Having Trouble Getting Stronger Without a Gym? Here’s How to Build Muscle at Home

With gyms and studios closed due to the pandemic or slowly starting to open back up, we’ve had to turn to home workouts. One thing we’ve noticed is that building muscle at home is especially difficult. Building muscle depends on many factors including exercise, nutrition, hormone, gender, and sleep. While building muscle at home may be more challenging, it doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Here how to do it.

Resistance Training

Instead of only focusing on cardio, give resistance training a try. Go ahead and pick up those weights or do some bodyweight exercises with squats and lunges, to build strength and build muscle.

Use Proper Weights

You should be challenging yourself with the weights you are lifting, but you shouldn’t be lifting too much that your form starts to suffer. While you can do more reps for a longer period of time with lighter weights, you won’t see the same results as if you lifted heavier weights.

Strength Train Twice a Week

To build muscle you don’t have to over train, but you do need to train at least twice a week on nonconsecutive days. Your workouts should contain eight to 10 exercises that target multiple muscle groups.

Eat More Protein

Like abs, muscles grow in the kitchen. On average, a person should consume .35 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. When you’re trying to increase muscle mass, that amount increases to .5 to .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight.

Incorporate Recovery

Your body needs time to repair itself and it’s best to give your body 24 to 48 hours of rest after intense exercise sessions. This rest time doesn’t mean being inactive, rather you should be doing activities like yoga, foam rolling, or stretching. If you don’t want to rest between sessions, avoid working the same muscle groups two days in a row.