Have you achieved the muscle definition you wanted?

How long have you been training? Are you getting the results you want? Or, if you get results, are they commensurate with the effort and time you invest in your training? Have you achieved the muscle definition you wanted?

If you're reading this article, you may have answered no to most of these questions or wondered whether you can achieve better results.

The popular belief related to resistance training generally involves several repetitions per set, using the heaviest load possible. Unfortunately, this limited approach to resistance training dates back to the 70s and has yet to evolve. Of course, a few variations on the subject are often proposed, but it's generally more of the same. You're led back to the same beliefs.

So you train this way because others train this way. And, even if you don't get the desired results, you keep using the same training strategy repeatedly because that's what everyone says you should do.

So, to get better results, you change the number of sets and your loads, vary the exercises, and increase the number of workouts. And you think you're doing the right thing. But in doing so, you're being one-dimensional. In other words, you're exploiting only one variable in muscle development: training.

You're ignoring that training is the mechanical stimulus that tells your body to adapt. To adapt, it must synthesize more muscle protein. But this happens if the mechanical stimulation is well-dosed, and other variables such as diet, recovery, sleep, and energy reserves allow your body to synthesize more protein than it breaks down.

So, when you're one-dimensional in your training, you invest time and effort that produces little results. That is a pretty ugly conclusion. Unfortunately, that's the harsh reality that strikes many people.

So my question to you. Why continue to cherish a training strategy that's not paying off? Just because
everyone believes it doesn't mean it's effective. If you want results, you need to start training differently now.

What modern science teaches us

Today, things are very different. The science of muscle development took off only two decades ago.

I remember the excitement of the first symposium on muscle hypertrophy I attended at a scientific congress of the American College of Sports Medicine. It was fascinating to discover how little we knew about the subject before.

But in the space of twenty years, everything has changed. Scientific knowledge of muscle physiology has evolved considerably.

This article isn't about becoming a bodybuilder or the strongest person in the world. It's about producing the proper muscle adaptation to reach our goal.

Training for best results, you need to:
1.    Acquire a basic knowledge of muscular physiology. The aim is to understand how and why a muscle gains volume and efficiency.
2.    Learn how to exploit each training parameter as effectively as possible: volume, load, repetition, intensity, frequency, rest, progress measurement, nutrition, and goal setting.
3.    Adopt a mental attitude that will increase the effectiveness of every training session.
4.    Follow a training plan encompassing all the variables influencing muscle development: diet, recovery, sleep quality, and hydration.

So, as you're beginning to understand, more than training is needed.

To get it right, let's find out what our muscles are for and what they're made of.

What a muscle does

Muscles produce mechanical work. This work is expressed in the movement of the body or an object.
Muscle fibers shorten, or if you prefer, contract to generate sufficient force to move our body (e.g., walk, lift an arm, lift a leg, run, bend, jump) or move a load (e.g., a pencil, a grocery bag, weights, a ball, etc.).

Mechanical demand refers to the force our muscles must generate to move our body or a load.

Mechanical demand is the stimulus that tells our body to adapt to respond as effectively as possible, should it occur regularly.

Training is, therefore, a repeated mechanical demand, and this repetition causes our musculature to adapt (transform) to respond as effectively as possible, meaning our muscle fibers have transformed.

Imagine John, a sedentary person who sits or lies down for 20 hours daily. He experiences almost no mechanical demands throughout the day. If this is the case day after day, his muscle mass will diminish considerably over the years.

Then, if I ask John to do arm curls with a 25-pound load, he won't be able to do a single repetition.

Now, John has begun a training program. At first, he performs arm curls with a light load of five pounds. This mechanical demand will set off a cascade of events at the muscle level (explained later) that will cause the muscle to transform.

After a while, doing repetitions with a five-pound load will become easy. To progress, John will have to increase the load to seven pounds. The same phenomenon will repeat: increased mechanical demand, muscle adaptation, and efficiency.

In this way, he increases the load until a plateau is reached. There will come a time when trying to train with a heavier load will raise the risk of injury. Yes, everyone has their limits. A maximum efficiency beyond which the muscle can no longer adapt.

