If you managed to dilute some truth serum into your gym’s water fountain, you may be surprised at the members who use anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs. Not so much the sheer number of people, but the individuals themselves. Every now and then you’ll have the guy who’s totally unhinged and will tell you everything he’s taking even if you didn’t ask. At that moment I have to bite my tongue because in many cases they don’t exactly look like a prime Adrian Peterson. In fact they look quite… average.

They look like they work out, no doubt, but there’s nothing overly impressive about their physique. I couldn’t care less if someone is on gear, but if you’re going to take that leap don’t you want to have your training and diet aligned first? Wouldn’t you want to exhaust every resource and reach your complete natural potential before you use that ace in the hole?

The purpose of this article is to do just that; maximize every resource associated with training, diet, recovery, and supplementation to build as much muscle as you possibly can without excess body fat. Whether you’re enhanced or natural, you may be reading this because you’ve hit a plateau. The tips in this article can be implemented immediately no matter what stage of exercise you are in.

Protein Choices

Protein is protein. Well, not exactly. The popularity of flexible dieting and “if it fits your macros” has led us to believe that all you have to do is hit your protein macros every day and then you’re set. When you view protein intake as simply a target then you lose appreciation for the quality and diversity needed to optimize your diet for muscle growth.

The first step is to choose a complete protein. A food containing all of the nine essential amino acids is considered a complete protein. Unless you are a vegan or vegetarian, this is typically not an issue. Chicken, beef, turkey, fish, eggs, and whey protein are all complete proteins and all commonly found in a typical athlete/bodybuilding diet.

The second step is ensuring you have diversity in your protein sources. You may ask ‘if I’m consuming complete proteins with all the essential amino acids, why does is matter where I get it from?’ While these foods do in fact contain all the essential amino acids, they contain them in different amounts. For example, eggs have a higher ratio of Valine while beef has a higher ratio of Lysine.

To build new muscle you need to stimulate protein synthesis. This is achieved by consuming sufficient amounts of the amino acid Leucine (usually about 3 grams per meal). While Leucine is the switch which activates protein synthesis, you still need the raw materials to build new muscle. This is why it’s critical to consume adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids and not just Leucine on its own.

Try to diversify your protein intake by eating at least three different protein sources per day. Don’t just shovel in chicken because it’s easy and cheap. Even if you’re on a budget you can still mix up your protein with great foods like whole eggs, tuna and Greek yogurt.

Increase Training Volume

The number one variable with training when it comes to muscle growth is volume. The standard method of calculating volume is sets x reps x weight. But I never liked this method because I feel you could game the system by using light weight for high reps. A set of 10lb curls for 20 reps and a set of 100lb curls for 2 reps would yield the same volume, but it’s pretty evident the 100lb curls would be much more challenging despite the lower reps. This method of calculating volume does not take intensity into account.

For this reason I prefer using the total number of working sets in your workout as a measure of training volume. A working set is basically anything that isn’t a warm up set. While it certainly requires a level of honesty in terms of effort and intensity with each set, it is still considered a good measure of volume despite its simplicity. All you would have to do is calculate how many working sets you’re performing now and increase it. A modest increase of 10% (i.e. 20 working sets to 22 working sets) should work nicely under the assumption that every set is challenging.

Some experts suggest that increasing workout frequency is the best way of increasing training volume (and may also have benefits independent of volume). I’ve actually found the opposite to be true. Speaking on behalf of myself and some of my more advanced clients, I’ve actually found that I actually produce less volume with more frequent training. In my experience, I’ve had more success with muscle growth when utilizing a “bro split” (i.e. chest day, arm day, leg day, etc.)

Let’s take chest as an example. On a typical chest day, I can probably bang out 6-7 exercises totaling 20-25 working sets. I would do this once a week like a typical bro split entails. When I increased my training frequency to three full body workouts per week, I actually had a hard time matching that 20-25 working set total DESPITE having three workouts to do so. I was so focused on making sure I hit every muscle group in the full body routine that my total volume for each muscle decreased in the long run. In reality, I was probably only doing 15-20 working sets per muscle over the course of the week. In addition, I believe there is a benefit to having maximal blood flow to one muscle, which you cannot attain on a full body workout since you’re constantly contracting different parts of the body.

Optimize Nutrition Timing

Nutrition timing matters. It does.

That deserved its own line because it’s that important. We’ve gone off the rails with the discovery of how long the anabolic window really is and now believe that we can train fasted in the morning and put off eating until dinner. No! Your training is the stimulus for muscle growth. You can’t put on muscle without hard training no matter how much protein you shovel in.

As a result, it’s important to optimize your nutrition around the time of your workout to get the most out of each training session. Want to build maximum amounts of muscle? You can’t train fasted. You just can’t. If you can’t eat before training you have to supplement with essential amino acids at the very least (more on supplementation later).

Ideally you want a balanced meal 60-90 minutes before your workout, depending on your digestion. You want to go into your workout satisfied, but not full and bloated. From a macronutrient perspective, you want a balanced meal of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. This will provide all of the nutrients to fuel your workout, and the fats in particular will slow digestion enough to make sure you get sustained nutrient release into the blood while also mitigating the risk of going hypoglycemic. An example of a good pre-workout meal would be oats mixed with almond butter and a scoop of protein powder. Again, digestion is a crucial component of meal planning so choose foods accordingly.

Post workout you want something that will digest more quickly to jump start recovery and muscle growth, typically a mix of protein and carbohydrates. This is one situation where you want to limit fats and fiber. An example of a typical post workout meal would be chicken and rice. If you can digest whey, many people have a protein shake post workout for the speedy digestion rate and convenience.

