The quest for muscle is often a long and arduous one. Many people fail to achieve the results they desire because they lack the information and knowledge required to build muscle. They plunge into the struggle of building muscle but fail to prepare and arm themselves properly. This article will provide you the information you need to build muscle as quickly as possible.

Genetics

I’m sure you have seen some people who are blessed with great genetics. These people can seemingly gain muscle and lose fat rapidly without even training for it. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to increase your genetic potential. The only thing you can do is to make the best use of what you have. So don’t be discouraged if your best friend packs on muscle faster than you do.

Training

Most people think building muscle can be done with just training. Unless you have good genetics, this is not possible. Please understand that although you might have a good training program, a lousy diet will limit your potential gains.

Planning your training based on building muscle is simple. Compound movements should be the cornerstone of your program. Squats, deadlifts, bench press and chin-ups are a must. Compound movements allow you to use more weight as more muscles are activated. The heavier load will stress the muscles a great deal more than isolation movements. Compound movements are therefore, simply more efficient and better for building muscle fast as opposed to isolation movements.

Volume and weight should be the measure for your progress. Volume means the total number of sets and repetitions done. You should be striving to increase the volume or set it as high as possible from the start of your training program. 4 sets of 12 repetitions or 5 sets of 10 repetitions will be a good volume for your workout. You should also be increasing the weight you use in every workout so as to provide progressive overload to the muscles. Keep in mind that your training must be intense and hard to reap the best gains.

Example training routine:

• Workout A) Squats – 5×10, Pull-ups – 4×8, Military press – 4×8
• Workout B) Deadlifts – 5×10, Bench press – 4×8, Barbell rows – 4×8

Nutrition and supplementation

As previously stated, diet is the most important factor in gaining muscle. In order to gain muscle and put on weight, you must have a calorie surplus. That means you have to eat more than your body burns. The problem lies in figuring how much food you should eat. Eat too much and you’ll get too fat. Eat too little and you won’t be able to put on muscle.

You should increase the amount of food you eat by only a little than what you are currently eating to maintain your bodyweight. This is to ensure you won’t store the extra calories as fat. Your weight should be increasing by about 0.5kg a week. Adjust the calories you take accordingly.

Quality of food is important as well. Eating junk food to increase your weight may be acceptable as a powerlifter but if you want to gain muscle with as little fat as possible, dump the junk. All kinds of meat, milk, vegetables and eggs are staples in a muscle gaining diet. The occasional hamburger or fries won’t kill you but keep in mind not to overdo it. A good rule of thumb is to eat cleanly 80% of the time. To keep your metabolism up, spread your calories over multiple meals a day.

Supplements are optional and should not be a main concern when gaining muscle and losing fat. Still, it won’t hurt anyone to take a multi-vitamin pill every day. Fish oil and creatine can also help in gaining muscle and improving function of the body. Remember that supplements are a supplement to a diet and not the other way around.

Building muscle fast is really easy if you’re armed with the correct information. The next time you’re looking to build muscle as quickly as possible, look through these guidelines again. You will be able to pack on some meat on your frame in less than 3 months.