Alec Titan
Building muscle takes time, persistence, and a long-term commitment to the process. While it may take decades of logged gym hours to achieve an extreme muscle mass, building a moderate amount of muscle doesn't have to be that complex. The key to building muscle is to increase the protein deposition rate while minimising the muscle protein breakdown rate. This process is known as muscle hypertrophy. The primary means of accomplishing this goal are resistance training with weights and ensuring proper nutrition. Weight training for 20 to 30 minutes, 2 to 3 times a week is enough to see results. In addition to adequate protein, you need to increase your calorie intake to gain weight and build muscle.
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What You'll Learn
Weight training
The weight you choose should be heavy enough that you are unable or nearly unable to perform another repetition after your specified number of repetitions. For example, if you are performing a set of 10 repetitions, by the tenth repetition, you should be unable to perform another. This is known as the repetition continuum, which states that weights you can only lift for 1–5 repetitions tend to build strength, weights you can lift for 8–12 repetitions tend to build muscle, and weights you can lift more than 15 times increase muscular endurance.
To build muscle, it is recommended to perform exercises requiring larger muscle groups first, such as squats, squat variations, bench press, deadlifts, lat pull-downs, and overhead press. It is also important to include compound and isolation movements in your program, such as bicep curls, pull-ups, and dumbbell rows, which challenge multiple joints and muscles at once.
In addition to weight training, diet is also an important factor in building muscle. It is recommended to eat a variety of protein sources, with research suggesting that those training to gain muscle should eat 1.4–2 grams of protein per kg of body weight per day. Carbohydrates and fats are also important macronutrients to focus on, as they provide energy and fuel for workouts and aid in recovery and growth.
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Nutrition
Meal planning is essential for building muscle mass. Eating at regular intervals throughout the day provides a steady stream of nutrients to your muscles, which aids in recovery and growth. A balanced diet should include a variety of whole foods, such as colourful fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats. These foods provide your body with a range of micronutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which support overall health and contribute to muscle building.
Protein is particularly important for muscle growth, as muscles are made of protein. The process of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) is stimulated when you eat protein, and it is greater when protein intake is spread evenly throughout the day. A variety of protein sources, including plant-based and animal-based, should be consumed to allow a prolonged release of amino acids into the system. Leucine, an amino acid found in eggs, is important for building muscle and managing blood sugar levels. Other high-protein foods that help build muscle mass include chicken, salmon, Greek yogurt, skim milk, beans, shrimp, and quinoa.
In addition to protein, consuming adequate calories and carbohydrates is crucial for muscle growth. Being in a calorie surplus, or consuming more calories than you expend, is optimal for gaining muscle tissue. However, there is a limit to how quickly the body can gain muscle tissue, so too much of a surplus will result in added fat tissue instead. A surplus of 350 to 500 calories per day is recommended for muscle gain. Carbohydrates are important to fuel activity and working muscles. Without enough carbohydrates, some of the protein consumed may be burned for fuel instead of being used for muscle development.
It is important to note that building muscle requires a consistent and dedicated approach to both nutrition and exercise.
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Cardio
Through increased blood flow, cardio ensures that the muscles receive all the nutrients they need for growth and recovery. Muscles need to be used regularly to stay in top condition, and cardio is one way to make sure your muscles stay active.
Walking lunges, for example, are a perfect blend of strength training and cardio. They increase metabolism and burn fat more effectively than steady-state cardio. They also stretch your hip flexors and engage the core, increasing flexibility and alleviating lower back pain.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is another form of cardio that can help build muscle. It consists of short bursts of intense activity followed by brief, timed rest periods. The goal is to get your heart rate up to near-max levels quickly, allow your body to recover, and then repeat. HIIT has been proven to preserve and even build muscle. It improves your body's anaerobic capacity, increasing your muscles' ability to work hard for short periods.
However, it is important to note that performing cardio too frequently, too intensely, or for too long can prevent you from gaining muscle from your strength training workouts. This is because cardio and strength training draw on the same resources that your body uses to build muscle. Therefore, it is crucial to have rest and recovery days between workouts to allow your body to rebuild and increase muscle mass.
Additionally, if you are not consuming enough calories, cardio can compromise your muscle growth and strength gains. Prolonged cardio (greater than 90 minutes) can increase the likelihood that your body will begin using protein as a source of energy, speeding up muscle protein breakdown.
In conclusion, cardio can be a beneficial part of a muscle-building program, but it should be done in moderation and complemented with strength training, a healthy diet, and adequate rest.
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Rest
It is recommended that you take two to three days off from intense exercise each week, allowing your muscles time to repair and rebuild. During these rest days, you can still engage in some form of active recovery, such as yoga or a brisk walk, which will help facilitate muscle repair by getting your blood flowing without overdoing it. It is important to listen to your body and not push yourself too hard on these days.
In addition to physical rest, adopting mindfulness or meditation practices can enhance psychological recovery and improve performance. Taking time to relax and reduce stress will help you avoid injury, promote muscle growth, and enhance your overall recovery.
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Tempo
There are different types of tempo training that can help you achieve different goals. Slow tempos focus on controlled movements and emphasize time under tension for optimal muscle engagement. Explosive tempos prioritize speed and power, with rapid concentric contractions such as exploding upward during a squat. Pause tempos introduce intentional pauses at specific points during the lift to enhance control and challenge muscle endurance. A standard rep tempo, considered the most balanced approach, involves spending equal time in the eccentric and concentric phases without pausing.
To incorporate tempo training into your workouts, you may need to adjust the weight and number of reps. When slowing down the tempo, you will typically need to use lighter weights and perform fewer reps. This allows you to focus on the mind-muscle connection and increase the muscle's time under tension. By manipulating the tempo, you can challenge your muscles in new ways, break through plateaus, and maximize your gains.
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Frequently asked questions
Building muscle requires a combination of resistance training and a high-protein diet. The only tried-and-true method for increasing muscle mass is to use your muscles against moderate to heavy resistance, and to ensure you are consuming enough protein to build new muscle tissue.
Muscle growth occurs during recovery, so it is important to give your muscles time to recover between workouts. Training just two to three times per week is sufficient to see results.
To build muscle, you need to consume more calories than you burn. It is important to ensure that these extra calories are nutrient-rich. A good rule of thumb is to consume around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.
