The best time to workout for weight gain depends on two factors: how much time you have to workout and how well your body can recover from the workout you’ve performed. You want to exercise often enough that you gain as much muscle as possible without overworking your body, which can lead to injury and slow or no muscle growth at all.
This guide will help you choose the best time to workout for weight gain based on your schedule and the amount of rest you need between workouts.
When you’re trying to gain weight, workout times can be an important consideration—if you exercise too close to your main meal of the day, for example, your body may break down the calories from your pre-workout meal as opposed to storing them as fat. Here are some tips on finding the best time to workout to gain weight.
Things to Consider For Workout to Gain Weight
Before you start thinking of the best time to workout to gain weight, there are a few factors that you should consider. If your workout is meant to help you gain weight, chances are it will require some added calories.
But where will those calories come from? You could choose an all-protein diet, but there are other options as well. For example, if you prefer a lower-carb diet like Paleo or low-fat diet like Ornish, choosing an option that fits into your eating plan can be advantageous because it makes it easier to stick with your new workout routine and still lose weight.
On the other hand, if your goal is to get bigger muscles faster in less time with fewer calories, then going with a high-carbohydrate meal plan may be best. The truth is, no matter what kind of diet you follow, you’ll need to adjust your calorie intake accordingly.
A good rule of thumb is to take in 20% more calories than normal while following a weight-gain program. In addition, strength training exercises tend to burn more calories during and after workouts than cardio exercises do. So if you’re looking to add muscle mass quickly, focusing on strength training might be a better choice for you.
In general, lifting weights (particularly heavyweights) has been shown to increase lean body mass—the good kind of fat—and decrease fat mass over time when combined with proper nutrition and exercise.
How Long Should I Do Cardio?
Doing cardio for too long can actually cause your body to burn fat more slowly. This is due to something called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). When you do cardio, your body continues burning calories after you’ve stopped moving, and it’s possible that those calories are being pulled from fat instead of muscle.
That doesn’t mean you should skip doing cardio, but if you’re going longer than 30 minutes, try mixing in some strength training too. You’ll burn more calories during your workout, and it will help prevent any muscle loss. For example, if you run on a treadmill for 45 minutes at 5 miles per hour, you could also lift weights or complete a circuit while watching TV or listening to music.
Also Read: The Top 5 Body Builder Diets to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat
The next day, follow up with another 45-minute run at 5 miles per hour and then repeat on days three through five. Once you’ve completed five days of weightlifting or circuit training, go back to running four days a week for about 45 minutes each time. If you want even faster results—and who doesn’t?—try sprinting one day a week as well as lifting weights two times per week.
When Should I Do Lifting?
There’s a time and place for cardio and there’s a time and place for strength training. While most people tend to focus solely on their cardio routine, it’s important not to forget about your weightlifting regimen. To get more muscles, you need to do both lifting and cardio, but one shouldn’t be neglected over another.
The best strategy is to complete strength training three times per week along with 30 minutes of cardio two or three times per week. Be sure that when lifting weights, you always follow the proper form: avoid cheating by using your hips and legs too much, keep good posture while exercising (sit up straight) and do enough repetitions so that you feel fatigued at the end of your set.
When doing cardio, don’t forget to warm up before starting and cool down after finishing. If you want to gain weight as quickly as possible, you should also eat plenty of protein-rich foods every day in addition to your workout plan.
Good sources include chicken breast, fish, eggs, and low-fat dairy products. By eating these foods frequently, you’ll help ensure that your body has all of the nutrients it needs to recover from exercise and build muscle mass. If you want to learn more about gaining weight safely and effectively, check out our Guide to Gaining Weight. It provides detailed information on how many calories are needed each day for men and women of different ages/weights.
What’s the Biggest Mistake People Make When Trying To Gain Weight?
It’s common for people who want to put on muscle mass or gain weight quickly and easily to engage in dirty bulking. Eating like crap all day, every day isn’t a good idea if you want your body composition to improve or if you simply want to feel good (side effects from overeating can include lower energy levels, irritability, high blood pressure, and diabetes).
Do Olympic Lifts Build Muscle? We Asked the Experts Check Now:
Instead of eating whatever is available in bulk quantities, stick with clean foods that aren’t loaded with sugar and bad fats. To build lean muscle without adding fat, try consuming one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day—and fill up your plate with whole grains and veggies at other meals.
