5 important variables for muscle growth!

Curls for the girls lads! Rows for the bros! Pecs for the se-… Ok enough of that. Sam’s top 5 fat loss tips has been done and dusted, so it’s time for Sam’s top 5 most important variables when trying to gain muscle! These are all evidence-based variables (yay science), with some real world experience thrown in there too. For the more scientific readers I have a fantastic review from 2010 on multiple training-based studies linked at the bottom which goes into great detail on optimal training methods. Or if you’re lazy you can just click the link and scroll down to the practical applications paragraph. I apologize for the length of this article; I get too carried away with this kind of thing. Without any further ado…

  1. Caloric surplus

For muscle gain, calories are the single most important variables when it comes to dieting. You should all know by now that the only way to lose weight is being in a caloric deficit. On the flip side to gain weight you have to be in a caloric surplus because the weight that you’re trying to put on has to come from somewhere. The laws of thermodynamics say that mass and energy are neither created nor destroyed; you don’t just get big out of nowhere, if you don’t eat enough food you simply won’t have the raw materials to build muscle tissue. This is why you’ll see a lot of people (our very own JB being a prime example) going through a ‘bulking’ (hypercaloric) stage to build muscle, followed by a ‘cutting’ (hypocaloric) stage to strip away the fat and reveal the muscle underneath. In addition to this when in a hypercaloric state anabolic hormone levels such as testosterone and insulin tend to increase; creating a more favourable environment for building muscle.Because of the aforementioned processes building muscle and losing fat at the same time is very difficult and can only happen under specific circumstances; such as being new to training or by using performance enhancing substances. Building muscle in a calorie deficit in most cases is almost impossible.

2. Macronutrient intake

Protein is the main nutrient involved in muscle repair, and is commonly known to be important in muscle growth. If you get enough daily protein then you can play around a little with the rest of the food you eat without going to extremes. As a general guideline you should be aiming for: Protein: 2g per kg of bodyweight Fat: 1-2g per kg of bodyweight (upper end if ‘bulking’ lower end if ‘cutting’) Carbohydrates: You do not need to make a solid target for carbs but make sure you’re getting some. Eat foods you enjoy to stay consistent.

3. Training volume

Volume is quite simply Weight (kg) X Repetitions X Sets. Therefore, the best way to get high volume workouts is multiple sets and greater number of repetitions. Higher repetition sets stimulate a greater growth hormone response, greater immune inflammatory response and has been shown in multiple studies to cause more muscle growth than lower volume workouts. NOTE: going over the top on the same muscle group may have diminishing returns but is a highly debated topic; see tip number 5 for more details or ask one of the trainers if you’re concerned about overtraining or doing too little.

4.Progressive overload

Notice those calluses getting harder on your hands since you’ve been lifting weights? That’s your body adapting to stress. Your skin has been ripped and has hardened up so it is prepared for next time. Similarly, your muscle grows in response to resistance training so it is more prepared next time it comes around (pretty smart in my opinion). However, if you’ve been doing the same workout, with the same weights, same reps, and same volume every week for 6 weeks is there stress there? Yes. Is there any additional stress compared to week 1? No! For your muscles to grow you need to progress your training because your body has adapted and will then be accustomed to the stress. This can be done in lots of different ways:

  • Increase weight (most popular choice)
  • Increase repetitions
  • Increase sets
  • Decrease rest time
  • Increase time under tension (slow down the reps)
  • Add additional exercises So push for improvement ladies and gents!

5. Efficient training routines

So this is where science and real world experience tend to collide. There are so many different ways you can achieve your goal, but naturally everyone strives for the quickest way to reach it. Traditionally, bodybuilders have had success splitting their workouts throughout their week into muscle groups, training chest on one day, back on another, shoulders, legs, arms etc. This ensures each muscle group is hit with enough volume (but perhaps more than enough?). Science suggests that muscles typically take 48 hours to recover following resistance training. There are 168 hours in a week meaning that 120 hours of the week that muscle group you trained on Monday (eg chest) is fresh and ready to train again. So why train one muscle group 52 times per year rather than 104-156 times per year on alternative routines hitting multiple muscle groups multiple times per week? The trade-off for this is of course volume, so what it all comes down to is whether you can get more volume hitting a muscle group with multiple exercises once per week or with less exercises 2-3 times per week. Individuals seeking muscle gain have been coming round to the latter way of thinking in the last decade or so. I’d conclude that you should try playing around with your training routines and find out what you enjoy and what works for you.

So there we have it folks! Below is a neat little study for those of you who love evidence and please excuse the name of the link, I’m not tricking you into clicking on any dodgy websites. Also on a side note, if you’re not making enough progress then 9 times out of 10 it’s because of variable 1.

http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/articles/mechanisms_of_muscle_hypertrophy.pdf

If this has raised any questions feel free to come over and ask me anything (if you recognise me with my new haircut).

Peace out

Your friendly neighbourhood Exercise Specialist

Sam Austin