Discussions on Building Muscle

When the topic of building muscle comes up, many "gurus" come to the forefront and answer with a whole bunch of esoteric junk that doesn't really make sense.

 As in all things in life, K-I-S-S -- Keep It Super Simple.

 Building muscle really requires only 3 things: A reason to grow, the nutrients to supply the growth, and the recovery time to grow bigger.

 First things first. If you're trying to gain muscle, and you aren't, look in the mirror and pick up a tape measure (the sewing kind). If you're getting more defined and/or your waist is getting smaller OR you're not getting bigger muscles, then you're simply not eating enough.

You can't make anything out of thin air, and this includes muscle! You need a supply of macro nutrients (protein specifically) in excess of your maintenance needs. That means you have to eat more. Plain and simple.

Okay, the first thing a muscle needs to grow is a reason. If you continue to do workouts that don't challenge your muscles, then you'll never grow. Ever.

Therefore, you need to work out harder and harder. Increase the intensity. You can do this 3 ways: Add weight, add reps and/or sets (volume), or decrease rest between sets. Each workout, do more than the last in terms of one, two, or all three of these instensity-busters.

Secondly, as alluded to briefly before, muscles that have been properly stimulated to get bigger have to be given the building blocks to grow. This means amino acids, the building blocks of all proteins, and your muscles are primarily made of protein.

Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Additionally, begin with a diet composed of 50 percent complex carbohydrate, 30 percent protein from "flesh sources" like beef, eggs, dairy, fish, and chicken, and 20 percent fat.

NOTE: Protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram, while fat has 9 calories per gram. The 50-30-20 ratio is in terms of calories.

Finally, muscles need time to recover. Rome wasn't built in a day. Just think if it was. It would fall apart in no time. Same with your body. Building muscle that lasts requires time. Professional bodybuilders (many on steroids) can only hope to gain 8-10 pounds of muscle per year.

You can gain more muscle in a year, but not for long.

Make sure that you build quality, lean muscle mass. It'll be easier to "cut up" later if your body is not covered in a layer of fat.

Now you know the truth about building muscle: Stimulation, calorie surplus, and recovery time.

Don't let anyone tell you anything different.