Build Muscle the Hard Way

May 13th, 2009

If you’re interested in putting on a bit of muscle, accept this fact before you do anything else: Building muscle is hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it. Part of what makes it so exceptionally difficult is that it requires knowledge as well as training. Working out is straightforward. Knowing which exercises to use, nutrients and supplements to take, and what order to do so is the complex part. As a result, when you ask three bodybuilders for advice you’ll get five different opinions. Distilling these opinions to their proven base truths, this article shows how to work smart, so you can focus on working hard. Yes, sorry, you need to do both.

I am not a registered dietician or a personal trainer. I am, however, an information junkie who has had some success with getting in shape, having lost over 50lbs and currently being around 8% body fat. I’ve spent countless hours trolling books, medical journals, and web pages, not to mention picking the brains of the beefy guys in the supplement stores. Strongly preferring fact over opinion, this article outlines the basics of everything I’ve learned.

The Mechanical Process

How it works: Your muscles are made up of many individual strands of fibres (labeled #4 on the image). Through the stress of lifting weight you create microscopic rips in these fibres. The body is a brilliantly adaptable machine; when it heals these rips, the muscles are rebuilt bigger than before in order to prepare for further weight lifting. Through this biological overcompensation, muscle is built.

“Feel the burn”: In essence, you are physically damaging yourself in a controlled fashion. Therefore, simply going through the movements of a workout routine is insufficient; it must be uncomfortable in order to see progress. If it is not, you are simply performing an aerobic exercise. Do some Jazzercise instead.

Form: When lifting weights, use a slow, controlled movement. Form is paramount and using momentum to swing the weight into position ruins the effectiveness of the exercise. Many suggest counting slowly to 5 in each direction of the movement. Choose a weight that’s heavy enough to permit no more than 8-10 maximum repetitions per exercise set. If you prefer a leaner physique, choose a weight permitting 12-15 max reps.

Rest: Adequate sleep and healing time is required. Sleep 7-8 hours each night on a regular schedule. The same muscles should not be intensely exercised every day in order to give the muscle time to recover.

Stretching: After a brief warm-up period, stretching is important to avoid injury. Doing so also brings a measure of relief to sore muscles.

Soreness: There are a number of techniques to reduce soreness (stretching, ice baths, topical creams, eating potassium-rich foods, consuming recovery aids such as glutamine), however their effectiveness is often contested and limited. If you want to build muscle, you need to accept that you will be sore. The most positive treatment method is psychological: see the soreness as a sign you’re growing. Many bodybuilders have learned to love this sensation and see it as a positive one.

The Chemical Process

Protein: Protein is the material the body uses to repair the muscular rips caused by weightlifting. It’s important to get the right amount; too little protein will result in lackluster gains, too much may result in fat growth. The optimal daily dosage of protein is open for debate. Most bodybuilders recommend higher daily amounts such as 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. Closer to half that amount (eg. .75g/lb) is probably sufficient for those who are not training for the Mr. Olympia competition.

Protein can come from foods or supplementation. Protein from food is ideal; however, mixable protein powder drinks are available as supplements. There are countless protein supplements on the market and it’s easy to get lost and discouraged when researching them all. If you’re just starting out with supplements, avoid confusion and wasted time by and simply choosing a no-frills “natural” or “organic” whey-based protein. As needs evolve you can switch to other products.

Amino Acids: Protein is made up of a many little building blocks called amino acids. There are 20 standard amino acids, 8 of which cannot be produced by the body and thus must come from food. This information is of little use, other than to say not all proteins are created equal. They each have different amino acid compositions. As a result, it is advisable to get your proteins from a variety of nutritious sources, since some may be lacking an amino acid your body requires.

Creatine: Created by the body from amino acids, or ingested by eating meats, creatine helps supply energy to the muscles. Supplementation of creatine is popular since it can provide the extra energy needed to crank out another lift or two. This in turn causes more muscular rips, and more muscular growth. Since it is found in meat, vegetarians benefit particularly from its supplementation. When using typical dosages (3-5 grams per day) it is generally considered safe. If using creatine, mix it with a juice, since the sugars aid in absorption.

Hydration: Drink plenty of water, especially if you are supplementing. This is particularly important with creatine use.

A healthy diet: There is no supplement that adequately replaces a healthy diet. Eat nutritious foods as much as possible to encourage growth and recovery. Fresh, raw, and uncooked foods retain more nutrients and vitamins.

Other chemicals: There are many other chemical muscle-building aids available on the market. Examples include glutamine, arginine, and testosterone boosters. For the most part they are peripheral and of little important to most people.

The Practical Process

Ease: It’s very important to make exercise convenient. This may mean setting up a home gym or perhaps finding a motivated friend to exercise with. Even smaller practical considerations should be made, such as how to mix protein shakes. If you know you won’t lug out and clean the blender everyday, buy some plastic shaker cups to have ready.

A workout regimen: There is an overwhelmingly vast variety of workout routines available. Get a book, a magazine, or video and follow the exercises. Frankly, which routine you choose is of medium importance. Sticking with it for at least three months is the essential part. No skipping days because if you make one excuse, you’ll make them all. Yes, even if it’s [insert holiday], you still exercise.

Recording progress: As both a motivational tool, and a gauge of progress, recording the details of your exercise sessions is very important.

Timing: When you exercise is quite personal. Some like the morning as they are relaxed and rested and find the exercise energizing. Others prefer the evening, usually for more practical reasons. Regardless of the hour, just make sure it gets done. Timing your nutrition is more important. Maintain a steady, reliable flow of healthy food. No binging and fasting allowed. Immediately following a workout is the best time for a protein shake.

Many products or systems promise miraculous results with little or no effort. There are three ways these systems function:

1. They lie and actually don’t work.
2. They lie and require a lot of effort after all.
3. They require you to consume an unreasonable amount of mystery chemicals with results varying from negligible to dangerous.

Over the last nine years or so, I’ve investigated many of these systems and they all fall under these categories when you look closely enough. So suck it up, save your money, and get working.

As Einstein famously said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” In that vain this article has outlined the essential components required to build muscle. You can expand upon these elements for all eternity; however, you cannot simplify them much further. If you follow these basic precepts and most importantly of all, actually, honestly, legitimately exercise consistently, you couldn’t help but get in great shape. So get to it!