How Do You Build Muscle Fast?
If you consider yourself a hard gainer, I am happy to say that building muscle fast is not as hard as some would have you believe but it also isn’t as easy as you might think. It’s all about training more intelligently.
Here are 5 effective tips for people wishing to gain muscle fast.
1. Make sure to get enough food and rest
If you want to get serious about building muscle fast, then you need to get serious about what you eat. It’s taxing on your body to build new muscle, make sure you get enough energy, so that you body can support the new muscle growth. Most guys that have trouble building muscle fast, is eating far from enough food. 5 or 6 times per day you must eat a solid meal. Make sure the food you eat is high quality, junk food won’t build a healthy body.
Giving your body time to recover between workouts is equally important. Building muscle fast is about working smarter not just about working harder. And when you work out you should go at it with maximum intensity, and after that you give your body time to relax and recover completely before your next workout.
2. Never Perform More Than 10 Reps
Doing more than 10 reps per set is emphasizing your slow-twitch muscle fibers which have less opportunity for muscle growth. In every set you need to use the most muscle fibers possible, even more so if you have trouble gaining muscle mass. Always choose your weights knowing that more than 10 reps are keeping you in ‘skinny land’. If you really want to gain muscle fast then get your mind into heavy lifting mode.
3. Reduce Your Workout Time
I you perform more work in less time you have increased your work intensity. The work is defined by the number of sets and reps as well as the weight used during your workout. The next time you go to work out, try to see if you can complete your routine in less time. Take shorter rests, and quicker breaks between exercises. This can make you feel really out of shape! This is one of the easiest tips you can implement to increase your muscle density and your fitness level.
4. Only Do One Exercise Per Muscle Group
You don’t need to mutilate a muscle for an hour to get growth out of it. Your goal is to simply trigger your muscles into growth. Not exhaust them to death. When your muscles are exposed to a new type of assault/stimulus, your body will start to build new muscle to prepare for future assaults! Therefore, once you have outperformed your last workout in a given exercise, it is time to move onto the next.
5. Do No More Than 3-5 Sets Per Muscle Group
You have to question a hard gainers workout intensity if they do more than 3-5 sets per muscle group. Building muscle fast requires that you stick to a new set of rules especially if you are a hard gainer.
The first 1-2 sets should be at 85% maximal effort. The third set at 95% maximal effort and the fourth (and sometimes fifth) set at 100% maximal effort. This last 100% effort set contributes the most to building the muscle. Any more sets than this, simply exhausts the muscle and delays your ability to recover. In this final set you should aim to do at least 1 or 2 extra reps or 5-10 pounds more than your last workout. You have then sparked your muscles into growth and it’s time to move on.
Every two weeks your goal is to aim for at least a 5% improvement in your strength. You might experience progress a bit quicker with large muscle groups like back and legs opposed to smaller muscles like biceps and triceps.
You will be building muscle fast if you follow this progression, and you will be twice as strong in six months!
