When you’re training for hypertrophy (aka muscle gain), recovery ability and a tolerance for higher intensities can open up for the majority of people. Here’s why:
More food = better recovery.
Can be advantageous to train more frequently due to Muscle Protein Synthesis
When one is training specifically for muscle gain, the act of eating more food will greatly impact their ability to train more often and with higher intensity.
More food is more energy to both fuel the training and to provide the nutrients necessary to utilize, not only the repair but the rebuilding (and then some) of the muscle and connective tissues.
Since this is NOT an article on nutrition, you can check this one about how much protein you need, and I’ll eventually cover eating for muscle growth and fat loss in upcoming articles.
But to talk about training specifically for muscle gain, here’s the rub: programs with a training frequency of two to six times per week can and do work. The trick is in moderating the loads to ensure you can recover from the training without being annihilated by it.
Some research suggests that due to Muscle Protein Synthesis being elevated for 24-36 hours, it’s best to hit each muscle group two to three times per week.
As you can see by adhering to that mode of thinking, many different programs will fall into this recommendation. The main factor in understanding what is best for you, your schedule and your individual ability to recover based on training sessions per week.
When training for muscle gain, focus should be placed on the following variables:
Training: Compound lifts and total volume with a focus on progressive overload (going to failure occasionally is good to for the growth signals, ie: multiplying satellite cells)
Nutrition: Consuming a surplus of protein, carbs and fat to create an anabolic environment that fosters the hypertrophic growth one desires without adding unnecessary adipose tissue
More food = better recovery.
Can be advantageous to train more frequently due to Muscle Protein Synthesis
When one is training specifically for muscle gain, the act of eating more food will greatly impact their ability to train more often and with higher intensity.
More food is more energy to both fuel the training and to provide the nutrients necessary to utilize, not only the repair but the rebuilding (and then some) of the muscle and connective tissues.
Since this is NOT an article on nutrition, you can check this one about how much protein you need, and I’ll eventually cover eating for muscle growth and fat loss in upcoming articles.
But to talk about training specifically for muscle gain, here’s the rub: programs with a training frequency of two to six times per week can and do work. The trick is in moderating the loads to ensure you can recover from the training without being annihilated by it.
Some research suggests that due to Muscle Protein Synthesis being elevated for 24-36 hours, it’s best to hit each muscle group two to three times per week.
As you can see by adhering to that mode of thinking, many different programs will fall into this recommendation. The main factor in understanding what is best for you, your schedule and your individual ability to recover based on training sessions per week.
When training for muscle gain, focus should be placed on the following variables:
Training: Compound lifts and total volume with a focus on progressive overload (going to failure occasionally is good to for the growth signals, ie: multiplying satellite cells)
Nutrition: Consuming a surplus of protein, carbs and fat to create an anabolic environment that fosters the hypertrophic growth one desires without adding unnecessary adipose tissue
Recovery: Rest and downtime to adequately recover from the training loads