How to build muscle. Spending your whole day in the gym isn’t necessary to build muscle. Weight training for 20 to 30 minutes, 2 to 3 times a week is enough to see results. You should try to target all your major muscle groups at least twice throughout your weekly workouts.

You won’t see your muscles grow as much, but when you return to the muscle-building workouts, you’ll be able to lift more and see greater results. For an ongoing workout, eight weeks of muscle-building followed by four weeks of strength-building is a good pattern to follow.

Gaining muscle is a slow process. It can take about three to four weeks to see a visible change. You’ll see some real results after 12 weeks, but it “all depends on your goals, and what type of strength training you are doing,” says Haroldsdottir.

Focus on Big Muscles Moving big weights is what will help you get bigger overall, forcing your entire body to grow. That means focusing on tentpole lifts: Bench presses, pullups and chinups, barbell rows, deadlifts, and squats. Aim to do at least one of those moves in every workout.

Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance. Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lung health improve, you have more energy to tackle daily chores.

Glycogen has to bind with water in order to fuel your muscles. As exercise becomes more routine over time, your muscles will become more efficient and need less glycogen to maintain your energy. As that happens, your muscles will retain less water and you will see that added weight come off!

If you’re losing inches but maintaining your weight and you regularly strength train, you may actually be losing fat and gaining muscle. The process of gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is called body recomposition. Most scales don’t differentiate between the amounts of body fat and muscle you have.

Your slower metabolism will slow your weight loss, even if you eat the same number of calories that helped you lose weight. When the calories you burn equal the calories you eat, you reach a plateau. To lose more weight, you need to either increase your physical activity or decrease the calories you eat.

10 Easy Ways to Boost Your Metabolism (Backed by Science)

1. Eat Plenty of Protein at Every Meal. Eating food can increase your metabolism for a few hours.
2. Drink More Cold Water.
3. Do a High-Intensity Workout.
4. Lift Heavy Things.
5. Stand up More.
6. Drink Green Tea or Oolong Tea.
7. Eat Spicy Foods.
8. Get a Good Night’s Sleep.

What can I do to speed up my metabolism?

1. Aerobic activity. Aerobic exercise is the most effective way to burn calories.
2. Strength training. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so increasing your muscle mass will help you lose weight.
3. Be active. Try to make activity part of your daily routine.

14 Simple Ways to Break Through a Weight Loss Plateau

1. Cut Back on Carbs. Research has confirmed that low-carb diets are extremely effective for weight loss.
2. Increase Exercise Frequency or Intensity.
3. Track Everything You Eat.
4. Don’t Skimp on Protein.
5. Manage Stress.
6. Try Intermittent Fasting.
7. Avoid Alcohol.
8. Eat More Fiber.

One of the main reasons why burning calories through exercise may still not result in weight loss is due to overexertion, or inflammation of your body. If you exercise too hard on a daily basis, there is an excess of inflammation in your body. All the added up inflammation makes you gain more weight than lose.

Here are general guidelines.

1. If your BMI is less than 18.5, it falls within the “underweight” range.
2. If your BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, it falls within the “normal” or Healthy Weight range.
3. If your BMI is 25.0 to 29.9, it falls within the “overweight” range.
4. If your BMI is 30.0 or higher, it falls within the “obese” range.