Making a bold change and joining the gym is one of the most positive lifestyle choices you can make, but when progress is slow or starts to plateau, people are often blamed. Poor genetics for lack of muscle growth. Fortunately, trainers like McKenna Henry, who was a competitive bodybuilder and knows a thing or three about packing on lean mass, explains that there’s more to muscle than just a gym membership.
Taking to Instagram, Henry laid out some important points to cover in order to smash your muscle building goals. M&F breaks it all down here, so whether you’re a complete novice, or just need a little nudge in the right direction, there’s a way to build a bigger audience.
Tip #1: Lift with intention
Well, you bought a gym membership and you can even make regular visits, but if the muscles still aren’t growing, you need to take stock of what you’re actually doing while you’re there. “Just because you lift doesn’t mean you build,” Henry told his 80,000-plus IG followers in a heartfelt but honest post. “There is a difference between lifting weights and lifting with intention, over time, focus on range of motion and muscle contractions. Anyone can lift weights, but to build it you have to lift with intention.”
To unlock Henry’s advice, start by focusing on form and activating the target muscles for each exercise. From there, aim for 8 to 12 reps per set and find a weight that will bring you close to failure when you attempt the final rep. Then, as your body gets used to the weight and it feels easier, increase the load to keep failure within reach. This is a type of progressive overload that signals your body to get stronger and if you want to really increase hypertrophy, do about 3 sets with each exercise and add more fatigue to the muscles.
Tip Two: Muscle burns more calories than fat
Muscle needs fuel to grow, so trying to build lean mass without addressing your nutrition will put you on a fast track to muscle breakdown. “Nutrition is important for building muscle because muscle is more metabolically active, meaning it requires more calories than fat to maintain it,” he explained. Henry, who competed in the bikini division. “If you’re training but not fueling properly, it’s going to be hard to build. That means getting enough calories, as well as protein + carbs, because those are the building blocks of muscle.”
Henry explains that proper fueling is not only about eating before a workout, but also making sure there is enough left in the tank for recovery, as the recovery phase is where muscle is actively being built.
Tip Three: Recovery is key
Speaking of recovery, this is often the most neglected and most important aspect of gaining benefits. Sure, getting to bed on time is more fun than pumping iron, but dialing in your recovery can lead to a surprising boost. “This is where muscle tissue is regenerated (during the deepest stages of our sleep cycle),” the coach explained. “You can train all you want, but if the recovery part isn’t there (and I’m not saying you need a perfect night’s sleep), you’re not going to see muscle growth.”
To follow McKenna Olsen on Instagram, Click here.
