Nutrition Can someone please explain muscle-building to me?

[Harry Westgate]

Hi all,

I'm not aiming to build muscle myself (although a friend of mine is), but when my friend and I were discussing it, it made me realise that I didn't really know that much about the subject. Now I have a decent grasp of the ideas behind fat burning, for instance, how a ~3500kcal surplus can supposedly lead to a 1lbs gain in body fat (for the record, I'm not entirely sure how true this is in practice; I've found that just a few days of proper eating can make one look much leaner, ANYWAY, I'm getting off topic), however, I don't really know what the 'rules' are when it comes to building muscle.

For instance, does eating x grams of protein per week lead to a gain of 1lb of muscle? I'm aware that a calorie surplus is necessary for weight gain, but obviously 'calorie surplus' can mean bad calories, thus leading to fat gain rather than muscle gain. I've also heard that lean muscle only tends to grow at a rate of about 1lb per month (and a little more for beginners), is this true? Also I'm interested to know, how quickly can one lose muscle mass given a period of improper eating/training?

If anyone can clear up the fact from the fiction for me and also offer some general information on how building muscle works I'd be really interested to hear it! (And I'm sure my friend would also appreciate any help; he's having a hard time getting started!)

Thanks in advance everyone!

Harry

 

[Matts]

Harry, there are a lot of guidelines and "rules of thumb" for building muscle, but no hard and fast answers that are true for everyone. Some people say you can only gain so much muscle in a month, but usually the context of that is letting people know the 10lbs they've gained after 2 weeks of working out that it's probably not all muscle. Teenagers in a growth spurt may gain more, others much less. The correlation between a lb of fat and 3500kCal is by definition, but also difficult to apply due to different fuel sources in the body, different energy systems used, genetic makeup, etc. Also, the gaining "muscle" can be through hypertrophy methods, where more water may be involved, or strength, where it may not enlarge as much, but gets more wiry and dense. Maybe it would be better if your friend focused on staying healthy, gaining strength and coordination, and eating the most nutritional foods while minimizing empty calories. With time and experience, everyone learns more about how their own system works and what's best for them individually-especially if they try some good programs (strength and nutritionally) and apply them consistently.

 

[jef]

@Harry Westgate , when it comes to nutrition, there is even more bro science than for strength and conditioning!

Keep it simple.
If you want to gain muscle, you have to signal your body you need muscles, and then give it what it needs for building these muscles.

I increased my BW from 68 to 80 kg in 6 weeks a while ago. Today, I am back at 75kg and can see my abs as well as when I weighted 68 (just a 4 pack, not the nice 6 pack...), so I would guess a similar fat percentage, meaning nice overall increase of lean body mass.
I was on Starting strength at the time. 3x5 squats three times a week gave the signal to my body that an increase in mass would be helpful.
My nutrition strategy was to eat large breakfast with plenty of eggs, normal meal at work, and a typical dinner would be carpaccio, then big steak with potatoes and vegetables, then a dessert washed down with red wine.
I never measured any food. Just enjoyed it.

It worked pretty well.

The bear protocol in PTTP works on the same principle. Do a lot of volume with big lifts (in this case, deadlifts), then eat.

 

[Harry Westgate]

Thanks for the replies so far guys, interesting to hear your thoughts!

@jef I see, so in simple terms, high volume on the big lifts, plus an abundance of food (I'm guessing ideally clean food? I.e. lean protein and good carbs) leads to muscle gain? Nice to have a simple way to put it, like there is for pure strength training (heavy as possible, often as possible, fresh as possible). I must also say that your way of eating there sounds lovely! I've been doing the Warrior Diet for some time now and I like it a lot, but due to having to make weight for a boxing tournament a couple of weeks ago, I went about a month and a half having to be very strict on calories and types of food, so given your results, the desserts and red wine you mention are really giving me some cravings .

 

[jef]

Harry, that would be my way of having a simple method to increase lean body mass. Certainly not the only one, but I believe the underlying principle is good and simple enough (give a signal, then provide the material).

Big lifts with some volume give a signal. Heavy work with double kettlebell would also. And many other progamms.

My goal was to increase strength. I stalled quickly. Then I decided not to worry too much about a slight temporary fat increase, started to eat more, progressed again. The food was for recovery. Mass gain was just a nice side effect.
I am by no way a big guy, have no intention to be. I just know what I would do if I wanted to.

