Gain Muscle Fast

Gain muscle fast with these 7-secrets to successful bodybuilding.

1) The Four "S" Words - Supplementation, Shorter Workouts, Stretching and Sleeping Well
2) Eating Strategy
3) Modifications
4) Intensity Level (physical and mental)
5) Multi-joint Exercises
6) Use Free Weight
7) Maximum Effort

1) The Four "S" Words
Supplements - Bodybuilding supplements are a great aid in your quest for more muscle mass. Along with a great eating plan, (which we'll discuss a little later) supplements can support you in overcoming plateaus and continue to make progress. If your desire is to gain muscle fast, there are certain supplements you should include into your bodybuilding arsenal. One is a pre workout supplement to give you that extra energy and drive to push harder. Another is a solid protein supplement. A blend is better than just whey protein because a blend will keep you in an anabolic state for hours longer than regular whey.

Shorter Workouts - To keep your anabolic hormones peaked, and your strength up, try to keep the workout between 45-minutes to 1 hour. Whatever body part you're training, you should be able to fit in 10-12 sets within that time frame. If you can't, then you're resting too long between sets. They major key is secret #4, intensity. Without getting too deep right now, it is virtually impossible to maintain balls-to-the-wall intensity for prolonged periods of time. If you attempt to perform long, intense workout sessions, you'll notice your strength will drop dramatically and you will really be doing yourself a disservice.

Stretching - It's always a good idea to stretch around each exercise. Meaning, stretch before and after the set. Perform the normal static stretches, but only hold them for 3-4 seconds for 3-5 "sets". If you continue to hold the stretch too long (20-30 seconds) , you can temporarily weaken the muscle and reduce performance. After you finish training for the day, hold the stretches for 20-30 seconds and really force the fascia to elongate.

Sleeping Well- As the old adage goes, "results are made outside the gym, not in it". This couldn't be more true. Sleep is vitally important for your success. This it the time when your brain goes into REM and the body begins repairing and rebuilding itself. Try to squeeze in eight hour of sleep per night. This is the ideal amount, in most cases, to help you make the most improvements to your physique. If this is impossible, try including a 20-minute cat nap in the afternoon or take up meditation after work. It's not quite the same as eight solid hours of sleep, but it will still be beneficial to you.

2) Eating Strategy - Picture a fireplace. In order to start the fire, you need wood. Without the wood, you have no fire. Food is like the wood that fuel our internal fire (metabolism) .
To keep the fire burning, you need to add logs as time goes on. Our bodies function the same way. You need to eat a solid breakfast and continue to add food as time goes on. Eating every 2-3 hours throughout the day will keep you metabolism revved up and your hungry muscles feed.
How many calories should you consume? A great way to estimate your caloric needs is for women to multiply their weight in pounds by 10 and men by 11. For example, a man who weighs 200 pounds would require about 2,000 calories per day just to maintain bodily functions and survival. He'd need at least 300-400 calories above this if there is any energy allocated to exercise. If he is very active, meaning performing aerobic and anaerobic activity 5-6 days per week, he might need to double or more the calories for survival in order to increase muscle mass.
How much should you eat at one sitting? Serving sizes will vary depending on your individual needs and current body weight, muscle mass, activity level, etc.... The key is to not feel "stuffed" after eating a meal or snack. You should simple feel satisfied and no longer have the desire to eat more. Test different serving sizes until you find the quantity you need.

Water - Your entire body is made up of approximately 60-65 percent water. Muscle is made up of 70 percent water, bone consists of 43 percent water and even fat is 22 percent water. In fact, without water life would be a short trip, lasting less than a week. Water is very important. Water is responsible for many processes including the transportation of nutrients to the body's cells and the transportation of waste for excretion. Water replenishes the body during exercise and for athletic activities, as little as a 4% dehydration level can reduce performance. This low level won't signal the impulse to drink. You need to take the initiative and drink water throughout the day to stay well hydrated. The recommended daily intake of water is 64 fluid ounces per day (eight fluid ounces, eight times per day) . However, as a bodybuilder you can increase that amount to 1-2 gallons per day!

3) Modifications- The body gets accustom to particular routines that are repeated over and over. It will remember what's coming and be prepared for it. This is when plateaus happen. The main idea to continue to make progress, is the make slight modifications each and every workout. For example, if you always start Monday's workout with flat barbell bench press, try incline dumbbell press first the next time you train chest. Even if you continue to perform the same exercises, simply mixing up the order and/or reps will confuse the body and make it continue to respond.

4) Intensity Level (physical and mental) - If muscle mass is your goal, you need to train with high intensity. Forcing high demands on your body will force your muscle to continue growing. To paraphrase Arnold, in Pumping Iron, "When the burning of the muscle kicks in, being able to perform two or three more reps and endure the pain is what separates a champion from and average lifter." That's intense and that's how you need to train. Most of that is mental. The human brain is amazing. If you tell yourself you can and really believe it, you CAN! Muhammad Ali put it best, "I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was." Visualize yourself how you want to be. Make every workout count to reach that vision of yourself. Perform drop sets, super sets and giant sets. Make your muscles burn as you mentally focus and push through. Blasting your favorite music can be a great aid in helping you increase intensity. Always know in your heart of hearts, that you can accomplish your goal and that you will develop the physique you desire.

5) Multi-joint Exercises - Otherwise know as compound exercises stimulate the maximum amount of muscle per movement. In fact, compound exercises are the king. Compound movements are exercises which involve more than one joint moving simultaneously. The more joints that move, the more muscles fire in a shorter period of time. Not only that, but our bodies don't move or function in isolated movements. Let's say, you step off the curb and are about to cross the street, when out of nowhere a car whips around the corner. What do you do? You explode, with your entire body, back towards the side walk. Compound movements work in the same way. You a firing multiple muscle fibers at the same time. Some examples of compound exercises are squats, bench presses, dead lifts, etc...

6) Use Free weights- Using free weight over machines will give you better results. Free weights allow a better range of motion and eliminate the track of motion that machines put you though. Meaning, you have to stabilize the weight and handle your own natural path of movement (how the weight moves against gravity) . Free weight are far more versatile than machines. It's nearly impossible to perform whole body multi-angle movements on a machine.

7) Maximum Effort- If your seeking muscle mass, you need to push hard and heavy. The rep range should be between 5-12 reps for maximum strength and muscle growth. Performing higher repetition is good if it's your last exercise for that particular body part. This will add to the pump and cause blood to gorge the area. But, the main focus should be size and high reps simply don't accomplish that.

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