Those who wish to Build Muscle Fast are routinely derailed by the amount of time it takes. You go to the gym on a regular basis adding weight to every exercise but yet you are not seeing the results that you thought you would see. You follow all of the advice you read in the magazines or from the bodybuilder at your local gym and haven’t seen an increase in muscle size.
Well you are not alone. In my 25 years in the bodybuilding and fitness industry I have seen more and more people disappearing from the gym after failing to get the results they were promised. Unfortunately for many years you have been lied to by supplement manufacturers and magazines whose on goal is to sell you their products or articles.
The truth of the matter is that under optimal conditions one can only build about 1-2 pounds of muscle per month. This means that you are eating the right amount of food, clean food, and your training is in line with your goals of gaining muscle mass. Yes in the beginning you may build muscle faster than that but they soon level out and you may seem to have hit a plateau.
One of the biggest mistakes people are making in their quest to build muscle is to train the same body part several times per week. They then enter into a state of overtraining which is a time when your body does not repair the damage to the muscle. If you continue down this path you will enter into what is call the overuse syndrome. Once in the overuse syndrome injuries begin to occur and mental fatigue skyrockets. It takes many weeks to pull yourself out of this and in some instances stopping your training completely is the only way to fully recover.
In order to stay on track you must have a preplanned exercise routine that specifically meets the demands for gaining muscle. You also must have a diet that is rich in proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that will give your body the fuel and nutrition needed to get through a rigorous training routine and the nutrients needed to give your body what it needs to fully recover.
A training routine that is focused on overloading your muscles during each training session is essential. As a beginner it is best to focus on compound movements such as bench press, deadlifts, squats, military presses, and bent over rows. Performing “detailing” exercises such as pec-deck flys, preacher curls, or lateral raises will not cause an overload on your muscles in order to push them to grow. As an intermediate trainer you should increase the sets per exercise and weight used during each exercise.
Having intense training session along with a diet high in protein and carbohydrates is essential to creating an environment for muscle growth. So many times I have heard from people that they are training so hard and still are not gaining muscle. I call B.S. on this statement. The reality is that your body has no choice but to build muscle as long as you are if all of the factors are in place. It is just what the body does and there really is no trick to make it grow. This is the same concept to losing fat. If you are creating the environment for your body to lose body fat then it will. But if any one of several factors are not adhered to then it will not.
There are many supplement manufacturers that spend millions of dollars on advertising telling you that their product is the key to all of your fitness dreams. The reality is that most of these products contain the same elements and just their labels are different. There are however some supplements that will assist you with gaining muscle. For instance the most studied sports supplement is creatine. Studies have shown a drastic improvement in strength and muscle gain by properly adding creatine to your program. But unfortunately many people are not patient enough to wait for your body to do what it was designed to do and over use many sports supplement products.
Another supplement that you may want to add to your program is whey protein. In order for you to take in enough protein to assist your body with repair and growth you would have to consume 8 or 9 meals per day; although there are several top bodybuilders, power lifters, and fitness athletes that eat 8-9 meals per day. So if you find it hard to eat enough protein in each meal that your body will need to recover then adding in a scoop of whey protein at each meal may be the edge you need. You need to realize that there is a reason why these products are called supplements. They are intended to supplement your meals not replace them. Over consuming a lean protein or whey protein will work against you if you want to remain leaner while working to add on muscle mass.
The reality is that there is no ‘legal’ way for you to pack on massive amounts of lean muscle mass fast. Your body is designed to develop based on the stress or resistance that is placed upon it. If you are consistently adding more intensity and resistance your body adapts by building more muscle fibers in order to take on the added stress. If any of the discussed factors in this article are missing then your body will not develop. So be patient, make sure your training session is intense, specific, consistent, and progressive. Make sure your diet is giving your body the ability to repair and grow. If all of these factors are aligned then you will build muscle, guaranteed.