So you’re looking to add muscle mass during your P90X journey. Is that possible to do? Of course it is! However, in order to build muscle mass the correct way, there are certain things you need to do! I have compiled a list of everything I could think of that you need to do in order to see noticible size gains during P90X. Follow these and I guarantee you will begin building mass!
More Calories = No matter how hard you workout, you won’t build mass unless you are taking in a surplus of calories. There is a difference however in good, clean calories and bad calories. Example, in order to increase your caloric intake daily, instead of eating an extra slice of pizza or an extra cheeseburger, add an extra grilled chicken breast to your plate during dinner.
Eat often = Be sure to eat every 2.5 – 3 hours all day, and that at each meal / snack, get a good balance of protein and carbs to give your muscles all the fuel they need to repair and grow. See your body as a machine – it needs fuel to run at its full potential.
Creatine = Creatine allows the muscles to work harder during contraction, and it causes the muscles to volumize slightly with more fluid, which allows the muscles to recruit more nutrients for recovery after a workout. Remember, with creatine comes a lot of water drinking! Stay hydrated to avoid cramping during workouts! This supplement has been studied intensly for years, and most agree that there are no detrimental side effects of using it.
Pre-workout = The combination of caffeine, creatine, and arginine (which is an amino acid that causes vasodilation) will help your muscles get more blood flow and nutrients both during the workout for increased strength and endurance, as well as after the workout to speed recovery. With heavy resistance training needed for adding size, a pre workout boost is a must have. Try Beachbody’s E&E for a healthy pre workout supplement!
Protein = My husband and I use a Whey Protein by Dymatize called Elite. Its an amazing protein and recommend it to everyone! My husband been seeing great size gains with it! Also, it packs a load of protein in justo ne small scoop (about 20g per small scoop). Unlike the other proteins that say “50g per scoop!” but then the scoop is the size of a dump truck! Not Dymatize, great protein to use!
Results/Recovery = Replenishing what your muscles have lost during the workout is critical. If you leave them depleted, they won’t grow. I reload my muscles with nutrients as quickly as possible after my workout, and R/R will do that for me. Also, after the intense stress of heavier lifitng, a nice cold P90X Recovery Drink will help fuse the torn muscle tissue back together 66% faster than without. Give it a try here!
Decrease cardio = Cardio that is too often or too long in duration will impede the mass building process. You don’t want to let your cardio conditioning fade, so you can still do 2 P90X/Insanity cardio workouts per week, but that’s it. The rest of the time I will either be lifting big or resting (so the muscles can grow).
Heavy weights = You want to fail before rep 8 on everything. If you can get 8 reps, you need more weight! You can also increase the weighted backpacks for pullups and pushups. For pullups, it’s realistic to shoot for the 8 rep range, but on pushups you can’t get enough weight (even with a 50lb weighted vest) to make that possible.
Longer rest between sets = Since the P90X lift days are circuit-style (with nearly no rest between sets), make use of the pause button a few times during those DVD’s to let my heart rate drop back down. This will allow you to push harder on each set and lift bigger! This will add about 10 minutes to each lift routine by taking small pauses between the sets. Keeping the heart rate high the entire time with actually burn more calories, which is great for toning up, but not what you are looking to do when adding some serious muscle mass.
Rest = Make sure you get a good night’s sleep because muscle growth is at it’s peak while a person sleeps. Getting yourself on a stable sleep cycle with help speed up your results!
Supplements = I understand some people don’t like supplements, but to be honest, the human body is only designed to do so much on its own. I will recommend supplements that are all natural and safe for anyone. I already suggested creatine, a pre workout supplement and protein, so now I wanted to recommend a health shake/meal replacement shake to make getting the right nutrition easy. I take religiously and recommend to anyone and everyone Shakeology. Why? Because its as organic as you can get! Over 75 organic vitamins and minerals that will pack your body with the nutrition it needs to take the results to the next level. Especially since your going to be upping your caloric intake, your going to want to take Shakeology as it will speed up your digestive system, aka keep you regular. This will allow the body to break down the foods faster, absorbing the nutrients and proteins faster and more effectivly. Click here for Shakeology.
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