While steroids and supplements may be all the rage in some circles, they aren't required to build muscle fast. All you need is a simple check of your diet and exercise habits to ascertain the best program to build your muscles fast. Check with your doctor before beginning an exercise or diet routine if you have health issues.
Feeding Muscle Fiber
Protein is one of the building blocks of muscle. To build muscle fast without taking pills, you should increase the amount of protein in your diet. Protein requirements only go up to between 15 and 20 percent of your daily calories, according to the American Dietetic Association. Eating any more than this has no benefit. High-protein diets work best combined with weight training to build more muscle. Good sources of protein include poultry, tuna, egg whites, yogurt and protein shakes.
Supplying Energy
While too much fat is bad for you, you do need some fat to supply your muscles with energy during activity. Fat plays an essential role in hormone production, which is responsible for increasing muscle mass. The amount of fat you need depends on how active you are. Fat should make up about 20 to 35 percent of your total calories, according to the American Dietetic Association, with less than 10 percent of this fat being from saturated fats. Good fats include avocados, salmon, trout, almonds, extra-virgin olive oil and walnuts. Keep in mind that fat contains twice the number of calories as carbohydrates or protein.
Increasing Muscle Mass
Strength training involves using your body weight, resistance tubing, free weights or weight machines to build muscle. Strength training helps you preserve and build your muscle mass without pills or supplements. To increase muscle mass, train with heavy weights that are challenging for you after about four to eight repetitions. The added weight helps stimulate the muscle fibers, which will cause rapid muscle growth. Free weights help stimulate the most muscle fibers to effectively build muscle fast.
Muscle Rest and Repair
Let your muscles rest for one full day before exercising that specific muscle group again. To continue building muscle elsewhere, work opposite muscle groups on different days of the week. For example, on Mondays and Wednesdays, work the back of your body and Tuesdays and Thursdays work the front of your body.
Sleep
It may sound too good to be true, but sleep is one of the secrets to building muscle fast. Not only will sleep help you build muscle mass, it will help energize you and improve your overall health. Sleep directly affects the hormones in your body that control your appetite, metabolism and growth of lean muscle, according to Jillian Michaels in her book "Making the Cut."
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