Building muscle takes time, a lot more time than people realize.
But like most things, there’s more than one way to skin a cat (are we still allowed to say that?
I can’t keep up with the PC rules).
Simply put though, to build muscle you need to do resistance training and eat more than you are now.
But in terms of the training you do, there’s plenty of options.
In fact, why not have a look through my FREE E-Book.
Train wherever the f*ck you want.
A guide to all things resistance bands and how they are the perfect tool for training wherever you want.
You can go the most route of lifting weight and using cable machines.
Train each muscle group 2-3 times a week, have at least one rest, and eat a buttload of high-protein food.
You can go down the functional route.
Which is basically the same, you’ve just swapped out equipment and exercises.
You’ll be using more tires, ropes, kettlebells, sled push, and more.
Or you could try calisthenics, bodyweight training.
Using mainly a pull-up bar, rings, and parallel bars.
But whatever method you use, one thing doesn’t change.
Here’s a video I made recently having a go at a High-intensity calisthenics workout.
You still need to be in a calorie surplus.
You want to be eating 200-300 more than your maintenance calories every day.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the term bulking.
Bulking is eating in a calorie surplus.
You gain weight, you’re lifting weight all the time and building muscle, and putting on a little fat.
That’s just part of the process.
It’s the simplest way to do it.
You put on a little fat at the same time as building muscle.
You then go into a cutting phase, slowly reducing calories so you maintain muscle while slowly shedding excess fat.
The Basics Of Building Muscle
The key to building muscle is progressively overloading your muscles.
Overload is what causes muscle damage, and that’s how you actually cause growth.
An effective workout should push your muscles beyond their comfort zone during every rep, but never so far that you’re in a world of pain or can’t make it through at least three sets of each exercise with proper form.
A good rule of thumb: If you can’t maintain proper form for at least three sets of an exercise, it’s time to find a new one.
This will ensure that every set counts and that you don’t put yourself at risk for injury from doing too much too soon.
To build muscle effectively, be patient.
Progression takes time and pushing yourself past what your body is ready for can lead to injuries (and then no gains).
Remember: Muscle building takes place outside of a gym as well as inside—rest days are just as important!
In order to get bigger, you must eat more calories than you burn; if you want to gain weight safely, aim for about 300 extra calories a day.
Get adequate rest each night; research has shown that inadequate sleep increases levels of cortisol (aka stress hormones), which inhibit testosterone production.
Finally, remember to have fun with it!
There’s nothing worse than doing something boring because someone else says it’s important.
Find out what works best for you and go from there—you won’t regret it!
How To Eat To Gain Muscle
Protein is an essential macronutrient when it comes to building muscle since you can’t build muscle without consuming protein.
However, there are two types of protein: whey and casein.
Whey protein is digested quickly by your body, making it a great source for immediately following a workout that works large muscle groups (like squats or deadlifts).
Casein digests more slowly than whey, but stays in your stomach longer — so consuming a mixture of both after your workout will provide a steady flow of amino acids.
Carbohydrates provide energy and play important roles in muscles; glucose from carbohydrates replenishes glycogen levels after workouts.
It’s recommended that around 40 percent of daily caloric intake come from carbohydrates.
The remaining calories should come from fat sources like olive oil and unsaturated vegetable oils.
Many people think that eating all protein all day will lead to muscle gain, but these people are not accounting for their overall calorie intake—too many calories coming from one macronutrient can result in weight gain instead of muscle gain.
Start with 1 gram per pound of body weight and adjust accordingly based on progressions in strength training performance over time.
While it’s true that fasting may improve physical performance, its effects on fat loss aren’t nearly as profound as we’ve been led to believe — particularly if you’re lean and active already.
How Long Does It Take To Build Muscle?
It’s important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to building muscle.
It can take anywhere from a few weeks, depending on your body and daily routine, all the way up to three years.
There are a lot of factors that play into it including diet, exercise, rest, genetics, and more.
Of course, if you’re working out properly and eating right then you’re going to see muscle gains rather quickly but be realistic about your goals.
You may not build pounds of muscle overnight, or even in a month for that matter; however, stick with it and by 3 months you’ll notice results and by 6 months your friends will be asking what workout routines you’re doing.
Be persistent!
You got this!
Oh yeah, something else to note is that while women do produce testosterone naturally they don’t produce as much as men do.
This means they typically experience different effects when it comes to muscle gain than their male counterparts.
For example, men tend to lose fat around their midsection first before noticing any changes in their biceps.
This tends not to happen as often with women so don’t get discouraged ladies because you have your own set of challenges (of which we should embrace!).
You also have your own set of benefits as well – leaner metabolism is just one example that helps you maintain lower weight levels easier than men.
