If you've been working out and not making the gains that you want or you are just beginning you may be wondering how to gain muscle mass fast. You are not alone. Many people that aren't seeing progress or those that consider themselves hardgainers are thinking the same thing. There are five things that you must do for quick muscle gain. This article will discuss what you need to do.

1. Number of repetitions: in order to maximize your potential in gaining muscle mass you want to keep the number of reps that you perform per set between 6 to 8. When you push reps beyond 10 or more then you likely aren't using a weight that forces maximal muscle fiber recruitment in the shortest period of time. The more muscle fibers you recruit the better the chance your muscles will grow. You need to start lifting heavier and heavier weights to consistently challenge your muscles with every repetition and to keep you in the 6 to 8 rep range.

2. Increase the intensity of your workout by shortening your rest periods: practicing this simple tip will likely surprise you. The more work you can do in a shorter amount of time will force your muscular endurance to improve. In the long run you will be able to work harder in the gym and require less time to recover because your muscles will become more conditioned to high intensity workouts. Taking shorter rest periods between sets is one of the easiest ways to do this. You'll also shave several minutes off of your workout time. Make a goal to shorten your rest periods next time you workout.

3. Focus your concentration: if you want quick muscle gain then you have to focus your efforts on each muscle group you work. You can do this by performing one exercise per muscle group. There is no need to do 3 or 4 exercises for the same muscle group. If you pick one exercise for each major muscle group and focus on increasing the intensity of that exercise then you won't need to do any others during that workout. Be sure you are giving maximal effort and you will feel the results.

4. Number of sets: target between three to five sets per muscle group. Any more than this and you are likely fatiguing your muscles unnecessarily. If you are doing five sets this will include two warm up sets which will lead to three more. The last three should be performed at 95% and 100% maximum effort respectively. This is where the greatest concentration of muscle fibers are recruited, thus the potential for quick muscle gain. If you don't need to warm up for an exercise then three sets is sufficient.

5. Always track your progress: this may sound like a pain to do but if you don't you are likely repeating reps and weights that you did in previous workouts when you should be increasing the weights. It's easy to forget exactly how many sets, reps and weights you lifted from session to session. Write it down every time. You'll easily be able to see where you need to add a few extra pounds or add 1 or 2 more reps. If you consistently repeat what you've done over and over without forcing change you will never improve. Each week you should strive to add more weight to what you currently lifted the week before.

How to gain muscle mass fast is really not hard. It takes consistency and know how. You now have the 5 basic steps that you need to pack on pounds of quality, lean muscle mass. All you have to do is put them into practice.