5 Tips I Follow to Build Muscle Rapidly
I started my fitness journey from high school onwards. Over the course of a decade, I have scoured countless blogs and YouTube videos that touch on the topic of rapid muscle growth. Today, I am excited to distill golden pieces of information that I have found to work beautifully for just this. Whether you are a fellow gym rat or someone who has recently began their fitness journey, follow these tips to maximize your results.
1. Constant Protein Intake
The first and most obvious tip: ensuring an adequate amount of daily protein intake. During intense workouts, you develop tears in your muscle. In order to assist your body repair this damage and maintain muscle tissue, you need to provide sufficient levels of amino acids to it. I personally aim to consume 1 gram of protein per 1 pound of body weight daily. This tactic has been followed by professional body builders and social media influencers such as Chris Heria and Jeff Nippard for effective lean bulking. Don’t get me wrong. Consuming this amount of protein in one day is not a menial task by any means, especially if your body is not used to it. My advice would be to gradually increment to this amount; perhaps start by consuming 60% of your body weight (60g of protein if you weigh 100 lbs for example), and increase from there.
There are some who even exceed the 1:1 ratio, although this is incredibly difficult from personal experience. If you are looking to bulk quickly, this is a possible avenue to explore that is sure to give you results. The good news is that there is no harmful effects by following even an extremely high-protein diet as well. According to a study done in 2016, evidence shows that there are no detrimental conditions of kidney and liver function for those who follow a protein rich mealplan.
It is important to supply your body with different types of protein as well since they metabolize in different manners. BCAA’s (branched chain amino acids) are three of the nine essential amino acids our bodies need to function properly and must be obtained through diet. BCAA’s are known to activate muscle protein synthesis pathways while also decreasing soreness and recovery time after a workout. Studies show that approximately a 30% increase in muscle growth is theoretically attainable through the persistent use of BCAA’s alongside training.
2. Heavy-Light Weight Alternation
When I began my fitness journey, I focused on lifting as heavy as I possibly could. Although this strategy is not entirely a wrong way to go about building muscle, it is more effective to alternate the types of weight workouts you do. The alternation concept is simple:
Higher weights → Lower reps
Lower weights → Higher reps
When you increase your weight, you are tearing more muscle thus leading to an increase in muscle mass (assuming proper diet of course!). When you lower your weight and do more reps on the other hand, it increases your muscle endurance. Think about it this way: if you are continually lifting heavy in attempts to build muscle quick, your body will become exhausted eventually, leading to more risk of injury as your form will suffer. You need to allow your body to recover adequately while also building endurance through lower weights, which will allow you to hit even heavier weights in the future!
Another important metric to consider is time under tension. Bodybuilders focus on straining their muscles for extended periods of time to maximize hypertrophy and in turn gain muscle mass quickly. To put it simply, by increasing the total amount of time your muscles endure stress, the more you tear them. Through recovery and proper nutrition to supplement this, you will without a doubt obtain the results you are looking for. To do this, begin by timing your exercises; specifically, the time it takes to do one rep. By slowly building up the time it takes to do one rep, you will increase your time under tension.
3. Pre- and Post-Workout Meals
A common mistake people make is placing too much emphasis on the workout, rather than diet. Hitting the gym without the proper macros and nutrients to supplement it is a fruitless endeavor!
A pre-workout meal is a crucial factor for a good workout. I found that having a meal 2 hours before a workout is optimal so long as you don’t feel stomach discomfort during the workout itself. Your body uses carbohydrates primarily, specifically glycogen (the stored version of glucose), to fuel your muscles. Having a good balance of carbs and protein prior to your workout will fuel your workout, allowing you to lift heavier and for longer periods of time.
4. Sleep
Arguably one of the most important tips among all: sleep! It is crucial to get adequate amounts of sleep for your body to conduct repairs on muscles. In a study done in 2017 on approximately 10,000 individuals, it was found that individuals with less than 6 hours of sleep have significantly lower muscle strength than those with 7 or more hours.
In the time you sleep, blood flow increases to your muscles, which carries more nutrients and oxygen to your muscles in turn promoting cellular regeneration. Within deeper stages of sleep, our pituitary gland secretes the Growth Hormone which stimulates tissue growth. A lack of sleep may also contribute to you resorting to non-optimal nutritional decisions such as sugar-rich foods in order to keep you awake during the day. Thus, it is crucial to get adequate amounts of sleep in order for your body to repair damages you’ve incurred via your workouts while also promoting good decision making.
5. Consistency
All of these tips will only work if you follow this one golden rule: consistency. If going to the gym regularly is not a habit for you yet, start small! Try going 2–3 days a week. Naturally, you will form this habit of going repeatedly and want to go back. Another option to motivate you is looking forward to something after a workout. Try rewarding yourself with a Netflix show or a healthy snack that you absolutely adore after coming back from your workout. This way, you foster the process of an eventual gym addiction! Although personally, I just look forward to a nice long shower when getting back home.
As always, thank you for reading. Feel free to check out some of my other articles if you liked this one!
