The secret to building a healthier body depends on how you look at it. Are you a 20-something individual with a sedentary lifestyle looking to avoid future cardiovascular diseases? Are you in your mid-forties who wants to maintain health in general?
Or are you someone who just wants to look toned and feel naturally energetic so that climbing a series of stairs does not make you huff and puff? Whatever may be your motivation, building and maintaining your health can have a tremendous impact on your life.
It must be approached by taking two important things into consideration: diet and workout. This article will help you get started, by listing five easy ways to build a healthier body that can be practiced by anyone.
Build A Healthier Body in 5 Easy Ways
Building muscles, gaining strength, and boasting off about your toned body on Instagram is not possible in a single day, or even a month for that matter. Bodybuilding is a slow, gradual process that needs unmitigated commitment, discipline, and few tweaks to your lifestyle choices and health regimen.
Here are the top five ways that we at Mean Muscles recommend to our readers. Also check out the actionable tip at the end of each point.
Eat Healthy
“You are what you eat” – you may have heard this saying quite a few times on the internet, which is true to the core when it comes to one’s health and its upkeep. Your body needs nutritious food to repair itself on a constant basis, which makes a well-balanced diet absolutely critical. This is the very reason why aspiring models are recommended against starvation and “zero-calorie diet” (it does not exist, though).
Eating healthy simply means that you include foods that will deliver the right amounts of essential organic compounds like carbohydrates, proteins, zinc, etc. to your body.
Tip – Cut down on processed sugar. Satiate your sweet tooth with fresh fruits instead.
Start by Building Strength and Not Muscles
The biggest mistake that beginners make is that they focus on building muscles right at the start. Unfortunately, it does not work that way. If it did, everyone would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. The key is to focus on building strength and stamina.
First, gauge your stamina by climbing a set flights of stairs. Then focus on a workout regimen that consists of stamina-enhancing exercises like jogging or cycling. After three weeks of daily exercise, go back to those stairs. If you notice even a slight improvement, then it’s an indication that you are on the right path.
Tip – Do not go with bench presses right at the beginning. Restrict yourself to low-weight dumbbells and basic-to-intermediate bodybuilding exercises in the initial phase.
Focus on Compound Exercises
Everyone wants to bench press but not many have the basic knowledge of the pre-requisites or the post-workout essentials. This can backfire at a later stage if not controlled, especially in young men who are highly motivated to gain instant muscles.
The solution to this frenzy is to focus on compound exercises – a workout model consisting of lifts that work the muscle at multiple parts. For example, a pull-up exercise helps you develop biceps as well as works your shoulder muscles. In such cases, understanding the basics is very important, and we recommend renowned fitness trainer Mike Westerdal’s bestselling workout manual called Critical Bench.
Tip – Do not subscribe to a gym membership right away. Once you have decided to make exercise a part of your daily life, do basic exercises (push-ups, plank, etc.) in your house for a month. If the determination does not fade away, it’s time to get more serious.
Spend Good Time Sleeping
“What are you thinking? Why would I go to sleep when my aim is to build muscles?” Trust us when we say that a good 6-8 hours of sleep is essential and mandatory for building a healthier body. Just like your other body parts, your muscles need time to recover and replenish, and sleeping is the best way to go.
Tip – Go to bed early and schedule your exercises/gym for the morning. You may have heard all about how it does not matter the time you hit the gym, but at Mean Muscles, we believe that working out in the morning has its own set of perks.
Don’t Forget the Leg Day
Lastly, it is very important that you not just focus on your upper body workout, but also on your legs. Building healthier body concerns all the parts and not just your chest. If you have a gym membership, talk to the in-house trainer and listen to what they say and follow the routine.
Tip – Split the bodybuilding exercises so that they cover your entire body. If Mondays are for your torso, make sure you work on those legs sometime later in the week.
Follow these tips suggested by Mean Muscles’ in-house fitness experts and take control of your life today.
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