Building muscle from proteins and power training

There are many good reasons why you should starting doing specific strength training. Strong muscles keep you fit for everyday life.They help to burn fat easily. And they help you keep healthy. For example, specific build-up of muscle and strength training can prevent muscle hardening. Stronger muscles protect your bones and joints. And trained muscle looks great too.

The big four: the best exercises for building muscle

The best way to build muscle is through strength training, e.g. using the proven big four – well-known, tried and tested basic exercises, which are:squats, pull-ups, bench presses and lifting dead weights. Push the athlete in you and stimulate lots of different muscle groups to grow.You can also constantly challenge yourself with these basic exercises by using training weights or increasing the weights you use. Carry out training in short, intensive sessions. Your training schedule should also always incorporate regeneration phasesas these are essential for allowing new muscles to form.

Squats

The queen of strength exercises: the squat.Squats are both simple and effective.No other exercise works as many muscles or builds as much muscle mass. Squats are the easy way to train your entire body without any additional weights.There are many ways of varying squats, for example, by using a barbell or dumb bells, making them ideal for advanced bodybuilders too.

It’s important that you do the exercise right: stand with your legs shoulder width apart, bend your legs and lower your buttocks towards the floor behind you:ideally your upper and lower leg will now form a 90-degree angle.Do not allow your knees to protrude forwards over your feet.Remain tense as you stand up.

Stabilise and protect your knee joints with knee wraps from "GYMGEARS | powered by XTRAZE”.

Lifting dead weights

The classic basic exercise for building strength: lifting dead weights with a barbell. Lifting dead weights trains the entire back, bum, calves and upper legs in just one exercise.

The perfect technique: keep your back straight in every part of the exercise.Your body remains braced at all times.When standing up, first extend the legs, then the upper body and finally the shoulders.To take the strain off your joints, you can wear wrist wraps.These stabilise and take the pressure off your wrists.You can find other training accessories for aspiring amateur and professional sportsmen and women in our online shop under "Accessories for power training & fitness".

Bench presses

Another classic strength exercise: bench presses. This exercise trains the entire upper body, i.e. the chest muscles, shoulders, triceps, biceps and even the back.

It is very important that you do the exercise correctly otherwise you may injure yourself.Concentrate fully on the exercise:lie on the bench on your back and in just one dynamic movement push the bar up and away from your chest.Then slowly lower the weight again.Inhale when lowering, exhale when lifting. 

Wrist wraps support your wrists when doing bench presses.They are recommended particularly when lifting heavy weights.They also have padded protection for the palms of your hands.

Pull-ups

Pull-ups increase strength and are rightly considered a classic exercise. Pull-ups train the entire body, especially all of the upper back, the wide back muscle and the biceps. 

Here`s how to do pull-ups properly: grip the bar at shoulder width.Pull up your body until your chin is above the bar.It’s doesn't matter whether you stretch out your legs or not.There are lots of different ways of doing pull-ups, which work different muscle groups:try wide or narrow pull-ups.Hold yourself in a dead hang, mid-pull-up hold or pull-up and hold.You can also speed up or slow down the exercise or make it easier by standing on a chair.The most common mistakes when doing pull-ups are swinging yourself too much, fidgeting too much or holding your breath.

Proteins and protein shakes for building muscle

To build muscle, not only should you undertake specific strength training but also eat a protein-rich diet.After all, proteins are the building blocks for your musculature.The more you train, the more protein you need.Alongside a healthy diet, you can also take nutritional supplements such as protein powder to help build muscle. Whey protein powder is a protein shake with a particularly high protein content and large amounts of BCAA and glutamine.This protein shake is very popular with bodybuilders and endurance athletes.

You will find our complete protein range in our online shop under "Proteins".

Creatine for intensive power training

Creatine offers a quick way of supplying muscles with energy, which is particularly important for short periods of intensive sport. What’s more, creatine is important for perfect functioning of muscles, the brain, nerves, eyes and ears.It is a good idea to take creatine especially when experiencing stress, when placing a lot of physical demands on your body and when changing your diet. 

Our creatine powder is vegan and thanks to its purity provides you with the best possible bioavailability. 

Amino acids for musculature and regeneration

Sportsmen and women need more amino acid than other people. These keep the muscles fit for longer and perk up tired muscles, allowing you to train for longer and more intensively and continually up your level of training. Amino acids also protect the body from muscle loss and help with regeneration.

Our online shop contains various essential amino acid mixes for musculature and regeneration.

Carbohydrate and essential fatty acids

Proteins are the building blocks of the body’s muscles.But carbohydrates also help with muscle-building training.Take plenty of carbohydrate before training.Even healthy fats are permitted, in fact they are recommendedas polyunsaturated fatty acids (as are found in fish for example) will help you to build muscle.