When we begin to do physical exercise, it is very important to adjust the type we do, as well as its frequency and intensity, depending on the benefit that we seek to obtain from it. Thus, the routine of a person who specifically seeks to improve his cardiovascular health will not be the same as that of one who tries to gain muscle mass.
For this last purpose, we must remember that it can take several weeks or months to obtain visible changes. However, there are a number of exercises that can achieve these effects if practiced regularly twice a week.
In addition, and as stated in the US Government guidelines for physical activity for adults , not only do they achieve a series of frequently desired visible changes but also have very beneficial repercussions in other areas of health , so their practice would be in Recommended principle for any adult without an exceptional contraindication.
Weightlifting
Lifting weights, notes the Mayo Clinic , can help you lose fat, increase strength, and improve bone density. However, it is important to perform the exercise correctly to avoid possible injury.
For example, it is vital to start with the right weight , adopt correct posture, control breathing, work different muscle groups in a balanced way, and combine lifting with strength training routines.
Use of weight machines
The type of exercises performed with weight machines is very similar to free lifting, with the advantage that, if the machine is adjusted properly, its design favors the adoption of appropriate postures and guides the amplitude and the route. of movements.
In this way, weight machines, frequently available in gyms, can be a simple and safe way to start doing exercises to gain muscle mass, provided that, as we have indicated, the adjustment of the machine is carried out correctly (for which we can ask helps gym staff).
Using resistance bands
Resistance bands are rubber bands that are stretched in certain ways to strengthen specific muscle groups. They exist in various levels of resistance, depending on both our basic physical condition and the type of exercise to be performed and have the great quality of allowing a very gradual exercise , less abrupt than weight lifting.
In fact, they are frequently used not only to strengthen muscles and gain muscle mass, but also to improve mobility , for example, as part of therapeutic rehabilitation lines.
Lifting body weight
Another good way to perform exercises to gain muscle mass is with bodyweight lifting exercises , which are very simple and practical because they do not require special material (unlike the previous ones) and because they can be performed comfortably in all kinds of places.
In fact, most people already know how to do them, as they are such well-known things as doing push-ups, squats, ‘sit-ups’ or ‘lower backs’.
Combinations of these exercises
The best option of all of them, however, is to combine several of these exercises. Not only will we be practicing different dynamics, but it is also a good way to ensure that we work different muscle groups in a balanced way.
However, it should also be noted that although muscle strengthening exercises, as we have already said, have important and numerous benefits for our global health, they cannot substitute in some aspects for others such as aerobic exercises or flexibility exercises. Therefore, it is also convenient to exercise these classes with some frequency, so that we do not neglect any point.
