When it comes to getting beach body ready, one of the most common questions I get asked is "when should I start building muscle in order to look good on the beach?" My response is, now!
As much as you would love to have a god-like body in two short weeks, I think we both know it just isn't going to happen. Still many guys check the calendar and see that the summer is just a couple weeks away. Then like an afterthought, with two weeks before the Memorial Day holiday, they realize that if they want to look good in their board shorts and without a shirt, they better get started lifting weights.
To that I would have to say, "You're too late." You would be lucky to even lean out your body just to emphasize the muscle you have much less build new muscle.
If you want to build muscle and give yourself a reasonable shot at getting beach body ready and actually see decent visual results, 4 to 6 months out is a minimum time frame to give yourself. That is when you'll see your greatest amount of gains and potentially least amount of struggle.
I say this because of two common factors. One is because of the fact that just starting out in your muscle building efforts already gives you a big advantage. Your body hasn't reached anywhere near its potentially and it is within the first couple of months that you can ignite your muscles for maximum growth in the shortest period of time.
The second reason why these 4 to 6 months are not only necessary, but also the least challenging is because you will have a lot of room for growth and improvement. You can falter in your attempts, maybe cheat once or twice and not see a real adverse effect of doing so. The more fine tuned your engine becomes though, as in being lean and maxed out, the more your cheats will reveal themselves. Plus, when you reach near your maximum muscle growth, you have to work twice as hard to get results.
No one can say for sure how many calories it takes to build a pound of muscle. That equation involves too many variables. What can be said for sure is that you need to take in a significant amount of high quality calories above the amount which currently is required to maintain your weight. For many, that means taking in a minimum of between 500 to 1,000 calories more a day than what your body requires just to maintain your current weight.
The high quality calories referred to consist of lean proteins, complex carbs, and healthy fats. Another essential ingredient in this equation includes the timing of your meal times as well.
In addition, you'll need to make a commitment to spend several high quality hours in the gym through the course of the week. (By several I am referring to 1 to 1.5 hours a minimum of 4 days a week which for many is probably more than you're used to committing now.)
To make your gym time mean something or should I say to make your workout count, you want to focus on performing the exercises correctly. Use a solid beach body workout. With that workout, it's critical that you are doing a routine that's effective and efficient, and not spending time socializing.
To get the picture, let me put it this way. How many times have you gone to the gym and you see guys going directly to the weights without warming up. They roam around aimlessly trying to figure out their workout as they go. They visit with their buddies for extended periods of time in between sets. They don't track, by writing down, the weight lifted on paper to know how much they should lift for the next workout.
Maybe one guy in particular you've notice throws the weight up and down using momentum like it's his best friend, which in this case it is because his muscles sure aren't doing the work. Then he leaves without doing any stretching, moderate intensity cardio, or refueling of his muscles, (all of which are integral in helping build upper body muscle).
Heck, the guy in this analogy... may even be you. If it is; now's when things change in order to get a beach ready body.
With this kind of effort, implementing a good meal plan and applying proper training techniques, you'll give yourself just the right amount of time to build upper body muscle and get beach body ready.
