One of the great concerns of those people who start doing sports on a daily basis is to gain muscle, since together with losing and controlling weight, increasing muscle mass is one of the great objectives.
It is very common for failure to come from the hand of impatience; yes, toning the body is important, but maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential to reach the goal. If you have also had doubts such as “how much should I train to see results?” and “what workouts are the most suitable?”, keep reading this article. We explain what habits to follow and how many days to train to gain muscle mass.
Table Of Content
1. How many days to train to gain muscle mass – the answer
2. How to train to gain muscle mass
3. Tips to gain muscle mass
How many days to train to gain muscle mass – the answer
Knowing how many days a week to train to gain muscle mass does not have a single answer. The variables to take into account are diverse: the types of training, diet, the obligations of daily life and rest must be perfectly combined to achieve the objective without damaging health.
However, you will get results if you train between 1 and 3 days a week. Increasing the frequency, the success will be greater, but remember that you should never train above your possibilities since in the long run, that would hinder your path.
There are studies that prove it: the sports scientist John McLester was able to verify the effects of exercising one or three days a week: in the first case, muscle gain was 62% compared to subjects who trained three times. These data show the importance of regularity in sport, thus avoiding punctual and excessive efforts.
The frequency of weekly training becomes relevant and helps accelerate muscle growth if it is linked to a greater volume of exercise; therefore, doing sports many days does not make sense if we do not increase the training load progressively.
How to train to gain muscle mass
Knowing how many days to train to gain muscle mass is necessary to achieve it in a healthy way, but it is insufficient. The frequency and load of exercises must be added to the knowledge about the type of training that most favors muscle growth, without ever forgetting a balanced diet that covers all nutritional needs.
we give you the following recommendations on the types of training to gain muscle mass and some tips to keep in mind:
Multi-joint exercises
The exercises that require the operation of different joints at the same time favor the growth of the muscles because they generate a power of attraction of many fibers. Therefore, they are essential and must be included in your sports plan.
Squats are the most popular exercise in this regard, but by focusing the work on the lower back and glutes, muscle hypertrophy may end up disappearing from the legs. To avoid this situation, opt for alternative exercises that activate all the muscle areas you want to develop. Here are some good multi-joint exercises to increase muscle mass:
- bench press
- Deadweight
- weighted sumo squat
- dominated
- Strides with some weight
- barbell row
Regulate the repetitions
Forcing the muscles to the maximum in training is a mistake. The sets you do and the number of repetitions in each exercise should be adjusted to your current capacity, gradually increasing the workload to safely gain muscle mass.
Otherwise, it will be impossible for you to maintain a training frequency of 2-3 days a week. So, start by doing two sets of a few repetitions per exercise and, as you feel comfortable, increase.
Abstraction in muscle training
If you perform certain exercises to train a muscle and then you don’t feel that those muscles are worked, it means that their contraction has not been carried out correctly. That is why you must learn to isolate it with constant work and tension, causing the total activation of that muscular area.
cardio exercise
The controversy when performing cardio in phases of muscle gain is widespread, however, in recent years it has been shown to be necessary and very beneficial.
The ideal is to do some cardio exercises twice a week for about 20-30 minutes and at a medium intensity. If you exceed this workload, it will hurt your muscle growth, so don’t take this risk. It will be very beneficial for you to perform the cardio exercises in question before starting your training to increase muscle mass. Here are some exercises you can do:
- skater exercise
- jumping jacks
- climber exercise
- Jump with knees up
- rollbacks
- burpees
Tips to gain muscle mass
To finish knowing how to increase muscle mass, we give you the following tips to reach the goal you have set for yourself. Even so, remember: enjoy the journey so that, after reaching the goal, you can maintain the routine and preserve the results for a long time.
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- Rest in the exercises: take breaks of at least a minute and a half between series and series. Without the breaks, you could overload the muscle and tire it instead of working it, so do not forget that rest is essential to recover energy and be able to continue toning.
- Be tolerant to pain: tiredness and soreness are proof that the muscle is contracting correctly. Keep exercising it, but within limits.
- Protein-rich diet: Proteins are essential for gaining muscle mass. Your diet should include protein-dominated meals, especially after each workout. Spend some time preparing balanced menus and always try to include protein in them. In this article on How to take proteins, we offer you all the keys that you must take into account.
- Consume more calories than used: this caloric excess, together with the exercises, favors the development of muscles, so do not forget to eat well.
- Drink plenty of water: hydration is essential to stimulate the growth of muscle cells, but it is also essential for you to stay energetic and not get dehydrated during your workouts. It is recommended to consume between 2 and 3 liters of water a day, especially if you exercise regularly and sweat.
- Stick to all meals – If you skip a meal, chances are you won’t reach the number of calories you need for your muscles to grow. Eat 5-6 meals a day to reach your goal in less time.
- Change the exercise plan every month: review the routine when the fourth or fifth week of training is completed. To achieve reliable results, we recommend that you consult a specialist who can adapt a new routine to your needs, however, you can also be inspired by this Exercise routine for men and this other Exercise routine for women. The best thing about these routines is that they are adapted so that you can do them from the comfort of your home, so even if you can’t go to the gym one day you won’t have to give up your training.
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