Did you know that sleep is one of the most essential ways to build muscle and strength?
While many people may think that you just need to train harder, the truth is that it’s a bit more complex than that. Building muscle starts with an intense gym routine but also requires the right nutrition, sleep, and even some strength-building supplements.
In addition to this, the key to muscle growth is consistency. This is why it’s so important to learn about how to build muscle and stick to your goals every day.
Are you looking for a helpful guide to maximize your gains? Here’s a complete guide on everything you need to know about building muscle fast.
Compound Commitments
Achieving your body goals is a compound commitment that requires you to combine muscle training with a healthy diet. While many may think that the work you do in the gym is the hardest part, the truth is that sticking to a consistent diet is incredibly challenging. This is why the most important skill to have during the process is discipline.
Increase Your Training
If you want to build muscle and gain strength in the gym, you need to focus on your training. When it comes to your time in the gym, make the most of it. In essence: give everything you have while you’re there but do every set with precision and patience.
Most professional bodybuilders focus on doing incredibly slow reps, focusing on the muscle on the way up and down. Focusing helps increase the overall time under tension, prioritizing muscle growth in that specific location. At the end of the day, time under tension is what counts and is responsible for most of your muscle gains.
How Often Should You Train?
Planning your schedule is also important as it highlights your commitment to the goals you have. As mentioned above, you may want to get in the gym more often to build more muscle, but this does not mean every day. The perfect gym session should last somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour, with 15 minutes for stretching and cooling down.
However, the time that you are in the gym should count. Minimize your rest between sets and exercises. While rest is important to allow your body to quickly recover, too much rest can cool your muscles. This ends up making the next set less effective.
When it comes to how often you should gym during the week, it’s important to include rest days to help recover. Most bodybuilders try to incorporate two rest days every week, spread apart for the most optimal schedule.
Prioritize Sleep
Sleep is the most underrated superpower in the world. Having a good night’s rest is essential to keep you feeling fresh in the morning and can even help you with recovery. In this way, sleep allows your body to rest and repair overnight.
When it comes to planning out your sleep schedule, the most optimal amount of sleep is around 7 to 8 hours every night. However, the more the better.
Calorie Surplus
If you want to build muscle, you need to give your body enough energy to power through your intense workouts. You should be in a calorie surplus every day, with the added fuel being used to repair your muscles overnight. In this way, you can consistently increase your muscle mass over time.
When planning out your diet, it’s important to remember that it’s not just about the number of calories that you consume, it’s also about the quality of calories that you’re putting in your body. You can get 2,000 calories in by sitting on the couch and eating chocolate, but that isn’t really giving your body all the vitamins and minerals that it may need.
It’s important that you always focus on maintaining a balanced diet. A balanced diet includes healthy fats, fruits, carbohydrates, and protein, all in the right proportions. If you’re unsure about what you need to be eating, you can visit a nutritionist who can help you tailor a meal plan to help you achieve your personal goals.
How Many Calories Should You Have Daily?
Finding out how many calories you should be eating is an important part of the process. Since this number will be different for each person, it’s easier to use percentages to determine how many calories you need to achieve a calorie surplus. For most people looking to bulk up, you should be consuming around 20% to 25% more calories than you burn every day.
This helps give you a nice cushion to help build muscle mass over time.
Cheat Meals
Whether you’re a gym rat or not, everyone knows exactly what a cheat meal is. However, did you know that it can actually help you achieve your body goals? While you should never go overboard, a conservative cheat meal can actually satisfy your cravings during the week.
Sticking to a diet is not very easy, especially if you’re new to it. In this way, having a cheat day can keep you motivated to stick to the diet during the week. For example, if you set aside a cheat day on Sundays, it can actually help you stick to your meal prep for the week as you look forward to Sunday’s cheat meal.
In some cases, people actually feel guilty after the cheat meal. This guilt can actually work in your favor as it allows you to stick to your diet.
Don’t Ignore Rest Days
When people think of building muscle, they often think that they need to be in the gym every day. While staying consistent is essential, you don’t actually have to gym every day. This is because rest days are often the most effective way to allow your body to recover.
