To maximize your muscle-building capability, perform multi-joint compound lifts, suggests Williams. “These lifts include chest press, overhead press, row, deadlift, and squats,” she says. “They recruit more muscle groups and the most muscle fibers, giving you the biggest bang for your buck.
“The novice lifter is generally able to gain between 1 and 4lbs of muscle in a month,” says celebrity PT Scott Laidler. This equates to a maximum of just over 1.8kg of muscle – enough for skinny men to start seeing serious definition.
5 Pounds - It will take you about three months to build your first 5 pounds of muscle. That's not a long time at all, and will have a noticeable impact on your physique. 10 Pounds - After 7 months in the gym you will have built a approximately 10 total pounds of mass.
When it comes to adding muscle to your frame, you need to make sure you're giving your body plenty of time to rest between strength training sessions. Doing the same amount of exercise day after day can inhibit recovery and cause you to lose muscle over time.
Squat. The squat is the king of all exercises. Squats hit most muscle groups in the body, with emphasis on the core and large lower body muscles.
Athletes need to enter intense training sessions well-fueled with adequate muscle glycogen from a carbohydrate-rich diet. This allows the body more time to use incoming nutrients to build new muscle rather than constantly repairing it.
Your ability to mainline protein plays a role (more on that later). But, yes, the general rule is that you can gain about a pound of muscle mass each week safely.
“Unless you're actively body-building”—think hour-long, three-days-a-week weight room workouts—“it's very hard to gain a pound or more of muscle.” Even if you are hitting the weights regularly, you're not going to gain muscle weight rapidly, especially in the beginning.
Keep in mind that it's physiologically impossible to gain more than one pound of lean muscle per week. For most weight-gainers, half a pound per week would be an even more realistic goal, because they reach their genetic limit.
Most beginners will see noticeable muscle growth within eight weeks, while more experienced lifters will see changes in three to four weeks. Most individuals gain one to two pounds of lean muscle per month with the right strength training and nutrition plan.
1. Walking. Any exercise program should include cardiovascular exercise, which strengthens the heart and burns calories. And walking is something you can do anywhere, anytime, with no equipment other than a good pair of shoes.
Barbell squats are called the king of all exercises because the entire body gets worked by this exercise. But learn to do the bodyweight squat first. Then, add load and reap the benefits. As renowned strength coach, Dan John, says – movement, volume and finally, load.
High protein foods are very important for gaining muscle, but carbohydrates and fats are also necessary sources of energy. If your goal is to gain lean muscle, you should focus on exercising regularly and eating more calories each day from muscle building foods.
Best sports to get ripped: MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)
Two types of Martial Arts worth considering within MMA are Muay Thai - similar to kickboxing as a high intensity stand-up, combat sport based on kicking and punching and Brazilian Ju-Jitsu - a controlled self defence system focusing mainly on grappling and wrestling.
It's reasonable to gain 1-2 pounds of muscle a month. Decide how many months you will invest in this goal and pick your pounds accordingly. Remember you might gain pounds faster at first, so don't set your long-term weekly goals based on the first few weeks of gains. Achievable.
Reps for muscle growth
In order to get bigger and stronger, you must ensure your muscles work harder than they are used to. Generally, between 6-12 reps for 3-6 sets will help to build overall muscle size.
One way to tell that you're building muscle is if your strength increases. Typically, strength gains parallel with muscle gains so if you've noticed that you've become stronger, then that is a good indication that your muscles have grown. Record your workouts so you can track your progress.
Spending your whole day in the gym isn't necessary to build muscle. Weight training for 20 to 30 minutes, 2 to 3 times a week is enough to see results. You should try to target all your major muscle groups at least twice throughout your weekly workouts.