One thing that almost all beginning bodybuilders and weight trainers want to know is how to get big muscles quick. Heck, even many more advanced lifters want the answer to that question . It is pretty simple, really. To get big muscles, you have to eat right, get plenty of sleep, and train hard . There’s no magic pill (maybe a shot, but it’ll get you 5-10 in The Pen ) that will make your muscles magically grow.

There are three things to remember when training your muscles for growth; intensity, intensity, intensity . High intensity is mandatory if you want to see your legs as thick as tree trunks, shoulders so big your mom can’t hug you any more, and a Mt. Everest peak on your biceps. If you’re hittin’ it hard enough, your body will feel like jelly for about 3 hours after you’re done working out.

There are many techniques to achieve this . This is much easier with a training partner. Then, you can have them help you get a couple of extra reps after failure. Have them help you finish a rep by only using the amount of extra help actually needed to complete the rep. Use good form and don’t cheat. Not only can cheating get you hurt, it actually takes away from the intensity you’re after . Although cheating is typically bad, weather you’re talking about in the classroom, on your spouse, or in the weight room, there are circumstances in your training where it can be beneficial. If you’re trying to increase intensity, and you do not have the asssitance of a training partner, you can sometimes do as many reps as you can with strict form, then cheat a few more reps to get the intensity you need to grow .

Do 4 exercises per major body part, and 6 – 8 reps per set. You should warm up first by doing high rep sets and lighter weights. A 2 or 3 sets of between 12 and 16 moderately easy reps should be fine for a warm up. To increase size, you want to recruit as many muscle fibers as possible with each rep. That points to such movements as the bench press, power clean, squat, pull up, dead lift, and seated row. These are movements that involve more than one joint and several muscle groups.

You have to train hard, but not over train. That can be a tough balance to strike, but the key is to take plenty of time off between training sessions for the same body part. Don’t train the same body part every other or every third day. Unless you’re a freak of nature, and are getting perfect nutrition, you’ll be over training that body part, and it will slow down your growth.

Try taking at least 3, but preferably 4 days between training sessions for the same body part(s). For example, do a training cycle where you train chest on day 1 and day 5. That will give your muscles the chance they need to recover from the beating you gave them on day 1.

A common mistake people make when they are trying to pack on as much muscle as possible is that they leave out one very important part of the equation; sleep. Guys will train to death, eat right, and drink plenty of water, only to derail their progress by going out late at night and generally not giving their bodies enough time to recover and grow. Sleep is a vital part of the muscle growth process that can’t be neglected.

If you’re trying to get more mass, you’ll probably be looking to build bigger biceps. Some people can just do a few sets of curls and their biceps veritably explode with size and vascularity. Most folks they aren’t so lucky . They have to almost kill themselves in the gym to see growth like that from their biceps. How do you make them grow? You have to force them. A regimen of high intensity, high volume, medium rep sets will blast your bi’s until they scream for mercy. Only then will you get the growth out of them that you want.

Here is a bicep training routine that is all but guaranteed to pack on extra muscle on to your guns. . Do 4 sets of the following

Alternating dumbbell curls – sets of 12, 10, 8, 6 reps. Start with your palms facing your body and rotate your palm as you lift, so that by the time you finish your palm is facing up.

Preacher curls – sets of 8

Standing barbell curls sets of 8

4 sets of each will be 12 reps, and your biceps should be spent. Every 4 – 6 weeks or so, completely change up your bicep workout for 2 – 4 workouts. Throw in some different exercises and do some lower and higher rep sets. That will keep your muscles confused and prevent you from getting stuck at a plateau, where all growth stops.

Weather you’re trying to get bigger for sports or just to look better, don’t neglect your legs. Nothing looks sillier than someone who has a dynamite set of shoulders, huge pecs, bulging biceps, 6-pack abs, no neck, a back you could land a plane on, and legs that Colonel Sanders would be happy to fry up. In sports much of your power is generated in your legs and if you’re just building your physique, you  need to keep some symmetry. Check out these leg workouts you can use to get you where you want to be, fast.

You can do only two or three exercise for legs, plus some calf raises, and grow your legs to mythic proportions. The grand daddy of all leg exercises is, of course, the squat.  Use that, along with leg presses, leg extensions, leg curls, hack squats, and lunges to grow your lower body. Mix and match them, but include squats almost every leg workout.

Try this to build your legs massively huge. Warm up with about 3 sets of 16 reps, using progressively more weight with each set. Then do sets of 5 – 7 reps, with at least 2 forced reps after the 5 – 7 you can complete by yourself. The second you finish the last rep, take off about  15 – 20% of the weight and do as many reps as you can to total failure. Do this for leg presses. It also works great for squats if you have a spotter. If you don’t, it will be kind of tough to get those forced reps.  
Another powerful training technique that will make your muscles grow and your mind want to scream is to take a set to complete failure, then immediately change to a different exercise and do it all over again. One example would be to do deep leg presses with enough weight that you could only get about 6 – 8 reps. As soon as you finish the leg presses, jump over and do a set of leg extensions. You’ll scream in pain, but your legs will never grow bigger! It doesn’t take too may months of working out like this before your friends will start asking if you’re doing ‘roids! You won’t be, of course, but it’s nice to know they’re asking!

Make sure you support your training sessions with plenty of water, the proper nutrition, protein and creatine supplementation, and plenty of deep sleep. Weather you ‘re looking for football workouts, bodybuilding routines, or just working out for fun, pack more intensity into your training than ever before and big muscles are sure to follow.