101 Bodybuilding Tips & Muscle Building Tips to Gain Muscle Mass Fast

What if the best minds reveal you 101 of their best bodybuilding tips for building solid muscle mass as fast as possible? You would be interested right? I thought so. Here are their powerful secrets.

An idea can change your life. So 101 ideas can definitely make you a better bodybuilder.

Below are 101 muscle building tips divided into categories for your convenience.

How did I get these ideas?

Very few ideas on this page are mine. This page is my collection of the best ideas from the best minds around the world in the field of muscle an strength. Here they are...

101 Muscle Building Tips - Categories

Categories: 101 Muscle Building Goals

1. Goal Setting & Motivation
2. Beginner Muscle Building
3. Exercises
4. Workouts
5. Nutrition/Diet
6. Supplementation
7. Advanced Muscle Building
8. Program Tips
9. Bodybuilding Lifestyle
10. Life Tips applied to bodybuilding

1. Goal Setting Tips

1. People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine. - Brian Tracy

2. What most people don't know is that effective goals focus on performance, not outcome. - Vince Delmonte

3. Just remember that no one reached their muscle building goals without overcoming obstacles. - Sean Nalewanyj

4. Set 6 week muscle building mini-goals to take full advantage of the training effect principle 

5. Give yourself enough reasons {at least 10} to reach your goals and write/review them daily for everyday motivation.

6. Make your goals grandiose and when you encounter naysayers, ignore them - Arnold Schwarzenneger 

7. Make your plan. Would you drive across the country without a map? Why would you embark upon something as important as building muscle mass without a plan as so many people do. - Nick Nilsson

8. Pure strength training phase will accelerate your muscle building goals as they train the brain to lift more.

9. Make a commitment at the beginning of your 12 week plan to adhere to a lifestyle that supports your muscle building goals, not one that detracts from it. And then take action to make it happen - Ian King

10. Master the Twin qualities of Consistency and Patience. They are the final pieces of the Muscle Puzzle.

2. Beginner Muscle Building Tips

11. Muscle Education is the only way to gain muscle mass. Do not follow any programs blindly. The more you know, the more you grow.

12. The Concept of Progressive resistance training is the most fundamental one for beginner bodybuilders. Make progression your priority and your muscles will have no option but to grow 

13. Progress from bodyweight training to free weight training for best gains in the first few months of muscle building.

14. Don't copy-paste workouts: Copying workouts from bodybuilding magazines to their websites is BAD advice for beginners as most of the workouts are for advanced bodybuilders and for those who use steroids.

15. Focus on lifting heavy on the big 5 lifts of bench press, pull ups, deadlifts, squats and should presses. Everything else is secondary.

16. Learn to make 2 breakfast and two lunch/dinner muscle building recipes. They will help you more than hundreds of dollars worth supplements.

17. Learn to make at least 3 different muscle building shakes filled with real fruits and a quality supplement like whey. 

18. Fewer sets + high reps = more muscle

19. Generate maximum muscular contraction in every rep. Tension is the language of muscle. Maximise it by tensing hard.

20. Master perfect exercise technique. Train to concentric failure. Follow the 90/10 rule in Muscle Building World.

3. Training/Exercise Tips

21. Train your nervous system to lift big. Powerlifter turned bodybuilders gain insane muscle mass in short time as they have well-trained nervous systems too.

22. Train under one hour, preferably under 45 minutes. Put more work in each minute and each rep not more reps or minutes. Make every rep count.

23. Take full advantage of the eccentric/lowering portion of each exercise by performing each rep under control. 

24. Perform concentric/lifting portion of each exercise as fast as possible without using momentum. This activates your type IIB muscle fibers which have maximum growth potential.

25. Select the most effective exercises for each muscle group to build maximum muscle in minimum time.

26. Want to get ripped? Train heavy, very heavy. High tension makes your muscles toned and hard. - Pavel Tsatsouline

27. Your chosen rep range dictate everything - loads, sets and rest intervals. So choose the muscle building rep range of 6 to 12 reps per set.

28. Tighten your abs and clench your butt during each exercise to increase intra-abdominal pressure and ensure maximum power generation.