I believe that many people tend to overcomplicate things.
They also tend to have confused goals. An efficient muscle increase often means a temporary fat increase too.

 

[Antti]

Lots of lifting and lots of eating will do it. The better you lift and the better you eat, the better you progress. Sleep and relaxed recovery are also of paramount importance.

When it gets to specifics, I'd recommend a whole lot of squatting. They're probably the single best exercise for hypertrophy. Time under tension is a good thing. I would do both light and heavy sets, in both light and heavy days. Some days can be about volume as well.

Nutritionwise there can be a lot of specifics. There is also a lot of room for what works for the individual, especially as progress means different things to different people. It's a case of how far extreme one is willing to go in terms of hard to quantify progress. Carb cycling is one thing, as in concentrate your carbs before workouts and especially on off days. Protein intake is important, but I wouldn't recommend more than 2g a kg of fatless bodyweight or 3g a kg of bodyweight. The timing of protein can also be important, I prefer to take a whey protein shake the first thing in the morning and the last thing in the evening. Otherwise I try to concentrate my protein intake on some hours after I train.

You will find, like said earlier in the thread, that there are a plenty of differing opinions on the subject. Some are results of individual differences in genetics and training and life in general, some of the newest discoveries and fads in (bro)science. This is one of the rare occasions when I am quite ready to say that experience trumps science, and that the experience in question should be the one of the individual in question. Try a lot of things and see out which brings the most satisfying progress with the least effort.

 

[JeffC]

Easy to understand, accurate, no nonsense video on muscle building. People tend to over complicate the process, it's very simple, do more work, eat a calorie surplus high in protein, and get plenty of sleep. It requires a high investment in time, money, and energy, which is the obstacle for most.

 

[Lehrskov]

Hi Harry

Pavel talks about just that (and to some extend just how little is known) in this podcast on the tim ferris show - which is a very good listen regardless.


Cheers!

 

[RobbieF]

Hi Harry,

To be quite honest, understanding the mechanisms behind muscle growth are not too important. Arnold, Franco, Lou and Frank didn't know about sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, myofibrillar hypertrophy, mechanical tension, etc, etc. They found what worked through training hard. With that in mind, I would put your friend on a muscle building program like Arnold's blueprint to mass.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/docs/2014/arnoldblueprint_mass_phaseone-v1.1.pdf

Despite, saying the mechanisms behind muscle hypertrophy are unimportant here are two articles outlining the mechanisms behind muscle hypertrophy!

The main concepts to understand here are: Mechanical tension, metabolic stress, muscle damage and myofibullar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy

Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy: The Bros Were Probably Right

http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/articles/mechanisms_of_muscle_hypertrophy.pdf


However, for all the fancy words and complicated explanations the author came up with this conclusion:

"Current research suggests that maximum gains in muscle
hypertrophy are achieved by training regimens that produce
significant metabolic stress while maintaining a moderate
degree of muscle tension. A hypertrophy-oriented program
should employ a repetition range of 6–12 reps per set with rest
intervals of 60–90 seconds between sets. Exercises should
be varied in a multiplanar, multiangled fashion to ensure
maximal stimulation of all muscle fibers. Multiple sets should
be employed in the context of a split training routine to
heighten the anabolic milieu. At least some of the sets should
be carried out to the point of concentric muscular failure,
perhaps alternating microcycles of sets to failure with those
not performed to failure to minimize the potential for
overtraining. Concentric repetitions should be performed at
fast to moderate speeds (1–3 seconds) while eccentric
repetitions should be performed at slightly slower speeds
(2–4 seconds). Training should be periodized so that the
hypertrophy phase culminates in a brief period of highervolume
overreaching followed by a taper to allow for optimal
supercompensation of muscle tissue."
​

Arnold, Franco, Lou and Frank have been training like that since the 1980s! Follow what the best do!

 

[Steve Freides]

@Harry Westgate, Pavel has described it simply as "get a pump with a heavy weight."

Read the page on Rite of Passage rest periods in Enter the Kettlebell.

Read about the Bear program in Power To The People!

Lots of sets of 5 with an 8-10RM weight will do the trick for most things for most people, most of the time.

-S-