Women also tend to carry more body fat than men regardless of weight meaning a woman who weighs 140 pounds has more bulk than her 120-pound counterpart due to her higher amount of body fat and less muscle mass.
Have a look at this article for more on how long it takes to build muscle.
What Is Hypertrophy Training?
Muscle hypertrophy training is a type of strength training that focuses on increasing muscle size.
In hypertrophy training, you will focus on lifting a specific amount of weight and doing 8-12 repetitions.
Building muscle strength happens with fewer reps, heavier weights, and longer rests.
During your workout, you should take short breaks so you can continue exercising for a longer period of time than in regular strength workouts.
To build muscle with hypertrophy exercises, choose free weights or machines so you can control your movement patterns and load based on how much weight is being lifted.
Remember to perform 2-3 entire body workouts per week, as well as one day off from exercise every week.
For example, if you are doing legs two days out of seven, do chest and back one day out of seven.
Be sure to eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound that you weigh when following a hypertrophy plan.
You will want to consume 1.2-1.5 grams per pound if your goals are powerlifting competitions because those types of lifting entail more sets but fewer reps overall.
That’s not to say you can’t build muscle with bodyweight exercises.
You can still work all your major muscle groups without weight training.
Click here to check out my workout programs you can do without weights.
Importance Of Sleep For Building Muscles
When we sleep our bodies repair and rebuild, so when we’re training we are actually breaking down muscle.
It is important for us to sleep at least 8 hours a night in order for our body and muscles to rest and rebuild so that we will be able to get better results when we go back into our workout.
If you want to build muscle, make sure that you are getting enough quality sleep.
You also need sleep if you want to lose weight as well because if you don’t have enough quality sleep then your body won’t be rested or recovered which means it will be harder for you to burn fat or lose weight.
Quality sleep can make or break your weight loss goals.
Sleep deprivation makes losing fat difficult and I know from experience that losing fat without being tired all of the time is a thousand times easier than trying to lose fat while feeling tired all of the time.
The same goes for building muscle; there’s no point trying to lift weights if you aren’t going to get plenty of sleep afterward because instead of building up your muscles (as you would want) they will waste away instead!
That should tell you how important sleep really is!
It doesn’t matter how much exercise or effort we put into something; we still need plenty of good quality, peaceful sleep.
In fact, it’s even more vital to recovery and growth.
It’s hard to believe that we need sleep for our muscles and body to build, but it is true.
You see, during our sleep, our body uses its energy to repair, rebuild and grow so that when we wake up it will be ready for a new day.
Without sleep, all of these things would not be able to happen properly.
If you’re training hard then your body needs time in order for it to repair and rebuild which is where quality sleep comes in.
You could have done an amazing workout but if you aren’t getting enough quality sleep your body won’t recover properly from all of that exercise, therefore making recovery longer than it needs to be.
Importance Of Hydration For Building Muscles
Drinking plenty of water is vital for overall health and you should drink at least 64 ounces of water each day.
But it’s especially important when you’re trying to build muscle.
That’s because muscle needs water for all kinds of critical functions, including repair and recovery.
Muscle also contains a lot of protein, which is made up of amino acids that are held together by water molecules.
In fact, between 50-60% of your body weight is made up of water – muscle weighs much more than fat, but most people think they weigh more because their fat is distributed in different parts whereas their muscles are concentrated in one area.
Drinking enough water can help prevent dehydration and nutrient deficiencies while making sure your body has enough nutrients to support muscle growth.
So if you’re planning on hitting the gym and building muscle, hydration is key!
There are other important reasons to drink enough water when you’re trying to build muscle.
Many vitamins and minerals aren’t water-soluble, which means they need a solvent like water in order for your body to absorb them.
For example, calcium is critical for healthy bones and muscles but your body can’t absorb it without water.
You also lose a lot of fluids every time you sweat during an intense workout.
If you don’t replenish those lost fluids quickly enough, dehydration can occur, which may limit how much weight you can lift or impede muscle growth altogether.
It could even lead to serious conditions such as heat stroke or rhabdomyolysis (when muscle fibers start to break down).
Even worse, working out while dehydrated raises your risk of kidney damage!
How Many Times A Week Should I Lift Weights To Gain Muscle?
Depending on your level you should be lifting weights at least 3 times a week.
And then this also depends on how you split up your muscle groups.
But to keep it nice and simple, I would suggest for a beginner to do 3 full-body workouts a week.
That way you are hitting all your muscle groups 3 times per week.
I would also recommend having a rest day in between training days when you’re just starting out.
Give your muscles time to recover.
Once you’ve moved past the beginner stage and you start to recover faster and want to step it up you can start looking at 4-6 workouts a week again depending on your level.
