WRITTEN BY GARETT REID | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKEDImproving body composition by building muscle is the ultimate goal for those going to the gym. Even those who want to lose weight should still try to build muscle, as building muscle will help you burn more fat. Generally speaking, building muscle is (and if not, should be) part of everybody’s plan (have you ever heard someone say that they want to lose muscle?!). Interestingly, building muscle (aka muscle hypertrophy) is a bit of an oxymoron; it’s straightforward yet complex at the same time. This means that the basic principles you need to follow to pack on some lean mass are surprisingly simple but optimal muscle growth requires a few more considerations.
Even so, we won't make it more complicated than it needs to be. We are going to teach you exactly how to build muscle mass, without fail.
In this article, you are going to learn:
- What muscle hypertrophy is
- How to build a program for hypertrophy
- The best exercises for muscle hypertrophy
- What to eat for the most muscle mass
- The best supplements you need to maximize growth
Keep reading if you want to find out all the answers to your questions about muscle growth. From exercise selection to supplementation, let this be your ultimate guide to packing on pounds of lean mass. Everything is backed by science and tried and true methods!
WHAT IS MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY?
“Hypertrophy” simply means the enlargement of an organ or tissue. Therefore, “muscle hypertrophy” means the enlargement of a muscle. Two types of hypertrophy can occur.
- Sarcoplasmic: Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy refers to the enlargement of the sarcoplasm and non-contractile units. This is “show muscle” because it does not actually make you stronger but instead expands the existing muscle
- Myofibrillar: Myofibrillar hypertrophy consists of the addition of contractile units, which can increase muscle density. This can make you bigger AND stronger.
Both types of muscle hypertrophy occurs by training with multiple rep ranges.
COMMON PRACTICES THAT WILL SET YOU BACK
Before we get into what you SHOULD DO for muscle gain, let’s go over some practices you SHOULDN’T DO when gaining muscle is your ultimate goal. To be clear, these practices aren’t necessarily wrong or bad when used in a different context; they’re just not optimal for bulking.
1) Following Low-Carb Diets or Keto:
Following a low-carb diet might help you lose weight, but it’s not going to do you any favors when trying to put on muscle. When you think of the purpose of a low-carb diet or even keto, you realize that they are almost ALWAYS used to lose weight. This is not what you are trying to do when you gain muscle. This doesn’t mean you need to get fat when you gain muscle, it’s just that bulking up is not the main objective for these diets.
Still, while protein is the primary macronutrient involved in muscle protein synthesis, carbohydrates play a very important role in muscle growth as well. Studies have shown that carbs and protein seem to have a synergistic effect on muscle protein synthesis, hormone production, and glycogen storage when taken together, especially around exercise.
This problem is amplified with keto. Not only do you consume very few carbs throughout the day, but your protein intake must also be moderate so that excess protein is not converted into glucose through a process known as gluconeogenesis.
While keto may beneficial in preventing muscle loss, multiple studies have shown trainees having difficulty, or even the inability, to build muscle on these types of diets. Not all studies have shown this to be true, but remember, we are talking about optimizing muscle growth, and these diets will fall short of that.
2) Following Intermittent Fasting:
Following intermittent fasting, while trying to bulk up has many of the same issues as being on a low-carb diet albeit through different mechanisms. The main problem with following intermittent fasting is that it limits the time you are allowed to eat. This will obviously hold you back from a consistent eating schedule and even throughout the entire day. It will almost definitely take out the possibility of having a pre-sleep casein protein shake that has been shown to increase muscle protein synthesis as we sleep (again, we’ll get more into that when we talk about nutrition for muscle mass).
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One of the mechanisms it uses for fat loss is reducing the number of calories people can eat; this can make it challenging to eat adequate calories to support muscle growth. This includes fasted training which can actually break down your muscle.
Again, maybe you still could put on muscle, but it’s not optimal. It's really a good option to maintain muscle and lose excess fat. It's important to understand nutrition timing, specifically when and what to eat before a workout, so you know how to best fuel your body for optimal muscle-building results.
3) Following Routines Made For Advanced or Enhanced Lifters:
One of the more common problems is new lifters following programs built for advanced trainees or those who are “enhanced”. If you have been in the gym for a couple months and want to jump on a 6-day a week bodybuilding program split or do 15 exercises a day - don’t. Your body is unable to adapt to the amount of stress those programs will put on your body, and you will not be able to recover and adjust. To build muscle, your body needs surprisingly little stress (or less than many people think) and once that is hit, more of it won’t make the muscle bigger.
