EUGENIZATION.

Let’s discuss the three basic “must-haves” for success in a strength training program.

In order for you to experience muscle gain, three conditions need to be fulfilled:

1. You must perform progressive strength training for the entire body.
“Progressive” means that the demands of the training increase over time. Today, you can lift 10 pounds over your head. Next month, you should be able to lift more (perhaps 20 pounds). Next year, your overhead lifting ability should be outstanding.

“Progressive” = Lift more over time

Why work the entire body, if all I want are bigger arms or smaller thighs? By performing whole-body workouts, you get hormonal benefits. Your body releases greater amounts of growth hormone, a key hormone in cell (read: muscle cell) growth, increasing your total muscle mass. Who would’ve thought that you could make your arms grow larger by doing squats?

Additionally, we’re interested in building fully functional, whole body strength, as well as an aesthetically pleasing, well-proportioned physique. Seeing a bodybuilder with a large, muscular upper body and tiny chicken legs is probably the oldest gym cliche in the book.

2. You must strength train with a sufficient level of effort.
Of course, progression can be achieved through false means. If I lift a 3 pound plastic-coated dumbbell today, and lift a 5 pound one tomorrow, well, that’s technically “progression”, but it won’t get me anywhere because it doesn’t involve sufficient effort. In order to stimulate muscle growth, the weight has to be heavy enough to require significant effort. In other words, it has to make you work hard.

How heavy is heavy enough? How much effort is required? No one really knows what the specific percentages are for sure, but a good rule of thumb is it should feel difficult. If, on a 1-10 scale, 1 is easy as pie and 10 is impossible - couldn’t do it if I held a gun to your head and said “Lift.” - your workouts should require an overall effort of about an 8 (”tough, but not impossible”).

3. You must allow sufficient time for recovery.
Exercise is not what causes physical improvements; it is merely the stimulus for those improvements. What gives you a larger biceps or a smaller waistline is your body’s response to the exercise stimulus. By strength training, you force a specific adaptation to occur; in this case, larger, stronger muscles.

It takes time for your body to make these changes. According to studies, muscle repair appears to take place within a 24-72 hour window (with most authorities naming 48 hours as the window for full recovery), but your mileage might vary. If you’re a 16 year old awash in testosterone and sleeping 10 hours a night, you will recover much faster from a workout than a 57 year old father of three who consistently skips breakfast. Leaving 48 hours between weight training workouts, however, is a good rule of thumb.

It helps to sleep, as well. By getting a full night’s rest, you maximize growth hormone release, which, as we’ve seen, is a good thing for building muscle.

There is a fourth aspect - you must eat in a manner that supports muscle growth - but I’m leaving it out of this discussion as the previous three points have applicability to all fitness goals, whether it’s improved performance, a smaller waistline, or 18.5 inch biceps. If you’re interested in getting muscularly larger but it is a goal that continues to elude you, you can finish up your reading with this post.