21 Jul Five tips to gain 10 pounds of muscle in 30 days

Gain 10 Pounds of Muscle

It can be a tough challenge to add 10 pounds of muscle in as little as 30 days, but whether you’re a string bean or already an athlete who’s just looking to get bigger, it is possible.
Here are five tips to pack on 10 pounds of bulk to your frame in 30 days – or close to it:
1. Up your intake of calories and proteins – No matter how hard you work out in the weight room or your home gym, you are going to have to increase the amount of fuel you take into the body to build muscle. Work with a dietician, trainer and-or study yourself what diet adjustments you need to make.
General tips are to consume more carbs, more chicken and steak, lots of green, leafy vegetables, and to eat 5-6 meals throughout the day.
2. Start heavy – For the first two weeks perform heavy sets with low repetitions. For instance, on the bench press or squat make sure to warm up properly but then do sets of 6-8 reps in which you lift as heavy of weight as you can for those sets.
3. Mix in high reps – In weeks 3-4, alternate days of heavy sets with some in which you take the opposite approach, going for extremely high reps with lower weights. Aim for 10-16 reps.
The muscle confusion will really promote growth.
4. Use a split routine – Pair up related body parts on certain days. A split routine will divide up when you work out the different muscles groups in order to focus harder on certain areas. Usually, people using a split routine will lift weights 4-5 times per week. You can work out more times in a week because there’s more rest time between working of the same muscles.
A split routine should divide lifts so that the muscles that work together are exercised on the same days.
Here is one of the most common split routines: Day 1 (chest and triceps), Day 2 (Legs), Day 3 (Back and Biceps), Day 4 (Shoulders), Day 5 (rest), then start over.
While doing this workout, don’t forget to also stretch well, work the core muscle and continue doing cardio on the treadmill, elliptical machine or running outside.
5. Get intense – It will take an added intensity in the gym for sure to reach a goal of adding 10 pounds of muscle in a month. You’ll have to step up your intensity and push yourself to the brink.
It will greatly help to have a workout partner to provide added motivation and also to help as a spotter. At the very least you’ll need to recruit a spotter in the gym to be able to lift to exhaustion on some exercises.
Even if you don’t quite reach 10 added pounds in a month, if you follow these tips you will see a growth increase and likely reach the goal soon after.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com