Genetics also plays a role in muscle adaptation and training. People respond to a program in different ways. Take ten people, and you'll see that two reacted wonderfully, seven had good results, and one showed no muscular change.

So don't compare yourself to anyone else. Train yourself and let your body do its job (adapt to the extent of its capabilities).

Types of muscle fibers

The predominant muscle fibers are classified into type I, IIa, and IIx.

Each fiber has different characteristics while contracting to produce mechanical work (moving the body or an object). Type 1 fibers enable endurance work (with light load), Type IIa fibers can work with endurance and resistance (light to moderate load), and Type IIx fibers are the strongest (heavier load).

But once again, for light, moderate, and heavy loads, it's essential to understand that the intensity of the load is relative to each person's muscular capacity.

Type IIa and IIx fibers are the ones we need to target in resistance training, as they increase in volume the most.

The messengers that stimulate muscle development

It's essential to understand that our body eliminates proteins (catabolism). The development of muscle mass implies the presence of more significant protein accumulation (anabolism).

Training provides the necessary basis for this protein accumulation to occur. It's the mechanism that triggers a cascade of spectacular events. Training tells the muscles that they must adapt and adjust, and many hormones (chemical messengers inside the body) are activated to transmit the right message.

When well done, training activates the production of these hormones, contributing to muscle mass gain. A single workout increases production, but the muscle needs recurrent training to adapt. It's also important to remember that these mechanisms of action are complex.

How to build muscle effectively

Contrary to popular belief, lifting heavy loads as often as possible is not the most effective training strategy.

Mechanical loading

Resistance training is all about moving loads (e.g., weights). In more rhetorical terms, this is called mechanical loading.

So, if a muscle moves a load, mechanical stimulation occurs. This stimulation, in turn, activates the cascade of events that lead to the accumulation of muscle proteins.
As a result, trained muscles gain in volume.

Applying a mechanical load to a muscle is an effective way to stimulate protein accumulation.

I may have forgotten to mention it, but muscle protein accumulation leads to muscle volume gain. And when fat loss is added to this phenomenon, better muscle definition is achieved. The result is a balanced body that's more muscular, leaner, and more defined in appearance. I'm not talking about bodybuilding here at the risk of repeating myself.

Applying this mechanical load in training is the most influential variable in muscle development.

Resistance training aims to provide the right level of mechanical stimulation. Proper training volume and intensity are necessary to get positive results.

Metabolic stress

Although mechanical load remains the main factor in muscular adaptation, metabolic stress also plays an important role.

Metabolic stress is the accumulation of metabolites (intermediate compounds) produced during training. We're talking here about, but not too long to avoid, over-scientific terms: inorganic phosphate, lactate, and H+ ions. These are the main ones, but several thousand have been identified. Other metabolites than the three I've named may also affect muscle development. But let's limit ourselves to these three.

Metabolic stress is optimal when training involves the anaerobic glycolysis pathway. Thus, exercise intensity is high enough (but not maximal) to induce the use of glucose [carbohydrates for simplicity's sake] under anaerobic conditions [in the absence of oxygen].

Damage to muscle fibers

Training-induced damage to muscle fibers is also part of metabolic stress. You've probably heard that muscle fibers must be "ripped" to promote muscle development. There's an untruth to this notion.

There's a gradation scale for muscle fiber damage. If you "go wild" during training and are sore for three or four days afterward, you have caused severe damage that will prevent the muscle fibers from adapting.

"Smart" training will also cause damage to muscle fibers. However, the damage will be slight and will favor muscle adaptation.

In short, destroying your muscles is not a good training strategy. There's always a balance to be maintained.

Other variables

As I've already pointed out, other variables play a significant role in muscle development: diet, recovery, sleep, and stress.

If you don't consume enough calories, protein, fat, and carbohydrates, your body will never have the energy it needs to adapt (accumulate protein at the muscle level).

If you don't allow sufficient recovery time between workouts, your body won't be able to rebuild its energy reserves, repair damaged muscle fibers, or adapt.

If you don't get enough sleep and the quality of your sleep is poor, your body won't adapt.

If stress is eating you up from the inside out, your body won't adapt.

Conclusion

You must examine all the variables promoting muscle development if you want results.

Forget any one of them, and you'll train many hours for far fewer results than expected.