Body-building

How to Gain Muscle Fast - The Complete Guide

Never before has such a complete guide to nutrition and training to gain muscle mass appeared on the web. There are 12 points in total: in the first eight we will deal with training, in the remaining four - with nutrition.

All you need to do is follow each step and before you know it, muscle mass will start to increase.

First, let's find out what the muscles of the body are. Muscle tissue is made up of individual muscle fibers. Proper training leads to damage to these fibers. Quality rest and diet contribute to their healing and muscle building.

A set of muscles is a whole science. The main idea is to “injure” the muscles, let them recover and then repeat again. Here's how to gain muscle mass very quickly.

How can you quickly pump up muscles if you do not give them an ever-increasing load? No way. It's very simple, the weight should increase every week. Without this condition, you will never be successful.

That is, if this or that exercise is easier for you, then it's time to add weight. This is the idea of progression in loads.

Train within the following rep limits

Hypertrophy is an increase in muscle size. Since gaining weight and muscle mass is your goal, you need to train for hypertrophy, and not for stretching, which does not increase the size of muscle fibers.

Almost a decade of research has allowed specialists to identify the optimal range for the number of repetitions:

8-12 reps per set
6-8 reps per set

Muscle pumping occurs with the next approach. For the first 10 weeks, do the exercises according to the first frame of the number of repetitions, then move on to the second. Always start with 8-12 repetitions, as starting with a small amount you will not achieve significant muscle growth.

Perform each set to failure

This is a rather controversial issue, although, as such, there is no question here. Simply lifting weights for 8-12 reps won't get you anywhere, as you can only increase muscle mass through training intensity.

Let's say you can do 10 barbell raises; 11 is already impossible for you, and 5 is too easy. 5 repetitions is 50% of the effort intensity (10 = 100%). How to quickly build muscle if you put in only half the effort every workout? We all know it doesn't. The body simply will not have any incentive to increase muscle.

The necessary stimulation of the maximum number of muscle fibers occurs precisely in those last repetitions on the verge of possibilities.

Stopping before this point will simply prevent your body from going into growth mode. Always keep in mind that building muscle is a defense mechanism. If there is no sufficient reason (i.e. sufficient intensity), then the body simply will not see the point in an adaptive increase in muscle mass.

It's like sunburn. In order for the skin to darken, protecting us from bright radiation, intense sunlight is needed. If there is not enough sunlight, then you can sit outside for 16 hours a day and not get a tan at all in a month. It's the same with muscles. You can spend 3 hours in the gym every day, but with low intensity, and not gain an ounce of muscle mass.

Get enough rest between workouts

Did you know that accelerated muscle growth occurs when you are resting at home, and not when you are directly in training? This is due to the fact that power loads lead to the appearance of microtraumas in muscle tissue, which stimulate the process of growth recovery at the end of training. Therefore, in order to properly gain muscle mass, you need to get enough rest between workouts and not load the same muscles too often.

Both full body workouts and split workouts allow you to build muscle mass.

Studies have shown that training for all muscle groups at a time, as well as separate workouts for 5 days a week, are suitable for building muscle mass.

In the first case, you load each muscle group 3 times a week, in the second - one or two 5 times.

Below is an example of super effective workouts:

Full body workout:

Monday:

Squats - 2 sets;
Bench press - 2;
Rise on socks - 2;
Shrugs - 2;
Flexion of the wrists - 2.

Squats - 2 sets;
Bench press - 2;
Rise on socks - 2;
Crunches on the block from behind the head - 2;
Traction on a low block while sitting - 2;
Isolated bending of the arms - 2;
Extension of arms for triceps - 2;
Shrugs - 2.

Deadlift - 2 sets;
Push-ups on uneven bars - 2;
Dumbbell bench press from behind the head - 2;
Push-ups - 2;
Flexion for biceps with a barbell - 2;
Pull down on a high block with a reverse grip - 2;
Leg press - 2;
Leg curl - 2.

Split workout for 5 days

Monday - Shoulders/Trapezius:

Overhead barbell press - 4 sets;
Overhead dumbbell press - 2;
Breeding arms to the sides with dumbbells - 2;
Raising dumbbells in front of you - 2;
Shrugs - 4.

Tuesday - legs:

Squats - 2 sets;
Leg press - 2;
Deadlift on bent legs - 2;
Leg extension;
Bending the legs.

