Building Muscle

Many swimmers struggle to gain muscle. Many believe that the key to gaining muscle is all about dedication, strength of mind, and lifting the heaviest weights. The key to gaining muscle is not working hard, but working smart. When you decide to start gaining muscle you may hit the gym for 3 hours a day. At first, you may gain a little weight, but you then hit a plateau until you get so discouraged you quit. A good analogy to think about is a man in the sun. You stay in the sun for a little while, you get tan, and too long, you get burned. Your muscles work the same way. You don't want to annihilate them, you want to work them. Therefore, hit the gym twice a day for an hour, and limit your rest times between sets. After each workout eat protein. Your body can only absorb so much protein at a time, therefore, if you were to eat a lot of protein, your body would only absorb half of it, and the rest would be excreted. You must eat healthy doses throughout the day. Instead of eating three large meals, think about eating 5 meals with smaller portions.