How to maximize muscle growth? All Fitness lovers have asked themselves this question at least once in their life and everyone has conflicting answers about it, because, in fact, so many variables come into play.
Recent research investigated how to maximize muscle growth; the title is "Recommendations to maximise muscle hypertrophy in an athletic population: position stand of the IUSCA (International Universities Strength and Conditioning Association).
The main results of this study were summarized in James Linker's Youtube channel; let's see them together:
Index
Constructs of hypertrophy
The determining factors muscle hypertrophy, or the adaptation that our body carries out in response to overload stimuli that lead to muscle growth, are:
- Metabolic stress: it is obtained with a high number of repetitions and short recoveries
- Mechanical stress: it is obtained by using high loads or lighter loads but for a longer time
- Muscle damage: metabolic stress and mechanical stress create muscle damage, also aided by proper execution of the exercises.
Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy
It is given byincreased sarcoplasm, liquid part of the cell, thanks to glycogen; the sarcoplasm is depleted during exercise and rest, but is rebuilt in excess thanks to a diet rich in carbohydrates.
This form of hypertrophy is typical of bodybuilders and does not lead to an increase in weight force of the muscle, while increasing its shape, making the muscle swollen and full.
Loads
"It might be a practical advantage for athletes to prioritize the use of moderate loads for most sets in a hypertrophy-oriented training program" the researchers say.
Do not use too high loads for any exercise, but loads that easily allow the execution of 8/12 repetitions.
Volume
ITraining volume is the total amount of work done in a given exercise, in a session or in an entire cycle; it is a key parameter of muscle growth because the higher the volume, the longer the time the muscle remains under tension.
Frequency
La frequency of a workout indicates how often a particular muscle is trained; we find two types of training based on frequency:
- Monofrequency: each muscle is trained once a week
- Tone: each muscle area is trained several times a week
The researchers' suggestion is to mix these two styles for greater muscle development.
Rest intervals
Il recovery it is an integral part of training; you have to take time to rest between one workout and another and also respect the minutes of pause between one exercise and another during a workout.
Exercise selection
La selection of the exercises to be performed must correspond to the objectives set; you must be able to carry out the chosen exercises in complete safety.
In general, especially for newbies, it's best to start with multiarticulatory exercises, rather than a lot of isolation exercises.
Varying exercises throughout your workouts is a good stimulus for improving motivation and muscle growth.
Train to exhaustion
Muscle failure has among its pros a better work on the muscle with a high perceived intensity, but it has among its cons a worsening of the recovery of the nervous system, a lower training volume and a lower intensity of load.
Muscle failure works when cycled and only for the most experienced athletes.
What do you think of these tips to maximize muscle growth? Let us know!
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