So, you are ready to add some muscle and rip up those abs. Below are some muscle building routines so you can start out on the right foot and build muscle fast. First of all don’t expect to put on pounds of muscle overnight…. building a muscular physique takes time, consistency and hard work.
The first year of lifting is the time when you will probably make the most muscle gains. However, it is important to learn proper form and basic safety rules now to make sure you don’t injure yourself down the road when you’re pushing heavier weights.
If you are a beginner it’s ok as a beginner, you have not learned how to push your muscles like an intermediate or advanced lifter who has been lifting for years. More experienced weight lifters have learned how to push their muscles harder and impose more damage to the muscles which takes longer for them to recover from. Beginner‘s have not learned this even though you will get sore as heck….. but you will be able to bounce back quicker since the muscular damage isn’t as bad.
This is a good thing for someone looking to add pounds of muscle to their frame because this muscle damage pushes the body to recover and grow slightly to prepare for future workouts. This is what muscle building is all about a constant cycle of working out causing muscle damage to stimulate growth, then rest and start the process all over again. With this in mind it is also easy to see why rest and sleep is so important for muscle growth. This is the time when the muscles grows and recovers from the damaged caused by your workouts.
Below are beginner, intermediate and advanced levels of muscle building routines to build muscle fast. I have found that using 3 day split muscle building routines are best. Be sure to stay within the prescribed set and rep ranges for each muscle building routine. Stick with the following schedule…… start with the Chest, Triceps, Shoulders muscle building routine rest the next day and move on to the Quads, Hamstrings, Calves muscle building routine, rest the next day and move on to the Back & Biceps muscle building routine.
Stay with the one day on one day off schedule to ensure you are allowing proper recovery time from your muscle building routines. You will notice the exercises are mostly compound movements these are best to build muscle fast!!!
All Routines Below are 3 Day Splits recently we switched to a 4 day split which is pretty much the same except Shoulders have a day all to itself. If you would like to switch to a 4 day split shoulder routines are found at the end of the post.
To support your muscle building quest you must take charge of the food you take in daily. There is no perfect diet that fits everyone but I will point out some common guidelines you can use whether you’re a skinny high school kid or an overweight 35 year old. First thing is to cut out the junk food. This is the most important step. Cookies, cakes, fast food, candy, sodas will only help you pack on pounds of fat but it also fills you up with empty calories preventing your body from getting the nutrients you need to build muscle fast! Next you need to be sure you have enough protein in your diet to build muscle.
Your muscles are made up of protein, and in order to repair muscles effectively your body needs the building blocks to do so. Your sources of protein should be lean cuts of chicken, steak, fish, tuna, beef, non-fat milk. Additionally the importance of water cannot be stressed enough. If you are dehydrated your body’s ability to function properly plummets. I myself drink about a gallon of water a day but feel free to adjust that according to your body size and activity level.
Like most of us you probably don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables daily and chances are you’re not getting enough fiber either. This is a mistake because fiber is a necessity for keeping your digestive system in shape and you need a stomach that can keep up with your new, more intense nutritional needs without acting up.
So make it a good routine to get some type of fiber with each meal you have. We all would like to believe that protein alone builds muscle, this is just not true; vegetables play a vital role in muscle building as well.
Vegetables contain many essential vitamins and minerals such as calcium, folate (folic acid), vitamin C, vitamin D,vitamin E and vitamin A. Vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables are vital for proper and efficient muscle contractions and inflammation control and overall strong immune system.
Taking a multi-vitamin isn’t enough it’s essential to get the majority of these vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables themselves. Your body absorbs the vitamins and minerals better and reduces the vitamin and mineral elimination. Men and women over 18 years of age it’s recommended you get three to four cups of fruit and vegetables daily. If you exercise your needs are higher and you should shoot for six cups of fruits and vegetables daily.
Try to divide your meals into several smaller meals rather than a two or three big ones. This will help stabilize your blood sugar levels and ensure a continuous flow of nutrients to your muscles and keep your body in an anabolic state and out of a catabolic state. Avoid carbohydrates late at night. Carbs are your primary source of fuel for workouts, much like gasoline works for your car.
However, unlike a car you can’t fill up the tank and have it stay nicely filled until morning. Instead, a big load of carbs before bedtime is more likely to be processed and stored away as body fat since there is no immediate need for the surplus energy.
If you want a late-night snack before bed go for something mostly of protein such as peanuts. Unlike carbs protein is unlikely to be stored as body fat and will provide you the “building blocks” to build muscle while your body is repairing itself (sleep).