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Bodybuilding

How To Gain Muscle Mass Quickly – A Guide On What To Eat And How To Train

Avatar photoby Dylan Wolf Updated by GI Team on Apr 10, 2025 Fact checked by Dr. Jacob Wilson

how to increase androgen receptors
This post may contain affiliate links (disclosure policy).

Here are the top Techniques to put on Muscle Mass

Many of us join a gym to gain muscle mass, but then we look in the mirror after a few weeks and don’t look like Chris Bumstead. Another driving factor for them quitting is they can’t see the weight scale budge in the right direction. Many people want to get results in the shortest time, and even with anabolic steroids, putting on muscle mass that quickly is still not really possible.

If you want to put on muscle mass on a timeline, you can’t afford to go wrong with the training routine, diet, and recovery. These 3 things go hand in hand with each other and are needed to really pack on muscle mass, but it is indeed a slow process that requires patience .

In this article, our team at Generation Iron will show you the way by telling you everything you need to know about gaining muscle on a deadline using a technique.

Tips to Gaining Muscle Mass Quickly

When it comes to gaining muscle mass as fast as possible, there are a few things to keep in mind. Let’s take a look.

Setting The Right Target

Before you begin your transformation, you need to make sure you’re setting achievable goals, especially when it comes to gaining muscle mass. Now, being able to step on the Mr. Olympia stage within just a year of lifting is most likely not something that is achievable unfortunately. So try to keep your goals fairly reasonable, but do not sell yourself short and set them too low. Maybe focus on putting on a few pounds a month on your bulk? To keep your bulking phase sustainable, we suggest not wanting to put on more than 2lbs weight every week, otherwise you risk a good amount of excess fat.

Whatever your diet is right now, maybe try adding 500 calories to it if you want to put on around 1lb in weight each week. Adding 1,000 calories to your diet can speed up the bulking process and help you gain up to around 2lbs a week.

How To Train To Put On Muscle Mass

Many times, people tend to overlook their diet when it comes to building muscle but now a personalized training program has taken its place. Training becomes less focused on than it should be in many cases. People think that they will gain muscle mass irrespective of how they train, unless their diet is on point.

You can’t afford to put the training program on the back seat. If training routines were so inconsequential, the pros wouldn’t be spending thousands of dollars every month on their coaches trying to fine-tune their exercise routines, numbers of sets and reps they perform.

Designing The Right Training Program for Muscle Mass

If you’re a beginner or want to do a transformation, you should give your body at least 12 weeks to show some noticeable improvements when it comes to gaining muscle mass. Now, you will not be an IFBB pro by this time most likely, but you should notice some progress. We would suggest you divide the 12 weeks into 3-week training routine splits to continue to “shock the muscles” as Arnold Schwarzenegger would say.

3-weeks is the right amount of time for your body to get the most out of your workouts without letting it adjust to your routine. Once your body adjusts, it can become more difficult to make progress. Change the intensity of your workouts week-on-week to push your muscles as you get closer to the 12-week mark.

For example – start your training program with something simple, where you perform five exercises in a workout and do 3 sets of 10-12 reps. In the second week, switch to the German Volume Training (GVT) where you do 10 sets of 1 exercise before moving on to other exercises.

In the last week, you should increase the intensity of your workouts in a way that you’re only doing 3 exercises but are performing 5-7 sets and 15-30 reps on each lift. The increase in intensity will help in conditioning your muscles.

What And How Much To Eat To Put On Muscle Mass

If you’re planning to gain muscle mass, your goal should be to eat above maintenance. For example, if your bulking caloric intake is around 3,000 calories a day, of these 3,000 calories, 40% should come through carbs and the remaining 30% from proteins and fats each.

If your weight (muscle mass) isn’t increasing at the required pace, bump up your calories by 500 every time. We would suggest you wait for three weeks before modifying your diet. You need to give your body enough time to respond to your diet and training program.

