How to Get Bigger: 25 Science-Backed Tips to Maximize Muscle Growth

Most folks who walk into the gym want to know how to get bigger, but figuring out how to gain muscle fast can be confusing and overwhelming if you don’t know where to start.

To help simplify the process, we’ve compiled a list of the 25 best tips on how to gain muscle fast.

1. Eat More

“Extra calories combined with training leads to growth,” says Sean Hyson, C.S.C.S. It’s really that cut and dry. More muscle comes from more food. But it’s not as simple as eating everything in sight—aka dirty bulking. This can do more harm than good since, as you pack on the pounds, you’ll likely gain more body fat than muscle, which takes a lot of effort and time to lose. 

In fact, research published in 2023 by pro bodybuilder and PhD Eric Helms and his team indicates that you really don’t need a huge calorie surplus to gain muscle, and eating more than you need only leads to unnecessary body fat gain. 

The current recommendation from Helms’s research is to aim for a 5 to 20% increase in calories over maintenance (what you eat to maintain your weight), or seek to gain an extra 0.25 to 0.5% of your body mass per week. If you’re a newbie, err on the higher side of these numbers, and if you’re more advanced, stick to the lower end.

Also, be sure you’re eating the right kind of food—like the best foods for clean bulking.

2. Power Up with Protein

Proteins are the building blocks of muscle, assisting with the rebuilding and recovery process. After a hard workout tearing your muscle fibers apart, proteins work to rebuild them bigger and stronger—that is, if you have extra amino acids to spare. Eating in a calorie surplus with enough protein to not only repair but also build bigger muscle tissues is key in your quest for how to get bigger. 

Plenty of research exists, but the most recent data points to a range of 0.9-1.07 grams of protein per pound of body weight as the ideal for men who want to gain muscle. Aiming for the higher end of the range will help ensure you get the best results. Split your intake into meals containing 20 to 40 grams of protein each.

We like these 12 protein-filled foods for your physique.

3. Don’t Cut Carbs

Numerous studies have pointed to the benefit of ingesting protein after a workout, but many also mention combining that protein with carbohydrates to maximize gains. In general, limiting carbs in your diet will make gaining muscle much more difficult since low carb intake increases the oxidation of BCAAs and blunts muscle hypertrophy. 

The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) suggests aiming for 3.6 to 5.4 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight per day.

Related: Best Healthy Bagels You Can Buy If You’re Choosy About Carbs

4. Feel the Stretch

Research shows a key factor in stimulating muscle growth is training the muscle in its lengthened position. To put this into practice, embrace the suck when an exercise feels its hardest—at the lengthened part of the movement, like the bottom of a Romanian deadlift or chest flye. 

Here’s a tip to get a deeper stretch: Andrew Sakhrani, C.S.C.S., a Montreal-based strength coach, encourages occasionally swapping out barbell work with dumbbells. Why? “Dumbbell presses open up the chest and recruit more muscle fibers.” More muscle fibers = bigger muscles. This works for other exercises, too.

Related: 33 Best Stretches by Body Part, According to Top Trainers

5. Train All Muscle Groups

It’s easy to focus on the vanity muscles you see in the mirror, namely, your arms and chest. However, too much training in those areas can lead to imbalances and injury. Plus, when your whole body is stronger, you can lift more and grow even bigger.

Be sure to train every muscle group—chest, biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, quads, hamstrings, calves, and abs—twice each per week. Consider splitting your workouts into upper and lower body days and hitting the gym 4 days a week.

6. Get Enough Sleep

Getting bigger isn’t just about action—it’s also about rest. “Most of your growth hormone release in a day comes during sleep,” says Hyson. When you’re lacking sleep, your body releases catabolic hormones, which, if you don’t know, are ones that break down muscle. 

Research shows that sleep loss blunts muscle protein synthesis by 18%, meaning you miss out on repair and have little chance of growth if you don’t catch enough Zs. Stick with seven to nine hours as a guideline. 

Here’s everything an athlete needs to know about sleep and recovery.

7. Pump Up the Volume

If you’ve hit a wall with your training and aren’t sure how to get bigger, you’ll want to consider adding volume to your workouts. Ideally, you should be adding reps, weight, or both week over week. And whenever you feel a particular muscle or muscle group isn’t being challenged enough with the number of sets you’re doing try adding a set to your workout.

Look for signs like lack of pump or soreness after a workout, not feeling like you really fatigued the muscle, and stalled growth. Just be sure not to go overboard into junk volume territory.

Related: What Is Junk Volume and How to Avoid in Your Training

8. Go Close to Failure

Whether you prefer lifting heavy with fewer reps or lighter with more reps, the crucial factor is taking each set close to failure. Both heavier and lighter training work to grow muscle, especially if you’re newer to lifting, but you need to stress the muscle fibers enough that they respond by adapting to meet the demand. 

A good rule of thumb is to do sets of anywhere from 5 to 30 reps. Certain muscle groups or moves, like a lat raise, will do better with lighter weight and more reps, while exercises like squats and bench presses are more manageable at lower rep ranges. Experiment and find out what makes you grow best.

Read more about the science behind rep ranges and muscle growth.

