Building muscle requires a positive energy balance, which means you must take in more calories than you burn. You need about 2,800 calories to build one pound of muscle.
Largely to support protein turnover, which can be increased with training.
By following these tips, you will be able to build muscle more efficiently and quickly.
How to build muscle
If you’re planning on gaining weight, your body needs adequate energy and nutrients. As such, diet alone won’t be sufficient to build muscle mass.
You need to exercise regularly, but not for hours on end. Start your training sessions by doing bodyweight exercises to work specific muscle groups for a specific time period. Many body weight exercises are compound exercises.
This means that it’s imperative that you’re properly performing the exercise before progressing to any other. The complete exercise cycle includes the first set, the second set, the third set, and the last set.
Each of these sets should last 20 to 30 seconds, to fatigue the muscles and prepare them for the next set. This cycle repeats 3 to 4 times for each muscle group and repetition is considered a “count” of 1.
What's the best training plan?
There are a lot of ways to train, from short, intense workouts to multiple weeks of a weightlifting program. I typically use the first one. During a short intense workout, my goal is to accomplish maximum results for the short duration, then reassess what I did.
I might increase the amount of reps or the duration of the rest periods. I like to break each work set into two to three smaller reps with a 10-second rest. This could be done for a number of different exercises and based on how the athlete feels.
For a long training cycle, I start with a higher volume with lighter weight and gradually decrease the volume of work until I reach a point where I am satisfied with the results and then decrease the volume of work.
How often should you train?
Although most studies show that the absolute minimum is about six times per week (unless you’re training for powerlifting or something very different), a smaller subset of studies indicate that as little as two to four times per week is sufficient for burning fat and building muscle.
And while two to four times per week may be sufficient for building muscle and burning fat, it’s not optimal for building muscle bulk, which needs more protein and more training.
In particular, between two to four times per week, not much protein is needed, and if you’re eating normally, it’s reasonable to eat a few extra calories on those days (after all, you’re probably training harder, which requires more energy). How many sessions per week should you do?
What can you eat to bulk up?
When you’re hungry, you can eat anything. That being said, a three-meals-a-day plan can be a mistake. You should eat every three to four hours during the day and, as previously stated, save the biggest meals for your workout.
You should focus on protein and healthy fats. Protein can be found in most animal and plant sources. Fats have many health benefits. Find the appropriate sources for you based on your individual body type. What is the correct amount of calories to eat to gain weight? There’s no set number that fits all bodies.
Rather, you should find what you need based on your goals. For most people, increasing strength and size means going up in weight, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay at your current body weight.
How much protein do I need to gain muscle?
In order to gain muscle, your body must burn more calories than it intake. As a rule of thumb, your body uses about 1 gram of protein for every 1 calorie of food, but your ratio of calories to protein can vary depending on your weight, sex and activity levels.
If you’re looking to add muscle, or maintain muscle mass, you’ll want to take in roughly 2.3–2.5 grams of protein for every pound of bodyweight. That means a bodyweight of 150 pounds will require 2.25 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.
Most protein powders on the market today contain 3–6 grams of protein per serving. What foods are best for increasing my muscle mass? Certain foods help you build muscle mass more efficiently.
Conclusion
If you want to gain muscle fast, you can’t do it alone. Luckily, there are several proven exercises that are easier to do right now while your body is still relatively young.