To build muscle quickly, it is important to work out 3 to 5 times per week, change routines regularly, and get enough sleep. These habits stimulate muscle fibers and give them time to recover and grow stronger.
A balanced diet that includes protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats is also essential for muscle gain. These nutrients provide the fuel and building blocks needed to repair and grow muscle fibers.
It is equally important to allow muscles time to rest. Exercise naturally causes small amounts of damage to the fibers, and it is during recovery that the body repairs and strengthens them, leading to muscle growth.
Tips on how to build muscle
The 12 best tips for gaining muscle mass quickly are:
1. Perform exercises slowly
Strength training should be done slowly, especially during the contraction phase of the muscle. This type of movement creates more fiber damage, which results in greater muscle gain during recovery.
Performing exercises more slowly also improves body awareness and helps prevent compensations that can make movements easier but less effective.
2. Don’t stop when you feel muscle burn
When you start to feel pain or burning in the working muscle, you should not stop right away. This is the moment when fibers break, which is what leads to hypertrophy during recovery.
One technique that promotes this effect is the drop set, which should be performed until failure, when another repetition is not possible due to pain, weakness, or burning.
However, if pain develops in a joint or in a different muscle not being trained, it is important to stop or reduce intensity to avoid injury.
3. Train 3 to 5 times per week
Consistency is key for building muscle. Training 3 to 5 times a week is recommended, working the same muscle group 1 to 2 times per week, since rest is essential for hypertrophy.
Trainers often recommend structured workout routines, such as an ABC split, to help ensure steady muscle growth.
4. Eat a protein-rich diet
A healthy, protein-rich diet is essential for building muscle. A daily intake of about 1.6 to 1.8 g of protein per kg of body weight is generally recommended.
Protein-rich foods include eggs, chicken, fish, beef, chickpeas, lentils, and soy. These foods play a vital role in maintaining and repairing muscle fibers.
5. Consume carbs and healthy fats before workouts
Eating complex carbohydrates and healthy fats before training provides the energy needed for exercise.
It is also important to increase daily calorie intake by about 400 to 500 calories, making sure you consume more calories than you burn to support muscle growth. Read more about what to eat to gain muscle.
6. Increase training load
Progressively increasing weight load is essential to stimulate muscle growth. Once muscles adapt to a certain effort, they will no longer develop unless intensity increases.
This can be done by adding more sets or gradually increasing the weight lifted, always under the supervision of a fitness professional.
7. Change workouts every 4 weeks
Workout routines should be changed every 4 to 5 weeks to prevent muscle adaptation, which can slow down hypertrophy.
At the end of this period, a trainer should assess progress and adjust exercises and strategies as needed.
8. Use 60% to 80% of maximum load
Strength exercises should be performed with 60% to 80% of the maximum weight that can be lifted in a single repetition.
For example, if someone can lift 30 kg only once on a leg extension machine, the recommended training weight would be between 18 kg and 24 kg.
9. Keep training after reaching your goal
Reaching your muscle gain goal is not the time to stop training, since this can lead to muscle loss. Noticeable reduction in muscle mass can occur after just 15 days without exercise.
Initial results are usually visible after about 3 months of consistent strength training, while greater growth and definition are often noticeable after 6 months. Cardiovascular improvements may be seen within the first month.
10. Use nutritional supplements
Supplements for muscle growth such as whey protein, creatine, and BCAAs can help support a balanced diet and promote muscle gain. They enhance workout performance and aid muscle recovery.
These should only be taken with guidance from a doctor or nutritionist.
11. Get enough sleep
Sleeping at least 8 hours per night is important for building muscle. Good sleep increases IGF-1, a hormone linked to both sleep quality and muscle maintenance.
Poor sleep or short sleep duration increases the risk of muscle loss and can also reduce strength.
Also recommended: How to Fall Asleep Fast: 10 Tips for a Quicker Sleep tuasaude.com/en/how-to-fall-asleep-fast12. Warm up before training
A light warm-up is recommended before training. This can include a few minutes of low-intensity cardio or quick, light sets of the planned workout exercises.
Warming up helps improve cardiovascular capacity and increase calorie burn without interfering with hypertrophy, as long as training volume is kept at an appropriate level.
Can you gain 10 lbs of muscle in 1 month?
It is not possible to gain 10 lbs of muscle in one month.
Muscle gain typically ranges from 220 g to 900 g (about 0.5 to 2 lbs) per month. The exact amount depends on age, diet, type of training, and individual genetics.