29. Grab the barbell/dumbbell tightly to use the principle of irradiation that helps more force production in neighbouring muscles.

30. Perform grip, core and rotator cuff work for instant strength gains in all exercises you perform.

4. Workout Tips

31. Plan a 6 month workout plan and break it down into 4 cycles of 6 weeks each. 

32. Train whole body every week. Total Body workouts twice a week are best for beginner and intermediate bodybuilders.

33. Finish your workouts within 60 minutes to avoid catabolism and protein breakdown. 

34. Put more into every workout, don't just perform more/longer workouts.

35. Rotate your workout days and body parts so that each major one gets a fresh day every few weeks. Rotate squats/deadlifts/bench press every Monday.

36. Hit every workout to improve on your previous lifts either in loads or reps or both.

37. Use the 5% strength solution: Increase your weights by 5% every training workout. If your nutrition/recovery is optimal, you will reach these strength goals and muscle mass follows strength gains.

38. Provide 48 to 72 hours between workouts to ensure complete muscle and brain recovery.

39. If your strength do not improve workout to workout, then your recovery was incomplete. Work on it or your muscle gains will suffer.

40. Get a workout buddy. Get competitive, Feed off his motivation and your lifts will be better than ever.

5. Nutrition/Diet Tips

"It’s better to make a lifestyle change, than “diet” for success" - Paul Carter

41. Recovery is the key to building muscle mass. Nutrition, supplementation and sleep are essential for muscle repair and growth.

42. Calculating YOUR personal energy requirements is the first and most important step in gaining mass. Don't crunch wrong numbers. Determine your caloric intake.

43. Poor food combinations is another big reason for slow weight gain. Learn proper food combination, especially for pre and post workout nutrition for faster muscle growth. 

44. Eat to GAIN. Choose either muscle gain or fat loss as your primary goal, but never both. And eat accordingly. Chase two rabbits and you end up with nothing.

45. Protein is the the stuff your muscles are made of. Want high quality, thick, dense muscles? Eat high quality, first class proteins.

46. Want more anabolic hormones? Eat high quality fats like fish, avocado, nuts/seeds and krill oil. They contain saturated fats which are the molecules that build testosterone.

47. You eat what's in plain sight. So stock your kitchen with healthy, muscle building foods, not potato chips and ice-creams.

48. Become a nutritional boy scout. Plan your meals in advance and be sure from where your next meal will come from.

49. Get a multi-vitamin/mineral. These micronutrients ensure your body spends less time searching for nutrients and more time using them to build muscles.

50. Water is very anabolic, next only to proteins. Cellular hydration {water inside cells} is a key factor in protein synthesis. So drink water every hour.

6. Supplementation Tips

51. Staying out of the gym and recovering will put far more muscle on you than any amount of money spent on supplements - Vince Delmonte

52. The biggest reason to use supplements is convenience. Use them around workout and at times when you miss meals/do not have time to cook and eat real foods.

53. Whey protein is the No.1 supplement every bodybuilder must use. Weight gain/meal replacement powders are NOT an ideal choice.

54. Creatine is a proven strength building supplement. Its worked for most people, but there are non-responders too, check if it works for you.

55. Use fish oil/krill oil for muscle blasting, hormone building fats.

56. Maximise your pre and post workout nutrition with whey proteins, maltodextrin or glucose polymers. They provides instant energy for muscle repair and growth.

57. Avoid fats around workouts to blunt insulin response which would otherwise lead to more fat gain.

58. Home made muscle building shakes/smoothies are delicious, money-saving and more effective than meal replacement shakes which are loaded with sugars and fats.

59. Branched chain amino acids are proven muscle builders to be used pre-and post workouts. Also use them with slow digesting casein protein powder before bed time.

60. Supplements create, at best, 20% of your muscle building results. Real, natural foods should be your first choice whenever possible.

7. Advanced Muscle Building Tips

61. Build, then sculpt. Sculpt your body to perfection by working on the weak areas in your body. Prioritise them. Get maniacal and build the perfect body.

62. Rotate exercises to avoid repetitive stress injuries and add variations {e.g.. change deadlifts to sumo deadlifts, back squats with front squats} for continual gains.

