With all the time you spending watching sports and checking the scores and updates for your favorite teams, you probably also can’t help but want to get out there yourself and tear it up from time to time. And while you may have had a great time playing sports in high school or college, there are still ways to remain competitive in adult sports leagues. But to keep up your competitiveness, you’ve got to train your body to do the work. To show you how, here are three tips for building more muscle for your upcoming sport season.
Minimize Your Rest Times
To build lean muscle, you’ve got to be lifting weights regularly. And while some people might like to just hit the gym and gingerly do some free-weights a few times a week, that won’t do much to help you put on some decent muscle in order to help you excel in a tough sport. To truly get the most out of your workouts here, Shannon Clark, a contributor to BodyBuilding.com, recommends shortening your rest time between sets. By really focusing on doing solid, quality reps in quicker succession, you’ll be able to see and feel your muscles begin to take shape and become stronger.
Boost Your Protein Intake
Putting on muscle takes more than just hitting the gym and throwing weights around. To truly become more fit and muscular, you’ve got to make some positive changes within your diet as well. One of these changes should be to eat more protein throughout the day. By upping your protein intake, Mehdi from StrongLifts.com shares that you’ll be able to build muscle faster and help your current muscles recover quicker after workouts. The optimal amount of protein you should be eating to build maximum muscle should be one gram for every pound you weigh. If you’re able to get your diet to this point, you should begin to see ever greater changes in your musculature.
Ease Up On the Cardio
While cardio is great for losing fat and strengthening your heart and lungs, it doesn’t do much for those wanting to build a lot of muscle. For this reason, Rachel Cosgrove, a contributor to MensFitness.com, advises limiting the amount of cardio you do when seeking to add muscle. Rather than going for a longer jog, try doing short sprints for 30 minutes or so three times a week. This type of cardio will better help train your muscles to be more explosive rather than cutting down your bulk too much.
If you’re looking for ways to increase the muscle you have, try using the tips mentioned above to help you build muscle in a safe, healthy, and effective way.
