June 23, 2020

The definitive guide to muscle hypertrophy

Der definitive Ratgeber zum Thema Muskelhypertrophie

After looking at the basics of muscle hypertrophy in the first part of this article, and how different types of training and nutrition affect muscle hypertrophy in the second part, in the final part of this article series we will look at how you can put all of this into practice to maximize your muscle gain.

What is the best way to stimulate muscle hypertrophy?

Although muscle hypertrophy is a hugely complex subject and science is still exploring the nooks and crannies (and will continue to do so for a long time to come), we know enough to say the following:

If you follow these 5 things, you can build plenty of muscle and strength:

Perform a lot of heavy training with multi-joint exercises
Perform a small amount of cardio training
Maintain a small calorie surplus in the region of 10%
Follow a diet high in protein and carbohydrates
Use supplements that have been proven to promote and accelerate muscle growth.

Let's look at these steps one by one.

Step 1: Do a lot of heavy training with multi-joint exercises

There are many ways to train your muscles and if your goal is to build muscle mass and strength as quickly as possible, then nothing can beat a heavy workout with basic exercises.

It's better than training with machines, pump training, bodyweight exercises, yoga, Pilates and anything else you can do to develop your muscle definition.

But what do I mean by "heavy basic exercises"?

By "heavy" I mean that you should primarily work with weights that are in the range of 75 to 85% of your 1RM weight, which generally equates to training in a repetition range of 4 to 12 reps.

By basic or multi-joint exercises, I mean that you should focus your efforts on exercises that work several large muscle groups. The classic examples of this are squats, deadlifts and bench presses.

There are a lot of strength training programs that meet these criteria, but I would recommend you start with a classic like the push pull legs program.

Step 2: Perform a small amount of cardio training

You don't have to do cardio during the muscle building phase, but incorporating small amounts of cardio into your training program can have a positive impact on your recovery, health and body composition.

I personally do the following during the muscle building phase:

I go for a 15-minute walk four to five times a week.
I do two 25-minute training sessions on a cycle ergometer.
I have other hobbies such as playing golf and visiting museums that keep me active.

If you're not sure how much cardio you want to do per week, start with two hours of walking per week.

That's all it takes to reap the benefits of cardio without compromising muscle building.

Step 3: Maintain a slight calorie surplus in the region of 10%

This is enough to maximize your muscle growth without causing unnecessary fat gain. This should allow you to gain 0.5 to 1 pound per week. This target applies to men, while women should aim for half of this.

If you've just started training with weights, you can easily double these numbers for the first three to six months, but after that your gains should level off in the above range.

Step 4: Follow a diet high in protein and carbohydrates

Besides water, protein is the main component of muscle tissue. Therefore, if you are aiming for muscle hypertrophy, you need to provide your body with enough raw material (protein) to build bigger and stronger muscles.

How much exactly?

Well, 2 grams per kilogram of body weight is what most research shows is the optimal amount for most people in most situations (54). Despite what you may have heard or read in the gym, on internet forums or in bodybuilding magazines, there is no need to consume more than this amount of protein during the muscle building phase.

After your protein intake, your next priority is your carbohydrate intake. You will have a much easier time building muscle and strength with a high carbohydrate intake than with a moderate or low carbohydrate intake.

For this reason, during the muscle-building phase, I recommend starting with 4 to 5 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight per day and working your way up from there if you need to increase your calorie intake to continue making gains.

Step 5: Use supplements that are proven to promote and accelerate muscle growth

I saved this for last because, frankly, I believe that supplements are less important than proper nutrition and training. Supplements don't build great bodies - proper training and nutrition do.

But even though supplements are not essential for building muscle and losing fat, there are a few supplements that can help you achieve your goals. Although there is a lot of hype in the supplement market, there are some safe and natural compounds that have been scientifically proven to increase strength, muscle endurance, muscle growth, fat loss and more. Here are some of the most effective supplements for building strength and muscle.

Creatine

Creatine is a substance that occurs naturally in the human body and in foods such as red meat. Creatine is perhaps the most studied molecule in the world of sports supplements. Hundreds, if not thousands, of studies have examined the effects of creatine and the consensus is clear:

Creatine helps to...

Build muscle and increase strength (55)
Increase anaerobic endurance (56)
Reduce muscle damage and soreness (57) Protein powder

You don't need protein supplements to build muscle, but considering how much protein is needed daily to maximize muscle growth, it can be hard to get all that protein from food. This is where a protein supplement can help you get additional high quality protein.

Pre-workout supplements

The right pre-workout supplement can give you the right kick and more energy in the gym. Until recently, pre-workout supplements often consisted primarily of harsh stimulants, but today many manufacturers are focusing on more sustainable products that not only give you a boost, but also promote your performance and muscle building in a more sustainable way.

You should look out for the following ingredients in a pre-workout supplement:

Caffeine: Caffeine can do more than simply provide an energy boost. It can also increase both muscle endurance and strength (58, 59).
Beta-alanine: Beta-alanine is a naturally occurring amino acid that can reduce exercise-induced fatigue, increase anaerobic exercise capacity and accelerate muscle growth (60, 61, 62).
Citrulline malate: Citrulline is an amino acid that can increase muscle endurance, reduce post-workout muscle soreness and increase aerobic performance (63, 64, 65).
Betaine: Betaine is a compound found in plants such as beets. Betaine can increase muscle endurance, increase strength and increase the production of growth hormones and IGF-1 (66, 67, 68).
Theanine: Theanine is an amino acid found primarily in tea. Theanine reduces the effects of mental stress, increases the production of nitric oxide, which increases blood flow and improves attention, focus, memory, mood and the ability to perform mental tasks (69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75).

The bottom line on muscle hypertrophy

You can spend hundreds of hours studying the topic of muscle hypertrophy and still only scratch the surface. It's an extremely complex topic that encompasses countless physiological functions and adaptations.

Fortunately, you don't have to be a scientist to understand the underlying science and use it to build muscle quickly and efficiently.

Here's a summary of the key points:

As long as you train with heavy weights and moderate volume, and as long as you go close to muscle failure on most of your sets, you will stimulate both myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.
You may - or may not - be able to build new muscle fibers (hyperplasia) after years of strength training. But regardless of this, most of your gains will come from increasing the size of your existing muscle fibers - not from building new muscle fibers.
You don't need different training methods to target different muscle fiber types.
Heavy training with basic exercises is the best way to stimulate muscle hypertrophy.
You need to regularly eat more calories than you burn to maximize your muscle growth.
How much muscle you can build naturally will be determined by your genetic makeup, but you will most likely be able to build more than is necessary to achieve the look you want.

And here are the 5 steps you need to follow to put all this into practice and build as much muscle mass as possible:

Perform a lot of heavy training with multi-joint exercises
Perform a small amount of cardio training
Maintain a small calorie surplus in the region of 10%
Follow a diet high in protein and carbohydrates
Use supplements that have been proven to promote and accelerate muscle growth.

Do these things and you'll have no problem building muscle like clockwork.

References:

Source: https://legionathletics.com/muscle-hypertrophy-podcast/

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