Top 10 Exercises To Build Muscle Mass - Gain Muscle Mass Fast

When it comes to building strength and size, one should focus on performing compound movements that work more than one muscle at the same time. If you are looking to build more muscle mass you don't need any of those fancy equipment and machines. You can build muscle by only using a barbell loaded with plates, believe me.

That means that you don't even have to go to the gym if you want to get bigger and stronger. You can buy barbell and couple of plates and build muscle at your own home. 

Some of the best mass-building movements are exercises that are performed with a barbell. Those exercises are always first on every list of best muscle-building exercises. Dumbbells are great, they work, but you can't overload them like a good old barbell. To gain muscle mass you need to get stronger, to get stronger you need to lift heavier. That is the whole thing.

But before you even start lifting, make sure that you read all about muscle-building nutrition. You won't grow your muscles without consuming enough calories and protein.

Check out:   How To Eat To Gain Muscle Mass

                                 Foods That Are Highest In Protein

I already mentioned that best muscle builders are compound exercises. Why? The reason is very simple, compound exercises engage multiple muscle groups at the same time, unlike isolation exercises that isolate a muscle group by concentrating on that one group of muscles. 



When you perform compound exercises, more muscles are recruited per exercise which stimulates the bigger release of the muscle-building hormone. Also, compound movements such as bench press and squat allow bigger loads of weight. 

1. Barbell Deadlift

Also Read:  The Best Back Workout For Mass - Target Every Muscle

2. Barbell Squat

Also Read: The 10 Rules Of Building Muscle Mass

3. Barbell Bench Press

Also Read:  How To Increase Your Bench Press - Build A Bigger Chest Fast

4. Wide Grip Pull-Up

Also Read: Top 5 Exercises For Building Bigger Lats

5. Barbell Shoulder Press

Also Read: How To Get Bigger Shoulders - Tips and Shoulder Workout For Mass

6. Barbell Bent-Over Row

7. Parallel Bar Dips

Also Read: Top 5 Muscle-Building Triceps Exercises

8. Lat Pulldown

9. Biceps Barbell Curl

Also Read: How To Get Bigger Biceps - Tips And Exercises

10. Standing Calf Raise

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mass-Building Workout Routine - 'The Golden Six'

I have written many times about benefits of full-body workouts for building strength and muscle and 'The Golden Six' is the routine that got 'The Austrian Oak' started in bodybuilding. 

It is certainly one of the best workout routines for muscle growth that I recommend to all beginners and to lifters that are looking to change their routine that stopped producing new muscle gains.

Same as his idol and mentor Reg Park, Arnold Schwarzenegger also built his impressive foundation on full-body workouts. Many years later Arnold became famous as a fan of the high volume body part split routines, but honestly, I think that he gained most of his muscles by following  Reg Park's 5x5 Workout Program and his own full-body routine 'The Golden Six'. And he started favoring these high volume split routines in the time when he was experimenting with anabolic steroids.

This workout program was nicknamed 'The Golden Six' for its straightforward focus on six of the most basic exercises. This may not be a routine that you will use forever but it is great for beginning lifters and those who want to get back to basics with one of the simplest workouts. Also, one of the good things is that you only need to visit gym three times per week.

EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Barbell Squat	4	10
Wide Grip Bench Press	3	10
Chin Up	3	Max
Behind The Neck Press	4	10
Barbell Curl	3	10
Bent Knee Sit Up	3-4	Max

Arnold Schwarzenegger recommended performing "The Golden Six" workout routine 3 times per week for a 3-month cycle. Once you become able to do 2 or more reps above the reps given in this workout plan increase the weight. It is very important to add more weight plates whenever possible to force your muscles to adapt and grow.

This classic full-body routine is ideal for beginners and hardgainers that are looking to gain muscle mass fast. It is simple and effective like most full-body workouts and doesn't leave any muscle group unattended.

How to Gain Muscle Mass - Tips for Beginners and Hardgainers

Gaining weight is easy for many people. On the other side, building lean muscle mass can be very hard, especially for people that have a fast metabolism, often referred as hardgainers. 

Like many of the people in the world that are fighting with a body fat, there are also many people that are struggling to gain weight and build muscle mass. If you are one of those from the second group, continue reading this article. I strongly believe it will help you to gain a few pounds of muscle in a couple of weeks. 

There are 3 main ways to make your muscles grow:

1. Force muscles to grow with the right training

2. Feed your muscles with enough healthy calories

3. Rest, recover your muscles, let them grow

Those are only three general rules for muscle gain, now continue reading to learn five principles of muscle growth.

1. Multi-Joint Movements

In order to gain muscle mass faster, you need to place emphasis on the compound, multi-joint movements. Compound exercises are much better for building muscle mass than single-joint, isolation exercises. That is because exercises like squat and bench press allow bigger loads of weight and involve more muscle groups which lead to more muscle gains.


Bigger load and heavier exercises stimulate the bigger release of the muscle-building hormone. 

It is very important to do one of the hardest exercises - Squats. The squat is a great mass builder and it is probably the movement that involves the most muscle groups at the same time. 


