This is the second installment in my Fitness for Beginners series. Here's the introduction post which explains my motivations to make this series and also a little bit about me. Check out the first episode if you haven't already, it's about beginning your fitness journey.

Let's get started !!

Welcome back friends ! Today I'll tell you about building muscle.

It's only logical to learn about building muscle before we learn about losing fat (oh did I just spoil what the next episode will be about ?) - why would you want to lose fat if there's "nothing" under it ? That's like digging up a treasure chest you hid years ago, just to find out you didn't put anything in the chest before you buried it.

Basics

You can only build muscle if you put it under enough stress and if you supply it with enough building blocks. That means working out hard - high intensity, high weights. And eating a lot - there are formulas to count how much you're supposed to eat to build muscle, but I'll keep it simple - take your weight in pounds times twenty. That means if you weigh 200 pounds (you huge ! ) you gotta eat 4000 calories a day to get your muscles building. 4000 is a big number, you could probably eat a little less, but if you eat 4000, you're sure to make gains. Make sure you include a lot of protein in your diet since protein is the building block of muscle. Eating 4000 calories a day is fun and all, but if it's all chocolate you'll probably only make gains in the stomach area.

As I said in the first post of this series, you should not worry about this in the first 2 to 5 months of your fitness journey - your muscles will grow no matter what you eat. If you start hitting plateaus in your gains or lifts, consider eating more.

Working out

As I said before, it's important to put stress on your muscles in order for them to grow. Your muscles won't grow if you eat 4000 calories a day laying on your couch (sad, I know).

The holy trinity..of exercises

There's a ton of exercises out there for every kind of muscle, but if you aren't training for bodybuilding competitions I'd say stick to the basics - compound exercises. Compound exercises are moves that incorporate almost every muscle in an area. There are three main ones that work the most muscles and are the ones you should be doing if you're serious in developing your body.

Bench press - The best one

Everybody loves bench press, it's the exercise every gym beginner wants to try first, every gym bro looks forward to, the one every guy in the gym competes in ("How much can you bench ?"), the one that ... You get the point. It mainly works out your chest, arms, shoulders ,but it also involves your back, your abs and sometimes even legs. There's a couple of different variations you can do that work out different muscles - close grip, wide grip etc.

Squats - The worst one

Squats are like the evil twin of the bench press, I don't know anyone who likes doing them and if someone tells you they do, they're liars. Alright alright maybe I got a bit carried away there. Le Squat is another great compound exercise that works out your entire legs, your abs , parts of your lower back and even a little shoulders and arms.

Deadlift - The hardest one

Deadlift is like the cool older brother who rarely comes to visit, but when he does, he always owns. Not many people do this exercise, because it's fairly difficult. Not many people who do it actually do it correctly. I think it's a huge shame, because of the holy trinity, this one is the holiest... This one works out the most muscles of the three - legs, back, arms, neck, abs ... None escape the might of a successful deadlift.

These exercises can be deadly or have serious health risks if done incorrectly, you should always have someone experienced watching over you when you try them for the first time. Always bench with a spot if you don't like your neck crushed, make sure you do your squats correctly if you like using your knees, deadlift right if you like your spine looking right etc.

Measure EVERYTHING

I've said it before and I'll say it again - always measure your progress. Write down your records and try to beat them. Measure your chest, arms, quads... whatever it takes to help motivate you. You'll be surprised how much muscle you gained in a fairly short time and how you look much different than you did and you'll surely be surprised at how much you can bench. (ba dum tss)

Stick to it.

Bulking doesn't make you look pretty, cutting does. Bulking is like laying the foundation of the house cutting will build you. Without foundations, there's no house and without bulking, there's no cut. Decide how long you want to bulk for, how much muscle you want to gain and stick to your plan - don't start freaking out when a little belly starts showing. You're in it for the long term result and that long term result will be magnificent.

Enjoy it.

Bulking is the fun part of fitness, you get to eat a ton of good food, you get to set personal records like crazy, you get to outbench everyone in the gym. (gotta stop it with the bench stuff...sorry) I advise you to enjoy it while it lasts, because sweat,tears and a loss of strength and muscle is coming - cutting. (insert dramatic music here)

Thanks for reading. Please share, upvote and reply - I'd love to hear from you ! Check out my other posts and don't forget to Follow @lorddominik007 so you don't miss out on my new posts :)