Building muscle is simple, but it isn’t easy. It is a slow process that requires discipline, dedication, and determination. Most men, training without the use of performance-enhancing drugs, can gain 35 to 45 pounds over the course of their lifetime, and most women 20 to 25 pounds. Below is a graph illustrating how muscle gains tend to taper off as you approach your genetic potential.

To gain muscle as fast as possible, you must consistently EAT, SLEEP, and TRAIN to promote muscle growth. This article will teach you the fundamentals that will help you achieve 95% of your potential. 

EATING TO GAIN MUSCLE

If you want to gain weight, you need to have a slight caloric surplus. The simplest way to figure out how much to eat is to track your caloric intake for five days using the MyFitnessPal app, then increase your average daily intake by 200 calories.

If you don’t want to do the math, you can set your goal on the app to gain 0.5 pounds a week while on a weight-gain diet. I don’t recommend gaining more than one or two pounds per month because you’ll put on a lot of unwanted fat in the process.

If you are trying to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, it is possible, but ONLY if you are new to serious strength training or a former athlete putting back on the muscle you lost through inactivity. If you fall into that category, I recommend you consume a maintenance level of calories.

How to Log Food in MyFitnessPal | Tutorial

RECOMMENDED PROTEIN INTAKE

I recommend you consume approximately 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Since you are interested in building muscle, I assume your body fat percentage is reasonably low. So, if you are a 150-pound male, I would strive to consume 150 grams of protein each day, spread out between three to five meals.

The easiest way to hit your daily protein and caloric targets is by adding one or two glasses of milk or protein shakes to your normal diet. It is easier to drink calories than to eat whole meals.

SLEEPING TO GAIN MUSCLE

If you are trying to gain muscle, you should strive to get at least 8-hours of quality sleep each night. You should also try to reduce your stress levels as much as possible. If you really struggle to put on muscle, I would minimize exerting yourself outside your training. During a mass-building cycle, you want all available energy to go toward fueling and recovering from your strength training sessions.

TRAINING TO GAIN MUSCLE

Progressive Overload is the king of all muscle-building principles. You have to create more mechanical tension to stimulate growth. The most reliable way to do this is by increasing the load while keeping the number of repetitions constant, increasing the number of repetitions performed while keeping the weight constant, or increasing the number of sets, but you can only add so much volume before you overtrain.

If you are new to strength training, I recommend cycling your weights, focusing on adding weight to the bar each week. If you have consistently been training for a year or more, I would use a double progression, where you increase the weight when you have exceeded your repetition range on your last set.

To learn more about progressive overload and how to build muscle, I suggest you read or listen to Training to Failure Doesn’t Trigger Muscle Growth. Progressive Overload does!

Below is an example of a basic mass-building routine.

Monday & Thursday

• Barbell Bench Press: 3 x 5*
• Barbell Rows: 3 x 6-8
• Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 x 6-10
• Pull-ups: 3 x 6-12
• Side Raise: 3 x 8-15
• Overhead Press: 3 x 6-10
• Barbell Curl: 3 x 8-12
• Overhead Triceps Extension: 3 x 8-15

Tuesday & Friday

• Squat: 3 x 5*
• Leg Curl: 3 x 8-15
• Leg Extension: 3 x 8-15
• Hack Squat or Leg Press: 2 x 8-15
• Stiff-legged Deadlift: 1 x 8-12
• Calf Raise: 3 x 8-15

Note: *Cycle your weights starting from a submaximal effort, adding 5 to 10 pounds to the bar each week until you cannot hit your target number of repetitions, then reduce the weight by 15% and start the cycle over again.

Rest 2-3 minutes between sets. To save time, you can superset exercises for opposing or unrelated muscle groups. For example, on Mondays, you can superset Bench Press with Barbell Rows. On Tuesdays, you can superset Squats and Leg Curls.

CONCLUSION

Eventually, you will hit your genetic ceiling, usually after approximately five years of solid training. At that point, I suggest you focus on getting lean to look your absolute best. The only thing that will take you beyond your genetic potential isperformance-enhancing drugs, which I don’t recommend. What is the point of being the most jacked corpse in the cemetery? Develop your best body the way we are meant to, through grit, determination, and an iron will, and not with pharmaceutical assistance.

If I can help you, please email me at LeanByHabit@gmail.com.

Best wishes and best health!

Jeff

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