Building muscle fast is something a lot of people are interested in doing. After all, who wouldn’t want to be able to lift heavy weights and have their biceps bulge? The good news is that building muscle can actually be pretty simple.
All you need is a few key strategies and a solid workout routine. This guide will help you understand how to build muscle fast — everything from the best way to train each muscle group to exactly how many sets you should do per week.
To find out more, check out our podcast on this subject right here:
Prioritise Compound Exercises
To build muscle, you should focus on compound exercises. Compound exercises are the best way to build muscle fast because they work multiple muscles at once, which means more weight can be lifted with each exercise and more repetitions can be done. The stronger you are, the better your results will be from all of your workouts!
Here are some examples of compound exercises: bench press, squat, deadlift (also called power clean), military press or push-ups (push-ups require the most balance so they’re not always an option). On the other hand, bicep curls are considered single-joint exercises because they only isolate the biceps and not any other muscles in the arm or torso.
These, however, are just a few examples out of many different options available to choose from when deciding what kind of exercise routine you want to follow during your workouts each day.
Focus on Progressive Overload to help you build muscle
Progressive overload is the gradual increase in weight lifted over time. Now, while this sounds simple enough, there are a few ways to go about doing it that are important to know.
The first way is by increasing either the reps or sets you do each week. Let’s say you’re lifting 5kg weights and performing 10 reps per set (5kg x 10 reps). You could try increasing either one of those variables over time – which would mean adding 2kg to your dumbbells or doubling the number of reps and sets you do (5kg x 20 reps).
The second way would be by adding more weight to your initial lifts – for example, instead of starting with 1kg dumbbells and working up from there, maybe start with 2kg and work up from there.
Do the Right Amount of Volume
This is the fourth step to building muscle fast. If you’re confused by the term “volume,” don’t worry—we’ll go over it in detail here. Volume refers to how much weight you lift during each exercise.
In order to build muscle effectively, you need to do the right amount of volume. Volume is measured in sets and reps. A set involves performing an exercise until failure (i.e., until your muscles can no longer lift any more weight).
Each set should be completed before moving onto another one. You should aim for three to five sets per exercise. It’s best if each set consists of about 6-12 repetitions (reps), with at least two minutes between each set.
Balance Intensity and Volume to help build muscle
Intensity and volume are two of the most important metrics in building muscle. In order to make sure that you’re training properly, you need to know what they mean, and how they relate to each other.
Intensity refers to how hard your muscles are working during a given workout. To understand intensity, think about how much time each exercise takes compared to the others. For example: If one of your exercises takes 30 seconds (which is long for a single move), and another takes 2 minutes (which is short for a single move), then your first exercise was likely done at a higher intensity than the second exercise.
Combining these two metrics can help ensure that you are gaining both strength and size. The key here is balance! You want enough sets per muscle group so that you’re not wasting time doing too few sets for someone who wants maximum strength gains but not so many sets as would put them on par with someone whose goal is solely hypertrophy (muscle growth).
Train Each Muscle Group at Least Twice a Week to help build muscle
Another important thing to note is that you need to work each muscle group at least twice a week. That’s because after you work out one muscle group, it takes 48-72 hours for your body to repair and grow the muscles. So if your workout schedule only allows you to work out once a week, then the growth process will be slowed down significantly.
The Number of Sets You Do Matters (A Lot)
When it comes to the number of sets you do, the standard advice is to do 3-5 sets per muscle group. For example, if you want to build muscle in your arms, this would mean doing three or four different exercises (such as bicep curls) and working each arm individually. This means you’ll be doing 6-10 total sets for arms alone.
In terms of how many reps you should use per set (and thus how many total reps), that depends on a lot of factors including your current level of fitness and strength, but most people find that somewhere between 8-12 reps per set works best for building muscle mass.
If we combine these two recommendations together—how many sets and how many reps—it makes sense that we might end up with something like: 8-12 repetitions x 3-5 sets = 24 – 60 repetitions per workout session! This means that if you’re interested in building muscle mass quickly, then this is a good place to start!
Aim for Short, Powerful Workout Sessions to help build muscle
The ideal workout should be:
Short. You don’t need to spend hours in the gym to see results, so set a goal of working out for no longer than an hour—and even better if you can do it in half that time. A short workout session is also easier to fit into your schedule and less likely to be interrupted by other things, so it’s less stressful overall. Plus, as far as building muscle goes, intensity is more important than duration anyway!
Intense. This might sound like common sense but many people make the mistake of thinking that their workouts have been effective just because they’ve gone through all the motions with little effort (or none at all). If you want fast results from your training sessions then you need to push yourself past what feels comfortable—your muscles won’t grow unless they’re subjected to stressors outside their comfort zone!
Don’t worry about going overboard either—you’ll know when you’ve had enough when your muscles start feeling tired or sore; if this happens then take some time off before trying again at a lower intensity level until they recover fully (more on this later).
Use a Variety of Rep Ranges and Tempos
If you’re only doing sets of 10-12 reps, you’re missing out on some benefits. On the flip side, if you stick to lighter weights for high reps, you won’t be able to hit your muscles with enough force to cause growth. The solution is to use a variety of rep ranges and tempos so that each muscle group gets worked in different ways (and it’s easier than it sounds!). Try this workout:
- Dumbbell Squats – Four sets x 12 reps (three seconds down / three seconds up)
- Barbell Overhead Press – four sets x 8-10 reps (two second hold at top)
- Pull-Ups or Lat Pulldowns – four sets x 15-20 reps
Get the Most Out of Your Rest Periods
Rest periods are an essential part of building muscle.
Resting for at least one minute between sets is important for several reasons:
- It allows your muscles to recover from the stress of lifting weights, which helps prevent injury and improves your performance in subsequent sets.
- Resting between sets allows your heart rate to drop back down to its normal level so that you don’t over-train.
- It gives your body time to replenish its energy stores, especially blood sugar levels (glycogen) and oxygen stores so that you can perform as well as possible during each set.
You need to eat correctly
The Bottom Line on How to Build Muscle Fast
If you want to get strong and build muscle fast, the best way to do that is by lifting heavy weights and strength training. You also need sufficient protein in your diet.
To optimise your workout routine, keep the training volume and intensity balanced. Finally, make sure your total weekly volume is within reason — if you’re using too much volume per week then you’ll be overtraining and not getting stronger or bigger as fast as possible.
In order to build muscle fast, you need to focus on lifting heavy weights. Also, make sure you’re eating enough protein and balancing your training volume with your intensity.
To build muscle fast, you need to focus on lifting heavy weights. This means lifting more than your body weight in a single set of an exercise and performing multiple sets with this amount of weight. Lifting heavy is the best way to trigger muscular growth because it causes micro-tears in the muscles that increase protein synthesis for repair and growth over time.
You should also eat enough protein if you’re serious about building muscle mass fast. Protein builds new muscle tissue so it’s important for muscle recovery after workouts as well as for general health and wellbeing. Aim for 0.8 grams of protein per pound (1 gram per kilogram) of body weight every day from whole foods like meat, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, whey powder, milk and tofu.
It’s important to be careful not to go overboard on this, though Too much protein can cause digestive distress or bloating due to increased calcium intake when combined with sodium chloride found naturally within many foods.