How to Build Muscle Fast While Being Skin Friendly

Sometime in my struggle with acne, I figured that because my skin did not look its best, I might as well make the rest of my body look as good as I could manage as a busy student and son. Fortunately, I was lucky that I had already been educated on trigger foods for acne because if I had not, I would have been in a whole heap of trouble. For any of you who have tried to build muscle fast or bulk up, you know what kind of foods they recommend, heavy, starchy, and most often grainy and dairy products such as cottage cheese. With this, I thought it was almost impossible to build muscle fast while battling acne but with a bit of research, the two can be done in the same.

First, if you are skinny, you may want to consider bulking up a bit meaning increasing your calorie intake above what you usually eat. There are many resources and calculators online that help you cater to your needs. Bulking up doesn’t necessarily mean eating 20 burgers from White Castle. What it does mean is eating healthy, foods that go over your regular calorie intake. Eat plenty of vegetables and protein. Any green is fine but stay away from sugary vegetables such as carrots and starchy vegetables such as anything potato to keep your skin happy. As for protein, munch on almonds, hazelnuts, and for protein in meats, consider organic turkey, beef, steak, and fish. Stay away from processed meat such as hot dogs and bacon as this can make your skin upset. Eggs are also a great way to add protein to your diet. For a little bit of extra protein, I recommend adding a bit of quinoa or ground flaxseed to smoothies of your choice. Your ideal diet should also eliminate anything sugary, including fruits with a few exceptions like berries. If you are planning to lose weight while retaining muscle, consider the options above, but eat below your normal calorie intake. Again, utilize online sources to figure out what works best for you.

Now, in comes the exercise. The fundamentals of building muscle is simple, during exercise, your muscles are put under stress causing tiny little micro tears in the tissues of your muscle. These tears eventually heal back bigger and stronger than before. However, your body needs your help with the right diet otherwise your risk losing muscle mass. To do this you must eat plenty of protein which is the building blocks of muscle and I have already provided skin friendly protein options above.

Many recommend eating between .5-.8g of protein per lb. or kg which is a good start if you are active. Speaking of which, let’s get into actual exercising. The problem with most people is that they are too hung up on which are the best exercises for building muscle that they don’t do anything at all! Yes, there are better exercises than others but the point is to get started and not get hung up on the amount of sets, reps, and any of the small details. Starting is the hardest part and once you get into it, the fine details you can work out for yourself on the internet. I cannot help you with because there is too much information to cover in one article.  Now for getting started, you generally want to split up your week for certain muscle groups. In my case, I focus on the lower body on Monday and Tuesday, rest on Wednesday, focus on my upper body on Thursday and Friday, and Saturday and Sunday are rest days since it’s my only time to relax because of school. You can modify it to whatever you feel like doing but this is a general, safe guideline and make sure to plan it out and follow it.

I hope you enjoyed reading and learned a thing or two. Building muscle and battling acne is a daunting task and is difficult to do, but with commitment, you will be able to do it. Stay on task and if you find yourself falling behind, forgive yourself, and get back on track. To your health!