I Can't Build Muscle Starter Pack
Struggle to see the results with the amount of effort you put in the gym?
Why train?
Aside from the aesthetic components, there are many benefits of building muscle mass and overall strength. These include effects on bone density, reducing the risk of potential heart and circulatory conditions, greater resilience to injury and the mental fortitude it grants you. Additionally, feeling confident and empowered in your own body and physical capabilities will contribute to higher feelings of self-esteem and self-efficacy: who does not want to look good naked?
However, despite these well-known aspects of training, why do so many of us struggle to build lean mass? There are several factors that might be your missing link to physical empowerment.
Throughout this article, there will be ‘knowledge bomb’ notations for those who want to deepen their understanding of the topics discussed.
Growth occurs outside the gym, not when you’re lifting
One of the biggest factors you may be missing for muscle gain is your understanding of where the growth occurs. Your behaviour beyond the gym is where the biceps are built. Creating an environment whereby your body can facilitate growth is done through consuming the right nutrients in conjunction with your relationship to light.
Knowledge bomb
No matter how much emphasis is put upon food, we must remember all pro-metabolic diets begin with our circadian biology. Check out the post here to learn more.
Like a car with the wrong fuel, your body will not be able to function at its best in the gym without having the correct food input. This includes consuming a harmonious mixture of carbohydrates and fats with correct hydration and mineral intake.
There is no doubt carbohydrates will be the superior fuel for physical performance, but it's important to consider the context by which you apply this belief. Personalization with dose and an understanding of your adaptive stress response is unique to you.
Knowledge bomb = Keep in mind overconsumption of carbohydrates may have downstream consequences in relation to geographical location and availability. Remember = your ZIP code is an integral determinant of what is needed for your body.
Beyond this, do not be fooled by the myriad of ‘pre-workouts’ out there, and instead focus on the core components of diet that transcend all modern intervention. Like all aspects of our biology, each person will have a different propensity to use macronutrients and therefore it's always best to first understand your unique metabolism before blindly eating what your favourite Instagram ‘guru’ says is universal.
Caffeine can be used to enhance training in moderation and at a point where your body can correctly utilize its goodness. If you would like to understand more about coffee, click here
But the best way to do so is by working with an evidence-based practitioner who practices what they preach and has skin in the game with their physical movement. Additionally, understanding the ways in which your body works best and using yourself as the n=1 test subject to focus on your own individual journey can suffice.
Beyond the barbell
Once your workout has been completed, it is equally important to put back in the nutrients for growth and recovery. Despite much conflicting information in the world of social media, in general we will need a surplus of carbohydrates, fats and proteins as they play a critical role in repair. Additionally, it is important not to forget the hormonal and inflammatory aspect of training which needs to be compensated for.
Knowledge bomb = Antioxidants, for example, have become a hot topic around training and their efficacy to reduce oxidative stress during physical exercise. However, a review article of over 150 studies found that antioxidant supplementation can interfere with exercise induced adaptation due to blunting ROS-mediated physiological processes such as vasodilation and insulin signalling. (1) *ROS = Reactive oxygen species
Protein will be a nutrient paramount to muscle synthesis, which is why you will often find all ‘training focused’ diets focusing on obtaining adequate protein, irrespective of meat inclusion. Aim to get this from whole foods primarily, and ‘supplementing’ with other sources as a ‘top-up’ for efficiency. We would recommend aiming to get a serving of 30-40 grams of protein both pre and post training with time to fully process it.
That said, are you providing the raw materials to grow your muscles? The energy coming in is important. Frequent meals within reason provide a superior stimulus for muscle protein synthesis. You will find it much harder if you’re constantly fasting for the sake of autophagy.
Less is more
Like the food we put into our bodies, understanding recovery is also paramount to seeing gym gains. We can become hyper focused on the nutrition side of training and often neglect the state where we allow our bodies to repair and grow. Much like everyday life, training is a large inflammatory stress on our body that is remedied with sleep. Think of it as sleep being order, and training chaos - a necessary balance to maintain. Also, understanding when not to train will lead to a lessened risk of injury and chronic pain.
Despite no studies being published yet on the direct correlation between lack of sleep and muscular hypertrophy, there are many indirect factors that show the detrimental effects of not sleeping adequately. One study using weightlifters found that through chronic states of sleep loss, there was a significant impact on their strength performance (2). For us, this could mean less hypertrophic stimulus from training as we are not able to push ourselves as hard.