If you’re looking to get a big fast, eat six small meals throughout the day instead of three large ones. This will help stabilize your blood sugar and keep you energized so that workouts are more productive.
If you really want to make gains fast, focus on gaining strength by lifting heavy weights two times per week; do more reps with lighter weights at least three times per week, and rest adequately between workouts so that muscles have time to recover before being stressed again.
Putting it All Together – Sample Routine
When you’re starting out on a weight-gaining program, it’s important that you don’t overdo it by maintaining the best time to workout to gain weight. Working out is stressful on your body, and if you push yourself too hard when you first start gaining weight, it could set back your progress by several days or even weeks.
Overdoing it could also mean burnout—and who wants that? The best approach is to come up with a routine and stick with it religiously. Do cardio one day, weights another day (you can alternate between cardio and weight-lifting on consecutive days), and abs/stretching/relaxation exercises at least three times per week. If you do more than that, great! Just make sure you’re not working out more than four days in a row.
Also, keep in mind that rest days are just as important as workout days; your muscles need time to recover and grow. Aim for two rest days per week, but if you have more time off from work or school than that, go ahead and take advantage of it! This sample routine has been created based on what we think would be an effective plan to gain weight. It’s geared toward beginners, so it won’t be overwhelming, but there will still be enough variety that experienced lifters won’t get bored.
Also Read: CPM Fitness: Knee Recovery and Prevention
This workout routine will build muscle strength and size while helping you lose fat, so follow along with us below:
Monday: Cardio – 30 minutes
Tuesday: Weights – 20 minutes Abs – 10 minutes
Wednesday: Cardio – 30 minutes
Thursday: Weights – 20 minutes Abs – 10 minutes
Friday: Cardio – 30 minutes Saturday & Sunday:
Rest Your muscles need 48 hours of recovery time after each workout before they are ready for their next challenge. Remember to get plenty of sleep every night! Don’t forget to eat well, too! Be sure to consume 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily.
You should also eat carbs and fats in moderation, as both nutrients are necessary for growth. You can find our favorite diet here. That being said, everyone is different and responds differently to different foods, so experiment until you find a diet that works for you.
There are lots of resources online where you can learn about how different foods affect your body composition. For example, check out these guides from Nerd Fitness. If you want to track your food intake easily without having to manually enter everything into an app or website, use our free nutrition tracker app.
It makes tracking calories easy – all you have to do is scan barcodes with your phone’s camera! Why does it matter that you’re eating enough protein? Eating sufficient amounts of high-quality, complete proteins like whey and casein helps your body repair and rebuild damaged muscle tissue. In addition to making your muscles bigger, increasing your lean mass also helps you burn more calories.
So, it’s pretty much a win-win. And speaking of winning… that brings us to step 2: lifting weights! What is weight training and why is it important for building muscle? Lifting weights allows you to break down your muscles, which signals them to adapt and grow. To put it simply, lifting weights is a key part of any weight-gain workout routine.
But that’s not all! Weight training also improves your body’s ability to burn fat. Here’s why: Resistance training increases your basal metabolic rate – that means more calories burned throughout the day, even when you’re resting. Increased lean body mass – as mentioned above, more muscle means higher metabolism and increased calorie burn.
Stronger bones – resistance training can help increase bone density, reducing your risk of developing osteoporosis in later life.
Common Questions Answered
- What are some simple and effective ways of gaining weight?
- How can I use exercise to help me gain weight?
- What is a good workout schedule for gaining weight?
- Is it better to do more sets of lighter weights or fewer sets of heavier weights in order to build muscle mass faster?
- How do I get rid of flabby skin on my stomach, thighs, and arms while building up muscle mass fast?
- What foods should I eat after a workout in order to gain lean muscle mass as quickly as possible?
- Can you please provide some quick, easy meal recipes that will give me lots of energy, build lean muscle mass fast, and help me lose fat fast at the same time?
- Will I gain weight if I workout at night?
- Is it better to workout in the morning or evening to gain weight?
- What type of cardio workouts are best for burning calories and losing fat but also helping me gain lean muscle mass?
- What type of exercises should I be doing to maximize my gains in strength, endurance, and overall fitness levels?
- How skinny people gain weight fast?
- When is the best time to work out each day so that I can achieve maximum results from my workouts?
- How much rest between sets should I be taking if I want to build muscle mass quickly without putting on too much body fat at the same time?
- When you first start to workout do you gain weight?
- How can I gain 5kg in a month?
