I really want you guys to think about this for a second. Building muscle can be broken down into a 3 part cycle:
Breakdown – Recover – Grow
We train to breakdown muscle tissue. Heavy resistance training is perfect for this. But we can’t just haphazardly throw weight around and expect to progress forever. We need to have balance in our training. Our sole purpose in a training session is the stimulate the body just enough to require adaptation.
If we don’t push hard enough, no change occurs. If we push too hard, we negatively impact our recovery. Once the muscle has been broken down we need to provide the raw material and the time necessary to RECOVER. The right amount of protein (building blocks of muscle) and a surplus of calories are non-negotiable for building muscle. Without raw material, there is nothing to build. Try building a brick house with no bricks – doesn’t work.
Next, we need time and even more importantly, SLEEP. Your body releases up to 75% of its growth hormone during sleep. You cut sleep short, you cut your gains short. We also want to limit stress and keep cortisol under control.
When these things are complete, NOW we can BUILD MUSCLE.
So how do you build muscle as fast as possible??
You repeat this cycle as fast as possible.