Recovery is an important part of the process and is fundamental to the muscle-building process. Since you are ripping your muscle fibers every time that you work out, the repair process is actually what causes your muscles to grow. In this way, it’s essential to prioritize rest days to give your body the chance to repair.
Planning your rest days is important and should be considered when planning out your entire week. In most cases, going to the gym five days a week is more than enough to achieve your goals. When you take two full days off, it gives your muscles a well-deserved break.
Another important concept to consider is active rest days. Active rest days differ from traditional rest days as they still require you to do some activity. Nothing too intense, just simple activities such as taking a walk or hiking one of your favorite trails. These kinds of activities still get your heart rate up but don’t put too much strain on your muscles themselves.
In this way, you can still stay active without jeopardizing your muscle recovery process. However, this is more ideal for those who want to cut weight as most of these activities burn tons of calories throughout the day.
Supplements
As mentioned above, your diet is one of the most important parts of building muscle. Many actually agree that your nutrition is more important than training when it comes to achieving your body goals. This is because all your gains can be lost in just a few weeks if you’re not giving your body the right nutrients to maintain them.
When it comes to supplements, there are a few classes of supplements out there. There are simple nutrition supplements to increase your caloric intake for the day along with more specific supplements to boost specific vitamins and minerals in your body. Here’s a quick look at the most common types of supplements out there.
Protein Supplements
Protein is the building block of muscle as its responsible for repairing and maintaining muscle tissue in the body. This is why it’s advisable to consume enough protein throughout the day, especially after an intense workout. This helps provide your body with everything it needs to sustain muscle growth.
Protein supplements are the most essential supplement to include in your diet if you’re trying to build muscle. This is why the supplement can be found in so many different forms. The most popular protein supplements are found in a protein powder that you can use to make a shake.
Protein powder is also a popular option as you can add other ingredients to make the entire shake more appealing. For example, you don’t need to just add the protein powder to water, you can spice it up by using milk and adding in fruits for some flavor. In this way, you’re having a tasty smoothie that comes packed with the protein you need for the day.
Protein is also found in lots of foods that you plan your meals around. Chicken breasts are often regarded as the best source of protein, but protein can also be found in steak, milk, egg whites, and even fish. However, it’s important to incorporate it into a healthy diet so that your body has everything it needs in the right proportions.
There’s no point in having more than enough protein but no carbohydrates or healthy fats to balance it out. Meal prep is a great way to ensure that you have the right proportions for every meal. By preparing your meals ahead of time, you can also remain consistent and disciplined in what you eat every day.
Branched-Chain Amino Acids
It’s widely known that to build muscle, you need to focus on your recovery. As mentioned above, rest days are essential to help give your body the time it needs to fully recover from your workout. However, there are a few supplements out there to help speed up the entire recovery process.
BCAAs are one of the most common supplements you can take to help you recover faster. These acids contain the essential nutrients your body needs to build muscle tissue more effectively. While they are found naturally in meat, dairy and legumes, supplements are often the easiest way to introduce BCAAs into your diet.
This makes your life a lot easier as you just need to take the supplement after your workout to give your body everything it needs to build muscle during the recovery process. In most cases, your protein shake may come with added BCAAs in it. With a shake, you can get everything you need in a single serving, so you don’t need to worry about keeping track of too many supplements.
BCAAs are also commonly found in sports nutrition drinks. This is an incredibly popular way to help recover as you can simply sip on the energy drink on your way back from the gym.
Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators
When it comes to building muscle fast, there are a few added supplements that can help you achieve your goals. One of the most popular options has to be Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, otherwise known as SARMs. This class of supplement maintains the desirable effects of androgens to help fight muscle loss over time.
If you’re thinking to buy SARMs, it’s important that you only go for the high-quality options. This way you know that you are only putting the best into your body at all times.
The Right Tools to Build Muscle and Strength
Building muscle and strength is not too complicated.
In simple terms, all you need is the right training schedule mixed with the proper nutrition. When it comes to training, train hard and focus on time under tension. Nutrition is even more important as the food you eat is meant to feed your growth every day.
While there are a few tips and tricks to maximizing each workout, consistency is what you should always focus on. In this way, you can ensure consistent results.
