There is a common misconception in the fitness community that muscle and strength are the same thing. However, they are different, though related. Muscle refers to the physical mass or size of your muscles in an aesthetic perspective. On the other hand, strength is your physical power and capability to lift heavier weights and refers to a more internal perspective

Building muscle

In order to build muscle mass, it is necessary that you are consuming enough nutrients, minerals and most importantly, protein in all of your meals to fuel your muscles. Water is another necessity as well as enough sleep each night – minimum = nine hours. All these acts as a catalyst to hypertrophy, which is the increase or growth of muscle cells as a result of doing weight / body weight training at a higher amount of repetitions .

Building strength

In order to build strength, it is again necessary to have enough sleep and consume the correct foods – vegetable, fruits, proteins, carbs, healthy fats. However in contrast to building muscle, building strength requires a lower amount of repetitions.

Staying safe whilst training

It is very important to remain safe while training as this prevents serious injury. There are several methods in achieving safety :

• Warming up – it is important to engage the muscles before working out as this prevents any body damage.
• Rest – in between sets, it is very important to have adequate rest until your muscles feel well recovered.
• Water – during workouts, it is very important to drink enough water to replenish the muscles.