63. Engage in one-sided training {unilateral} often to stimulate your nervous system more and develop your stabiliser muscles.

64. Train the core muscles with increased intensity. Better core means better lifts.

65. Involve in more plyometric work to increase reactive strength and increase structural and neural adaptations.

66. Precede the maximum concentric action by a prestretch of the muscle - Christian Thebaudeau

67. Use advanced techniques like Forced repetitions, drop sets, supersets, and heavy negatives.

68. Decrease training volume and increase intensity. Your nervous system can handle very heavy weights.

69. If your workout lasts more than an hour, sip a workout shake during your workout.

70. Stay away from myostatin inhibitors, nitric oxide boosters, testosterone boosters, glutamine, arginine etc.

8. Program Tips

71. Follow the right program. Competitive Bodybuilding programs are different from model-like bodybuilding ones. Athletic muscle building is very different.

72. Following a personalised program created for you {with your lifestyle in mind} is the best way to build maximum muscle in minimum time. 

73. Create a 6 month program and break it down into 4 cycles of 6 weeks each. Focus on first cycle, then next.

74. Build muscle building habits and the habits will ensure the success of your program

75. Never follow a program from Pro bodybuilder. The success he boasts is mostly due to steroids and not the program itself.

76. Do not follow a program heavily dependant on supplements for success. Many so called experts are selling ebooks just to sell their newly launched supplement company.

77. Three day a week programs are best for beginner and few intermediates. They allow sufficient muscle recovery, repair and growth.

78. Any program is as good as the executioner i.e. you. Target a 90% commitment to the program, 100% is impossible.

79. Change is the only constant. Vary your muscle workout program every 12-16 weeks or else you fall to the dreaded trap of muscle homeostasis.

80. For program success, train your brain. Body follows the mind. Success in mind follows the success in body change.

Use a muscle building selector to select a program best for you. 

9. Bodybuilding Lifestyle Tips

81. Muscle lifestyle is most rewarding. You build muscle, get healthier and have increased energy levels - the best a life can be!

82. Embrace the new muscle life. If you think of it as a pain, then you will have a difficult time building muscle.

83. Bodybuilding lifestyle demands losing a few friends {temporarily} who have different goals and making a few new ones {permanently} who have similar goals. 

84. Making and eating your muscle meals at least once a day is minimum requirement for success in bodybuilding.

85. Surround yourself with like-minded, bodybuilding goal-oriented people. 

86. Modify your kitchen to make it a muscle building haven. Keep only muscle building foods, snacks and shakes.

87. Get at least one confidant {well-wisher friend} to keep yourself on track of muscle success

88. Read at least one bodybuilding book/ebook per month. Remember the more you know, the more you grow.

89. To create real, lasting changes, dedicate at least 4 to 6 months to  bodybuilding.

90. Don't wait till you build your dream body. Feel, dress and act as if you already have your dream body.

10. Life Tips Applied to Bodybuilding

91. God does not give you a challenge without giving you the ability to overcome it. Take muscle building as a challenge and beat it!

92. Are your activities goal achieving or tension relieving?

93. Muscle Building is Goals, all else is commentary. Keep ticking your weekly muscle goals.

94. Self discipline is the ability to do what you should do, when you should do, whether you feel like it or not.

95. You have to put in many, many, many tiny efforts that nobody sees or appreciates before you achieve anything worthwhile.

96. Creating Your Mission Statement Will Pull You Toward Your Goals 

97. Ask better questions. Don't ask if you should eat bad foods. Ask should I eat this ding dong thing knowing that I will feel miserable later or eat better to move towards my muscle building goals?

98. Your greatest resource is your time. Don't spend it, Invest it.

99. Develop loving, lasting relationships. Marry the right person who will support your bodybuilding lifestyle.

100. Master the twin qualities of Patience and Persistence. Keep on, keeping on has built more dreams than anything else.

#101 Tip: Believe in Yourself

All the 100 muscle building tips will not work unless YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

Develop an absolute, unshakable belief in yourself and your ability to build the body of your dreams.

"If you can conceive and believe, you can achieve." 

All the Best,

Mateen Sidd
TheMuscleSecrets.com

Got a better tip? Please us the contact page to let me know.