The No BS Guide to Building Lean Muscle

Muscle-building basics

You already own one of the best pieces of equipment for building muscle: your body. And you don’t have to follow a rigid routine to glean the lean-inducing returns. Just 20 minutes of circuit resistance training can significantly elevate your total energy expenditure following your workout.

You can choose the types of movements or fitness styles you enjoy and incorporate strength training into your lifestyle.

Aim for two or three strength training workouts per week, such as:

• lifting
• taking a power yoga class
• busting through a high intensity interval training (HIIT) circuit
• doing bodyweight exercises

1. Think outside of the gym

The gym isn’t the only option when it comes to strength training. Whether you’re tight on funds or prefer the privacy of your own home, you can get lean just by using your bodyweight.

A recent study shows that training with lighter loads and more repetitions is just as effective at building muscle as training with heavy weights and fewer reps. Just do the exercise until your muscles demand a break.

That means you can squat with no added weights and get a similar result as doing weighted squats — simply go until you couldn’t possibly do one more.

Strive for three sets, adding to your number of reps as you get stronger.

2. Toss out rules about reps

If you prefer holding lunges in a yoga class rather than doing walking lunges around your home, you’ll still reap the strength benefits.

There are 2 types of movements when it comes to strength training: isotonic and isometric.

Isotonic exercises keep muscles at the same tension throughout a movement. A walking lunge would be an example of an isotonic exercise.

Isometric exercises hold the body in one position, keeping muscles at the same length. Holding a lunge would be an isometric exercise.

Aim for a mix of isotonic and isometric exercises in your fitness regimen. If you’ve got achy joints, aim for more isometric exercises. Hold for 30 seconds to start with and work your way up to more time.

For both types of exercises, try for 3 sets.

3. Incorporate compound exercises

Whether doing reps or holding a static pose, compound exercises, which target multiple muscles or muscle groups, will make your efforts the most efficient.

Think burpees, side-plank rotations, and mountain climbers. These exercises get your heart rate going and give a dose of cardio, especially if you do them as part of a HIIT circuit.

4. Modify movements to suit your needs

Altering an exercise is all about meeting your body where it’s at right now.

If you aren’t ready for standard pushups, use a wall or a bench so you can do them at an incline. Over time, you may be able to work your way to the floor.

Most exercises have several modifications. Or you can try a “sister move” that produces similar results. Step ups can sub in for box jumps, for example, if you don’t have a box or just want to go easier on your pelvic floor.

Before getting started, consider doing your own research or scheduling a session with a personal trainer who can teach you moves that make sense for you.

The loss that comes with the gains

If you’re striving to sculpt a leaner physique or if you want to lose fat, gaining muscle can help you do both. Muscle also protects your body from injury and can ease pain by addressing posture or body imbalances.

1. Look leaner

If you compare a pound of muscle to a pound of fat, you’ll see that muscle takes up less space than fat. This concept leads to confusion because of the myth that muscle weighs more than fat. But a pound weighs a pound, regardless of what it contains.

Ultimately, adding muscle can give you a more toned look, even when the number on the scale doesn’t change.

And regardless of your gender, you’re not going to get a “bulked-up” bodybuilder look without a serious fitness and diet program specialized for that purpose. So ditch that myth if it’s holding you back.

2. Burn more energy

Although the difference isn’t huge, muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue does, both during physical activity and at rest. If you’re trying to increase your calorie burn, increase your muscle mass.

3. Keep burning

The process of the body attempting to recover or return to its resting state after a workout produces an extra calorie burn that can last for several hours to more than a full day.

This effect is known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). The higher the intensity of your workout, the longer EPOC will last.

Research shows that strength training can enhance and extend EPOC, especially when it’s done as part of a HIIT workout.

4. Prevent accidents

Many of our daily movements involve our transverse abdominis. It acts like a girdle wrapping around the spine.

The transverse abdominis can be strengthened through resistance training. When it’s strong, we can protect ourselves from falls or other mishaps, and enhance our form and ability to do the activities we love.

5. Better posture

Our muscles hold us up, whether we’re standing in line at the coffee shop or sitting at our desks. If we have weak muscles and slump because of fatigue, we might experience aches or stiffness.

According to researchers, resistance training can help promote good posture.

Strength training can also correct imbalances in the body, like lordosis, that could lead to discomfort.

6. Ward off issues as we get older

According to researchers, you lose around 1 percent of your muscle mass per year after the age of 60. This muscle loss may account for more fatigue, weight gain, and increased risk for fracture.

We can ward off age-related muscle loss, termed sarcopenia, with exercise that includes a combo of cardio and strength training.

If weight loss is your goal, gaining muscle can help you look leaner, burn more energy both during and after exercise, and prevent muscle loss in the future.

3 Yoga Poses to Build Strength

Get stronger with these courses and apps

You can craft your own muscle-making routine, but if you’re looking for some guidance, ideas, or just a jumpstart, you can follow a program that fits your preferences, lifestyle, and budget.

• DailyOM gives you a list of 3-week courses to choose from, each with instructor-led video workouts that show up in your inbox. Courses are “pay what you want,” and once you’ve made the purchase, you can access your courses repeatedly. DailyOM caters to yogis and people in need of joint-friendly HIIT-based workouts.
• Freeletics offers take-anywhere, no-equipment sessions based on your goals, current fitness level, and age. The subscription-based app teaches you to use your own bodyweight to get results via customized, guided plans. Workout recommendations will change based on your feedback.
• BodyBoss sends you a 12-week progressive HIIT program. Their one-time payment is more economical than a recurring gym membership and it includes a bonus pre-training section to prepare you for the main action. Share your progress, enjoy camaraderie, learn helpful modifications, and glean motivation from the online Facebook community. The program and community are geared towards women, but all genders can benefit from the movements.
• Bodyweight Training provides more than 200 exercises you can do using your body weight and everyday items. Tackle any of the 10-week programs that fit your fitness level or goals. Pay $5 for the app download and then choose which in-app purchases you want.

Takeaway

Building muscle has many benefits, such as lowering blood pressure and cholesterol and contributing towards a lean physique.

Adding forms of resistance training into your exercise routine, like pushups and planks, can improve your health and keep you feeling agile and able throughout the years.

Jennifer Chesak is a Nashville-based freelance book editor and writing instructor. She’s also an adventure travel, fitness, and health writer for several national publications. She earned her Master of Science in journalism from Northwestern’s Medill and is working on her first fiction novel, set in her native state of North Dakota.