Muscle, Part II
How to Build/Maintain Muscle
Consistency
Adequate Stimulus
Nutrient Density
If you work out with me, I have designed a program that will “progressively overload” you. This means you will practice squat, hinge, push, pull, rotate + carrying, and with each of those movement patterns, you will progressively increase your capacity to lift heavier or progress to more advanced movements. We train between 8-12 reps, with medium-heavy loads, to stimulate muscle growth (add muscle fibers) AND to train strength (training the Nervous System to better- recruit the muscle fibers you have).
In order to progress, or develop strength + muscle, in your program, we assume you:
Work those patterns with enough frequency (show up regularly and perform the movements = consistency)
Work within a planned phase that provides adequate, consistent stimulus so progress can be made (effort + readiness = adequate stimulus)
Nourish yourself to support your energy output (basically have energy balance, and in food terms = nutrient density)
When we work a program like this, you will develop more muscle/strength. Any kind of problem with building strength/muscle will probably be as a result of 3 things: Lack of Consistent Effort, Lack of Adequate Stimulus or Readiness to Train and/or Lack of Nutrient Density/Energy Balance.
Consistency + Adequate Stimulus
I always say ‘Consistency is the magic’. This is because it is. You can initiate strength around any habit if you train it enough. Good or bad, remember….
The reason why this is one of the harder habits to harness is because we find some things getting in the way:
Your effort/adequate stimulus just isn’t enough (you’re not showing up consistently to train, you don’t move in other ways with consistency outside the studio, you aren’t consistently ready to train, therefore can’t give consistent, adequate effort or you don’t have consistency around your nutrition/energy balance)
Some other Consistent Habits are getting in the way of your gains (see above…what bad habits might be getting in the way of begin consistent/putting adequate stimulus in your body each time you train?)
Stimulating muscle growth requires us to lift heavy things/do novel things with effort (adequate stimulus). In order to train, you need to be ready. You can’t give consistent effort without being ready to give that effort each time you train. Readiness is your bodymind’s (remember, that’s a combination of your mental, emotional and physical) ability to perform a task. Your readiness is affected by your energy balance at that given moment.
Common causes of low readiness, which affect consistent, adequate effort:
poor sleep/feeling tired
substance use (hangover effect of that)
no food energy/low energy/dehydrated
poor mood/lack of motivation
emotional or mental stress affecting your physical readiness
In order to get the fullest effect of each training session, and therefore progress, you must be ready. This is definitely subjective, and varies per person, though being able to give a solid effort will allow you to progress into lifting heavier/harder loads. This is how strength is built.
Building muscle takes time. The body needs the adequate, consistent stimulus over time to actually start to create an adaptation. To manage your expectations, you’ll need to decide on how quickly you want the change, along with how hard you’re willing to work. If you accounted for everything perfectly — nutrition, adequate stimulus/readiness and consistency — it would take the ‘average’ person about 9-12 months, being active at least 5x per week, to create meaningful change.
Though, ‘average’ is a loose term. Progress gets hard to define if your habits have created an environment of overall weakness, inflammation, chronic pain/stress, emotional or mental loads affecting your self-awareness or if you’re working with some sort of illness that requires medication, etc.. There are SO many factors, which is why using our Pillars can help provide feedback loops that prioritize how we target this stuff in our daily lives.
Nutrient Density
Whew, nutrition is such a big topic. You’ll hear about a million ways you can dial in your nutrition. There are so many messages it’s really hard to keep them straight. Here’s the scoop:
Prioritize protein. It’s the foundation for your muscle gain/sustain AND for your body’s functions.
Muscle will not get built OR it will break down if you don’t consume enough protein. Period. Further, your body needs it for basic strength in its day to day functioning. It will bring you out of brain fog, help you feel ready and it will help the other nutrients do their jobs, too.
Next message:
Fats + Carbohydrates are essential as well. Prioritize them next.
We need them both. But instead of counting them (unless you’re trying to lose weight and are really motivated to drop pounds) try this:
at every meal or snack, combine your macros but prioritize them in a 3:2:1 ratio amount—protein first, then carb next, then fat last
at every major meal, when you combine your macros, make every single morsel of food on your plate WHOLE. No processed food here. Everything on your plate should be recognizable and from nature. Fruits + Veggies are carbs AND micronutrients AND fiber! Eat them A LOT.
Your body will change when you consistently prioritize your nutrition. The denser we make the nutritional value of the food we consume, the more your body thrives. Your gut changes + your internal environment does, too. There is no better investment we can make for our strength gains + long-term health. Own your blindspots here — if you have some room to grow, get clear about where you are blocked and take some aligned actions to unblock. Nutrition is typically the weakest link in our habits. I often see this show up as:
excessive processed treats (desserts being used as punishment/reward, or comfort items. NEWS FLASH: They’re not helping your cause, they’re hurting your comfort, your strength, your health…)
excessive added sugars into the diet with juice/alcohol/coffee dessert drinks/processed foods (See above news-flash)
seeing alcohol or marijuana/edibles as ‘needed’ ways to relax or numb-out (ya’ll—don’t make me write a whole book about this. It’s bad for you and it causes short + long-term metabolic sabotage. 1 drink/edible a month? No problem, maybe, depending on your baseline. 1 drink/edible per week? Now we’re affecting every other good habit you’re trying to build. A couple drinks/edibles per week? Forget about it—you’re spinning your wheels 100% of the time.)
Undereating for our body’s needs. If you don’t get enough Nutrient Density to fuel the body, you can’t possibly fuel muscle gains. This is not about caloric intake, it’s about the nutrient density of your food. Get a handle on this and watch the gains show up across the full spectrum of your health.
The next piece of the puzzle is time. Patience is the biggest part of seeking change. It’s also one of the harder “ways of being” to cultivate. This is why it is part of the focus of Muscle, Part III.
