle training and cardio workouts. If you are working on strength training 3 days a week, limit your cardio workouts for two different days a week. Save your energy for weight training and utilize little in cardio workouts.
In case you cannot schedule cardio exercise and weight training on isolated days focus on the one which matters most for your goals. Always save ample energy for weight training and spare little on cardio. Focus on different body parts in different sessions. If you are targeting your lower abdomen and legs muscles in weight training than perform cardio that involves more of upper body muscles than lower muscles. Cycling is certainly a bad idea on that day.
Keep that in mind that you cannot focus on muscle building if your body is tired and exhausted so plan your workouts wisely.
Common Mistakes In Muscle Definition
While you can make certain changes to your workout routine and follow tips to improve muscle definition, there are many common mistakes can sabotage your gains. These are some of the mistakes that hinder the development of strong defined muscles and should be avoided.
First Mistake – Multiple Reps
Losing healthy muscles is one of the worst outcomes of weight loss journey. If you don’t want to turn in to a skinny figure with lean muscles than avoid exhausting your body with multiple reps. Focus more on weight training and strength workouts than on high reps so that you can retain your muscle mass a develop them into stronger well-defined muscles.
Second Mistake – Low Carb Diet
Your diet plays a crucial role in your losing or gaining muscle mass. The key to weight loss is to eat less and burn more. This means your total intake of calories should be less than the calories you burn each day during your workout.
Most people opt for low carb or zero carb diets for significant weight loss in a short time span. They increase their intake of proteins and decrease the consumption of carbohydrates but this diet is not ideal for healthy weight loss. Carbs are essential for developing muscle mass and absence of carbs in your diet will end up as lean muscles.
Taking a healthy and well-balanced diet while maintaining the caloric deficit is the key to develop a strong well-defined muscle. Your body needs a balance of carbs, proteins, and fats to stay strong and beautiful.
Third Mistake – Excessive Cardio
Cardio workouts are ideal for losing weight faster but excessive cardio workouts along with maintaining caloric deficit will make your body weak. Losing weight at a very fast pace is not beneficial for the body and often result in weakened muscles. You are more likely to lose your muscle mass than body fat with excessive cardio exercises. It’s better to limit your cardio workouts and pair it with weight training for burning desired calories. Don’t exhaust your body instead focus on enhancing its strength.
Conclusion
The fact of the matter is that when you spend enough time in the gym and eat clean, you’re going to gain muscle. Depending on your calorie intake, you may end up gaining fat along with gaining muscle and that’s when you have to start thinking about changing your routine to get shredded. You will have to lose fat but do it in a sensible way so you don’t end up losing the muscle you’ve gained. Just keep the above-mentioned tips in mind and avoid certain mistakes to help increase muscle definition.
Comments