9. Do Both Compound and Isolation Exercises

The foundation of a strong body comes from big, compound lifts, defined as motions that incorporate at least two joints. One example: the chinup/pullup. “The chinup is the original biceps curl,” Sakhrani says. And if you are newer to lifting, gaining strength is crucial for handling the weights and volumes you’ll need to get bigger. 

However, if you really want to know how to gain muscle fast, the secret lies in isolation exercises. Targeting smaller muscles with moves like curls, extensions, flyes, and raises will help shape and fill out areas that need more volume than you can do with the big lifts.

10. Take a Deload Week

Sometimes, the best way to increase your strength is to throttle back for a few days to give your body a chance to rebuild and recuperate, something those in the biz call a deload. 

Decrease the weight, up the reps, and slash the last two sets. By scaling back occasionally in sequence with your workout routine, you allow for full recovery.

11. Experiment With Variations

Although we follow workout “routines,” there’s always a need for variety and experimentation. It’s wise to try out different variations of your favorite moves to see what your body responds to. For instance, a different angle, grip, or tempo might be just what you need to break out of a muscle growth plateau. 

Plus, mixing up your workouts every few weeks keeps things from getting stale and adds more challenge to your muscles.

Related: Push, Pull, Legs Program: Simple Regimen to Build Muscle

12. Prioritize Your Heavy Lifts First

Big powerlifting moves like bench presses, squats, and deadlifts stimulate your body to release high levels of testosterone, resulting in total-body growth, but they’re also extremely fatiguing. To maximize your workouts, start with your heaviest lifts, then move on to the less demanding ones, like isolation exercises.

13. Use Your Bodyweight

Bodyweight moves like pullups, dips, and pushups are excellent muscle builders. Taking these moves through a full range of motion is key. Remember, Bruce Lee was ripped and his muscles certainly weren’t small. He always touted the importance of body-weight exercises.

14. Train With a Partner

“Competition in the weight room boosts testosterone and makes you enjoy your workouts more, so you’ll stick with them. You’ll also be forced to train harder,” says Hyson. So grab a buddy and get after it.

15. Take Creatine

Creatine is a natural compound found in meat that can boost muscle growth. It’s one of very few supplements backed by a bevy of scientific research. It works by helping replenish adenosine triphosphate (ATP), your body’s primary energy source for muscle contractions. It also might play a role in sending signals to your body to build new muscle tissue. 

Regardless of how it works, the benefits of creatine are many and are backed by decades of credible research.

Related: The Absolute Best Foods with Creatine to Fuel Your Gains (and Brain)

16. Always Focus on Form

It sucks to sit out with an injury, especially because it kills your progress. Keep your form strict, and you’ll build more muscle while reducing the risk of getting hurt.

17. Be Consistent

If you want to know how to get bigger, the number one answer is: be consistent. Going to the gym once a week or taking long stretches of time away from the gym won’t get you bigger. 

Pick a number of days to work out (3-4 is optimal), show up, and work hard, and you’ll see results quickly. Here’s how to stay motivated to work out.

18. Lower Your Stress

Tension and stress stimulate your body to release cortisol, a hormone that, when it gets too high, inhibits muscle-building and promotes muscle breakdown. Try to breathe easy throughout the day, and practice mental exercises to keep stress at a minimum throughout the day. It’ll maximize your muscle, and improve your overall sense of well-being.

19. Don’t Limit Yourself

If you’re stuck at a weight and unsure if you can make that jump up to 225 from 215 on the bench press, don’t just walk away from it. Grab a spotter who knows what they’re doing, and give it a shot. Worst-case scenario? You fail, then you can try again next week. Best case? Boom—you’ve got a new PR.

20. Use a Spotter

Spotters help you get that extra rep and can help you keep an eye on your form and count reps when you’re focused on moving a massive weight. Those extra reps and improved form will lead to muscle gains in the long run.

21. Consult a Professional

There’s a reason that most trainers are muscular and fit—they know what they’re doing. Search for an educated trainer and have a session or two with him or her to learn some new moves or some new nutrition tricks to employ in your fit lifestyle.

22. Find Your “Zone”

Whether it takes a particular playlist or you have to wear that weird pair of shoes, it’s important to have the right mindset when you enter the gym or you’ll be distracted and feel like you can’t get anything done.

23. Be Intentional

Joking around, texting, and being social is great—just not in the gym. Focus on your workout, that’s what you’re at the gym for. If you have to respond, keep it short and do it during your rest interval.

24. Always Warm Up Properly

Every time you lift, you’re waging a war on the weights. However, you risk injuries and missed reps if you don’t warm up properly. Take care of your joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles by warming up with a few lighter reps for each body part. 

This also helps your nervous system get online for the work ahead so you can get better results during your working sets, an effect called post-activation potentiation (PAP). PAP leads to better power and force production, leading to better lifts.

25. Track Your Results

Tracking your workouts and results will give you a better look at how your program is working and where you can make changes to get even better results going forward. A log of your efforts can also help pinpoint what is holding you back if you hit a plateau. Plus, it allows you to see all the gains you’ve made, which is the ultimate motivation hack.

Source
Las Vegas News Magazine