4) Too Little Rest:
“Muscles are broken down in the gym and built in the bed”
In connection with number three, you need to rest more. Muscle building is a cycle of going to the gym to put stress and damage on the muscle and then going home to eat and eat where the muscle repairs. Optimizing rest has quickly become one of the most interesting aspects when it comes to muscle recovery and muscle growth. Make sure to get enough quality sleep.
Related: The Importance of Sleep for Athletes and Fitness
THE MOST IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE FOR HOW TO BUILD MUSCLE MASS
Here it is. The single most important thing you need to follow to put on some serious mass. And, if you do this, you’re almost guaranteed to add pounds of lean-mass unless your body follows completely different physiological guidelines.
This one principle is that of progressive overload. If you’re unaware of the term, it refers merely to progressively adding more stress to your muscles over time. Otherwise known as, lift more weight!
While this seems basic, people mess this up all the time, which is simply why they don’t gain muscle. The easiest way to think of this is by realizing that our bodies don’t WANT muscle; they NEED muscle. While you’re trying to process this, ask yourself this question; “If your body wanted muscle, why are your reading article to tell you how to grow muscle? And why does it seems so hard!?” You see, our body is an amazing machine that has physiological processes that allow it to adapt to the environment it is in; let that be sitting down all day watching TV or working on a farm. Your body will adapt. In fact, this is why we go to the gym; to put it in an environment with artificial stressors to cause it to grow. However, the “environment” we put it in must continually become harder. Merely going to the gym and sweating isn’t enough if you’re using the same weight as you did for the past 4 weeks. Once you fully grasp this simple concept, improving gets’s a lot easier; well, easy in theory as you still need to bust your ass.
HOW TO USE PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD TO PROMOTE MUSCLE GROWTH:
While progressive overload is the underlying principle for progression, the total volume is the driving factor for muscle growth. Total volume refers to the total amount of load placed on a muscle. This is generally quantified on a weekly basis to assist with programming. Calculating volume is relatively easy and is found by the simple equation:
Load On The Bar (kg or lbs) X Number of Sets X Number of Reps
For example, let’s say you do bench press with 80kg for 3 reps of 8 reps. That would look like this:
80 KG (load) X 3 (sets) x 8 (reps) = 1920kg (Total Load)
If you want to grow the next week, you’d want to increase the bench press volume. You can easily do this by adding 2.5kg to the bar using the same rep scheme, which would look like:
82.5 KG (load) X 3 (sets) x 8 (reps) = 1980kg (Total Load)
You just increased the total weekly volume on the bench press by 60kg. You’re gonna grow.
The easiest way to do this is by just tracking the movements. Some people try to break it up into body parts, but that can get way too confusing. If you increase the volume on the lifts, you increased the volume on the different body parts. Keep it simple.
This same principle is applied to each muscle individually. Therefore, if you have a lagging muscle, simply give that muscle more emphasis and volume.
BEST LOAD, REP RANGE, AND OTHER PRACTICES FOR HYPERTROPHY
The optimal load and rep range has long been debated over the years, and it is not as straightforward as it seems. There are literal academic books solely centered around this single issue.
New research has shown that when the volume is equated, the load used doesn’t actually matter much muscle hypertrophy. However, the load used DOES matter when developing strength; that is, heavier loads (greater than 85%) are best.
Still, trying to get your total volume in with heavy loads will kill your joints and accumulate too much fatigue. Moderate weight with moderate reps (8-12 reps with 70-80% 1RM) is still the ideal range you want to work in to accumulate volume with adequate weight. Having said that, you may need to adjust this rep range based on your body type. For example, if you're an ectomorph who struggles with putting weight on, you may see better results by decreasing your reps to the 6-8 range and increasing your weight.
Concerning rest, unless you are using some of the special sets spoken below, new trends show that longer rest between sets are more beneficial for hypertrophy growth than shorter rest intervals. This longer duration allows you to perform more volume with higher quality reps. Each set should stick to 1:30-2:30 of rest. Shorter rest doesn’t increase hypertrophy; total volume does.
Another topic that is often seen practiced by bodybuilders is the use of special sets such as:
- Drop Sets
- Sets To Failure
- Forced Repetitions (assisted)
- Eccentric Loading
- Compound and Super Sets
- Ultra-High Rep Schemes (20+)
Before we begin to talk about these, realize that all of these are considered “Advance Practices”. This doesn’t mean you need 5 years under your belt to experiment with them, but it does mean you should only use these once your progress has begun to slow down. Don’t try these your first day. As these are made to completely fatigue your muscles, save them for smaller exercises towards the end of your workout.
