4 Must-Dos to Ensure Optimal Muscle Growth
Everyone wants to build muscle as fast as possible. In fact, one of the top reasons why people come to me for Personal Training is to build muscle. However, the truth is that muscle-building is a long, slow and often frustrating process. As a result, it may be hard to tell if you’re actually effectively building muscle or not. And the added fact that progress will slow down as you gain more experience, is not helping.
But roughly how fast can you realistically build muscle? A study at McMaster University found that the average male beginner training 4 times a week can gain about 3kg of muscle in 10-12 weeks. That means about 1kg of muscle per month while training in optimal conditions. In this other study, it was found that with good nutrition and consistent training, 0.9kg of muscle growth per month is possible for beginners. While it may seem little, over time, the results can be significant. With 12 months of consistent training, you’ll be able to gain up to 10kg of muscle mass! But as you progress, the rate of muscle gain will slow down. At the intermediate stage, researcher Alan Aragon estimate the rate of muscle growth for a 70kg male is about 0.4-0.8kg per month. And for advanced individuals, about 0.2-0.4kg of muscle growth per month.
And these numbers are assuming that your training and nutrition are optimal, but since this does not happen for most people, muscle-building can actually be even slower than previously outlined. So the important question is - What should you do to build muscle as fast as possible? In this article, check out the 4 Must-Dos to ensure optimal muscle growth.
In 12 months of optimal training, beginners can gain up to 10kg of muscle mass!
1. Progressive Overload
Progressive overload basically means you’re doing more overtime - either by adding more weight or adding more reps. Using an example, for a bench press, progressive overloading the weight would be:
Week 1: 50kg for 10 reps
Week 2: 52.5kg for 10 reps
week 3: 55kg for 10 reps
On the other hand, progressive overloading the reps would be:
Week 1: 50kg for 8 reps
Week 2: 50kg for 9 reps
week 3: 50kg for 10 reps
Research has clearly shown a strong correlation between strength and muscle growth - the more you lift, the more muscle gain you’ll have. Thus, progressive overload is the main driver of muscle growth.
There are actually many other ways to do progressive overload:
Shortening your rest period between sets. For example, instead of resting for 2 minutes between sets, try resting for 1.5 mins.
Slowing down the tempo of the movement. For example, instead of having a 1 second lowering of the weights, lower for 2 seconds instead.
The problem with these ways is that it can be hard to measure your progress. Therefore a better and more straightforward recommendation is to overload the weight and reps instead.
It is important to track your workout to ensure you are progressing.
2. Training Close to Failure
Even with an optimal routine, if you’re simply not pushing yourself hard enough in the gym, you will not be able to see significant gains. Many are leaving too many reps in the tank than they should be. Only by training hard enough you will then provide the necessary stimulus for growth.
A general guideline based on this study is to leave at most 3 more reps in the tank. If not, training will not be maximized. For example, if you were to do a bicep curl and at the 12th rep you can’t do another rep, this means you have 0 reps left in the tank. If you were to stop at rep 9, you would have 3 more reps in the tank. For beginners, it may take a while to figure it out.
It is not recommend that all sets are to be taken to failure (i.e. 0 more reps in the tank) for beginners. This is because it will generate too high fatigue levels which can affect your subsequent exercises / training. Moreover, the gains will be marginal. Failure training should only be reserved for specific circumstances, mainly
To do on the last set of the last exercise for a specific body part only (e.g. last set of the last chest workout for the day)
For isolation movements or single joint movements like lateral raises, bicep curls or machine exercises since they are low risk.
If you would really like to do it for compound lifts like bench press or squat, make sure you have a spotter.
Training to failure can actually be detrimental to muscle growth.
3. Optimal Training Volume
Volume has been cited as the main driver of muscle-growth, although some argue that it is progressive overload instead. However, since volume ties in closely with progressive overload, it actually isn’t a contradicting statement.
Volume is said to have a dose-response relationship with muscle growth, which means by increasing volume, there is a direct increase in muscle growth. This has been shown in a study in 2010.
Volume is defined as the number of sets x number of reps x load (or weight). So to increase the training volume, there are basically 3 main ways, which is to either increase the number of sets, increase the number of reps or increase the load. Progressive overload already covers the latter two. Therefore, to determine the optimal training volume, it is to find out the number of working sets (excluding warm up sets, as each set has to be taken close to failure as explained above) optimal for muscle growth.
Like any other variable, the optimal number of sets depends highly on the individual. A beginner will need much less volume to build muscle compared to an advanced lifter. For most people, 10 sets per week per body part is sufficient to make significant gains, while any higher than 20 sets per week per body part that may result in overtraining, which is detrimental to your progress and muscle gain.
To assess whether your volume is enough, one question to ask yourself is if you’re getting stronger. If you are, then everything is good as it’s a sign of progress. Keep doing the same thing until it stops working. And when that happens, it may be a sign to add in more sets. For beginners, that should only come in at least a year or more of consistent, hard training.
For a more detailed article, check out my previous post on optimal training volume which has tons of research.
If you’re getting stronger by the week, there is no need to change your training volume.
4. Optimal Nutrition
Optimal training will not be complete without optimal nutrition. You can put all the effort in the gym, but if your nutrition isn’t optimized, you will not be able to see good results. You will need sufficient calories and protein, as building muscle requires a positive energy balance.
But how much calories should you be eating? The more does not necessarily mean the better. If you’re going to eat too much calories, excess calories will be stored as fat. An easy estimation is to use researcher Lyle Mcdonald recommendation - multiple your bodyweight in lbs by 15 and add 200-400 calories to it. For example, if you’re 150lbs, you should be eating about 150x15 + 400 = 2650 calories per day. This estimate will not be super accurate, so make sure you adjust your calorie intake as you continue to gain weight.
Since protein is the only macronutrient that builds muscle, if you are not eating enough protein, you will not be maximizing your muscle gains. Studies have shown that by eating more protein, you will be able to gain more strength and muscle when lifting weights. But similar to calories, there is an optimal range of protein you should be aiming for. Based on a few studies, I would recommend a protein intake of about 2.0g/kg of body weight per day. For example, if you weigh 70kg, you should aim to consume about 140g of protein.
For carbs and fats, it is not as critical if you have hit your calorie and protein intake.
Optimal training and nutrition comes hand-in-hand.
Conclusion
Optimal muscle growth actually as complicated as it seems. I hope this has provided you with some insights on how to approach muscle growth with training and nutrition. But it is important to understand that muscle growth is a long process, which takes consistency and patience. Progress isn’t seen on a day-to-day basis. Trust the process, and you’ll eventually get to your goals!
P.S. - need more help with muscle growth? Check out my Training Program incorporating all these Must-Dos above!
