Gaining Muscle Fast
It would be great if you could build muscle fast, without having to put in a lot of effort, and without having to be careful about exactly what you eat. Yet if it was that simple all people would be in good shape, and people with great bodies would not be that special. Reality is, if you want to build muscle fast you will need to put in a lot of time and discipline to really see the effects you would like.
To really get the relatively fast results you desire you must work hard, have a suitable workout schedule and have a great muscle building diet. It is also extremely important to apply yourself to this and put in the maximum effort to each training session.
Diet: When you would like to build muscle and not gain fat, the best way is to only eat fresh, whole foods, because these will really help to lower your body fat. So get rid of all those pre-packaged meals! In case you are unsure as to what is a good, whole food, a simple rule to stick to, is to only eat foods that have only one ingredient. You can combine these single ingredient foods any way you like, but single ingredient foods wouldn’t contain any unneeded additives, preservatives and hidden fats. So eat lots of fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, fish and poultry as well as nuts, seeds and healthy fats. On the next occasion you see a meal in impressive wrapping, look at the ingredients. I'll wager there are loads of objects in there that you have no idea what they are. They are precisely the stuff you want to stay away from, as the body is not built to break down them effectively.
Not only is what you eat important, but so is when you eat. After working out, your body requirs a constant source of protein to assist repair and build the muscles. So you have to eat more frequently throughout the day, and present the body enough protein in each and every meal. You need to be looking to eat a small meal every 2 or 3 hours, which will bring about 5-6 meals a day. Not only will this help build muscle, it will also help lose fat, as spreading out your daily consumption of food through the day, in even portions like this raises the metabolism and lessens the body's desire to store energy as fat.
So how much protein should you be getting each day? Usually, if you really want to build muscle fast, you need to be trying to eat 1 to 1.5 grams of protein for each pound of lean body weight you have. So if you weigh 190 pounds and have a 10% body fat, your lean body weight is 171 pounds. In this case, you have to be seeking to get at least 171 grams of protein a day, and as much as 240 grams (171 x 1.5) and this must be spread out evenly between each meal.
Aside from the amount of protein you get, the amount of carbs is also crucial, as these provide the body energy to repair and grow. For swift muscle growth you need to be getting 1.5 to 2 grams of carbs for every lean pound of body weight. So for the 190 pound person above, they need 240 to 340 grams of carbs each day. This is the area you can experiment with to get the best results. If you are not building muscle as fast as you would like, try to eat more carbs throughout the day. Or if you seem to be gaining fat instead, try dropping the amount of carbs.
It is vital that you have an efficient muscle training routine to work out the body in the most efficient way possible, and get everything done in good time. You generally do not want to be paying any more than 45 minutes working out, as after this the body begins eating up the muscles, and this will be damaging to your progress. So create a schedule that will let you get in and out of the gym in less than 45 minutes, whilst still working out all the muscle groups you want to work on.
With productive training practices and a good diet, together with a little hard work and dedication, you really can build muscle fast. Many people assume that just doing the training routines is enough, but actually, a proper diet is important to build real muscle mass.