Additionally, when looking at the endocrinology of sleep loss, another study showed that sleep restriction both decreased anabolic hormones and increased catabolic hormones (3). When looking to make gains, there is a necessity for testosterone, growth hormone and IGH-1 for muscle repair and synthesis
Knowledge bomb = Your sleep does not begin with a supplement or gadget, but instead with the moment you wake up. Like every aspect of our biology, being in-sync with our circadian rhythm will allow the most restorative and deep sleep you can achieve through absorbing early morning light and maintaining a dark environment for the evening. For gaining an understanding on how light deeply affects sleep,, click here
You are not training correctly
It is true that we all start somewhere and must be kind to ourselves to allow for periods of ignorance and learning around physical training. Much like the Dunning Kruger Effect (see image), there is a correlation between both competence and confidence that we experience one way or another when looking to find ‘the best routine’. It is important, however, not to become inundated with the many training styles purported by social media influencers, and instead steer towards what works for your own biomechanics. Being able to avoid dogma and blanket statements within the training world can seem like an uphill struggle, however, focusing on the core movements and tailoring them around your needs will lead to progress in the gym.
How to maximize muscle gains:
Progressive overload, utilizing time under tension, varied resistance profiles, compound movements, muscular isolations, the building of general capacity, not neglecting cardiovascular training, and tracking lifts to recognize improvements.
Similarly, consulting the advice of a specialist will take out some of the guesswork for yourself and allow you to form a routine that meets your specific needs whilst keeping in mind injury and biomechanical limitations. Our coach Indi has a wealth of knowledge about helping his clients reach their physique goals. Set up a call with Indi here:
The gym is not your office
The other aspect of training that may be holding you back is not being efficient and wasting time in the gym aka fu*k-around-itis. Jokes aside, using your allocated workout time to sit on your phone or take selfies is not creating an environment that you will be consistent with. Instead of spending 2+ hours in the gym, assess where the time is going and where it is being wasted.
Instead, try switching the phone to airplane mode, putting on your music, and getting to work. Often, we are surprised by how the dynamic of the workout changes when we keep to strict rest periods as opposed to letting time fly by scrolling on our favorite social media.
On top of this, being time-efficient with your workout means you'll have an easier time fitting it into a busy schedule. You can most definitely undertake a strength workout within an hour, which you would otherwise spend on netflix or other distractions; the excuses therefore become inadequate.
You are in a rush
We are in a world of instant gratification, however, building muscle is about playing the long game. The truth is, patience and consistency is the only way in which the majority of us will reach our physique goals. By showing up every day and bettering yourself in comparison to who you were yesterday, it is but a matter of time before you see progress. Assuming you keep these four points in mind and show up consistently over years, you will gain muscle, and upregulate your biological hardware to transform your physiology.
Do not be disheartened by the bombardment of Instagram bodies, and instead shift your mindset to focus on your personal journey and remember to look back and see how far you have come. Do not only do what everyone else does because they are not you, and how you develop and build habits is completely dependent upon your unique biophysical makeup.
Additionally, shifting your focus on enjoying the process and nuance of physical practice will allow you to stick to your routine as you appreciate both the destination and journey.
Exercise is a celebration of what your body can do, not a punishment for what you have eaten
Focusing on these four points will allow you to build a robust structure externally, which we know as muscle mass, but also cultivate a rigid internal structure in your mindset.
Written by Louis Peter-Callery and Coached by Indi.
REFERENCES:
Peternelj T-T, Coombes JS. Antioxidant Supplementation during Exercise Training. Sports Medicine. 2011 Dec;41(12):1043–69.
Blumert PA, Crum AJ, Ernsting M, Volek JS, Hollander DB, Haff EE, et al. The Acute Effects of Twenty-Four Hours of Sleep Loss on the Performance of National-Caliber Male Collegiate Weightlifters. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2007;21(4):1146.
Dattilo M, Antunes HKM, Medeiros A, Mônico Neto M, Souza HS, Tufik S, et al. Sleep and muscle recovery: Endocrinological and molecular basis for a new and promising hypothesis. Medical Hypotheses. 2011 Aug;77(2):220–2.