The Seven Capital Sins of Muscle Building

If you want to build up muscle over time, it's crucial for you to develop good habits.  Building muscle continuously requires you to be regularly doing the right thing and taking the right steps.  Unfortunately, people sometimes get into bad habits without being aware that they're risking their health and adversely affecting their progress.  To help you make the right decisions, here is a list of the 7 worst muscle building habits and how to avoid them:

1)  Steroids.  This is, without a doubt, by far the worst thing you can do if you're trying to build muscle.  Taking steroids is dangerous and has a wide array of negative side effects:  Vomiting, nausea, mood swings, acne, bad breath, premature balding, tremors, jaundiced skin, swollen joints, liver damage, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and a shrinking of your adult height.  If that's still not enough reason to avoid steroids, there's more:  Impotence, sterility, testicular shrinkage, pain when urinating, and male breast development.  That's all that needs to be said.

2)  Attempting to lift weights that are too heavy.  Being competitive and trying to beat your training partner might be good motivation, but it's important to be careful.  If you lift too much weight, then you're increasing your chances of injury, which can cause you to lose form and slow your muscle building progress.  If you need to use momentum to lift or lower the weight, or can't do so under complete control, then the weight is too heavy.

3)  Eating too much protein.  Everyone knows protein is good for you and helps you build muscle, but it's possible to consume too much.  An average person's protein intake is about a gram or less of per kilo of body weight a day.  A muscle building athlete consumes more, at about 1.7 grams of protein per kilo of bodyweight.  Consuming more than this could lead to osteoporosis and irreversible kidney damage.  You could even damage your heart over time, due to protein byproducts released by your body.

4)  Taking stimulants.  Stimulants might not be prohibited, but they often come with numerous dangerous side effects, and it would be wise to exercise caution when taking them - or better yet, not using them at all.  Stimulants such as ephedrine have been known to cause heart palpitations, heart attacks and strokes.  For a less dangerous pick-me-up, try a caffeine pill instead.  If you have any concerns at all about what you're taking, be sure to get a doctor's opinion first.

5)  Training on an empty stomach.  While some people seem to believe that training on an empty stomach helps them burn more fat, the truth of the matter is that your energy comes from carbohydrates.  This means that if you haven't eaten, you'll have less energy and won't have much of a chance at getting a good workout.  You won't be able to lift as much and you'll probably be jittery, shaking and dizzy after your workout because of a low blood sugar level.  It's a good idea to have a mean before your workout, particularly foods like vegetables, fruit and rice.

6)  Failing to stretch or warm up properly.  In order to prevent debilitating injuries such as ligament strains and muscle tears, it's extremely important that you prepare your body for exercise.  This also has the effect of improving your performance, range of motion, and posture.  Spending about 10 minutes warming up is a wise and effective use of your time.

7)  Not keeping a training log.  A training log is an essential part of building muscle; you need it to measure your progress and keep track of your personal best lifts.  A training log doesn't take much time and is very motivating at keeping you on track.  Making use of one is a good idea.

By keeping the above pointers in mind, as well as a healthy dose of common sense, you should be able to enjoy a safe and productive workout.  The important thing is to relax, be safe, and enjoy a great workout.