How to build muscle as fast as humanly possible
By Jason Ferruggia
That’s what this definitive guide is all about. Getting big, strong, lean and built like a badass. It’s the summation of everything I have learned over the course of 25 years in the Iron Game.
These techniques helped me overcome horrible skinny-fat genetics and gain 43 pounds of muscle. They’ve also helped thousands of other in-person and online clients of mine achieve similar results.
If you work hard and smart, they’ll do the same for you.
Rule #1: To Build Muscle You Have to Get Strong
You can’t expect to transform your physique by doing the same workouts over and over. You have to force adaptation to occur. The easiest way to do that is by adding weight to the bar. Get stronger in the range of 6-15 reps and you’ll get bigger.
If there is one thing I can’t stress enough it is the importance of setting rep PRs (personal records). Pick a few key exercises and write down what you can for 6-8 reps on each of them. Now work your way, over the next few weeks/months, up to the point where you can do 12-15 reps on those exercises with the same weight. That’s how you force your body to grow.
Once you get to the higher end of the rep range add weight and start over with 6-8. Simple, brutally effective; no advanced calculus degree required.
One important note here is that you can never sacrifice form for more weight. The reps have to be pristine, textbook reps where you are maximizing tension and feeling the target muscle work through every inch of the range of motion. Quality over quantity.
The bottom line is to get big you have to get strong.
Rule #2: You Have to Use Compound Muscle-Building Exercises
The exercises that allow you to use the greatest amount of weight are the ones that will help you build muscle fastest. You’re not going to grow with a workout comprised of machine exercises and isolation movements.
You have to overload your body with big, manly, testosterone producing exercises.
The best compound exercises for building muscle are:
