Building muscle is a slow process, but consistent effort will yield results, even with short workouts. (Glady Reese/Getty Images)
- According to top trainers and coaches, you don’t have to train hard for hours to get in shape.
- A few gym sessions a week can help you build muscle with short bursts of intense exercise.
- For best results, focus on compound movements and eccentric exercises to maximize muscle tension.
- For other stories, www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
You don’t have to spend long hours at the gym to see results.
Recent studies show that in just five minutes a day, you can reap the health benefits of exercise, including more energy, a better mood, and a lower risk of disease.
Building and maintaining muscle requires a little more strategy, but personal trainers and strength coaches say it can be done in a few hours a week.
To get the most benefit in the shortest amount of time, focus on the right volume (rep count), intensity, and movement for your goals.
Cut out the “junk volume”
More exercise doesn’t necessarily mean more gains – in fact, it can backfire. It refers to exercises performed in the gym beyond.
A 2017 study found that the majority of strength gains occur at about four sets per week per body part.
Mike Boyle, a strength and conditioning coach, previously told Insider.
“If someone’s been lifting for more than an hour, they’re probably doing more than they should.
Elite powerlifter Chris Duffin previously told Insider that a 45-minute session is enough for beginners.
Doing more work actually makes it harder for your muscles to recover, and overtraining can slow your progress over time.
Reducing the amount of exercise makes it easier to gradually increase the intensity over time to keep gaining gains. This is a basic fitness concept known as progressive overload.
choose the right exercise
Exercises such as bicep curls and leg extensions are popular for building muscle.
However, personal trainers recommend compound exercises that engage multiple muscle groups at once for the most cost-effectiveness.
Examples of compound exercises for muscle building include deadlifts, pullups, shoulder presses and squats.
Prioritize eccentric exercise
Eccentric exercises, which lengthen and contract muscles, are ideal for gaining benefits because they produce a large amount of muscle tone, the stimulus needed for growth.
To spice up your routine with some eccentric work, we take a page from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Gym Sessions.
His strength and conditioning coach, Dave Rienzi, vows to strengthen muscles using techniques like negative reps (focusing on the lower part of the movement) and adding tempo (slowing down the movement).
try the 2×2 rule
If you want to get more out of the gym, but don’t want to lose your gains, functional bodybuilder Marcus Filly recommends doing only two sets of two exercises in one workout, called the “2×2 rule.” .
The technique delivers “maximum results” in “minimum time,” Philly says on his YouTube channel.
The key point is that you have to really push the intensity to see an effect in such a short time frame, and to the muscle failure (the point where you can’t do another rep with good physical form). It means you have to get closer.
Don’t skimp on protein or sleep
One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to build muscle is not resting and eating enough, a personal trainer and sports nutritionist previously told Insider.
Working out breaks down muscle, and if you don’t have enough rest and calories to make your muscles bigger and stronger, you’ll just be wasting your time at the gym.
You should also eat enough protein, which is a specific macronutrient that helps repair and grow tissues, including muscle, ideally about 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.
.