Best Exercises to Build Muscle Mass Fast





2. Progressive Overload


The progressive overload is one of the most important muscle-building principles. Lifting the same weight with a same number of reps won't help you build muscles. Muscles can quickly adapt to the weight and you need to put some more load in order to force your muscles to grow. 


Mass-Building Full-Body Workout Routine for Beginners


The key of muscle gain is to leave your comfort zone, give your muscles a reason to grow. If you lift heavier weights from week to week you won't let your muscles time to adapt and you will force them to grow.


By performing compound movements in every workout and consuming enough calories you will become stronger and that will make you able to lift heavier which will lead to more muscle gains.




3. Caloric Surplus 


To gain muscle mass you need to eat a lot. And that means you need to spend a lot of your time in the kitchen. One of the biggest mistakes that lifters make while trying to build muscle mass is that they don't consume enough calories or macronutrients. 


20 Foods You Should Eat to Gain Muscle Mass


You need to consume 18 calories per pound of your bodyweight to build muscle and at least 1 gr of protein per pound of bodyweight. On training days, try to consume more proteins because your muscles need it to repair and grow. 


Foods that are Best Sources of Protein




Consume enough calories and all three macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats) and in a combination with resistance training your muscles will start to grow. 




4. Rest Your Muscles


This is how it goes, you give your muscles a reason to grow in the gym, build them in the kitchen and they grow while you sleep. Lack of rest can decrease the chance of muscle growth.


Also, don't overtrain your muscles. Don't train same muscles for two days in a row or you will overtrain them and prevent them from growing. To build muscle you need a short and intense workout and long periods of rest. 




5. Supplements Selection


Many supplements ads promise you results. A lot of them are actually unnecessary and just a waste of your money. The best muscle building supplements that you need to buy are Creatine and Whey Protein. They can be a great support for building muscle mass. 


You can check the list of 5 best muscle-building supplements, but you must know there are no better supplements for building muscle mass than Whey Powder and Creatine. 


Top 5 Muscle-Building Supplements




If you start following these five principles right now, you have a big chance to build your muscles for less than one month. Applying these rules could make the most benefits for beginners because in the starting phase, first two to three months, you can build most muscle mass. 


It is very important to start doing it right from the beginning, so don't lose your time following wrong workout plans and wasting money on unnecessary supplements. 

How Many Calories per Day to Gain Muscle Mass?

How many reps I should do to build muscle? How many calories should I consume to gain muscle mass? There are many different answers and different opinions on these questions, but one is sure - you need to consume more calories than you burn every day. You need to constantly be in caloric surplus.

DO YOU WANT TO GAIN LEAN MUSCLE MASS?

But, that isn't so easy and it doesn't mean that if you eat twice more calories than you need that you will build muscle faster. Also, that doesn't mean that you should eat anything. By the way, check out the list of muscle-building foods you should include in your diet:

20 Foods You Should Eat to Gain Lean Muscle Mass

There is an upper limit of nutrients that you can consume and turn into muscle which means that there is no point in eating calories that would just be stored as fat. Of course, it is very common that you will gain some fat while trying to build muscle mass but that doesn't mean that you should eat more than it is enough for the muscle to grow. 

Now you are probably thinking something like this:

But those big guys on YouTube say that I need to consume at least 5000 calories to gain muscle mass.

Your muscles need enough calories and enough proteins to grow, you don't need to consume 5000 calories every day if you weigh about 170 pounds. That would be too much and many nutrients will be stored as fat. Protein also, if you consume more proteins that you need that excess of proteins will be stored as fat and nothing else. 

EAT BIG, BUT HEALTHY!

There is no natural way to build 10 pounds of muscle every week, it doesn't exist. You need to focus on steady lean muscle gains. The whole point of muscle growth is to pursue progressive overload every week and to be in caloric surplus every day.

SO, HOW MANY CALORIES DO YOU NEED TO GAIN MUSCLE?

Some people say that one needs to multiply his body weight in pounds by 16 - 17, well I recommend you to multiply your body weight by 20. You might gain some fat along the way but if your diet is perfect there is nothing special to worry about. You can always shred one or two pounds of fat after you reach the size that you always desired.

Let's do some calculation for all you lazy people over there:

If you weigh about 160 pounds, for example, you need to multiply that number by 20 as I already mentioned which will be equal to 3200. You can add about 100 calories more if you want to be sure that you consumed enough, but I think that 3200 calories will be enough for your muscles to grow. Now, as you gain more and more muscle mass every week, you are going to need more calories and more proteins. If you reach the 170 pounds weight then multiply that number by 20 and the result is - 3400 calories. 

I know that there are many recommendations that differ from mine and that is mostly because I recommend more calories than some people or less than other but you can adopt this advice and see if it works for you. I believe that it does, especially if you are just starting your bulking phase.

