If you want to know how to build muscle fast you’re in the right place.
Because I’m gonna reveal five quick and easy tips that will help you reach your goals, while avoiding frustration, plateaus and injuries.
Sot let’s get to it…
1) Don’t Overtrain
First of all, if you’re a skinny guy who has less than Herculean genetics you need to be sure to avoid overtraining.
When you’re struggling to gain size one of the reasons is that your work capacity sucks. Once you improve that overtraining won’t be as much of a concern. But until then it is.
Aside from NOT following your favorite pro bodybuilders workout here are a few different ways to do this:
• Don’t do more than 16-20 top end, work sets per workout.
• Don’t train for longer than an hour.
• Don’t do more than four big workout days per week.
• Don’t train for more than 12 weeks without taking 5-7 days off or at least de-loading.
• Don’t train with 90% or above your one rep max for more than three weeks in a row.
Those are a few of the easiest ways to avoid overtraining. Heeding that advice will definitely help you build muscle fast.
In the meantime keep striving to increase your work capacity and eventually you’ll get to the point where overtraining will no longer be a concern.
2) Add Weight or Do More Reps
Productive mass building workouts are centered around one concept, first and foremost, and that is progressive overload. You have to consistently get stronger and lift more weight and/or do more reps if you ever want to get bigger.
Doing the same thing repeatedly will get you absolutely nowhere and is a complete waste of your time.
Set your mind on doing the following numbers and you will be big. Maybe not the next Mr. Olympia but certainly a lot bigger than you are right now and bigger than most guys in the gym.
These are good numbers for an average guy. Nothing else will make as much difference as achieving these goals:
- 15-20 Degree Incline Bench Press- 245 x 10
- Squat- 315 x 10
- Military Press- 165 x 10
- Trap Bar Deadlift- 405 x 10
- Chin Up- BW x 20
- Pistol Squat (if your knees can handle it)- BW x 20
- Ring Dip- BW x 25
- Glute Ham Raise- BW x 20
Pick about 3-4 of the best mass building exercises per body part and set a realistic goal for six and twelve months. Worry about nothing else but moving big weights on those exercises and getting consistently stronger over time.
Everything else will fall into place and you will finally start growing when you do that.
3) Use Compound Exercises
You need to be sure that you are using big, compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, chin ups, rows, cleans and presses with heavy weights.
Don’t waste your time with isolation exercises and pumping techniques unless you’re already a fairly big, strong dude who has been training properly for at least three years. At that point you’ll want to start adding some more isolation work in, but until then focus on the big stuff.
4) Eat Enough of the Right Muscle Building Foods
Next, you need to be sure your diet is in order. This means that you are eating copious amounts of food on a daily basis. But not so much that you become a fat ass. Three to four meals spaced 3-4 hours apart should be sufficient.
Eat .8-1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight and anywhere from 1-3 grams of carbs per pound, depending on your bodyfat percentage and weekly workout volume.
You should be focusing on organic whole foods such as:
- Grass fed beef
- Organic chicken and eggs
- Wild caught seafood
- Game meats
- Organic fruits and vegetables
- Rice and potatoes
- Nuts and nut butters (sparingly)
- Coconut oil
- High quality protein powder
For the best muscle building meal plan that will help you avoid getting too fat while you bulk up, check out The Renegade Diet.
5) Don’t Forget About Rest & Recovery
Another thing that will help you build muscle fast is paying the utmost attention to your recovery. You should be getting as much rest as possible which includes sleeping a minimum of eight hours per night and hopefully even taking a short nap during the day.
Another thing that can boost your recovery ability is regular massage. This can be a real massage from a masseuse or just a simple self massage with a foam roller, lacrosse or tennis ball. Either way you do it will help tremendously, just be sure to do it.
Although most people overlook its importance, stretching is another important component of a good muscle building program. Stretching can help tight muscles grow more efficiently and can even help prevent injuries in certain instances.
If you don’t do any stretching now, I highly recommend that you start. You will be pleasantly surprised by the results, I’m sure. Some of the most jacked bodybuilders are also some of the most flexibile. Tom Platz comes immediately to mind.
