When trying to build muscle fast, almost all trainees eventually hit a sticking point in their workouts. Things will be going great - getting stronger, leaner, bigger...and then everything comes to a grinding halt. Then out of nowhere, you not only find that progress has stopped, but you are actually going BACKWARD (gotten weaker, gained some bodyfat, etc.) You'd be hard pressed to find somebody this doesn't happen (or hasn't happened) to. More often than not, this happens because the trainee fails to make any real changes to their workouts, and just keeps doing the same thing month-in and month-out. Too many times guys just do the same stuff (sets, reps, exercises, etc) for just way too long.
If you really want to build muscle fast, there are a lot of ways you can plan changes into your workouts. When it comes to changing their workouts, most guys only think about changing sets and rep...if they change anything. But there are a lot of other things that you should consider altering including movement order, movement type, number of movements in the workout/program, overall volume of work performed, rest periods, ROM - range of motion, TUT - time under tension - also called rep speed or cadence, and more. Yeah, I know - that list of stuff you should pay attention to is a mile long, huh? That's when you should seek out the help of a qualified personal trainer to help you keep everything straight and keep in a constant state of progression. Here's a few things you could think about when tyring to conjure up new workouts to build muscle fast.
A lot of trainees (who don't know any better) will do something pretty basic...3 sets x 10-12 reps/exercise, resting 2-3 mins between sets. Ugh. Instead of that, try these alternatives.
•Invert the sets and reps, doing 10 sets x 3 reps/set, resting 20 secs between sets.
•Do 6 sets x 6 reps with a moderately heavy weight, but doing 2-3 minutes of intense aerobic exercise (e.g. - the treadmill) between sets.
•Using close to your 1RM (one rep max - the most weight you can lift for just one rep), do 10 sets x 1 rep with 30 secs rest.
•On the opposite end of the specturm do one set of 50+ reps. Don't do just one long, super-light set of all your reps in a row; rather do 5 moderately heavy reps at a time every 45-120 secs until all 50 reps are done.
•Do nothing but bodyweight calisthenics (pushups, chins, pullups, squats, dips, step-ups, body rows, etc.).
•You could also take 10-12 movement spanning all movement planes (covering the whole body) and do them in circuit fashion - a set of each one after another with no rest.
•Vary the cadence of your reps, going from very fast, to super-slow, to a combination (fast and explosive on the lifting portion, slow and controlled on the lowering portion).
•Vary the length of your workouts, going from several smaller (20-30 mins) workouts one week, to a few longer (60-90 mins) workouts the next.
•You could do drop sets on all your exercies (NOTE - this is a very advanced protocol) where you start your set, do a few reps, drop some weight off the bar, and repeat 3-5x.
These are just a few examples of changes you could make to your workouts and ensure that you build muscle fast.
If you really want to build muscle fast, there are a lot of ways you can plan changes into your workouts. When it comes to changing their workouts, most guys only think about changing sets and rep...if they change anything. But there are a lot of other things that you should consider altering including movement order, movement type, number of movements in the workout/program, overall volume of work performed, rest periods, ROM - range of motion, TUT - time under tension - also called rep speed or cadence, and more. Yeah, I know - that list of stuff you should pay attention to is a mile long, huh? That's when you should seek out the help of a qualified personal trainer to help you keep everything straight and keep in a constant state of progression. Here's a few things you could think about when tyring to conjure up new workouts to build muscle fast.
A lot of trainees (who don't know any better) will do something pretty basic...3 sets x 10-12 reps/exercise, resting 2-3 mins between sets. Ugh. Instead of that, try these alternatives.
•Invert the sets and reps, doing 10 sets x 3 reps/set, resting 20 secs between sets.
•Do 6 sets x 6 reps with a moderately heavy weight, but doing 2-3 minutes of intense aerobic exercise (e.g. - the treadmill) between sets.
•Using close to your 1RM (one rep max - the most weight you can lift for just one rep), do 10 sets x 1 rep with 30 secs rest.
•On the opposite end of the specturm do one set of 50+ reps. Don't do just one long, super-light set of all your reps in a row; rather do 5 moderately heavy reps at a time every 45-120 secs until all 50 reps are done.
•Do nothing but bodyweight calisthenics (pushups, chins, pullups, squats, dips, step-ups, body rows, etc.).
•You could also take 10-12 movement spanning all movement planes (covering the whole body) and do them in circuit fashion - a set of each one after another with no rest.
•Vary the cadence of your reps, going from very fast, to super-slow, to a combination (fast and explosive on the lifting portion, slow and controlled on the lowering portion).
•Vary the length of your workouts, going from several smaller (20-30 mins) workouts one week, to a few longer (60-90 mins) workouts the next.
•You could do drop sets on all your exercies (NOTE - this is a very advanced protocol) where you start your set, do a few reps, drop some weight off the bar, and repeat 3-5x.
These are just a few examples of changes you could make to your workouts and ensure that you build muscle fast.
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