How to Rebuild Muscle Mass

Individuals can lose muscle size from illness or injury. It is usually easier to put muscle back on once you have had it, as opposed to starting from scratch. You just need to put stress on the muscle and force it to grow. There are exercises you can do to rebuild muscle mass.

Things You'll Need

  • Gym membership
  • Barbells
  • Dumbbells
  • Weight plates
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Instructions

    • 1

      Get excited about getting back into your training, especially after an injury or illness. Train with fewer sets, because you have probably lost some of your muscle stamina and endurance. Train four to six days per week and avoid doing too many exercises.

    • 2

      Stretch you muscles for three to five minutes before lifting weights. Place both arms to the side and do arm circles to warm up your shoulders. Lie on the floor and pull your knees to your chest to stretch lower back muscles.

    • 3

      Work every area of your body each week. Split your routine up so you only work certain muscles each day, according to bodybuilding.com. Do chest, shoulders and triceps, for example, on day 1, back, biceps and forearms on day 2, and legs and calves on day 3. Rest one day, then repeat the same workout sequence.

    • 4

      Focus extra effort on those muscles that have atrophied due to injury. Do extra sets for these areas once you have gotten used to lifting weights again, and if there is no pain in the injured area. Do five sets of wrist curls instead of four, for example, lifting a dumbbell up and down on the edge of the bench by moving your wrist up and down.

    • 5

      Start training the larger muscles each workout, then work your way toward the smaller muscles, because smaller muscles already get some stimulation from working the larger muscles. Do chest first, for example, on days you work chest, shoulders and arms.

    • 6

      Do exercises such as bench presses for rebuilding chest mass, as bench presses work the chest, shoulders and arms. Lie on a bench and lift a barbell up and down at the center of your chest. Inhale as you lower the bar and exhale as you push it back up. Start with a weight you can lift 10 to 12 times, then gradually add 10 pounds each set. Do four or five sets of eight to 12 repetitions.

      Do squats to build back leg mass. Place a bar on the thick part of the muscles behind your neck. Bend your knees until the backs of your legs are parallel to the floor, then push yourself back up. Do five or six sets of six to 10 repetitions.