Top 6 Strength and Mass Building Exercises

HOW TO BUILD MUSCLE MASS FAST:



- Focus on progressive overload

- Consume enough calories to support muscle growth

- Quality rest

- Consume all three macro-nutrients (Proteins, Carbs, Fats)

- Perform compound exercises



More tips on how to gain muscle mass fast you can read in other articles:

The Bodybuilding Guide to Build Muscle Mass Fast


Old-School Bodybuilding Tips by Joe Weider - Build Muscle Mass Fast

Best exercises to become bigger and stronger are compound movements that involve more than one muscle group at the same time. With compound exercises, you can build muscle mass fast, lose fat and increase your strength faster than using isolation exercises. 

Check out the list of compound exercises that are best for building muscle:

1. Squat

It is the best muscle building exercise because:

  -  The entire musculature is activated

 - Performing squat highly boost muscle building hormones

  

Even the squat is very dangerous exercise, especially if it is done with bad form and too much weight, there is nothing like putting a heavy weight on your back and going down as low as you can, then coming back up and doing it again and again while you are naturally boosting testosterone levels and engage many muscle groups. Even those that you didn't hear of before. 

The squat is definitely the best muscle builder ever. 

2. Bench Press

This is one of the most famous gym exercises and it is famous for building a big chest, but Bench Press is also working Deltoids, Triceps, and Traps. Bench Press is an ultimate exercise for building upper body muscles, there is no better exercise for upper body strength and size. Practice Bench Press form and lift heavy and you will build an awesome torso.

The best way to build muscle with Bench Press is by using a barbell. The reason for that is that you can lift more weight than if you use dumbbells. 


Incline Bench Press - better effect on upper chest

Decline Bench Press - best lower chest exercise

3. Bent-over Barbell Row


One of the best exercises for the thickly muscled back. Like all multi-joints movements, barbell row is also difficult exercise for performing but it still way better for building muscles than alternatives like seated rows and lat pulldowns. You should include this exercise in every back workouts.


Bent-over rows work every muscle from traps to lower lats and are also very good for developing biceps. 




4. Military Press


The most effective exercise to build big and round shoulders. Military Presses are also good for developing upper back, neck, and back of arms. 




5. Lunges


The best exercise for your legs after squats. By performing lunges you can target butt and hamstrings and further develop your lower body by combining them with squats.




6. Lat Pulldowns


Doing Lat Pulldowns will help you to develop your back muscles and biceps. By performing this exercise often you can make your physique have a much more balanced appearance. 



Best Bodyweight Exercises for Muscle Building are Pull Ups/Chin Ups, Dips, and Push Ups (make sure that you put a weighted belt if you can do more than 12 reps with your bodyweight only). 


Recommended rep range for muscle hypertrophy is from 8 to 12 reps for one set. 


To build muscle mass fast I recommend doing these exercises as first in every workout (bench press on chest day, bent-over rows on back day etc.) and combine them with a few isolation exercises. Just make sure that you are mixing your workout, your muscles should not get used to the same workout every time, confuse your muscles to ensure more muscle growth.

Top 5 Muscle-Building Triceps Exercises

Every lifter wants to have bigger arms. That is one hundred percent sure and that is probably the biggest reason many guys started lifting weights. 

MANY NOVICE LIFTERS THAT WANT TO BUILD BIGGER ARMS ARE DOING IT WRONG!

They are making many mistakes like training their arms too often and doing many useless exercises that they saw in modern bodybuilding magazines. Many novice lifters avoid big compound lifts and bodyweight exercises like chin ups and dips, that is a big loss for those that want to build muscle.

There is also a group of lifters who focus too much on their biceps and when they succeed to get that big biceps peak their arms still look small. Triceps is three-headed muscle and it is bigger than biceps. Big triceps is more important for that big arms look than biceps, but the best option is to train all arms muscles equally.

You won't build bigger triceps if you lose your time by making poor exercises choice. Isolation and cable exercises will not make your triceps to grow. To build any muscle you have to do more free weight movements.

Best Exercises to Build Muscle Mass Fast

It is not only the choice of exercises that you make, you also need to follow a muscle-building diet plan. Without consuming enough calories and macronutrients your muscles won't grow. 

20 Foods You Should Eat to Gain Muscle Mass

You don't need to do three or more triceps workouts for a week, doing that will only overtrain your triceps. One heavy triceps workout per one week will build your triceps. Triceps is already involved in all pushing movements, you need only one workout per week to directly train your triceps. 

1. Close-Grip Bench Press

This is the best mass-building triceps exercise. That is because compound (multi-joint) exercises are the best for muscle growth. This exercise will target all three heads of your triceps.

2. Skull Crusher

This exercise is also known as lying triceps extension. Skull Crusher exercise mostly work long and medial triceps head and it is very good for building bigger triceps. 

3. Weighted Dips

Performing weighted dips on the parallel bar is better than weighted bench dips for building bigger triceps. But both exercises are great. When performing parallel-bar dips be sure not to lean forward, so you won't activate chest more than triceps, and keep elbows tight to sides.

4. Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Press

When performing overhead triceps presses, standing or seated, with dumbbell or barbell, it works the long head of your triceps. This exercise allows you to safely press heavy weight and make your triceps grow.

5. One-Arm Dumbell Triceps Extension

You can perform this exercise from seating or standing position. It is a great isolation exercise to finish your triceps workout.