How to Build Muscle
- Daniel Maroun
- Apr 26, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 6, 2024
Building muscle is not rocket science and is a subject that is often overcomplicated. I will be discussing six components needed to build muscle.
Calorie Surplus (Bulking)
When people hear the term bulking, they often think it means eating everything in sight, but that is far from the truth. When bulking, you should aim to be in a caloric surplus of about 200–400 calories so you can minimize fat gain.
A caloric surplus is when you eat more than you burn. To figure out how many calories you burn a day, you must first find your maintenance calories (estimate). After you find your maintenance calories, add 200-400 calories. If the scale is still not moving, add 100-200 calories (repeat if necessary).
The ideal bulking macros are to get around 25-35% of your calories from protein, 40-55% from carbs, and 15-30% from fat.
Here is an example using a 4,350 calorie diet:
Protein: 272 grams (25%)
Carbs: 598 grams (55%)
Fat: 97 grams (20%)
At some point during your bulk, you will plateau and stop gaining weight. This is not the end of the world and can easily be fixed by adding 50-100 calories to your daily intake.
Aside from that, it is possible to build muscle while in a caloric deficit (eating less than you burn), but it is highly dependent on the individual, diet, and training intensity. It is not optimal or sustainable in the long run, and you will barely build any muscle unless you are a newbie.
Protein Intake
To maximize muscle growth, you should consume 1.2–1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
Rep Range and Reps in Reserve (RIR)
Many studies have shown that the optimal rep range for maximizing hypertrophy is 5–30. It is vital to remember that higher rep sets (12+) cause greater central nervous system (CNS) fatigue, so I would not recommend performing them every set. Instead, aim to complete all of your sets between the 4-7 and 6-9 rep range.
You should aim to perform one to two sets per exercise, taking each set to 1-0 reps in reserve (RIR). If you decide to take every set to failure (0 RIR), you only need to perform one working set due to the amount of stimulus and fatigue that will occur.
It is also important to note that you will not be able to train that given muscle as often since it is extremely taxing on your CNS and delays recovery.
Progressive Overload
To build muscle at an optimal rate, we must be progressively overloading every week, whether that be more weight, reps, incorporating pause reps, or a change in cadence.
Rest Time in Between Sets
You might often hear that you have to rest between 30 and 90 seconds during working sets to maximize hypertrophy, but that is just nonsense. Longer rest intervals have been linked to an increase in muscle strength and hypertrophy.
You should aim to rest between three and five minutes in between working sets, and sometimes even more if necessary. But, having designated rest times is not ideal and we should go off of our respiratory system and CNS instead.
Sleep
Sleep is one of the most valuable factors when it comes to building muscle. You should aim to sleep no less than six hours a night if you want to optimize muscle growth. Sleep is very crucial for testosterone and growth hormone (GH) production, two compounds that play a huge role in muscle growth.
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