- What makes you gain weight the fastest?
- Should I always lift heavy weights or sometimes just go with light weights instead so that I don’t put on too much body fat while still gaining plenty of lean muscle mass over time?
- Are there any supplements that will help me put on quality lean muscle mass without having to consume large amounts of food every day?
Q); What are some simple and effective ways of gaining weight?
One of the best ways to gain weight is through strength training, which is sometimes known as resistance training. This type of exercise works by building lean muscle, or muscle that has a high percentage of proteins and nutrients. When your body builds up lean muscle mass, it actually starts absorbing extra calories from your diet in order to make room for these changes.
What’s more, when you strength train on a regular basis you have a higher energy output throughout your day; burning more calories can help keep you from putting on unwanted pounds. Aim for at least three full-body workouts per week, at 60 minutes each. Split these into two upper-body days and one lower-body day per week.
Q); How can I use exercise to help me gain weight?
One of the biggest obstacles many people have with gaining weight is simply finding a way to incorporate more exercise into their lives. If you’re already busy between your job, family life, and other obligations, it can be difficult to figure out how to find time for a healthy workout routine.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can get in some activity without sacrificing your busy schedule. Whether you want to lose weight or gain some muscle mass, here are a few tips that will help:
1) Focus on big muscle movements: Activities like push-ups and squats that involve large muscle groups will burn more calories than doing something small like crunches.
Q); What is a good workout schedule for gaining weight?
If you’re looking to bulk up, find a weight-lifting routine that allows you about two rest days per week. If you’re trying to lose weight, you should work out five or six days a week with one or two rest days.
This makes it easier for your body to recover from muscle-building activities and prepare itself for more intense exercise. The best workout schedule? Everyone’s different—you might have better luck working out three times a week, while someone else may respond better to four sessions each week. Play around with your schedule and see what works best!
Is it better to do more sets of lighter weights or fewer sets of heavier weights in order to build muscle mass faster?
The answer is, surprisingly, that it doesn’t really matter. In fact, you could gain muscle just as fast with a small number of sets and reps as with a larger number of sets and reps if you work hard enough. The key is working out intensely enough that your muscles fatigue in 10-15 repetitions or less.
This fatiguing effect on your muscles causes micro-tears within them which trigger muscle growth. Also important is training each muscle group at least twice a week rather than once every other week because studies have shown that when muscles are trained once every other week they don’t become stronger or larger; they only maintain strength levels.
How do I get rid of flabby skin on my stomach, thighs, and arms while building up muscle mass fast?
The two biggest issues men have with getting fit are: 1) losing weight quickly, and 2) how do I get rid of flabby skin on my stomach, thighs, and arms while building up muscle mass fast? The first thing to understand is you can’t spot reduce.
What that means is you can’t target a specific area like your belly or your butt (or any other part of your body) and make it firm. If you’re overweight, then the overall fat loss will happen from losing weight in general. You won’t lose fat from just working out one part of your body because there are no miracle exercises that can spot-reduce fat in certain parts of your body.
What foods should I eat after a workout in order to gain lean muscle mass as quickly as possible?
What you eat after a workout is just as important as what you do in that gym. But don’t go overboard on protein—it’s easy to overdo it. Aim for one gram of protein per pound of body weight, but no more than two grams per kilogram says Dr. Joe Collier, president, and CEO of Human Performance Systems in San Diego, California.
That works out to about 30-80 grams of protein daily if you’re 160 pounds (75 kilograms). To put that into perspective, a chicken breast has 25 grams of protein; an 8-ounce steak has 36 grams, and three eggs have around 20 grams. If you want to gain muscle mass quickly, it’s best to consume high-quality proteins such as lean meat or fish right after your workout.
You can also try supplements like whey or casein powders (available at most health food stores) or drinks like Muscle Milk Light ($1/serving). This way you can get all your essential amino acids without going overboard on calories from fat or carbs.
Q); Can you please provide some quick, easy meal recipes that will give me lots of energy, build lean muscle mass fast, and help me lose fat fast at the same time?
This is going to be a toughie. Since you want all of these benefits at once, it’ll be tough to find meal recipes that fit your needs. Instead, try incorporating each of these macros separately into your meals throughout the day:
1) Lean protein – chicken breast or turkey breast
2) Complex carbs – brown rice
3) Healthy fats – fish oil supplements If you’re asking about complex carbs instead of simple carbs like white bread and pasta (aka carbohydrates), then I’ll have more tips for you! First off, don’t go overboard on carbs.
