exercises to build muscle fast

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Exercises to Build Muscle Fast

Muscles in a Minute!

Stay pumped for hours with these quick

workouts

(Workout Photography by Beth Bischoff,

By Scott Quill, Photographs by Darryl

Estrine, Posted Date: March 15, 2004)

Patience is for mutual funds and deep-space

probes, not muscles. Sometimes we want our

bodies to look their best right now. Maybe you

want case-hardened abs for a day on the beach.

Or you want your arms to pop at the picnic. Or

you need a chest that fills your suit coat at thereunion. We'll tell you how to produce build

muscle fast, even if you've missed a workout or

three.

First, some science. When you lift weights, your

muscles contract and apply pressure to the

blood vessels running through them. This

impedes the normal flow of blood and oxygen

(it's an "anaerobic" exercise). When you're

finished, blood pressure subsides and backed-

up blood and oxygen flood in, temporarily

expanding your muscles. Which is why you look

good in the locker-room mirror. "That pump you

have after a workout is related to an increase in

bloodflow," says Jay Hoffman, Ph.D., an

associate professor of health and exercise

science at the College of New Jersey.

You can make that postworkout surge last

longer. A recent study published in Medicine and

Science in Sports and Exercise concludes that

doing more reps with less weight provides a

longer-lasting pump than fewer reps with more

weight. That's the philosophy behind the short

workouts listed here, each designed to help

you build muscle fast.

Chest Pump

This iron-free workout is ideal "before you jump

into the shower before a date," says Scott

Rankin, C.S.C.S., a trainer in Toronto. Perform

as many pushups as you can in 1 minute. (Keep

count.) Without resting, move into a modified

pushup position, your knees on the ground. Do

as many repetitions as you can in 1 minute.

(Keep count.) Then, hold yourself about 2 inches

off the ground for 20 seconds -- or as long as

you can. That's one superset. Rest only long

enough for the burning in your muscles tosubside, then repeat the superset twice. Your

goal is to not let the amount of either type of

pushup drop by more than five each superset. If

you can do more, your rest periods are too long.

Arm Pump

"Remember that the upper-arm muscles are 60

percent triceps and only 40 percent biceps. You

want to work the triceps just as hard as the

biceps," says Tim Kuebler, C.S.C.S., a Kansas

City--based personal trainer. Rest 4 to 5 minutes

between these exercises.

Overextension Kickback

Grab a light dumbbell in your right hand and

place your left hand and knee on a bench. Plant

your right foot flat on the floor. Bend forward at

the hips so your torso is parallel to the floor.

Hold the dumbbell next to your thigh with a

neutral grip (palm facing your leg). Lift the

weight up and back. As the weight clears your

butt, slowly rotate your palm up toward the

ceiling so that the back of your hand faces your

body by the time your arm is straightened.

Pause, then slowly return to the starting position.

Do three sets of eight repetitions with each arm.

Rest 2 to 3 minutes between sets.



Bench Dip

Place your hands behind you on the edge of a

bench and your feet on another bench a few feet

in front of you. Ask someone to place a few

weight plates on your lap and steady them so

they don't fall. Lower your body until your upper

arms are nearly parallel to the floor. Pause, then

press back to the starting position. As you

fatigue, ask your spotter to remove one weight

plate at a time; continue until you can't do any

more with only your body weight. Now, place

your feet flat on the floor with your knees bent as

if you were seated in an invisible chair; lower

your body as before, completing as many

repetitions as you can.

Supinating Dumbbell Curl

Hold light dumbbells at your sides, palms toward

you. Curl the weights up, rotating your wrists

inward 180 degrees by the time the weights

reach your shoulders. Reverse this motion asyou lower the weights. Do three sets of eight to

12 repetitions, resting 2 to 3 minutes between

sets. Rest 5 minutes and perform one set of

preacher curls. Start with a weight that's about

80 percent of your maximum and do as many

repetitions as you can. Remove 10 to 15 percent

of the weight and start again without rest.

Continue removing weight and curling until you

can no longer curl the bar.



Ab Pump

Tire the obliques first so your rectus abdominis -

- the six-pack -- is isolated later, Rankin says.

Perform this workout as a circuit, with no rest

between exercises. Do three circuits, resting 60seconds after each.

Modified Bicycle Kick

Lie on the floor with your hands behind your

head, your right leg straight and off the floor.

Bend your left leg so your knee is pulled to your

chest. Lift your shoulder blades off the floor and

take a count of two to touch your right elbow to

your left knee. Pause, lower your elbow and

shoulder blades back to the floor (again to a

count of two), then immediately repeat the moveon the other side -- bringing your left elbow to

your right knee and straightening your left leg.

Complete 15 repetitions on each side. Now do

30 conventional crunches.

Reverse Crunch

Lie faceup on the floor with your arms straight

above you or braced on the sides of a doorway.

Bend your knees and lift your heels off the floor

and toward your butt. Roll your hips up, bringing

your knees toward your chest. As your lower

back rises off the floor, straighten your legs,

point your toes to the ceiling and lift your hips.

Pause, then slowly reverse the motion. Do 20

repetitions.

Rollup

Lie faceup on the floor with your legs straight

and your arms at your sides. Push your heels

into the ground and slowly lift your shoulders

and back off the floor. Pause when your upperbody is perpendicular to the floor, then slowly

lower your body to a count of five. Perform 10

repetitions.

exercises to build muscle fast

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