4 Things You Need to KnowAbout Building Muscle

Fellas, if you’re reading this article, you’re probably interested in building muscle.

And if you’re not, then I’m really not quite sure what you’re doing here.

Stick around though, you might learn a few things. While there are plenty of “how to build muscle” articles on the internet, there aren’t enough that discuss how muscle is actually built. So it’s no surprise that there are so many men out there who are not maximizing their muscle-building potential.

Are you one of them?

1. The Makeup of MuscleBefore we learn what it takes to build muscle, let’s briefly discuss the makeup of muscle. There are 3 types of muscle: smooth, skeletal and cardiac. The one we are discussing here is skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle consists of muscle fibers (which are single large cells) that contain myofibrils. In these myofibrils there are bundles of actin and myosin filaments organized in a chain of repeating units called sarcomeres. The main task of these muscle fibers is to contract in order to operate your joints (e.g.moving your arms and legs). Hope you’re still with me!

2. The Process of Building Muscle

When guys say they want to build muscle, what they are really referring to is muscle hypertrophy. But there are actually two different ways to grow muscle. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is when the muscle swells in size due to the buildup of sarcoplasm – a fluid in your muscle cells. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy happens when you are lifting weights for a higher number of reps (between 10 to 15 reps) for 1 to 3 sets. But while sarcoplasmic hypertrophy leads to rapid, big increases in muscle size, it’s really just fluid, and not actual muscle making the muscles look bigger. Plus, this type of training won’t increase your strength.

On the other hand, myofibrillar hypertrophy occurs when you actually increase the size of the myofibrils in your muscle fibers. This not only enlarges the size of the muscle but will also give you strength gains. To induce myofibrillar hypertrophy, you lift weights for a lower number of reps (between 1 to 5 reps) for 3 to 5 sets. While both produce different outcomes for your muscles, they are focused on the same thing: muscle hypertrophy (i.e., building muscle).

3. Building Muscle Size vs. Building Muscle Strength

The consensus is that bodybuilders favor sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, while powerlifters and Olympic weightlifters focus on myofibrillar hypertrophy. Which should you do? Which is truly better for muscle growth?

The answer is both of them if your goal is to build bigger, dense muscle. To incorporate both of them, alternate periods (4 to 6 weeks at the minimum) where you focus on building muscle size and strength respectively for just a few sets per muscle group 3 to 4 days per week.

4. Challenge Your Muscle for Growth

How can you build muscle without challenging them? The answer is you can’t. Challenging your muscles by placing stress upon them is the only way they will grow and get stronger. The best method to do this is called progressive overload. Countless studies have shown this as the most effective way to build muscle.

Progressive overload will have you gradually increasing your reps and/or weight every time you do an exercise again.

So if you’ve been bench pressing 135lb for 3 sets x 12 reps since 1992, then progressive overload will have you doing them with 145lb.

If you want to shift into muscle-building mode, challenging your muscles is a must!

Be sure to train not just between the 1 to 12 rep ranges, but go over 12 reps occasionally. And be sure to consistently eat a well-balanced diet and get at least 8 hours of sleep per night to maximize your muscle-building potential.

Now go out there and actually build some muscle!

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