You can get plenty of energy from lean proteins and healthy fats alone. Second, keep portion sizes in mind as well. Pasta is notorious for being high in calories per serving size so make sure you’re not eating too much with each serving.
Last but not least, make sure your body can process them easily! That means no wheat products if you have Celiac disease or gluten intolerance; no corn if you have corn allergies; etc… These foods will either make you sick or won’t provide any energy because they can’t be digested properly by your body :). Good luck with everything!! 😀
Q); What type of cardio workouts is best for burning calories and losing fat but also helping me gain lean muscle mass?
The best cardio workouts for weight gain are those that burn a high number of calories in a short amount of time. The two most effective types of cardio workouts include sprinting and circuit training. When you perform intense sprints, your body needs large amounts of energy and quickly burns fat in order to keep up with your efforts.
Circuit training allows you to increase muscle mass while still burning fat, which means you can go longer without rest between sets and sessions, so it’s great if you’re pressed for time but still want long-term results.
What type of exercises should I be doing to maximize my gains in strength, endurance, and overall fitness levels?
Muscles are like any other part of your body—to keep them fit and healthy, you need to exercise them.
For most people, weightlifting is a great way to increase muscle mass. It’s simple: The more muscle mass you have, the stronger you will be and therefore (in theory) able to do more things in life with less effort. Muscle also burns fat; it’s like a furnace that converts food into energy.
Also Read: 10 Ways to Stay Motivated on Your Exercise Routine
So when it comes time to cut calories or slim down, your muscles will help burn off fat faster than if they were smaller or non-existent. This is why many athletes try at all costs (and risk their overall health) by taking steroids which often have side effects but can help build muscle quickly and easily.
When is the best time to work out each day so that I can achieve maximum results from my workouts?
The best time to workout each day is at night. When you work out at night, your body will have more energy throughout the day, thus leading to greater results.
Working out in the morning can also be productive; however, it depends on your schedule and how well you wake up in the morning. If you wake up groggy, try working out at night instead so that you have more energy throughout most of your day.
This way, when you do begin working in an office setting (for example), your energy levels won’t be as low as they would be if you were up working out early in the morning.
Q); How much rest between sets should I be taking if I want to build muscle mass quickly without putting on too much body fat at the same time?
How much rest should you take between sets if you want to gain weight? Well, it depends on your exercise selection and how many calories you’re eating in a day. As a rule of thumb, it’s probably not a good idea to take much longer than one or two minutes of rest between sets.
If you’re trying to lose weight, obviously that timeframe is shorter. Remember: The goal is not just muscle growth but also fat loss. With that in mind, prioritize compound exercises and bodyweight movements over isolation exercises—they’ll keep your resting heart rate low and up your calorie burn. And remember:
To maintain muscle mass while losing fat (which is what we’re all after here), be sure you’re eating enough calories! A good place to start is by using our calculator. Once you know how many calories you need each day, multiply that number by 1.5 to 2 times—this will ensure your body has enough energy stores on hand so it can build muscle and shed fat at the same time.
Q); Should I always lift heavy weights or sometimes just go with light weights instead so that I don’t put on too much body fat while still gaining plenty of lean muscle mass over time?
There’s no magical set of exercises, sets, and reps that will build a certain amount of muscle in any given timeframe. Your body weight is dependent on many factors: your hormones, your diet, and how often you work out.
To put it another way, what works for one person might not work for another — an approach may get you five pounds of muscle in six months but someone else may gain 15 pounds over six months with a different workout plan.
Your best bet is to try out a few different workout plans, find one that suits your goals, and then tweak it from there until you’ve found something that works. If you’re looking to lose fat rather than build muscle then lifting heavy weights won’t help much — try doing more cardio and eating fewer calories instead.
Q); Are there any supplements that will help me put on quality lean muscle mass without having to consume large amounts of food every day?
People in pretty much every sport watch their diets and will use supplements to help them put on weight. A common question is, Can I just take a bunch of protein supplements and gain muscle? The short answer is no. You still need a solid diet in order to gain muscle mass.
Just adding lots of protein powder or other supplements into your diet isn’t going to make you bigger and stronger; it’s going to add extra calories that your body doesn’t need. In order to build quality lean muscle mass, you need three macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
If you aren’t getting enough of any one of these nutrients then it becomes very difficult if not impossible to put on lean muscle tissue.
