hypertrophy vs strength

5 Components Every Muscle Building Program Should Have

There is a lot of confusion and a lot different opinions on what is the right way to build muscle, but no matter what workout routine you will decide to use, there are a few areas that you need to focus on if you want to gain size.

1. The right amount of calories

The calories you eat are to your body what building materials are to a house. You need calories to gain size, but the amount of calories you eat every day can be a two sided sword actually. You need to eat enough calories to build muscle, but at the same time if you overeat you’ll gain body fat. You will have to find out the right amount of calories to eat in order to build muscle without great amount of fat.

To achieve this you will need to eat specific amounts of macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates and fats) at specific times. In short you need to eat the biggest amount of carbohydrates and protein after your workout and small portions of protein and fiber throughout the day. research has shown that the number of meal don’t really play a role as long as you hit the required daily calories.

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2. Right breakdown of macro nutrients

Total daily calories are very important for building muscle, but you need to get the right amount of calories from protein, carbs and fats to build muscle without too much body fat. Too little protein and you won’t build muscle, too much carbs and you’ll gain more body fat than you want. A good rule of a thumb is that about 40% of your calories should come from protein, 30% from carbs and 30% from healthy fats.

3. Proper approach to training

Many of the trainees go to the gym and just lift without any structured approach, mostly doing bench presses and biceps curls. In order to reach your full natural potential you need a proper approach to training. In other words you should stick with the big compound exercises that build strength. (squats, deadlifts, bench press, barbell rows, shoulder presses). Believe me, when you build your strength base – the muscle mass will follow.

4. Right number of sets, reps and workout days

Like I said before, concentrating on big compound movements will help you build a physique that will turn heads everywhere you go. One other thing you need to monitor is the number of sets, repetitions and training days. It’s very easy to compare weightlifting with other things in life. More reading will make you a better reader. More work will bring you more money.

More is better, right? WRONG!!! These laws don’t apply to weightlifting. More sets, more reps and 6 days in the gym will quickly lead to overtraining and loss of muscle mass and strength.

5. Supplements

You need to understand that supplements are just what their name says – an addition to your diet. You should get the majority of your calories from whole foods. Using right supplements in your diet can be very beneficial though. A few supplements worth taking are protein (whey and egg protein powders), Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA), Essential Fatty Acids (EFA), creatine and multivitamins.


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