Prime
Build muscle without gaining weight
To build muscle, you need patience and a sensible idea of what you can achieve in what timeline. STOCK PHOTO
What you need to know:
- The right method or tip can help, but the real way to get bigger, stronger, and leaner lies in sound principles performed with consistency.
Alex Kivumbi found it hard to gain muscle without losing weight as most of the exercises he did would do both. After consulting a gym instructor, he was advised to do appropriate exercises as well as maintain a balanced diet.
Weight lifting
Robert Ddamulira, a fitness expert, notes that weight lifting will help you gain all the muscles you want without necessarily losing weight. You can lift dumbbells, barbells and kettle bells which involve the use of muscles, hence their growth. He, however, advises that you must carry weights according to your body size to avoid injuries.
Isaac Musisi, a gym expert, notes that there are also non machine exercises that are very effective for muscle building.
Pull-ups
Pull-ups work better on strengthening hand muscles. They involve holding a machine that is relatively higher that you keep pushing yourself up and down in a repeated manner. You can do this 10 times to avoid over working the muscles.
Kivumbi notes that pull ups are the most effective of all the exercises which helped him gain hand muscles at a fast pace. He says to avoid injuries, you should avoiding overdoing it.
Squats
Isaac Mubikirwa, a body builder, notes that squats strengthen muscles by putting pressure, hence making them firm to handle the exerted pressure. He says squats involve standing with legs spread apart then squatting in a repeated manner for 10 to 20 minutes. These help the muscles get firm and stronger.
Push-ups
Ddamulira adds that pushups involves use of your general body weight. They strengthen hand, shoulder, thigh and leg muscles. You need to lay down in an open space head facing down, and carry your body up with the help of your hands. You can do this 10 to 15 times or more depending on how far you can go.
Lung bells
Mubikirwa adds that this involves standing straight. With one leg infront, lower your hips until both knees are bent at a 90 degrees angle. “Make sure your front knee is directly above your ankle. This will help strengthen your leg, thigh and toe muscles,” he advises.
Sit-ups
Ddamulira adds that sit-ups are also a great muscle building exercise and will strengthen your chest, hand and leg muscles.
These involve lying on the ground with legs straight, then lifting the upper part of your body while leaving the legs glued in one place. You can do this twice a day for as long as your body can take.
Rest
Muscles need to recover after exercising. Ddamulira advises resting for three days a week since when you work out, you will lose weight which is not your goal and more so get body pains due to the constant torture imposed on it.
Diet
Alex Kivumbi adds that one should mind what they eat if they want to maintain their weight. He says he had to eat a balanced diet, comprising proteins, carbohydrates, greens and plenty of water to keep the body hydrated. He says one should not mind about the amount of food you eat because by exercising, you are burning what you eat. He says the effort you put in eating balance diet should be equivalent to what you eat.
Isaac Mubikirwa, a body builder, adds that you can also eat surplus calories to replace the lost ones. In this sense you do not have to lose any weight as what is burnt is replaced.
