The short answer to that question is “Slow, very, very slow” And that is what I always tell my female clients, because in 90% of the cases they are like “I do not want to lift heavy, because I just want to tone up, not become bulky”. That is a whole another story and deserves another article, so I will just leave it at that for the moment.
In order for muscle to grow, there are three factors that need to be present, all equally important.
- Mechanical Tension
- Energy
- Recovery
So in one sentence: Muscles grow when they are subjected to a tension higher than what they can currently bear and if you supply them with adequate amount of energy and also give them time to recover. Simple. Let’s now break it down and explain in details:
Mechanical Tension
Skeletal muscle has the simple task to keep our bodies in an upright position (i.e. back, core), make us move (i.e. legs), carry and lift thigs (i.e. arms, shoulders) and in general perform our natural duties as a species. There is a simple rule “Use it or lose it” and it says it all. Walk a lot (use your legs) and you will develop size and endurance in that muscle group. Do not walk that much and by the age of 50 start experiencing difficulties standing up from a chair, climb the stairs or walk to the nearby store. If there is no tension, the muscle will start shrinking (that is also a different article) and you will start slowly losing both strength, volume and endurance capacity.
In addition to the locomotion function, muscles play the most important role of keeping you healthy longer. Reduced skeletal muscle mass and function in adults have been linked to chronic diseases, poor quality of life, sarcopenia, physical disability, increased risk of fractures, and risk for frailty.
If there is no tension, there is no growth. But when there is tension, there is a stimulus to get ready and be prepared for the next one. That is what all this training stuff is about – to prepare you for heavier loads, longer walks, more years in an upright position. Weights training is the trigger signal for your body that the status quo is changing, the environment is changing. And that it need to adapt. I am not going to go into the pseudo-scientific field of explaining the two ways muscles actually grow and make myself half of doctor in your eyes, will leave that to the experts.
But the muscle does not grow in the gym. Gym or outdoors is the beginning of the process. You “told” your body something in the line of “Mate, I need you to do 10 clean pull ups for me, love. Today you did just eight, but get ready” Task given, let’s gather the resources needed.
Energy
Meaning food. In the best case scenario whole foods. With lots of protein and carbohydrates, some fats too.
For the muscle to grow, it needs amino acids and their source is the protein we consume. For the muscle to function it needs glycogen and the source is the carbohydrates we eat. And for the two processes to even begin the body needs hormones and their secretion always starts from fatty acids. Miss or under-deliver on one of those points and the body will not have the needed resources to grow new muscles.
It is for me anecdotal, but I often see normally looking, visibly intelligent people in the gym that run fast after training to gulp down fast a protein shake because “muscles will not grow if I do not give them protein right now and all my gains will vanish”. You see that too, don’t you. No need to, mate, no need the rush.
Plenty of research from reputable sources prove that the ideal timing for a new protein would be any time in the window of two hours post tension. The more important factor was not the protein timing, but overall protein availability. That means our bodies can adapt, but to an extend. Body will need protein at some point to build the muscle, so you better deliver.
Recovery
That means sleep. That means rest. That means “Slow down, buddy, Rome was not built in a day”
Yes, your muscles grow while you sleep. They do not grow in the gym. Weights training is the process trigger, not the process itself. Miss to give those fibres time to recover, never see them grow. It is a widely spread misconception that you need to keep pushing and pushing to make your biceps big. No, love, sorry to disappoint. You need to give them time. Yes, you need to subject the skeletal muscle to higher tension and that is called “Progressive Overload”.
Thing is that you practically cause inflammations in your muscles when you lift in the gym. And sometimes that may cause water retention or even weight gain. Pretty normal. Not allowing something in between 48 to 72 hours before you even touch that muscle group again and local (or even system) fatigue will accumulate. Now this is going to kill your gains or make you think that you reached a plateau. Or even make you quit with all the efforts all together or call yourself “slow gainer” and throw back the gym attire at the bottom of the closet.
Three simple components. Equally important. Together
Now you know how training / food / sleep interact and make all your efforts worth. Miss or under deliver on one and the chain of events is broken.
Thank you for reading this and spending five minutes of your time. In my individual training programmes I take care of all those three components for you, so that we can both produce and perform working solutions. Smoothly running processes. Enjoyable. With long-lasting results that manifest in visible changes. In and out of clothes.
