If you are someone who have spend hours in gym and consumed food like a pig just to gain mass. But, the end result is not at all satisfying, then stand in line. And, this line is very big. The stupid thing most of the people do is to follow the concept of “end justifies means.”
You just can’t build great physique by taking shortcuts. It just doesn’t work that way. I have seen many people who eats carbs and protein like crazy, and they eventually end up looking like wrestlers of 1970’s.
First of all, it is a good idea to work on definition while you are working on gaining mass. It is easier that way. Once you are bulky it becomes very difficult to get muscle definition, naturally. In this article, we will look at different tips and tricks you can follow to get the desired muscle definition.
How to get muscle definition?
Tip #1: Repetition and weight
Weight and the number of repetition you do in a set are two of the most important component. The ratio of these two quantities can drastically vary the end result.
For example, if you are doing dumbbell curls, if you do 8-15 reps per set with heavy weights, it will work on building mass. But, if you do 25-30 reps with less weight it will work on definition.
Although, you can do higher number of sets with heavy weights too, but use heavy weights will kill your energy very quickly and it will be practically impossible to go on a higher rep range.
Going with higher rep range does one more task, it helps to make the muscles harder. And, there is big difference between big-soft muscles and big-hard muscles, both visually and how it makes you feel.
Note: If you are a beginner, it is a good idea to do the first set of any exercise,with very light weight and go for higher reps. It will have to advantage. Firstly, it will give your muscles proper definition as you will try to gain size. Secondly, doing first set like this will pump lots of blood into the muscles you are going to target, which will help you to lift heavier weights in succeeding sets.
Should I stop lifting heavy weight ?
No, not at all. You need best of both world. Higher reps will give you definition and low rep with heavy weight will help you to build and retain size.
Tip #2: Burn fat
Most of the people don’t understand the real difference between gain weight and gaining muscles. You gain muscles by eating good amount of protein and adequate amount of carbohydrate. But, it is a long and little costly process. So, they try to cheat by replacing protein by carbs and fats.
The fact is, the muscles takes a lot less space when compared to the equal amount of fat. This means, without losing the topmost fat layer, you can’t get muscle definition. Doing higher repetitions will help you lose a little fat but that is not sufficient enough. HIIT and cardio and doing heavy weight training are some of the best ways to lose fat fast and are very good muscle definition workout.
High fat content of the body also relates to low testosterone. And, testosterone is one of the key element in giving you that edgy look. From your jawline to your calves it is the thing you need. (Although, the jawline is dependent on your bone structure, but high testosterone certainly gives you chiselled face to some extent.)
Tip #3: Eat right
Firstly, to lose weight a proper diet is more important than any amount of exercise. There are many people who do carb uploading thinking it will help them gain mass.
Fact: The body has very limited storage space for carbohydrate. And, when your body get more carbs than it can store, then it converts the remaining carbs into fats and store it in the fat cells. So, when you are eating lots of carbs you are essentially eating fat.
Apart of this, you should eat testosterone boosting foods like, eggs and oats. And, there are some food that helps to increase BMR. For those of you who don’t know, BMR stands for “Basal metabolic rate.” BMR is basically the amount of energy used up by your body to do necessary tasks like, pumping blood. Foods like Garlic and Grapefruit must be incorporated into your muscle definition diet.
Tip #4: Work on the right muscles
There are many muscles in our body that are very small and look very useless, so most of the people don’t train them. But, these muscles can do wonder if trained properly. One of these muscles is Brachialis. Although, it is a very small muscle but when given some of your time and efforts, it can totally transform the look of your arms. From normal to the likes of Greek-gods.
You have such muscles on every part of your body and most of the people don’t even know that they exist. And, the people who are acquainted with their existences don’t bother training them. For example, Obliques provides very good definition but most people don’t give them the care they deserve, resulting in very average looking abdomen, in spite of the 6 and 8 packs.
Tip #5: Water retention
Water retention is one of most common problem faced by humans but most of the people don’t know about it, especially men. It is simple, when you eat too much salt the concentration of liquid in your body becomes high, which confuses your body into thinking that you have very less amount of water left in your body.
This leads to body getting to a water conservation mode. In this mode, water is retained in various parts of your body, which makes your face look fat and steals the definition from muscles.
The simple solution to this is to eat less salt. And, if for some reason you had a lot of salt, then you can minimizes its effect by drinking lots of water. Doing that will again lower down the concentration of liquid and prevent retention of the water.
Note: Alcohol consumption can also cause water retention.
Tip #6: Moisturise your skin
When you skin is dry, it is very hard to see the definition, even if there is some. It is important to keep your skin moisturised to enhance the sharp look of your muscles. First of all, you should tackle the problem from inside and use external elements from enhancing the effects.
For example, drinking lots of water and eating lots of fruit keeps your skin moisturised specially in winters. Then you can use moisturiser too. Men usually don’t consider, the idea of using cream, a good one, but keeping your skin moisturised can make an enormous difference. That is why, model oil up their skin, for a bare body photo shoot.
Tip #7: Macro-nutrients
There is no fixed ratio of carbs, protein and fat that is universal to everyone. But, you can calculate in what amount you need these macro nutrients. As I have said before, the first thing you need to do, in order to get muscle definition is remove fat from your body. And, it doesn’t matter who much cardio or some other fat burning exercise you do if you are uploading equivalent amount of fat through your food.
I am not saying you should completely stop eating fat but you should surely stay away from processed food. Fats coming from natural resources like egg or fish or milk is healthy.
Carbs is the trickest of them all.
You do need carbs in good quantity, especially during your training period. It not only helps in building muscles but it provides your muscles with the energy(glycogen) to work. But, too much of it can be converted into fat. The only way to know the right amount of carbs that you need is by experimenting. First you eat, lots of carbs and see any change in belly fat. According to the change, you can either increase or decrease the carb intake. You should also take note of the energy level in the gym. If it is getting low, then probably you need more carbs than you are already taking.
Tip #8: 6-8 meals a day
You might have heard it a lot of times but if you want muscle definition you should implement it. There are two benefits 0f dividing your meals into many parts. First of all, this helps you deliver limited quantity of carbs to your body without having the risk of excess sugar in your blood. Because when you eat a lot of carbs at a single time then some part of it is used for energy, some part of it is used to replenish the glycogen levels and the excess gets converted into fat.
The second benefit of this approach is that it doesn’t allow your body into an energy saving mode. When you don’t eat for a long time, your body automatically start saving energy and it is not good if you want to burn calories. Plus, it helps in better absorption of the nutrients.
And, make sure to include some amount of carbs in each of these meals. Complex carbs can be considered the better choice but even simple carbs that are coming from fruits is equal good.