The 7 Biggest Mistakes In Muscle Building

If you want to build up muscle over time, it’s crucial for you to develop good habits. Building muscle continuously requires you to be regularly doing the right thing and taking the right steps. Unfortunately, people sometimes get into bad habits without being aware that they’re risking their health and adversely affecting their progress. To help you make the right decisions, here is a list of the 7 worst muscle building habits and how to avoid them:

1.) The worst sin in body building: Taking steroids. For so many, many reasons this is a horrible thing to do to yourself, from acne, swelling, bad breath, discoloration of the skin, dizziness and trembling, nausea, vomiting, mood swings, balding, liver damage, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, cardiovascular disease, aching joints, and even a slight loss of height! Not to mention testicular shrinkage, importance, pain while urinating, sterility, and the development of breasts. Simply put, don’t take steroids.

2) Attempting to lift weights that are too heavy. Being competitive and trying to beat your training partner might be good motivation, but it’s important to be careful. If you lift too much weight, then you’re increasing your chances of injury, which can cause you to lose form and slow your muscle building progress. If you need to use momentum to lift or lower the weight, or can’t do so under complete control, then the weight is too heavy.

3.) Eating too much protein. A normal person should take between 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight a day, and if you’re trying to build muscle, you shouldn’t go further than 1.7 grams per body weight kilogram. Eating too much protein can lead to osteoporosis and kidney damage. Not to mention a greater risk of heart disease as severe protein gain can lead to an increase in homo-cysteine which will cause heart damage.

4) Taking stimulants. Stimulants might not be prohibited, but they often come with numerous dangerous side effects, and it would be wise to exercise caution when taking them – or better yet, not using them at all. Stimulants such as ephedrine have been known to cause heart palpitations, heart attacks and strokes. For a less dangerous pick-me-up, try a caffeine pill instead. If you have any concerns at all about what you’re taking, be sure to get a doctor’s opinion first.

5) Training on an empty stomach. While some people seem to believe that training on an empty stomach helps them burn more fat, the truth of the matter is that your energy comes from carbohydrates. This means that if you haven’t eaten, you’ll have less energy and won’t have much of a chance at getting a good workout. You won’t be able to lift as much and you’ll probably be jittery, shaking and dizzy after your workout because of a low blood sugar level. It’s a good idea to have a mean before your workout, particularly foods like vegetables, fruit and rice.

6) Not warming up or stretching properly.Getting your body ready for exercise is essential in order to prevent injuries like muscle tears and ligament strains, it also improves your range of motion, performance, and posture. Only 10 minutes needs to be allocated for the warm up and this is a very wise usage of your time.

7.) Not keeping track of your training. Without a training diary, how do you keep track of your progress? How do you record your personal bests? A training diary, or log, is not only easy to do, it’s also very motivating. It’s a good idea for everyone to have one.

So, keep an eye on those seven deadly sins of muscle building, and with a good dash of common sense, you should be able to avoid all of the bad and dangerous habits and have a healthy, safe workout.

From Ricardo d Argence