Effective strength training

How to build muscle

You don't need an expensive gym membership to gain muscle mass. With just a few pieces of equipment or your own bodyweight you can build muscle at home following these simple guidelines.

Whether you're working out in a gym or at home, workout volume and frequency, in addition to your diet are the biggest factors in building muscle.

In the first few weeks your body adapts to exercise, after that you build more muscle by working out regularly at a high intensity and with a high volume of sets and reps.

There are a lot of opinions on the best number of strength training reps and sets and the best rest period length between sets to build mass. 

As far as reps go, the usual recommendation is 8 to 12 reps per set for hypertrophy - muscle gain, with higher reps being more effective for muscular endurance and lower reps more effective for strength.

If you are working out at home and have no or limited equipment, you can build muscle using your own body weight, but you need to do more reps to exhaust your muscles.

While rest time between sets varies based on fitness level and workout intensity, 60 s to 180 s are recommended between sets.

As far as sets go, aim for 3 - 5 sets per muscle group, 2 - 3 times per week, with rest days between working the same muscle group to allow muscle recovery.

In about 4 weeks after starting your regular strength training, you should start seeing some muscle gain.

Stay committed and you will get stronger and feel better!

**Disclaimer: For informational purposes only. All opinions expressed are my own personal thoughts, based on my personal research as a Healthy lifestyle coach. Use it at your own discretion.