5 Lessons For Building Muscle Fast

Strategies to build muscle, lose fat, and become your own hero.

by Nate Green on November 19, 2012

I gained 20 pounds in 28 days, lost 20 pounds in 5 days, and gained it all back in 24 hours. Here are my top 5 strategies to help you do a less insane version of my experiment.  

1. Eat the same meals over and over 

 

When you’re trying to gain muscle fast, you want things to be as simple and boring as possible.  

Choice is the enemy; routine is your friend.

Too many choices equals too much mental energy and no action. That’s why I ate the same meals over and over for the entire 28-day weight-gain portion of the experiment.
Here was a typical day of eating during that phase:

Breakfast

• 2 frozen bananas, blended until creamy
• Small amount of almond milk
• 3 scoops of casein protein
• 2 squares of dark chocolate
• 4 pieces of whole grain bread
• 2 tbsp almond butter
• 2 tbsp jam

Super Shake

• 8 oz unsweetened almond milk
• 4 tbsp heavy whipping cream
• 2 scoops protein powder
• handful of frozen raspberries
• handful of frozen blueberries

Lunch

• 1.5 pounds of lean meat
• 3 cups of vegetables
• 1/2 cup sauerkraut
• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1 tbsp Udo’s oil

Dinner

• 1 pound lean meat
• 3 cups of vegetables
• 1/2 cup sauerkraut
• 2 pieces of fruit
• 1 tbsp fish oil

While I could choose what kind of meat I ate or what vegetables or flavor of jam I wanted, I had to follow the measurement guidelines exactly.
No guesswork. No funny business. Just lots and lots of food.

 

2. Cycle your carbs/calories 

 

Eating more calories on days you lift weights pushes your body into its peak anabolic state, giving it more carbs to distribute to muscle cells during protein syntehsis. This helps you build more muscle. 

On the opposite side, eating less calories on rest or recovery days helps minimize the amount of fat you gain. 

It’s the perfect one-two punch to building a badass body. During my experiment I followed a very simple calorie cycling protocol: 

Easy Calorie Cycling

Monday —> High calorie + weights
Tuesday —>  Low calorie + intervals
Wednesday —> Low calorie + off
Thursday —> Low calorie + circuit
Friday —> High calorie + weights
Saturday —> High calorie + weights
Sunday —> Fast + off

 

I didn’t count calories or measure my food — I simply eliminated or added a little extra food to each one of my meals depending on the day. (Note that even my “low calorie” days still had me eating the equivalent of a small farm.) 

High-calorie day 

Low -calorie day 

3. Fast one day per week. 

 

Every Sunday during my weight-gain phase, I did a 24-hour fast — no food whatsoever — to help offset the inevitable fat gain that would normally come with a crazy eating plan like the one I was following. 

Six days per week, I was in a caloric surplus — an anabolic state — eating more calories than I burned, which led to muscle growth. 

One day per week (Sunday), I was in an extreme caloric deficit, which helped me reset my insulin sensitivity, boost growth hormone secretion, and stimulated fat loss while preserving lean muscle mass. 

(Note: I’m now following a daily fast schedule. If you want to try your own fasting experiment, I suggest you check out this free book by Dr. John Berardi: Experiments in Intermittent Fasting.) 

4. Follow a basic workout program. 

 

Most guys think the workout program is the most important part of gaining muscle. Well, most guys are wrong. You could have the best training program in the world, but if you’re not eating enough food or recovering full between workouts, it won’t matter. 

A basic workout program is still very important, of course. But you don’t need anything fancy. Stick to tried-and-true exercises (squats, pull-ups, bench press, etc.) and a schedule that makes sense. 

Here’s the basic workout schedule I followed during the first 28 days of my experiment, written by UFC trainer Martin Rooney. 

BSB Workout Schedule 

 

Monday —> Upper Body Strength

Tuesday —> Sprints

Wednesday —> Off

Thursday —> Energy Circuit

Friday —> Upper Body Hypertrophy

Saturday —> Lower Body Strength

Sunday —> Off

(You can download the entire workout program here.) 

5. Challenge Yourself In the Gym 

 

Progressive overload. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this may be the most important thing you’ll ever learn about building muscle in the gym. 

Progressive overload is just fancy way of saying “do better every workout.” 

Your body won’t grow if you don’t challenge it by making small changes. During my weight-gain phase, I did this by: 

• doing a more difficult exercise
• adding more weight to the bar or used heavier dumbbells
• doing more reps
• doing more sets
• using better form

It doesn’t seem like much, but small progressions like these can make a big impact on the way your body looks and performs. 

4 Quick Bonus Strategies 

 

1. Don’t cook your own food 

 

Remember: the easiest way to stick to a new eating plan is to make it as simple as possible. When I was in the middle of my experiment, I started freaking out over how much time I spent cooking and eating my food. Solution? I started eating pre-made meals from Whole Foods every day for lunch and only cooked my breakfast and dinner every day. 

2. Hire someone else to do the thinking 

 

There’s a reason I didn’t write the nutrition or workout plan for my experiment, even though I was fully capable of doing it: I just wanted to follow directions. 

That’s why John Berardi took care of my nutrition and Martin Rooney wrote my workouts. Again, it’s about making things as simple and boring as possible. I didn’t have to fight my brain to come up with a workout or determine what I was eating. I just followed the plan. 

3. Measure 

 

You’re more likely to follow through with something if you have clear and scheduled “check-in” points. For my experiment I had 4 days where I tested: 

• weight
• body fat percentage
• girth measurements
• strength
• power
• endurance

I also weighed in on a digital scale every morning, kept a daily journal, and took weekly progress photos. 

4. Build a small army of support 

 

While I kept the experiment secret from the Internet while I was doing it, everyone around me knew about it. 

My girlfriend, family, and close friends knew what I was up to, but so did the baristas at the local coffee shop, the waitstaff at my favorite restaurant, and even the woman in the Whole Foods deli who sold me my pre-cooked chicken. 

The more people I told, the more accountable I was. No matter where I went, someone asked me how the experiment was going. It kept me motivated since I didn’t want to wuss out in front of them. 

9 Action Steps for You 

 

• Pick 3-5 healthy, muscle-building meals and eat them over and over.
• Eat more food on your weight-training days and less food on your rest days.
• Try fasting.
• Follow a basic workout program.
• Challenge yourself to work harder or smarter every time you go to the gym.
• When you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, buy pre-made meals or go to a healthy restaurant.
• Hire an expert or someone you trust to help you. Do what they say.
• Pick a few things to measure and keep frequent tabs.
• Tell everyone around you what you’re doing and why.

 

Your 10th Action Step:
Read the Free book 

 

I spent a lot of time planning, conducting the experiments, and writing. Once you read BIGGER, smaller, BIGGER, I’d love to hear your thoughts. 
 

About the Author: Nate Green is the Program Director for Scrawny To Brawny. You can find him on Facebook or Google+.