Question of the Day

The Advice Column

Today’s Question: How do I gain muscle?

As a gym man myself, I can tell you the exact steps to gaining muscles. It’s easy but needs patience

• Food: You need to go beyond just protein, and focus on a balanced diet with adequate carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. Contrary to popular belief carbs actually help you retain water and make your muscles look bigger. You should focus on meal timing and frequency as well.

• Optimized Workouts: The best way to do this is to do a mix of compound exercises along with isolated exercises. Proper form is the most important. So don’t jump to heavy weights but rather focus on form.

   

• Recovery management: Rest is important too so rest between workouts, get proper sleep, manage your stress, and practice potentially active recovery techniques like stretching or light cardio.

• Supplementation strategy: This step is not a necessity if you are a beginner, but supplements like creatine, and whey protein can support muscle growth when used correctly.

• Long-term consistency: Never think short-term while trying to gain muscles. Muscle growth is a slow process requiring patience and persistent effort over months and years. I can promise you that if you stick with it, you will get there.

Welcome to the world of fitness. Just keep moving and you will eventually reach your goal.