When learning how to gain muscle mass fast, many people fail to understand the importance of sticking to the fundamentals. Sure there are thousands of fancy techniques and "cutting-edge" bodybuilding supplements that you can implement into your bodybuilding program, but at the end of the day, the only thing that actually helps you gain muscle mass is applying the fundamental muscle gain principles.
Countless articles have been written touting the benefits of the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid!) principle. Yet every night when I visit the gym I can't help but notice the disproportionate ratio of impressive muscular bodies to the average overweight non-muscular bodies. If I stick around long enough, I inevitably notice that the vast majority of average body types are focused intensely on some type of strange new "cutting edge" training program.
What's going on here, certainly these people have seen some of the same info that I have?
There is no doubt that they had to do some serious studying to uncover the strange workouts that they so intently perform. Somewhere along the way, they had to run across at least a few of the timeless muscle building fundamentals that actually work…right?
Well after many years of noticing the same trend in gym, after gym, after gym, I'm assuming that the vast majority of people have never been exposed to the truth about building lean muscle mass. In order to set the record straight I'm taking it upon myself to unlock the mystery surrounding the popular goal of learning how to gain muscle fast!
So Exactly How Do I Gain Muscle Mass Fast?
When it comes to gaining muscle fast, there is a very simple three-part process that you must always follow. There are absolutely no exceptions to this rule, so pay close attention!
#1 - In order to build muscle you must first stimulate muscle growth through some type of intense weight-training exercise.
While it's true that everyone's body responds differently to different types of training, it is universally accepted that heavy weight training inflicts the type of muscle damage that is required to stimulate both bone density and muscle growth.
As a general rule of thumb, the more basic compound free weight exercises like squats, dead lifts, bench press and bent rows seem to stimulate muscle growth more effectively than the isolation style exercises like preacher curls, leg extensions, and smith machine bench press.
Based on my experiences lifting fairly heavy weights for lower reps is a surefire way to gain muscle mass quickly. Yes it's uncomfortable. Yes it hurts. Yes it makes you sore for a few days after your workout. But let’s face it, if you never go outside of your comfort zone and lift progressively heavier weights, you'll never stimulate any muscle growth!
On the flip side, if you've been training with heavy weights for lower repetitions for a long amount of time, you may benefit from switching gears and trying lower weights for more repetitions. The important thing to keep in mind here is that as you train, your body adapts to your workouts. If you want to keep building muscle mass, then you need to keep switching things up in order to keep your body in a state of flux.
If your goal is to gain muscle mass fast, then I recommend limiting your workouts to a maximum of 1 hour. Anything longer will pull your body out of muscle building mode and into endurance mode. By limiting the length of your workout sessions, you can ensure that your body is receiving the right kind of stimulation for muscle growth.
#2 – After you've put in the time to properly stimulate muscle mass, you then must fuel that muscle growth by consuming ample amounts of the proper nutrients in the proper combination's at the right times. This allows your body the right kind of “fuel” to repair the damage inflicted by intense weight training exercises.
If your goal is to gain muscle mass, then you need to make sure and consume a minimum of 5 muscle building meals per day, evenly spaced every 2-3 hours. Each meal should include protein, carbohydrates, fat and some type of fruit or vegetable. When putting your bodybuilding nutrition plan together, it's important to realize that each gram of protein or carbohydrate contains 4 calories. Each gram of fat contains 9 calories.
Although, it is important for people wanting to gain muscle mass to consume enough protein, it's simply not necessary to consume crazy amounts. While it has been a popular recommendation over the last few years by many bodybuilders and self proclaimed fitness “gurus” to consume absurd amounts of protein, this is simply not necessary to support muscle growth.
The American College of Sports Medicine suggests in its position statement on protein consumption, that by consuming as little as 0.72 grams of protein per lb of body weight per day, you can effectively repair damaged muscle tissue, build lean muscle mass and limit the chances of negative side effects.
Fat does not just make people fat because it is bad for them, at 9 calories per gram, a small amount of fat can contain a staggering amount of calories. Following this logic, it is important to realize that in order to consume more calories, fat is essential to your muscle building diet. Certain types of fatty acids, (fat) when consumed properly, can not only increase your calories, but they have been scientifically proven to help you shed nasty body fat, increase muscle building hormone levels, increase brain function and alertness and provide an additional energy source for your body.
As you can see, these are some pretty great side effects! By consuming between 40 and 60 grams of “heart healthy” fat per day, spread over 5 meals, you can ensure that you will be able to get the benefits that dietary fats have to offer, without taking in the excess of calories often associated with fat consumption.
Carbohydrates serve as the primary energy source for your body and are an important part of the nutritional spectrum required for muscle growth. There are two types of carbohydrates, complex and simple.
Simple carbohydrates break down into sugars in the body very quickly. Because of this, they provide a very unstable energy source and are of little nutritional value. Examples of simple carbohydrates are white flour, white bread and table sugar.
While consuming some simple carbohydrates will not hurt your muscle building progress, you will want to consume the majority of your carbs from nutritious complex sources such as oats, yams, whole-wheat pasta and whole-wheat breads. This will not only provide your body with ample amounts of nutrients for muscle growth, but also ensure that your energy levels and mood remain stable throughout the day.
#3 – Now that you've laid the foundation to gain muscle fast, it's imperative that you do what is necessary to allow your body to repair, recover and grow. By making sure to get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep each night, you ensure that your body has enough time to recover from your workouts. It's also critical for proper recovery, to consume a minimum of 1 gallon of water each day. Aside from simply being a healthy thing to do, consuming enough water helps to flush out toxins associated with muscle building exercises.
Although not very fancy, the simple formula of stimulating muscle growth with intense weight training workouts, consuming a well balanced muscle building nutrition plan, and allowing for proper recovery works very well. By sticking to the basics and keeping things simple, you're improving your chance to gain muscle mass exponentially!
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