FITNESS
BY JUSTIN GRINNELL
Building muscle Want to get stronger? Then check out this guide to muscle growth
W
hat should you do to help increase muscle, since there are so many ways to do it? Well, let’s take a look at some different principles that work across the board and can be implemented into almost anyone’s training program without too much confusion.
Train muscle groups more often Repeated bouts of resistance exercise (on a target muscle) and protein ingestion trigger an anabolic response and growth. In other words, train your muscle groups more often. Hit the biggest muscles in your body two to three times per week to increase protein synthesis and build muscle. A study by Schuenke MD, Mikat RP, McBride JM.et al. used a circuit training protocol of 12 sets in 31 minutes. EPOC was elevated significantly for 38 hours post workout. Thirty-eight hours is a significant time frame for metabolism to be elevated. If you trained from 9 to 10 am on Monday morning — you’re still burning more calories (without training) at midnight on Tuesday. In my experience, FREQUENT full body training in a superset, tri-set or circuit format (with noncompeting exercises) in a rep range that generates lactic acid (and pushing the lactic acid threshold or LAT) seems to create the biggest metabolic demand. Training legs (hinge, squat), back (pull) and chest/ shoulders (push) will burn more calories and elevate metabolism more than an isolated approach training one of them. The rep range that seems to work best is the 5-12 hypertrophy range. Going higher will work just as well with a less trained population.
Explosive rep speed Lift each rep explosively to muscle fiber recruitment. By moving weights as fast and as hard as possible, you’ll recruit more muscle fibers and maximize nervous system recruitment for greater performance. During my bodybuilding years and even beyond, I utilized a slow eccentric phase (lowering the weight), a slight pause, a moderate speed concentric phase (raising the weight), and another pause. In other words, a somewhat slow, controlled rep speed was what I
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performed and preached. There is some significant research that the eccentric phase of the repetition is where you are the strongest and cause the most muscular tissue breakdown. But some studies show that lifting weights faster, especially on the concentric phase, can produce more muscle growth by recruiting more muscle fibers. So, instead of always worrying about controlling the movement, lift the weights a little faster.
Take a break between sets This one may not apply to everyone, but it does apply to my adult clientele. Most powerlifters and Olympic lifters have to rest ample amounts between sets to let their nervous system recover. This is essential for them to recover enough to lift a heavy weight for say 1-4 reps. Their goal is not to build muscle but to rather
increase strength and power. College students, or the old-school bodybuilding buff, simply rest too much due to either scrolling through Instagram, or because they just don’t feel like working hard. The rest of the population, in my experience, need to rest a little more. Fat loss and general fitness clients tend to move from one lifting exercise to the next too fast because they either just want to get it done, do more work in less time, or feel that the faster they move, the more calories and fat they will burn. Unfortunately, this does not result in building muscle. In order to build muscle, you need proper time under tension and sufficient weight. To accomplish this properly, you need to let ATP regenerate. Now, this does not mean you need 2-3 minutes
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