How do I build muscle mass through weightlifting and diet?

Dear Reader, 

It’s great that you’re looking to increase muscle mass, which is associated with increased strength and mobility. Weightlifting, along with other exercises and eating habits, helps develop muscle. These exercises work by breaking down and rebuilding muscle fibers. The more you work certain muscles, the more energy your body uses to consistently repair them. This is fueled by the food you eat, which is why diet is so essential to increasing your muscle mass. Keep reading to learn about exercises and diet suggestions that may help you with those gains! 

One way to increase muscle mass is through resistance training (RT) exercises, which require you to use your muscles against or to resist a force. This force could be your own body weight, equipment like dumbbells and machines, or anything that makes your muscles contract. There are a few things that strength and conditioning experts recommend for RT: 

• Load: Lifting light, moderate, and heavy loads can all help increase muscle mass. However, lifting a combination of different weights or using moderate loads for most of your workout might be more helpful in the long term. 
• Volume: Consistently doing around ten sets per muscle group per week is enough for most people to gain muscle mass. Others recommend doing around two to three sets per workout session. Each set might have around eight to twelve repetitions of a movement or exercise, depending on your capabilities. Increasing the number of sets over time can also help with muscle mass.  
• Frequency: Training each muscle group at least once per week can lead to increased muscle mass. Frequency can also be combined with volume, such that you do fewer sets per muscle group in one session but do more sessions later in the week. 
• Rest between sets: When doing exercises that target multiple muscles, it’s recommended to rest for about two minutes between sets. For single muscle exercises, a shorter rest of 60 to 90 seconds can be taken.  
• Type of exercises: Doing a variety of exercises so that your muscles can be worked from all angles will help increase muscle mass. 
• End point: Some people resistance train until their muscles “fail”, or they reach an end point in their strength for that set. While this method is not recommended for everyone, it might be used when using machines or exercises only targeting one specific muscle.  

List adapted from International Universities Strength and Conditioning Association 

Many common RT exercises involve weights, such as bicep curls, dumbbell rows, or bench presses. Others might require a weight machine, which can be found at many gyms and fitness centers. There are also RT exercises that use your body weight as the force of resistance, like planks, push-ups, and squats.  

Diet is crucial to muscle growth and maintenance. Specifically, protein is related to muscle mass, bone health, improved immunity, and prevention of muscle loss in old age. When combined with RT, more protein usually means more muscle mass. Currently, the recommended amount of protein for adults is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body mass per day, but this value might be too low for people with nutrient deficiencies or those trying to develop more muscle. However, consuming extreme amounts of protein could also increase your risk for cardiovascular disease, especially if your protein sources are also high in fat or cholesterol. Check out different nutrient and energy requirements for endurance and resistance athletes for more information on diets. 

However, while these strategies for RT and diet are generally effective for building muscle, there are some behavioral and biological factors that may make it harder to develop muscle mass. For example, you are someone who has a regular menstrual cycle or takes oral contraceptives, it may be harder to see optimal gains in muscle mass. Some studies have suggested that resistance training during the follicular phase led to better results than training during the luteal phase. Others suggest that the type of hormones used in oral contraceptives might affect how fast or how much muscle people end up gaining. Contraceptives may also increase the levels of other hormones in your body that interact with muscle growth.  

Finally, all body compositions are different, and it may take some trial and error before you find the right exercise routine or diet for you. Speaking with a health care provider, registered dietician, or personal trainer might help clarify the weightlifting and nutritional needs for your desired gains.  

Here’s to mass-tering the art of massive muscles!