To build muscle, you need to ensure that three key elements are in place:

1. Progressive overload
2. Adequate protein intake
3. Plentiful rest

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of the above three requirements to build muscle.

New muscle can only grow once we break down existing muscle tissue – this is the part of the process that most people understand; that’s why we all know to lift weights in our quest to gain muscle. However, to do this we need to make sure that we are engaging in progressive overload (a separate article will discuss this later). In short, we need to make sure that we are getting stronger over time. This means that for example, on the barbell bench press, we increase our 5-rep max from 135 pounds to 155 pounds. Alternatively, you can also track your maxes for 1-rep, 3-rep, or even 10-rep counts. I happen to prefer the 5-rep count because it represents a healthy balance between strength-based lifting (1-5 rep range) and hypertrophy-based lifting (5-12 rep range). These ranges are not bound by law, and you can still induce hypertrophy (build muscle) in the low rep range and build strength in the high-rep range, but I will avoid splitting hairs here so that I don’t digress from the main topic. Just remember that in order to adequately break down muscle tissue and induce growth of newer, stronger tissue, you need to be lifting heavier weight over time – there is no getting around this.

I covered this in a separate article, but it does not hurt to reiterate here – in our pursuit of muscle growth, we should be targeting 1 gram of protein consumption per day, per pound of bodyweight. So a 150 pound individual should be targeting 150 grams of protein per day. You can afford to eat less e.g. 0.8 g of protein per pound of body weight, but it’s better to err on the side of caution and strive for 1g per pound – not just because we want to maximize muscle gain, but because protein is highly effective in keeping us satiated. This means that eating adequate amounts of protein from whole foods will not only play a fundamental role in building muscle but will also help prevent us from overeating and putting on excess amounts of fat.

Last, but certainly not least, we need to make sure that we are getting a lot of sleep. Notice that I don’t simply say ‘adequate’ or ‘sufficient’ amounts of sleep – that is because I simply cannot underscore enough how important sleep really is for achieving your fitness goals. Chances are, if we simply aim for the recommended 8 hours of sleep, we likely won’t be getting 8 hours of sleep on most nights. That’s why it’s best to really maximize the amount of sleep you can get, instead of just aiming for 8 hours. If you need to wake up at 7am on weekdays for example, and you target a 11pm bed time, you will likely spend at least 10-30 minutes falling asleep, and that doesn’t even account for the nights you stay up past that 11pm hard stop. Suffice it to say, you will be falling short of the 8 hour target and may not even be getting 7 hours of sleep on many nights, which is where you really start to see an increase in the risk of adverse health outcomes, such as weight gain and obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart issues, and even depression. The list goes on an on, so make sleep a priority not just for your muscle building journey, but for your overall health and sense of well-being. Trust me, your body will thank you.

In summary, getting stronger over time, hitting your protein targets, and making sleep a top priority will just about guarantee that you are building muscle over time. If you disagree or something doesn’t seem to be working for you, reach out to me and we’ll work together to get you in the best shape of your life.