Gaining 30 lbs. of muscle can make a huge difference to your physique and will help increase your strength levels. While many people opt for barbells, dumbbells and resistance machines when attempting to gain weight, it is possible to put on 30 lbs. of muscle without the use of equipment. It may take a little longer, and you will have to be dedicated, but by performing the right exercises, you can reach your goal.
Step 1
Begin your body-weight workout with pushups. In a prone position, place your hands flat on the floor shoulder-width apart. With just your hands and feet in contact with the ground, slowly lower yourself down until your chest touches the floor, then push back up again. Aim to keep your torso and hips in line throughout the movement. Strength coach Dr. Clay Hyght recommends performing three sets of pushups twice per week, stopping each set just short of muscular failure. Over time, you can add in an extra day of pushups every week, or experiment with changing your hand positioning for an increased challenge.
Step 2
Perform pullups daily. Trainer Pavel Tsatsouline recommends that to get better at an exercise, you should perform it regularly with perfect technique. His "Greasing the Groove" method requires you to perform three to four sets of pullups every day. To keep progressing, make sure your technique is perfect on every rep, and avoid training to failure. As with pushups, you can increase the difficulty of your pullups by changing your grip positions, or using a tree branch instead of a pullup bar.
Step 3
If you want to gain 30 lbs. of muscle, you also need to train your legs. Stand on one leg, with the other held out in front of you as high as possible. Squat down by bending your standing knee and pushing your hips back slightly. Descend as low as you can, then push back up to the starting position. Perform five sets of five repetitions on each leg. Kettlebell trainer Steve Cotter recommends these pistol squats for improving balance, flexibility and lower body muscle mass and strength. However, they can be tough to master, and you may wish to start by standing on a box, so that your nonstanding leg can hang free.
Step 4
Base your routine around the these three exercises, although you can also add in other body-weight exercises such as lunges, glute bridges, planks, dips, inverted rows and situps. To begin with, make each of your sessions last about 30 minutes, and train twice per week. As you get stronger, fitter and more muscular, increase your session duration to 45 minutes, and train extra days throughout the week. Aim to employ the daily greasing the groove method for pullups if you struggle with them.
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