9 Ways to Build Muscle Fast, According to Trainers
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that all healthy adults, ages 18 to 65, perform muscle-strengthening activities at least two days a week. That includes push-ups, sit-ups, and lifting weights. To help support the muscle-building process, incorporate cardiovascular exercise alongside strength training, suggests Stephanie Mansour, a Chicago-based weight loss coach and corporate wellness trainer. Staying consistent and challenging your muscles is the key to results.
1. Perform compound exercises
To maximize your muscle-building capability, perform multi-joint compound lifts, suggests Williams. âThese lifts include chest press, overhead press, row, deadlift, and squats,â she says. âThey recruit more muscle groups and the most muscle fibers, giving you the biggest bang for your buck. You can also use more weight doing these lifts which also helps speed up the process.â (You can use this upper-body dumbbell workout as a starting point.)
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Feeling sleep-deprived makes everything more challenging, especially when youâre trying to get through a muscle-building workout. âNot only does sleep allow your muscles to recharge, but muscle-building hormones are released during deep sleep,â says Mansour. âSo itâs really important to make sure your body reaches this stage three to four times a night.â
Aim for seven to eight hours of shut-eye a night. Creating a nightly routine for yourself can help you get to bed on time. (Hereâs when muscle pain is a bad sign.)
3. Be consistent in your weight training
Consistency and frequency of training with weights are essential, says Straub. The minimum number of days she recommends doing resistance training is two days a week. If you want faster results, she suggests training more often, but with this caveat: âFive to six days a week is possible, but you will need to alternate your focus so you give your muscles adequate time to recover,â she says. âFor example, if you train your lower body on Monday, on Tuesday you will want to focus on your upper body.â
Muscles need at least 48 hours to recover, according to the American Council on Exercise. (Avoid these weight-lifting mistakes that can ruin your workout.)
4. Focus on maintaining proper form
âNothing can destroy a workout faster than an injury,â says Straub. If you are new to weight training, or any type of exercise, she says your number-one goal should be learning proper form. âPiling on weight or doing too many reps in an effort to increase intensity is a recipe for disaster if your technique is bad,â she adds. (This is the best exercise to build muscle.)
To build muscle fast, you may be inclined to focus only on weight training, but this is a bad idea, according to Straub. âCardiovascular training helps aid in fat loss and improves your endurance when working with weights,â she says. âBalance training enables you to do more advanced weight training exercises, leading to faster results.â (Opt for this strength training routine that works the whole body.)
Protein is required to build muscle, so Tara Allen, registered nurse and certified health coach, nutrition coach, and personal trainer, recommends spreading out your protein intake across your various meals and snacks.
âYou want to make sure youâre getting enough to supply the building blocks that are a necessary part of growing your muscles,â she says. That begins with breakfast. âMake sure you get at least 20 to 30 grams with breakfast since this is typically the meal that most people take in the least amount of protein.â (These are the foods that help build muscle.)
7. Utilize your body weight when equipment is not available
Physical weights are not always available, but thatâs no reason to skip out on strength training. âBuilding muscle can be accomplished using simply your body weightâthink push-ups and squatsâas well as resistance bands and exercise balls,â says Straub. âYou may need to get creative, but itâs definitely possible.â (You can also try these upper body exercises without weights.)
8. Aim to be in a calorie surplus
âThose who are fairly new to exercise have a unique ability to lose body fat and build muscle at the same time,â explains Allen. âHowever, for those who are more advanced or those looking to put on muscle mass as fast as possible, taking in more calories than you use up in any given day will be important for a while during your muscle-building phase.â (Learn how calorie content in food is counted.)
One of the best things you can do for your body while you work to build muscle is to give it a dayâs rest. Research, including one study published in the journal Physiological Reports, found that reducing your workout volume by about half every eight to 12 weeks can actually enhance your progress. âOverworking your muscles will only slow down your growth,â says Mansour. âAfter about eight weeks, cut the amount of sets you do in half for about a week before going back to your normal amount.â
Next, learn what happens when you start a beginner strength-training workout.
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