Sometimes people focus so much on what they should do that they ignore what they shouldn’t. Working out is a stress; a good stress but a stress nonetheless. This stress causes inflammation which our body will adapt to over time. This is basically the grounds for building muscle: create a stress through working out and then recover/adapt through proper nutrition. Inflammation is a natural and necessary component of muscle growth. If you impair that, you hamper growth. Therefore, you should avoid anti-inflammatory things like fish oil, turmeric, Tylenol, etc. post workout as it would impair this inflammation→growth process. Save those things for different parts of the day.

Supplementation

Supplementing with the right products can probably provide a 5-10% advantage in performance, recovery, and muscle growth when compared to baseline. Most people would look at that figure unimpressed, but I think it’s just the opposite. If I’ve optimized my training and nutrition, and can STILL get an advantage through supplementation, why wouldn’t I do it?

The problem is that most people gravitate towards $70 testosterone boosters and ridiculous products promising muscle growth without legitimate research behind it. The funny thing is that the best, most efficacious, highly researched products aren’t really that expensive. It’s as if we’re looking for a secret when the answer is right in front of us.

Creatine

Creatine is easily the most researched supplement on the planet. In the body, it is actually an energy source similar to the way we use carbohydrates and fats for energy. Creatine is particularly good at fueling high intensity activities, which is why there’s so much research showing its ability to improve strength, power, and workout performance. Better workouts mean better muscle gain.

One misconception about creatine is that it causes water retention. Creatine increases water inside skeletal muscle itself, which is what you want. This means the muscle is both larger in volume and hydrated. If you have subcutaneous (under the skin) water retention, you’re either taking way too much or your diet is off.

Some people load creatine (i.e. taking upwards of 25g per day for 5 days) to saturate their muscles more quickly. I’ve never been a fan of this technique as I feel it causes too much stomach cramping and discomfort, even when hydrating properly. I prefer dosing it at 3-5g per day depending on your size. There is no evidence at the moment that suggests you ever have to cycle off of creatine. There is also no evidence that suggests any form is better than regular creatine monohydrate.

Essential Amino Acids

Earlier we discussed the importance of protein diversity and getting adequate amounts of all nine essential amino acids. Branched Chain Amino Acid (BCAA) supplements gained steam many years back, but they only provide three amino acids: Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine. Leucine is critical for protein synthesis, but without the other amino acids, it only solves half the problem. This is why supplementing with an Essential Amino Acid (EAA) complex as opposed to just a Branched Chain Amino Acid complex is a more effective strategy for muscle growth. With the popularity of BCAA supplements, it can actually be difficult to find a full spectrum EAA supplement but here is one I’ve used in the past and enjoy.

Whey Protein

If you follow the standard of one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, you may find that it can be tough to get enough protein day by day without supplementation. While whey protein isn’t inherently superior to other proteins, it’s still one of the highest quality sources you can consume (provided you digest it properly). It’s also incredibly convenient. Nowadays protein powders mix up very well and taste great.

Is there a difference in quality between a form like whey protein isolate vs. whey protein concentrate? Honestly, there probably is. But in my opinion the difference in price is not relative to the difference in quality. If you can get an inexpensive whey protein concentrate from a reputable source, then do it. If you want to break the bank for something higher quality, then I have no problem with that as well. I just don’t want people thinking that they have to shell out $60 for 2lbs of protein.

Recovery

Let’s talk about sleep. You know that thing you used to get, then you started working, and now just accept only getting 5-6 hours a night? When you sleep you grow, it’s not just a cliché. If you’re not getting enough sleep and more importantly enough deep sleep, you won’t be able to maximize muscle growth.

If you have trouble getting to sleep, here are a few tips to help improve sleep quality:

Caffeine has a half life of about six hours. Even if you don’t “feel” the effects of caffeine after a few hours, it’s still in your system. Try to end all caffeine consumption by 2pm each day.
Carbohydrates increase serotonin, a chemical in the brain which promotes relaxation. Shifting your carbohydrates to later in the day may help you fall asleep. This doesn’t mean increasing your carb intake, it means eating more at night as opposed to other times of the day.
Electronics like phones and computers emit something called blue light, which can inhibit the production of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone in the brain which regulates the sleep/wake cycle. There is a free program called f.lux that you can install which will automatically limit the blue light on your computer screen as it gets later in the day. You’ll notice your screen begin to take on an orange hue when it turns on. There is also a setting on the iPhone (under settings/display & brightness) called night shift which will do the same thing.

You’ve probably seen melatonin supplements online or in stores. Melatonin supplements are completely safe and actually don’t mess with your body’s own production of the hormone even when you take it over a long period of time. From my experience, supplementing with melatonin is completely hit or miss with people. For some people it works, while others it doesn’t do a thing. Personally, I feel it does help me fall asleep, but it’s 50/50 whether I wake up refreshed or completely groggy.

Lose Body Fat

What’s the easiest way to gain ten pounds of muscle? Lose ten pounds of fat. While this isn’t technically a muscle building technique, most people reading this are working out for aesthetic purposes. Maybe you’ve tapped into your natural muscular potential but just need to shed some fat to show it off. Yes, losing fat and building muscle are two completely different processes. But from an appearance standpoint, losing excess body fat often gives the “illusion” of muscle gain.

Take a Few Days Off

Working out can be monotonous. Over time you get into a routine and find what works best for you. Typically it’s the same exercises, same gym, same people around you, etc. You lose the vigor and excitement you had when you first started seeing results. Don’t take it as an insult; it’s human nature. Think about your first day at a new job when you wanted to impress vs. five years later when you’re in a secure position.

Think about a time you were sick or injured and couldn’t lift. Once you were healthy again you gained a new appreciation for the gym again. If you’re struggling with motivation, take 3-5 days off and see if it reignites the passion you once had for working out.