Recovery

Recovery is one of the most important parts of building muscle. You need to make sure your recovery is on point, as this is the stage where the muscles repair and grow back bigger. None of the diet and training improvements will do you any good until you’re recovery well. You also should be sleeping between 7-8 hours every night. If you cannot sleep well, perhaps try a sleep supplement.

Supplementation

supplements

Alongside recovery, diet, and training, supplementation can get thrown in there to help you gain muscle mass. Having a good, reliable supplement stack can be great for packing on the size. You just need to know what to take, and lucky for you, we have some recommendations.

Creatine

Nutricost Creatine Monohydrate

Nutricost Creatine Monohydrate

Nutricost Creatine Monohydrate

Get all of the benefits of micronized creatine without breaking the bank and activate muscle building quickly.

Shop Nutricost

Creatine is a very popular, well-researched supplement on the market for athletes of all experience levels with great potential to increase muscle growth, enhance focus, provide for better bulking, and boost recovery. It is certainly a staple supplement on just about every gym goer’s shelf, this safe and effective supplement can seriously enhance your muscle mass, strength and performance. While we are all looking for the edge to get us over that training bump, creatine promotes strength, power and endurance.

Pre-Workout

Nutricost Pre-Workout

Nutricost Pre-Workout

Nutricost Pre-Workout

15 Grams of high quality pre-workout formula in every serving, and 30 servings per container, all for a great price!

Shop Nutricost

When it comes to building muscle and getting a great pump, pre-workout supplements can be exactly what you need. As great training aids to improve performance and strength training, the right pre-workout supplement has the ability to provide enhanced focus, accelerate weight loss, and deliver muscle pumps to assist with those big lifts and force our muscles to grow.

BCAAs

Nutricost BCAAs

Nutricost BCAAs

Nutricost BCAAs

Get some great intra-workout recovery for an even greater price by using Nutricost BCAAs.

Shop Nutricost

Branch chain amino acids, commonly referred to as BCAAs, have long sat on shelves as popular supplements for athletes and gym goers of all experience levels to boost their training and improve all aspects of a workout and recovery regimen. Working to enhance muscle growth, reduce muscle soreness and exercise fatigue, and prevent muscle wasting, BCAAs hold a variety of benefits for your health and performance.

Protein Powder

Nutricost Whey Protein Isolate

Nutricost Whey Protein Isolate

Nutricost Whey Protein Isolate

Looking for a cheap whey protein Isolate? Check out Nutricost Whey Protein Isolate! A quality protein supplement at half the cost of other leading brands.

Shop Nutricost

Protein plays a vital role in maintaining, growing and repairing body tissue. Whey protein powder can be used as an emergency energy source and are also essential for the production of a number of key hormones which promote growth and maturation from a protein powder.

Mass Gainer

MUTANT MASS

MUTANT MASS

MUTANT MASS

ENHANCED GAINER SUPPLEMENT. Mutant’s most popular weight gainer supplement that is packed with BCAAs/EAAs and waxy maize to help with growth and bulking.

Shop MUTANT

While the other supplements are great for putting on muscle mass, a quality mass gainer is also a top notch supplement. Mass gainers help to get an influx of great macro and micronutrients all in one shake.

Wrap Up

Overall, it is not the easiest task to gain muscle mass and it certainly does not happen overnight. However, there are plenty of ways to do it relatively quickly. Keeping all of your things in order such as diet, training, recovery, and supplementation will certainly help you gain muscle mass quicker.

Will you be changing your daily routines to add more muscle mass?


How many calories a day do you eat currently? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Header image courtesy of Envato Elements

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About Dylan Wolf

I work mainly in content writing, focusing my free time on bodybuilding and strength sports. I was introduced to fitness in high school and after watching Generation Iron movies. I love to train. I have competed multiple times, even winning a junior title in classic physique. I have a bachelor's in criminal justice and business obtained through Alvernia University. When I am not focused on work or training, I enjoy watching films or reading about anything and everything.

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