Training with free weights and bodyweight exercises is the best way to gain muscle mass fast. Using fancy machines typically puts the body into a stabilized position so that it isolates 1 muscle group but then there is less stimulation of the core and secondary assisting muscles. The best bodybuilding workouts always use heavy multiple joint exercises which not only work a primary muscle group but several other muscles get involved to accomplish the lift.
Bodybuilding workouts for mass or strength should always include the heavy basics like deadlights, squats, dips, and pull ups or chins. If you want to gain muscle mass effectively and quickly you need to incorporate these into your routines. Many guys shun these exercises because they are difficult, require good form, and may even be embarrassed by the light weights they have to start with. Don’t worry about the weight because once you start doing these exercises you will need to add plates quickly as the weeks go by. Adding additional plates making you stronger forces the muscles to adapt and continue to get bigger each month. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of how the best bodybuilding workouts rely on these heavy exercises to beef up the entire body.
A guy that hasn’t gained an ounce a muscle in months could grow like a weed if he skipped all the glamour muscle exercises and spent a few months getting his hands dirty with heavy deadlifts. This muscle building exercise not only builds the lower back and hamstrings but adds slabs of muscle to the entire back, shoulders, traps, and even the arms. It requires an enormous amount of power and muscle synergy to lift a heavy bar off of the floor and when done right you get a full body workout. This is the kind of movement that the human body most recognizes as something it needs to adapt to quickly by gaining muscle. Even bodyweight exercises like dips and feet elevated push ups can be more effective than many of the machines and the fancy movements inexperienced trainees are attempting.
The best bodybuilding workouts focus on getting back to basics so try this routine to gain muscle fast.
Monday
Deadlifts 5 x 5
Pull ups 4 x 8
Barbell Rows 4 x 6
Dumbbell Curls 4 x 8
Wednesday
Weighted Dips 5 x 5
Incline Flyes 4 x 8
Incline Dumbell Press 4 x 8
Lying Triceps Extension 4 x 8
Friday
Squats 4 x 12
Stiff Legged Deadlift 3 x 12
Bulgarian Split Squat 3 x 12
Seated Calf Raise 4 x 12
It can be very taxing to do heavy deadlifts the same week as heavy squats so in order to enhance recovery and work the muscle fibers differently you’ll notice that Monday is a heavy day for back and Friday uses lighter weights and higher reps for legs. You then have the weekend to recover prior to deadlifting again. You do this for 3 weeks and then reverse the rep scheme for Mondays workout to Fridays workout. This way for 6 weeks you can hit your major muscle groups with higher and lower reps.