Q); Will I gain weight if I workout at night?
To gain weight, you need to eat more than your body needs, so don’t focus on how much time you spend at the gym. Focus on when and what you eat.
Eating protein helps your muscles grow; stay hydrated by drinking a lot of water and increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables; treat yourself every once in a while but not every day; get plenty of sleep – at least eight hours a night! Sleep is essential if you want to be alert and able to exercise without injuring yourself.
If you are having trouble gaining weight, talk with your doctor or dietitian about other ways to increase calories and nutrients.
Q); Is it better to workout in the morning or evening to gain weight?
Some people have time to hit up their favorite local gym in either early morning or late at night, but many of us don’t. Regardless of your schedule, it’s important that you get regular exercise. To find out whether it’s better to workout in the morning or evening, we consulted with a panel of medical experts from some of New York City’s leading healthcare facilities.
When you hear what they had to say, you might want to put down that doughnut and pick up a weight instead. So let’s take a look at when it’s best to work out if your goal is weight gain! If You Want to Build Muscle, Hit Up Your Gym First Thing in the Morning: It can be tempting to sleep in on days when you’re not working out, but early risers tend to build more muscle than those who wait until later in the day.
That’s because your body produces more testosterone—the hormone responsible for building muscle—when you wake up than later on during the day. As such, those who rise earlier may experience greater muscle gains as a result of higher testosterone levels throughout each day compared with those who go through their days without lifting weights first thing.
Q); How do skinny people gain weight fast?
First of all, avoid yo-yo dieting. Yo-yo dieting is a term that refers to losing and gaining weight repeatedly. It’s obviously not healthy or sustainable, since it’s bound to ruin your metabolism.
If you really want to gain weight, it’s better if you take some time off from intense workouts and focus on building muscle through strength training instead. Strength training actually helps boost your metabolism even when you aren’t working out at all! That means more calories burned throughout your day, which should help with fat gain.
Q); When you first start to workout do you gain weight?
When you first start to workout and add exercise into your life, it is normal for people to gain a few pounds. Your body needs energy to recover from exercises like running, weight lifting, cycling, and more. While at first, you may gain a few pounds after starting an exercise routine, in time your body will become used to it and plateau.
If you are looking for ways how to gain weight then take a look at my site where I discuss how I gained 34 pounds in 3 months by eating well and working out regularly with some effective tips.
Q); How can I gain 5kg in a month?
Losing weight is tough. Gaining it? Not so much. That’s right: not only is it possible to put on 5kg in a month, but it’s also easier than losing 5kg (or anything else). So how do you do it? First, let’s make sure we are clear on what gaining 5kg in a month means.
Since gaining weight isn’t really about moving numbers on a scale, let’s call these five kilograms of pure muscle mass. To do that, let’s split our workouts into three categories and train each one specifically for adding lean muscle tissue. We’ll work out with relatively lighter weights two days per week and push ourselves with slightly heavier weights four days per week.
Q); What makes you gain weight the fastest?
Your body is always breaking down and building muscle, but that isn’t always a good thing. On one hand, muscle tissue is denser than fat, which means you burn more calories while at rest.
On the other hand, your body likes to hang onto its precious protein stores, so as long as you have adequate protein in your diet, it will be harder to gain weight compared with someone who eats less protein or none at all.
So if gaining weight is your goal—and hopefully, it’s not—you should focus on upping your calorie intake without maxing out on protein. A study from researchers at McMaster University found that participants who gained weight following a high-protein diet ended up adding mostly fat mass instead of lean muscle mass.
If you want to bulk up, make sure you’re getting enough calories from healthy sources like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean meats like chicken breast and fish.
Just don’t go overboard: You can only store about 2,500 calories worth of food as body fat (so don’t go crazy eating 5,000-calorie meals). It’s also important to make sure you’re exercising regularly; otherwise, all those extra calories are going straight to storage.
Pingback: 8 Effective Body Building Tips For Beginners Starting From Scratch -
Pingback: The 20 Best Bicep Workouts for Greater Growth -
Pingback: The Startling Truth About Garlic Bread Calories – Fitnessbase
Pingback: The Best Cardiovascular Fitness Exercises for a Healthy Heart – Fitnessbase
Pingback: Kettlebell Arm Workout for Mass: A How-To Guide and Exercises
Pingback: 5 Day Dumbbell Workout for Effective Muscle Gains – Fitnessbase