If you follow the tips above you will definitely build muscle fast.
If you’re a skinny guy and want to speed up the process click HERE now.










10. Jul, 2012
at 10:13 am #
Brilliant as usual! I have also forwarded this post to a bunch of friends.
10. Jul, 2012
at 2:03 pm #
6. Stop listening to people other than Jason Ferruggia. :)
12. Jul, 2012
at 8:02 am #
Re: stretching
Are we talking deep, balls-to-the-wall most uncomfortable time of your life Doggcrap type stretching, or just the normal static stretches most of us were taught to do in gym classes as a chlld in school?
Also – when do we stretch? Immediately after training, during training but after exercises e.g. stretching the pecs after DB presses etc, several hours after training or on different days completely (off days)?
Does ‘when’ even matter or is it just a case of getting the shit done?
10. Jan, 2013
at 8:13 pm #
I think Jay is referring to mobility work when he says stretching. I think “when” gives way to just do it. Typically, one does foam rolling as part of the warm up, then dynamic stretching, then the more intense, deep MOB stuff after. And yeah, it’s balls to the wall uncomfortable town for 60 seconds baby.
10. Jan, 2013
at 1:19 pm #
Jason;
FYI your email headline said 8 not 5 :-)
But 5 great points
11. Jan, 2013
at 3:58 am #
You see 5 ways to help meet the 8 goals
•15-20 Degree Incline Bench Press- 245 x 10
•Squat- 315 x 10
•Military Press- 165 x 10
•Trap Bar Deadlift- 405 x 10
•Chin Up- BW x 20
•Pistol Squat (if your knees can handle it)- BW x 20
•Ring Dip- BW x 25
•Glute Ham Raise- BW x
10. Jan, 2013
at 1:34 pm #
Could not focus on the article …. got stuck on the picture ;-)
10. Jan, 2013
at 1:39 pm #
OMG! I had some difficulty trying to read the article. My eyes kept drifting and locking to the left of the article for some reason. BTW All good pointers
10. Jan, 2013
at 3:07 pm #
Does this also apply to the 40 and over lifters?
10. Jan, 2013
at 4:22 pm #
What about attainable goals for women?
10. Jan, 2013
at 4:44 pm #
jason ferruggia is da bomb….wish i had found u 20 years ago…glen.
10. Jan, 2013
at 5:32 pm #
Jason,
How does a girl get a booty like that?!!
11. Jan, 2013
at 10:27 am #
@Stephanie- We’ll be coming out with a program geared toward females in the next few months.
11. Jan, 2013
at 12:11 pm #
Seriously looking forward to it! Miss Fatbooty will be on repeat when that workout comes out :P
10. Jan, 2013
at 8:44 pm #
^^I would like to know also.
11. Jan, 2013
at 1:33 pm #
who is the lady in the picture?!
25. Mar, 2013
at 3:26 pm #
I totally agree with you.
In my opinion there are three factors to build muscle fast.(in random order)
1.Constantly adding weight or reps. I prefer adding weight,at least in squat and deadlift.
2.Get enough rest. Ideally if you are lifting weights to gain muscle and weight,you should stay on the coach all day and have at least 8-9 hours of sleep every night.
3. EAT. I am not a big fan of counting calories,at least if you are a newbie.. Eat until you are full and then eat some more.
30. Apr, 2013
at 12:13 pm #
What about being sleep deprived? I have a new edition to the family and he keeps us up at night and iI work. Days a week. I am new to power lifting but I have been bit by the iron bug and love it. I know sleep is key I have done all the research and I don’t want to risk injury. Any advice?
30. Apr, 2013
at 12:15 pm #
I wor ssince days a week. Sorry for the typo.
07. May, 2013
at 8:01 am #
@george- Sleep is definitely key and you need to find a way to get some. Otherwise results will always be less than optimal.
07. May, 2013
at 11:44 am #
Thanks Jason for the response. I am really trying. For now now iI’ve dropped to two days a week at 70% max. Mostly stick to bodyweight workouts