Whether you are a strength athlete, an aspiring bodybuilder or simply looking to add a bit more size underneath your button down work shirts, muscle growth may seem like a daunting task with the plethora of information seemingly overloaded thanks to the information age. To the benefit of many of my clients, I have been able to utilize my academic knowledge and extensive hands on experience in the field to condense the basic concepts of muscle growth into three easy-to-learn points and I am offering my knowledge - free of charge - to this board.
The 3 Pillars of Muscle Growth:
1. Progressive Overload Resistance Training - Begin a strength training program with no more or no less than 3 training days per week (ideally Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday). Focus on only compound, multi-joint movements in 6-8 rep sets with minimal volume and every week add either weight or reps (within the 6-8 rep range) to each movement. The key to muscle size is becoming stronger.
2. Adequate Protein Intake - Ignore the dietary nonsense that advocates insane amounts of calories that simply become stored as fat. To build a lean, muscular physique calories should be kept at maintenance level with protein intake sustained around 1 gram per 2.2lbs of bodyweight. The human body is unable to process a greater intake of protein.
3. 8 hours of Sleep Every Night - Muscles do not grow when you are lifting weights or eating. The only time when your muscles repair and grow stronger and larger is when the human body is sleeping. Make sure to sleep at least 8 hours every night to get the most muscle growth.
