Here’s How You Can Maximize Your Muscle Building Potential

Oct 9

There are no shortcuts to muscle building and resistance training. To maximize your muscle-building potential, you must put in the work and time to see a significant change in results and physique. Like building and accumulating financial wealth, you must consciously save and invest to see substantial economic growth.

So here are four training tips to consider to maximize your gains at the gym.

Spend your time wisely when training.
A surefire way to maximize your productivity during training/working out is to have a set routine and structure that provides clarity and is centered around your goals and needs so you can get in and out of the gym without wasting a lot of your time.
Track your progress.
The more details you can track, the more information you’ll have in hand that you can interpret, review, plan, and make adjustments if needed to maximize your results while keeping burnout at bay.
Train hard when it’s appropriate.
If you’re struggling with your training progress and seeing results despite being consistent at the gym, then it’s time to reassess how you’ve been training.

Does your last rep feel the same as your first rep? Do you think you could have performed another five reps with the load? You can relax and check social media immediately after the set without taking a break. If yes, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough.

While you don’t have to train failure all the time, at least don’t short-change yourself while training. If you have not, train with two reps spare in the tank, gradually increase the challenge over time, and be open to experiencing proper muscle and technique failure (safely). Your last repetition should feel like slowing down, and you’d need a minute to regroup your thoughts upon completing the set. Keep in mind that training hard is a skill to be learned through practice, knowing when to accelerate and when to brake.
Optimize rest and recovery.
Recoverability is crucial for muscle growth, precisely the quality of your sleep and nutrient intake. You can have the best training program on the planet and train as hard and as frequently as you want, but if you’re unable to recover from the training, you’re not making any gains.

If you’re training very hard and often, aim for 7-9 hours of sleep daily while eating enough protein (1.6g to 2.2g per KG of body weight) with sufficient calories to maximize your gains.

While we can’t control our genetics and physiology regarding muscle growth (and fat loss) - the growth rate, we can take appropriate actions that are within our control, manage our expectations, and get our priorities right regarding goal setting.