Every so often I'll get an e-mail from someone who claims he or she has applied each of those key factors for many weeks and still say they have trouble trying to gain weight and build muscle fast. One of the lesser known but very important factors to build muscle fast in record time is something that most people just plain don't get enough of these days: sleep.

I read an article recently saying that the average person gets less than 7 hours of sleep per night. Whether you are a hardgainer of not, getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night is absolutely critical, preferably 8 or more.

Here is a simplified form of how your muscles grow and why sleep is so important:

First, when you lift weights, what you're doing is actually tearing the muscle tissue in a healthy way. After you eat your body uses certain nutrients to repair your muscle tissue. What you need to remember though, is that the protein and your body won't start repairing your muscle tissue until you are at rest for a extended period of time, such as sleep. What this means is that if you are lacking sleep, your body isn't getting sufficient time to repair and recover your muscles one hundred percent.

One extra tip to keep in mind if you are training hard to gain weight and/or build muscle mass, is to try as best you can to get an extra hour of sleep during the last few weeks of your program, especially if you are really training intense. If getting enough sleep every night is difficult to do, then try to at least take a couple 20 minute naps whenever possible throughout your day.

Remember, if your goal is to gain weight and build muscle fast, it is always better to rest throughout the day as much as possible. That means if you can walk rather then run, do so. If you have the opportunity to stand instead of sit, then do so, and if you have the opportunity to lie down rather then sit, do so. If you allow your body enough time to rest in between works, then your muscles will completely repair themselves properly, and will therefore get the maximum results you can get from your effort in the gym.