What Really Matters When Building Muscle
So often I find that people focus on the wrong things when trying to develop their physiques. This can lead many people to doubt that significant gains are even possible for the average [natural] person. Well, they absolutely are! Keep reading to find out what you really need to pay attention to when trying to develop a lean and muscular physique and what really doesn't matter all that much. You just might be surprised.
The fitness industry is filled with misinformation and half truths. [Some] Coaches try to protect their secrets by refusing to explain their processes and creating a weird kind of codependent relationship with their clients. Muscle mags try to sell subscriptions by promoting fad diets and ineffective training programs. And supplement companies over promote the effectiveness of their products and/or ingredients in an effort to differentiate themselves in the eyes of the consumer. It's no wonder that many people focus on the wrong things when trying to build muscle.
What Matters
Diet
Somewhere in between taking the latest and greatest supplements and doing Phil Heath's latest bicep blaster program, people tend to forget that diet is the key to muscle building progress. I would argue that diet is probably the single biggest thing that causes people to either make progress or not. And just to throw another wrench in the system, our bodies are very dynamic. So, the diet/calories that worked today may not be sufficient to make progress weeks, months or years down the road. For this and other reasons, I suggest Reverse Dieting as an effective approach for building muscle, staying lean and for adapting to the changing needs of your body.
Along with diet, there is also proper hydration. Muscle is predominantly made up of water. So, if you are not drinking enough water then you are really just shooting yourself in the foot. How much water do you need? A good rule of thumb for most people is around a gallon of water a day. Now you know why all of those people in the gym are carrying around gallon jugs.
Training
If Forrest Gump were writing this then he would probably say, "Diet and training go together like peas and carrots." And he would be right! Training is the other side of the coin. But it's not enough to just show up to the gym and toss some weights around. You have to progress. And strangely, this is a concept that a lot of people don't seem to get.
A common thing that I hear from people is, "I workout all the time and I don't look like you." I also hear, "There's no way you could make the progress you've made in the past two years without steroids." It's almost certain that these people weren't consistently following a proper diet and training program. And when I talk about training, I mean a periodized program that applies the principle of progressive overload.
Every time I walk in the gym I know exactly what I am going to train down to exactly which exercises, how much weight I am going to lift and how many reps and sets I am going to perform. And every time it's a little more than the last time. Another rep here, a few more lbs there. They are not big increases from week to week, but they are increases. This is the basic idea behind progressive overload: consistently do more than you did yesterday.
Rest
I rarely take days off, but I always make sure that I get enough rest. This means giving myself at least 48hrs in between training the same muscle groups and getting at least 7hrs of sleep every night. I'm not the guy who goes out and gets drunk every weekend or who stays up late during the week pulling 3-5hrs of sleep every night. Those guys don't make progress. I do.
Consistency
A week of good rest, diet and training might add up to a few grams of muscle gains. But if the next week tears all of that progress down then where do you end up? Answer: net zero. And these same people wonder why they aren't growing?!?
Real progress in terms of lbs of muscle takes months and years of consistently hitting your diet and your training. It can't be a short term goal because it doesn't happen over the short term. So, make it part of your life, like brushing your teeth or taking a shower. That's how real results are made.
What Doesn't Matter
Meal Timing
Whether you eat 4 meals per day or whether you eat 6 meals per day, it's probably not going to make that much of a difference. There is even some research that claims people who consume 6+ meals per day may actually be doing themselves a disservice when it comes to building muscle. The important thing is really that you are consistent on a daily basis with your diet. That's what's going to get you there, not the 10 meals a day that you think is keeping you 'anabolic' or is speeding up your metabolism. Because it's just not true.
The Type Of Protein
Should you take whey protein concentrate or whey protein isolate? Can you take soy protein or should you take casein? Really?!? If your diet and training aren't in check then it really doesn't matter what kind of protein you consume.
That aside, it has been shown that protein sources with higher amounts of leucine exhibit a greater and more immediate anabolic response up to a point. Whey protein has a high amount of leucine compared to most other kinds of protein, so that's a good bet for protein supplementation. But the difference between concentrate and isolate? Seriously, it isn't going to matter all that much.
And just because whey has a relatively high concentration of leucine, that doesn't mean other protein sources should be cast aside. In general, I think it's important to consume mostly complete proteins (all animal based proteins I know of are complete proteins). And if you want to consume some soy or nuts or other protein sources then that's good stuff too. Concerning yourself with the bio-availability or the speed in which the protein is digested is mostly just of a waste of time, in my opinion. At the end of the day, if it gives you anything additional, then it's likely going to be nominal.
The Specific Exercises Performed
There is no one exercise that's the holy grail of gains. A well rounded periodized training routine that's adapted to your needs is all that you should be concerned about. That's what makes results. Let the other guys worry about doing balance ball curls while you chug along making progress.
The Latest and Greatest Supplements
If you think that taking x, y or z supplement is going to push your gains to the next level then you are in for a surprise. The only thing buying all the latest supplements is going to do is shrink your wallet. Supplements are not the key to building muscle. Consistently following a proper diet and training plan is.
That's not to say that there aren't some good supplements on the market. But there are no supplements that can take the place of good diet and training. And even the best supplements will only give you at best a few more percent in terms of progress. So, before you go out and buy all of those supplements you saw in the latest edition of Muscle Heads Magazine, get your diet and training in check. Then you can worry about getting a few supplements. Just don't go overboard.
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