How to Boost Gains Outside of the Gym

If only building muscle wasn’t so hard, am I right?

To the uninitiated, it might seem like an easy process. And while it certainly is straightforward – it’s never quite easy, no matter how much you enjoy both working out, and reaping the benefits of hard work at the gym.

In order to maximize your gains, there are things you need to be doing outside the weight room as well. Here are some of them that can help you gain muscle mass in a healthy way:

Stay Hydrated

If you don’t drink enough water, your body will not be able to utilize the nutrients you are feeding it as effectively. Not to mention, drinking plenty of water boosts your kidney and liver function, which helps you burn fat more effectively. Add to that the fact that dehydration causes both mental and physical setbacks, and you’ll never forget to drink your daily dose of H2O again.

Sleep Better

The most important thing for maximizing your gains is sleep. No matter how much time you spend at the gym if you don’t give your body enough time to recover all of that hard work won’t pay off. Your body repairs your muscles while you sleep, and it also produces the hormones that you need to build mass. Memory foam mattresses are popular among those looking to rest well, as they can help promote deep sleep, and also help your body regenerate.

Eat All You Need

Knowing how much you need to eat can be tricky. Many make the mistake of overestimating their calorie consumption, and in turn don’t eat enough to help muscle growth. When you are in a caloric deficit, you can’t build muscles, and that’s a fact. So instead of starving yourself and not giving your body the building blocks it needs, aim for a healthy combination of protein, complex carbs and healthy fats.

You should be aiming for a 200-500 calorie surplus, as that is enough for most people to build lean muscle mass. Anything above that will help you put on fat, not muscle.

Rest and Reduce Stress

Cortisol, the hormone our bodies produce when we are stressed out, is not a friend to muscle growth. It actually encourages the body to store fat, as opposed to shake it off. If you are looking to maximize gains, you should also aim to de-stress as much as you can. You will never be able to be completely zen all of the time, but anything from meditation and yoga, to engaging in the activities you actually enjoy, whatever they may be, will help you keep your cortisol levels within a range that won’t harm your muscle growth.

Work on Your Mind and Body

A healthy mindset is often what can make a difference between working hard or working harder. In order to gain lean muscle mass, you will need to put your body through some strain, and more often than not, your mind will be the first to give up.

In order to enable working out more and lifting a bit heavier, you will also need to train your mind that what you are doing is okay and that it should stop screaming and let you get on with it.

Our minds are trained to keep us in our comfort zone, and working out is certainly not that. Work on shutting out the voice that keeps telling you something is too hard: within limits of course. Don’t force yourself to do something that really is too hard. But when your mind wants to give up earlier than you do, learn to shut it out and do one more rep.

Final Thoughts

What you do outside the gym is just as important as what you do on the floor – so focus on all the different aspects of muscle gain, and the results will soon follow.