And that’s when you would start mixing up your sessions more.
Doing upper body lower body days.
Or a push day, a pull day, and a leg day.
So what’s a push or a pull day?
When you think about it, our body is either pushing or pulling. Think opening or closing a door.
You either pull it towards you or push it away from you.
So let’s look at how these days might look.
Push
Your main pushing muscles are your chest, your triceps, and your shoulders.
So a push day might look something like this.
- Bench press
- Chest flies
- Shoulder press
- Lateral flies
- Dips
- Tricep extensions
Pull
Your main pulling muscles are in your back, your rear delts, and your biceps so you might train that day as follows.
- Pull-ups
- Bent over rows
- Rear flies
- Seated row
- Bicep curls
- Preacher curls
Legs
Legs, the part so many people skip.
Did you know some of the biggest muscles in your body are in your legs?
So if gaining weight is your goal you need to get some leg sessions in!
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Lunges
- Power cleans
- Calf raises
Do Muscles Grow On Rest Days?
It’s funny you ask because that is actually when muscles grow.
Don’t be fooled by the pump.
(When you train a muscle to exhaustion all the blood rushes to it and it swells up temporarily).
When you workout you are quite literally tearing your muscles, and when they rest your body gets to work repairing them so they grow back bigger and stronger.
See your body doesn’t like what you just did to it, so to prevent that it adapts and makes sure it can handle it better next time.
After we workout and our body is recovering it uses protein to help repair the damaged tissue.
So we also need to make sure we are giving it enough protein to repair all the new muscle we’re building.
This is where some people run into trouble, they focus so much on cardio that they don’t give their body a chance to build up as much muscle as possible.
This can be tricky because if you overdo it on cardio your muscles will break down faster and you’ll end up losing weight instead of gaining muscle mass.
That’s why it’s important to know how many calories and how much protein each person needs in order to maximize muscle growth while still burning fat at an optimal rate.
Building muscle helps us burn more calories 24/7 which burns fat even when we aren’t working out, just by doing things like walking around or cooking dinner.
How Much Protein Do I Need To Build Muscle?
It’s funny you ask because that is actually when muscles grow.
Don’t be fooled by the pump.
(When you train a muscle to exhaustion all the blood rushes to it and it swells up temporarily).
When you workout you are quite literally tearing your muscles, and when they rest your body gets to work repairing them so they grow back bigger and stronger.
See your body doesn’t like what you just did to it, so to prevent that it adapts and makes sure it can handle it better next time.
After we workout and our body is recovering it uses protein to help repair the damaged tissue.
So we also need to make sure we are giving it enough protein to repair all the new muscle we’re building.
This is where some people run into trouble, they focus so much on cardio that they don’t give their body a chance to build up as much muscle as possible.
This can be tricky because if you overdo it on cardio your muscles will break down faster and you’ll end up losing weight instead of gaining muscle mass.
That’s why it’s important to know how many calories and how much protein each person needs in order to maximize muscle growth while still burning fat at an optimal rate.
Building muscle helps us burn more calories 24/7 which burns fat even when we aren’t working out, just by doing things like walking around or cooking dinner.
Can You Gain Muscle Without Eating A Lot?
No.
You need to be in a calorie surplus to gain weight/muscle.
Even if you jump on the gear you still need to eat more than your maintenance calories if you want to gain weight.
You can however get stronger without eating a lot but you still need to be hitting high numbers with your protein.
I know it’s hard at first eating the extra calories but spreading them out over the day and making clever choices with food, gets easier.
Here’s an article I wrote all about getting your food right to hit your goals. I speak about an app that makes this whole process even easier.
If you don’t eat enough your body will break down muscle for energy.
Your body wants to stay at a certain weight and build muscle unless it’s underfed.
You want to give your body what it needs in order to thrive, not starve.
This is why eating enough protein is essential!
Eat more good food than crap food or you won’t gain any weight.
Gaining just 1lb of muscle a month is great results.
It might seem like not much but you need to remember that when gaining weight/building muscle you are putting on mostly water first then comes fat.
A lot of people think they gained fat when they put on 2-3lbs but if you look back over it, there was a decent amount of water also in there.
Every pound of lean muscle burns an extra 50 calories every day so imagine how many calories you burn every day once you add 10+ lbs of lean muscle. The same goes for losing fat.
You lose mostly water first then start coming fat so while everyone can drop 20 pounds without exercising once they hit their maintenance level it gets harder after that.
Building muscle can be done with almost any piece of gym equipment.
But without the right habits, you’ll never have the discipline to stick to a training program.
I can help you build the habits you need to take back control of your fitness, and achieve the body and lifestyle you want.
Find out how here.