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Here are some cold, hard facts to help you with maximising the amount of muscle mass you're building.

Because, while it may seem simple after we spell it out for you, there's a lot of people out there that like to muddy the waters.

Are you ready?

1. Soreness DOES NOT equal muscle growth.

2. Getting a pump DOES NOT equal muscle growth.

3. Feeling the burn DOES NOT equal muscle growth.

4. Sweating DOES NOT equal muscle growth.

5. Mechanical tension DOES equal muscle growth ????

6. Mechanical tension = the internal stress each individual muscle fibre experiences from the weight being lifted.'

7. Muscle cells have little sensors which detect mechanical tension turn that into a chemical response aka muscle protein synthesis.

8. To generate the most mechanical tension during each set:

• Train with good form - using the target muscle to perform the task
• Train close to failure
• Train through long muscle lengths (deep stretch, full ROM, no half reps)

*the jury is still out on the importance of that third dot point, but most research is pointing that way; deeper stretch = more passive tension = more total tension.

9. Most people don't train hard enough ????‍♂️

10. If you're not training close to failure, you're not stimulating all of the muscle fibres to grow.

11. Train, don't exercise.

12. Growing muscle is hard - that should be clearly evident through the facials you are pulling during your set, at least some of the time.

13. Stimulate your muscles, rather than annihilating them.

14. The maximum number of sets you can adapt to per muscle group per session is probably around 4-10.

15. Beyond that, you're causing more damage than you can likely recover from.

16. Bro splits are trash ????️

17. You can train a muscle again as soon as it has recovered.

18. Training most muscles 2-3 x per week is a nice sweet spot for most people.

19. Building muscle is an energy intensive process - that's why people say you need to be in a calorie surplus to build muscle.

20. However, hypertrophy depends on the balance of Muscle Protein Synthesis vs Muscle Protein Breakdown NOT Calories In vs Calories Out.

• Muscle Growth = Muscle Protein Synthesis vs Muscle Protein Breakdown
• Fat Loss = Calories In vs Calories Out

21. Most people can build some muscle even in a deficit/ maintenance phase, but it's not something you should count on.

22. There's no such thing as a 'hypertrophy' rep range, but...

23. Sets of less than 5 reps might not have enough duration of tension to maximise hypertrophy each set.

24. Sets of more than 30 might cause too much metabolite interference (the burn) to allow you to truly train to failure.

25. Some exercises are better with low reps, whilst others are better with higher reps. Choose what works best for you.

...Too long, didn't read?

Do more hard sets, somewhere in the (ideally) 8-12 rep range & eat enough to grow.

Or...

Enlist the services of a professional to help you reach your goals more quickly.

It's like buying a road map for muscle growth, or fat loss and ensuring you take the shortest route possible to your dream physique.

My team & I are taking on ONE new client this week, and that could be you.

We’ll teach you how to get amazing results while spending no more than 2-5 hours/ week in the gym & eating whatever you want (within the confines of our system).

All without having to give up drinking beers or living your life eating tasteless tupperware meals like so many 'hardcore' athletes will have you believe is necessary.

If you're ready to prioritise your dreams in 2023, send us a message saying 'IT'S TIME' & we'll send you more information so we can discuss if you'd be a good fit for our team.

And if nothing else, give this article a thought as you step into the gym today.

Don't leave anything on the table.

Author: Coach Vaughan Burrell