Table of Contents
How Do You Gain Muscle Mass Fast?
What does the science say to gain muscle fast ? Well the best way to gain weight through muscle mass is through training consistently by lifting weights of calisthenics, progressively overloading, and eating a healthy balanced diet. If you want to speed up your progress in the gym further get good rest and recovery, avoid overtraining, get better sleep, and track your progress.
The Benefits of Gaining Muscle Mass
The two biggest benefits of training for muscle gain is from an aesthetic point of view. Though many people many say that this is vain
The Science Behind Muscle Growth
When you lift weights, the muscles in your body will tear and in the recovery process your muscle fibers with come back bigger and stronger through the process of muscle protein synthesis.
The Role of Exercise And Nutrition In Muscle Growth
The two most important macros when thinking about muscle growth are carbs and protein. The number of carbs you want to take will vary on several factors such as genetics, goals, and lifestyle, but a good number to follow is between 10% to 30% of your calorie intake, though carbs is an important energy source for your body.
Be careful not to eat too much as not to gain body fat because you will often eat more calories in carbs than protein before you are full. In terms of protein intake for optimal muscle growth, you want to take 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, or 2.2 grams of protein per kg of body weight.
If you would like to learn more about this topic you can read this article here Optimal Protein Intake for Athletes and Fitness Enthusiasts: The Ultimate Guide.
Designing A Muscle-Building Workout Program
- What is the best training split There are so many different training splits out there when doing resistance training, whether that be push, pull, leg splits, upper, lower splits, bro splits and so many more. I have done many of these different splits and in terms of muscle growth, I don’t think it matters all long as it fits nicely into your schedule. If you can do the split consistently for years on end with a high level of intensity, that is what truly matters in terms of muscle growth.
- Setting realistic goals Though this part of training is not necessary, it can help you boost your progress because you have something to aim towards. When setting goals I suggest setting two different goals, one long-term goal that you will achieve after many many years of training. The other is a short-term goal that you can achieve within 6 months to 1 year.
- Choosing the right exercises There are so many different exercises you can choose from no matter what muscle you want to hit, whether you want to train your chest, shoulders, or legs you could have dozens of different exercises to choose from. One important part of choosing the right exercises is that you are hitting all the sections of the muscle, for example, you can’t just train the chest as the chest is split into three different sections, the upper middle, and lower sections. By choosing the right exercises to hit all the muscles you will further increase your gains. If you are a beginner the best option for choosing the right exercises is to simply use pre-made workouts in your chosen training split
Calisthenics Vs Weight Training
Assuming you have a proper diet with enough training volume does it matter whether you train in calisthenics or lift weights. You could lift light weights, heavyweight, or do pull ups, but as long as you follow a good training program, do the exercises with proper form you will build muscle fast
The Importance of Progressive Overload
Progressive overload is the cornerstone of building muscle and strength training in the long term, though, in the beginning, your newbie gains will carry you through. In the long term, you need to progressively overload to continually build muscle whether that be through more training volume, or increasing the weight you lift. As to build muscle is to have your muscles tear and form back stronger than ever. But without progressive overload your muscles will not grow because they will not tear, therefore there is no reason for your muscles to grow back stronger.
Nutrient timing for muscle growth
When talking about the timing of nutrition to stimulate muscle growth we are mostly talking about the window to take protein after you finish your workout. While many people say the best time to gain the benefits of muscle protein synthesis is 30-60 minutes after your workout, it has been shown that the window to increase muscle mass is just as active even two hours after a workout.
If you would like to learn more about this topic you can read this article called Why Prefect Protein Timing Is Crucial!
Supplements For Muscle Growth
There are quite a few different supplements for enhancing your muscle growth supplements, but the 5 best by far are creatine , protein powder, BCAAs (branched chained amino acid), beta-acids, essential amino acids, and pre-workout supplements. One large purpose of most of these supplements is to either help you with muscle recovery or help with performance in the gym.
Rest and recovery
- The importance of rest and recovery Rest and recovery is one of the most important parts of training, and I recommend resting for 2 to 3 days between each muscle group to build muscle mass. So depending on your training split you can get away with training 6 to 7 times a week if you spread out what you are training throughout your week.
- Tips for better sleep Getting better sleep is one of the most important parts of improving your gains and improving your whole life. Getting a good night’s sleep will improve your muscle recovery, and should give you an abundance of energy for you to smash out some amazing workouts.
- Avoiding overtraining You should avoid overtraining, but in saying that most people don’t go far enough and end up stunting their muscle growth because they underestimate what they can do.
Some early warning signs of overtraining include a consistent inability to train at the level you are used to, excessive sweating and overheating, and you muscles feeling stiff and heavy. These are some of the great early warning signs that you are starting to suffer from overtraining.
Tracking Progress
The best way to track your progress is to take pictures of your physique every couple of weeks. Though every time you look at your progress on a fortnightly basis you will not see much of a difference, as the weeks turn into months and the months turn into years you will be able to look back with pride and wonder that is even the same person.
Tracking your progress can be complicated if you want to learn more read this article called Taking Body Measurements: The Ultimate Guide for Tracking Fitness
Adjusting your program as needed
If you are a beginner or even an intermediate I do recommend using a pre-made workout routine or hire a certified personal trainer.. But the problem with that is these routines are all not tailor-made for you the individual. This could lead to many different problems such as an increased risk of injury, increased risk of overtraining and potentially fewer gains to be made.
The Importance of Consistency
When training for muscle building no matter how optimized your diet, how optimized your training routine is, whether your in the weight room or doing calisthenics you will be you will have little to no gains if you are not consistent. When I say consistent many of you might think that means going to the gym 5 to 6 times per week every single week for years on end. That statement is only partially true, yes you have to do it weekly and years on end, but depending on your level of fitness being consistent on a week-to-week basis could only mean going 1 or 2 times per week.
Conclusion
Building muscle is a difficult process that will take months to years to achieve the body of your dreams. But by following the right steps you can make the process much easier and faster than you normally could.