We already know that when we exercise, we create micro-tears in our muscles. So, how does it help the muscles grow? Well, it helps in one or two ways. The first is it makes the muscles more efficient, it helps fire your nerves faster, and it also helps contract your muscles with much more force. This helps you get stronger without packing in more muscles.
What is the other way that your muscles adapt? It adapts by adding on new muscle tissue. When you workout, you break down your muscle tissue and your body copes by packing in more muscles to make you ready for your next workout.
This is the fastest way to gain muscle. With time, your body changes and adapts to this line of training. Now, suppose, you struggle to do 20 push-ups today, you’ll start adapting to it after a few days. And those 20 push-ups will seem like warm-ups. You will gradually adapt and move onto doing higher reps.
How to get muscles fast? A short and easy answer to that is to keep pushing yourself and your body, keeping your body guessing to be exact so that your body has a hurdle to cross every time and meet fresh new challenges. The challenges mean, adding more weights, or adding more reps or sets.
Exercises for Quick Muscle Gain
If you are working out at home, try and add dumbbells and barbells to your routine as this will help you progress faster than someone who isn’t working out with weights. However, body weight workouts work too if you don’t have weights with you.
Push ups and pull ups are particularly effective in challenging your body, especially your upper body. There are lower body exercises such as lunges, step ups and single-leg squats that are even more challenging than two-legged exercises such as squats.
Choose exercises according to your fitness level and the equipment you have. If a full-bodied push up isn’t quite your thing, then do the push up from your knees.
Chalking out a Workout Plan
So, if you have finally figured out how you can carry out the exercise routine, you can try three full-body workouts per week. Once you nail the full-body workouts, you can split your routines into two halves; so, for a few days, you do the upper body workouts, for the rest of the days of the week you can go for the lower body workouts. However, you cannot do the upper body workouts on consecutive days. If you do the upper body workouts on one day, follow it up with lower body workouts for the next day. Ideally, you should give 48 hours to rest to each of the body parts. You need more time to recover and this will also help avoid injuries and ensure muscle growth.
So, how many sets should you do? Start with 10 reps for each exercise. Packing in many sets won’t necessarily help you flaunt the gains. The key here is that more sets isn’t necessarily better and it isn’t one of the best ways to gain muscle fast. Always pick the weight that helps you complete your workout and does not make you give up in the middle of the sets. If you are able to hit the sweet spot you will get faster gains.
Best Foods for Muscle Growth
Rapid muscle growth is possible with the right exercise and the right foods. We have covered the exercise bit, and now it is time to pick out a few protein-rich foods that will help you get quick muscle gain.
1) Beef (from grass-fed cattle)
Beef is an important food for building lean muscle as it has got high protein content, cholesterol, other nutrients such as zinc, B vitamins, and iron. It is said that grass-fed cattle contains higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and this helps you get shredded fast.
2) Beets
This is the latest superfood and it is one of the best foods for your post-workout recovery as it contains betaine. It contains trimethylglycine and enhances liver health and joint health.
3) Brown rice
If you are into lifting, then brown rice is just what you should have. It is a slow-digesting whole grain that provides longer-lasting energy throughout the day, and also during workouts. Brown rice also elevates the growth hormone (GH) levels, which encourages fat loss, helps in lean muscle growth, fat loss and strength gains.
4) Eggs
When it comes to protein foods, it’s ranking is pretty high. It helps boost lean muscles and strength. But if you are only having the egg white, you are not doing yourself any favors as the yolk is a storehouse of cholesterol and other important vitamins and minerals. Eggs had got a bad rap in the last few years, when in all actuality cholesterol in egg yolks improves the HDL levels (the good cholesterol) and decreases the bad cholesterol (LDL) levels. It is the LDL particles that are often associated with atherosclerosis.
5) Oranges
The citrusy boost of oranges helps in muscle growth, strength, and endurance. It works best when you have it before your workouts.
6) Cantaloupe
Cantaloupes contain low fructose content and are actually a fast-digesting carb. So, it is one of the best fruits to have first thing in the morning. Also, it is one of the best foods to have to post your workouts.
7) Cottage cheese (organic)
We have already told you how casein protein is the best one to have before you go off to sleep. Cottage cheese contains a generous portion of casein. So, it feeds your muscles when you are sleeping at night and are in a fasted state.
8) Milk (organic)
Milk contains both whey and casein and is rich in the amino acid glutamine. Choose your milk with care though, organic milk contains 70% more omega-3 fatty acids than ordinary conventional milk.
9) Apples
Apples contain healthy doses of polyphenols and it helps increase muscle strength and prevent muscle fatigue, enabling you to go hard at training. Polyphenols have other properties too such as fat-burning properties. Have one apple before you hit the weights as this will help increase fat burning as well. That’s why it’s a good idea to make apples a pre-workout carb source and it will ensure that you gain muscle fast.
10) Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt has more protein than plain yogurt (like a whopping 20 g per cup) and has a reasonable carb content such as 9 g per cup. It’s also a substantial source of casein protein.
Well, now you know the quickest ways to gain muscle. And it isn’t rocket science in any way. You can follow the above-mentioned hacks and reveal a new and ripped you. Follow all the three important points: nutrition, exercise, and sleep and you’ll be sorted. Best of luck!
Disclaimer: All exercise should be done under the supervision of certified professionals; and if any medical condition exists, please do seek the advice of the physician to proceed with this exercise.
Some of the supplements are recommended to serve a particular purpose, but usage depends on individual health, workout intensity and more. Usage is at your own risk.
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