Whilst many people want to lose weight because they are fat or obese, some people have the reverse pattern -- seemingly no matter what they do, they cannot gain muscle mass. Often, such people feel that they are eating a lot but still not gaining any pounds. Before we discuss the killer tips, let's quickly examine why some people cannot gain any weight.
Let me tell you straight away that is has very little to do with metabolism. A slow metabolism is an often quoted excuse by overweight people. In reality, metabloic rates do not vary much from person to person unless someone has a serious medical condition. Both you and I derive similar amounts of energy from the same food. One person cannot be twice as effective at getting food from energy as his neighbor!
If you are having trouble gaining weight then you are either not eating enough or you are expending too many calories. Perhaps you walk really fast all the time. Perhaps you are taller than your peers. Perhaps you do more exercise than you think. You must take in more energy (through food) than you burn (through exercise and simply existing). If you do not, you will maintain or lose weight.
Secondly, let's assume that you satisfy the above condition. Now, there are two ways of gaining weight. Either your body fat increases and/or you gain muscle mass. Obviously, you do not want to become fat, especially if you have recently lost a lot of weight. These killer tips will show you how to ensure that you gain muscle mass and no or a little amount of fat.
Use free weights rather than machines. Because you can obtain a much wider range of motion and because free weights use several muscle groups and not just single isolated muscles, you can gain muscle mass, more so that using a machine.
Work out to your limit. Don't perform twenty reps per set. This is too many and means that you weren't using enough weight! Ideally, aim for about eight to twelve reps per set. Too few reps will mean that you rest too much compared to working out. This is also ineffective if you wish to gain muscle mass.
Protein is key to gaining muscle mass. Avoid junk food. If you eat more than your body needs but fill it with junk food, you will only get fatter and not gain any muscle mass. Instead, eat plenty of proteins and good fats such as those you get from fish. Avoid eating too many carbs as these are not useful when you wish to gain muscle mass.
Lastly, keep your body thinking and vary your routine. If you do the same routine for weeks on end, your body will just get used to it and lose the ability to gain muscle mass. Instead, you should vary the workout by trying new workouts on the same muscle groups and performing them in different orders. Your body will eventually adjust again but you can mix it up once more.
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