Wednesday - hands:

Bent over triceps extension - 2 sets;
Triceps extension on the block - 2;
Triceps press down on the block - 2;
Isolated bending of the arms - 3;
Bending arms with a barbell - 2;
Incline dumbbell curls - 1.

Thursday - back

Deadlift - 3 sets;
Traction on a low block while sitting - 3;
Dumbbell pull to the belt - 2.

Friday - Chest and Abs:

Bench press - 2 sets;
Bench press - 2;
Reduction of hands in the simulator while sitting - 2;
Push-ups sitting - 2;
Crunches on the block while kneeling - 3;
Lifting the body in an inclination - 2;
Reverse twists - 2.

Training cycle - 10 weeks

Start with a 3-day workout for 10 weeks, then take a week off and move on to a 5-day plan for the next 10 weeks. Of course, this is not the fastest way to quickly build muscle mass, but it is definitely effective.

Rest a week after the first 10 weeks

This "vacation" is extremely important. In order for muscle growth to be maximized, it is important to periodically give the body a rest for a relatively long period of time. After a week away from the gym, your body is ready to accept the new load, which is an effective way to gain muscle mass.

Do both combination and isolation exercises

Composite exercises are crucial in gaining muscle mass, as they involve several muscle groups at the same time and allow you to lift quite heavy weights. These are exercises that are built around more than one joint. These include squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses.

In recent years, isolation exercises have been unfairly underestimated. They involve the movement of only one joint.

While compound exercise enthusiasts talk about "working" several parts of the body at the same time, it's important to understand that this does NOT mean that each muscle group is working in a particular exercise with sufficient intensity. For example, during the bench press, the triceps are involved in the work, but this load is not enough to provoke muscle growth. That is why isolation exercises are a great way to properly gain muscle mass.

Eat enough

No matter what diet you follow, you need to eat enough to give your body the energy it needs to grow. Add 200-300 calories per day to your basal metabolic rate. It is often recommended to add 500, but this is too much, 3500 extra calories per week can lead to fat cell growth. It is a common misconception that getting fat and being bulky is the same thing.

Make Sure You Get Enough Protein Every Day

No, in order to increase muscle mass, you do not need to eat some unimaginable portions. Just a little more than usual.

There are two ways to determine the amount of protein required for muscle growth:

Easy way: 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight;
Difficult: weight of pure muscles without fat (kg) x 2.75

As you understand, the second is complicated in that you need to determine the percentage of fat in the body and calculate how much the dry muscle mass of your body weighs.

Below is a list of foods with the highest protein content per serving:

Steak, 170 grams = 42 grams of protein;
Chicken breasts, 85 grams = 30 grams of protein;
Chicken meat (cooked) 100 grams = 35 grams of protein;
Ham 85 grams = 19 grams of protein;
Bacon, 1 strip = 3 grams of protein;
Fish fillet or steak, 85 grams / 100 grams of cooked fish = 22 grams of protein;
Tuna, can 170 grams = 40 grams of protein;
Egg = 6 grams of protein;
Milk, 1 cup = 8 grams of protein;
Cottage cheese, 1 cup = 10 grams of protein;
Natural yogurt, 1 cup = 10 grams of protein
Tofu cheese, 100 grams = 20 grams of protein
Legumes (beans, lentils, etc.), ½ cup, cooked = 7-10 grams of protein;

Soybeans, cooked, ½ cup = 14 grams of protein;
Peanut butter, 2 tablespoons = 8 grams of protein;
Peanuts, ¼ cup = 9 grams of protein;
Almonds, ¼ cup = 8 grams of protein;
Pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup = 8 grams of protein;
Flaxseed, ¼ cup = 8 grams of protein;
Sunflower seeds, ¼ cup = 6 grams of protein.

Drink enough water

A sufficient level of water in the body is an important step in how to pump up muscle mass. Use the following formula: body weight x 0.03 = how many liters to drink per day.

get enough sleep

The advice isn't exactly about diet, but it's important enough. Muscle fibers regenerate during rest, which is why sleep is so important for muscle growth. And that's why:

During the deep phase of sleep, the release of growth hormone reaches its peak.
During sleep, the metabolism slows down, which is ideal for the recovery and growth of muscle tissue.
Increases blood flow to the muscles.

In addition, studies show that those who sleep 4 hours or less a night have 60% less testosterone than those who sleep 8 hours or more.

It is important to train well, eat right, but you should not forget about quality rest either.