There are too many caveats to address every special set in detail, but there is evidence that all of these can be effective under the right circumstances and for the right trainee. Perhaps the most interesting is the use of supramaximal eccentric loading, which has a constant history of effectiveness.
The eccentric contraction can produce 20-50% more force (study), allowing excessive weight to be used for this portion of a movement. Further, the eccentric phase of a movement is responsible for the majority of muscle damage and is thereby more responsible for creating hypertrophy. DO NOT use these on big movements, especially deadlifts and squats. It requires excessive loading and can result in injury if you are not trained. Some of the more common practices are on isolation or cable crossover movements such as cable chest presses & flys, cable bicep curls, and cable tricep extensions.
Because strength and hypertrophy play off each other (a bigger muscle has the potential to be a stronger muscle and a stronger muscle has the potential to be a bigger muscle), you want to train through a range of reps. A basic layout with the recommended amount of exercises for a given rep range is given below:
- 1-3 Big Compound Movements: Strength (4-6 reps @ about 85-90% 1RM)
- 3-5 Smaller Compound Movements: Hypertrophy (8-12 reps @ about 70-80%1RM)
- 1-3 Isolation Movements or Lagging Body Parts: 12+ reps or Special Sets (failure, drop, etc)
Related: Strength vs Hypertrophy Training Key Differences
THE BEST SPLITS TO USE FOR HYPERTROPHY
The best split is the one that fits your schedule and follows a few guidelines. The most significant factor a split regulates is how often you train a muscle group. Again, when the total volume is equated, the number of times you train a muscle a week has little to no effect. While this is important to keep in mind, these studies are in controlled situations. By training a muscle 2-3 times a week, you can get higher quality training volumes. And don't worry about how long a workout should be. Just put in the work, and when you're done, you're done. Below are some examples of how this could look.
HYPERTROPHY SPLIT FOR 3 DAYS A WEEK:
Option A:
- Monday: Full Body
- Wednesday: Full Body
- Friday: Full Body
Option B:
- Monday: Upper Body
- Wednesday: Lower Body
- Friday: Full Body
Both of these can work. If you are a beginner, a 3 day full body workout routine could work better for you as you won’t be putting as much stress on your body.
If you have been lifting for a while, option B maybe your best bet. This works better when focusing on some heavier movements on the upper/lower day. Then, on the full-body, work with lightweight and high reps for accessory exercises. If you choose this, start with either squats or deadlifts on the lower body day and then begin the full body day with the other movement (deadlift or squat)
Related: The Best 3 Day Workout Splits
HYPERTROPHY SPLIT FOR 4 DAYS A WEEK:
- Monday: Upper Body (Emphasis on Pushing Movements)
- Wednesday: Lower Body (Emphasis on Squats)
- Friday: Upper Body (Emphasis on Pulling Movements)
- Saturday: Lower Body (Emphasis on Deadlifts)
Even though you emphasize a specific muscle group, you will still work all the muscles for the Upper or Lower Body. For example, on your upper day w/ emphasis on pushing, you might want to train bench press, shoulder press, and dips. Then for your back, you may do lat pulldown, rear delt raises, and face pulls. Basically, think of this as doing your main movements for pushing and your accessory movements for pulling.
Related: The Best 4 Day Workout Splits
HYPERTROPHY SPLIT FOR 5 DAYS A WEEK:
If you have 5 days a week to train, you can throw in a special day for arms and shoulders. This will look similar to the 4-day a week split EXCEPT; you won’t do shoulder-specific movements (I.e., Overhead press, Arnold Press) on the upper body days. This will give you time to do more exercises for the back and chest. And, even though you only work shoulders specifically on one day, you still hit them on the back and chest day.
- Monday: Upper body (Back and Chest)
- Wednesday: Lower Body (Emphasis on Squats)
- Thursday: Upper Body (Chest and Back)
- Saturday: Lower Body (Emphasis on Deadlifts)
- Sunday: Shoulders and Arms
Related: The Best 5 Day Workout Splits
HYPERTROPHY SPLIT FOR 6 DAYS A WEEK:
First, look at the plan and then the rationale
- Monday: Chest and Shoulders
- Tuesday: Legs (Emphasis on Squat)
- Wednesday: Back and Arms
- Thursday: Chest and Shoulders
- Friday: Legs (Emphasis on Deadlift)
- Saturday: Back and Arms
You’ll notice we did the chest and shoulders together and the chest and shoulders together on this split. This is because since we have more days, we can train these muscle groups twice. The back has a lot more muscle to train, so giving it two days to focus on plus arms makes sense.
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