Four things to manage muscle gains outside the gym

Have you ever thought what all the fitness articles have in common? Well, they all insist on one thing – to go to the gym. Also, they encourage people to engage in different exercises. There is nothing which is wrong with those write-ups. However, what you do not know is that there are some dark horses that are silent killers to your gains. And, these are outside your gym arena. It is not only how many reps you do when at the gym, but also about your lifestyle and eating habits that decide final results. Here we bring to you a few factors that are often neglected and ignored by even those who are fitness freaks.

If you can’t quite, then manage alcohol

If you are one of those fitness freaks who believe in natural way of gaining muscles and training, you cannot cheat away by drinking alcohol almost every weekend. Even if you are spending six days a week at the gym does not mean you have freedom to drink as much alcohol as you want on weekends. This will deter you from achieving the desired results. Regular intake of alcohol is related with lesser testosterone levels and less protein synthesis. If you are serious about your goals then either quit alcohol or limit it.

Manage Soreness and DOMS

Soreness and DOMS are inevitable after a heavy workout at the gym. However, it should not become a regular habit. It is often that some people remain too sore that it impacts their daily activities too. Additionally, if you are sore at the time of hitting the gym, how will you perform at your peak capacity during the workouts? It is suggested to seriously take care of soreness once you are outside the gym. For this, you can go for a deep tissue massage once a week or follow a morning stretch routine so that your muscles can repair and recover in a better way.

Be active everyday or choose an outdoor sport

Any type of sport activity can prove to be a blessing for your gains provided you time it strategically. For instance. If you have weight trained for six days continuously, take off from the gym on seventh day and play some sport that would help your body in two different ways. First, it would work as a fast fat burning cardio session that helps your body to function as a full unit. Second, your body will use fast twitch muscle fibres for a change that would help in achieving better kinesthetic awareness.

Sound sleep is a must

It is rightly said that muscles are not built inside the gym, however your own body builds muscles when you take proper rest. Well, the significance of sleep for muscle building can be neither overrated nor ignored. Lack of sleep often takes a toll on your muscle gains because you will not recuperate before hitting the same group of muscles again at the gym. This leads to overtraining and might also cause an injury. Thus, make sure you sleep for at least seven to eight hours a day for complete recovery of your central nervous system and body.