Has your gym progress been a little stagnant for the last few months (or years)? Or maybe you’re new to lifting all together and curious about how to see results faster?
When it comes to building muscle, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. With a few tried-and-true tips, you’ll be seeing gains in no time. Keep reading to find our easy and actionable tips on how to build muscle fast.
Fine Tune Your Diet
Diet is perhaps the most important factor in your muscle-building journey. If you’re not eating right, you just won’t see the results you’re trying to achieve.
There are two main components to eating to gain muscle.
Eating Enough Calories
Many people make the mistake of not eating enough food to fuel their growing muscles. If you’ve been lifting heavy in the gym and not seeing results, you’re probably not eating enough.
Your body can burn 2000 calories per day by just keeping you alive. When you add intense physical activity into the mix, you’re looking at 2500-3000+ calories burned every day.
Find your basal metabolic rate (BMR) to see how many calories your body burns by just existing. You should never eat below this number of calories unless recommended to do so by your doctor.
To determine how many calories you should eat, multiply your body weight by 20. Most people need around 20 calories per pound of weight to gain mass. If you’re a 200-pound person, you could eat around 4000 calories.
Of course, this calculation isn’t perfect for every body. You may need to tweak that calorie range once you see how your body responds to that amount of food.
Eating the Right Foods
You may be excited at the prospect of eating 4000 calories a day and hitting your gym goals. You can’t expect to eat a diet comprised of Twinkies, Pop-Tarts, and french fries and still see results. The quality of what you eat is just as important as the quantity.
Protein is a non-negotiable when it comes to building muscle. 1.5 to 2 grams aim of protein per kilogram of body weight. If you weigh 90 kg (200 lbs), you should be aiming for around 180 grams of protein a day.
Fill your plate with protein options like salmon, chicken breast, shrimp, and lean beef. Vegetarian sources of protein like soybeans, cottage cheese, and beans are also great additions to your diet.
Carbohydrates are another necessary macronutrient to focus on in our diet. Carbs will be your main source of fuel for your workouts, so don’t skimp out. You do need to choose the right carbs to get the energy-boosting effects, though.
Oatmeal, sweet potato, couscous, brown rice, and white potatoes are all healthy sources of carbohydrates.
Your body will also need heart-healthy fats to start building muscle. A diet rich in healthy fats will boost your HDL (“good” cholesterol) levels. The higher your HDL, the more growth hormone your body produces for muscle-building purposes.
Olive oil, nuts, and avocado are great additions to your diet.
Try Supplementation
There are only so many vitamins and minerals you can garner from food sources. If you’re serious about learning how to build muscle mass fast, supplements will help fill in the blanks.
Protein powder is one of the most common supplements in the muscle-building world. If the thought of chicken and ground beef at every meal makes you sick, you’ll love the versatility of protein powder. Throw it in your blender with some peanut butter or frozen fruit, and you have a healthy (and satiating) snack.
Creatine is another great supplement for muscle and strength gains. In fact, studies show it’s one of the most effective nutritional supplements for athletes. Creatine boosts your body’s energy production, helping you squeeze every last drop from your workouts.
While protein powder and creatine get all the glory, there are plenty of other lesser-known supplements to consider.
Take the little-known MK-677 for example. This hormone mimetic is often used as an anabolic substance to boost lean body mass. We recommending learning more about it before giving it a go.
Beta-ecdysterone is a natural steroid that shares a similar structure as testosterone. It works by stimulating protein synthesis and can improving muscle growth.
Read more: is peanut butter gluten free
Train Right
Increasing your training volume will mean more muscle mass. Volume refers to the load you’re putting onto a muscle group during your workout.
To determine your workout volume, multiply the sets by reps and the weight. For example, if you’re benching 150 pounds for 10 reps at four sets, your volume is 6000 pounds.
You should also consider lifting in a hypertrophy rep range. Aim to do eight to 15 repetitions for each set. If you’re finding you still have gas left in the tank at the end of 15 reps, raise the weight.
Being stronger usually means you’ll have bigger muscles (though this isn’t always the case). To get stronger you’re going to have to lift heavier, there’s no way around that. Choose a weight that allows you to fatigue by rep 15.
If you’re not seeing results with the eight to 15 rep range, switch it up. Your body might respond better to sets of four to six reps.
Compound lifts are the most effective and efficient movements you can do to build muscle. These exercises involve multi-joint movements to maximize your muscles. A barbell squat hits more muscles and joints than a seated leg extension machine, for example.
Now’s Your Chance to Build Muscle Fast
Muscle building is a time-consuming but rewarding process. If you want to change your body and up-level your fitness, our tips above will help you build muscle fast.
Keep reading our health blogs for more tips on how to live your best life.
