Training is the first piece of the puzzle. Nutrition and recovery matter too, but if you’re not actually working out enough, they won’t build strength or muscle.
Building muscle is like making a pizza. Your protein and diet are the dough, the essential building blocks. But the raw dough needs a very hot oven to bake into a strong structure. Stressing your body with resistance training provides those intense conditions to “bake” your amino acids into new muscle. This can’t be done once for a few minutes — it takes weeks or months of consistent, intense work to get results.
Strength, Hypertrophy or Endurance?
Your ideal program depends on your goals. All exercise provides health benefits, but there’s no “best” or “one size fits all” solution.
Strength is the maximal force you can apply against a load. Is lifting the same weight 12 times a measure of strength? It takes some strength, but you could lift more for just one or two reps. So maximum strength is measured by what you can handle for 1 rep — your “1RM” (1 Rep Max). When training for strength, we focus on lower rep ranges and longer rest. For example, 1-3 reps followed by 3-5 minutes of rest, to let the CNS recover from the stress of maximal loads.
Hypertrophy is the increase in size of a tissue — here, your muscles. It mostly comes down to total volume. Research tells us around 2-4 sets of 8-15 reps with 2 minutes or less rest between sets produces the most hypertrophy. Some research suggests volume and proximity to failure matter more than load. So if strength isn’t your main goal, you can build and maintain mass with relatively low loads, as long as intensity is sufficient.
Endurance is the ability to stay in exertion for a long time. It’s not the primary goal for most people, but it deserves a mention. Endurance work builds little strength, but some hypertrophy. It also raises work capacity and lactate threshold, which benefits overall fitness and, in turn, your heavier lifting. Endurance training uses much lighter loads and reps above 15, up to 25 and beyond.
There’s cross-over between these. Training for strength comes with some muscle, and adding muscle through hypertrophy also boosts strength and endurance. Each uses slightly different energy systems, hence the different protocols.
Energy Systems
Your body powers itself with 3 main systems for different types of activity. All run on a chemical called adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP), which fuels all metabolic activity from breathing to running. Most ATP is made from food via your glycolytic and oxidative systems. A small amount is stored in your muscles for your adenosine triphosphate/creatine phosphate (ATP-CP) system.
For sudden, intense activities — sprinting, jumping, very heavy lifting — your ATP-CP system kicks in. It’s the fastest to respond, but also the shortest-lived. Your muscles store only enough ATP for about 6-10 seconds of max effort. Training the ATP-CP pathway improves strength, speed and power, but you can’t increase your stores. Creatine can help slightly — more on that later.
For lower-intensity training with higher reps, ATP-CP is still the first responder, but after those initial 6-10 seconds your glycolytic system (the lactic acid system) kicks in. This keeps you going for another minute or so.
Glycolysis converts carbohydrates into ATP. Here you start to feel the “burn” from a build-up of hydrogen ions. This is the energy source most people want when exercising — it’s the most effective at both building muscle and burning fat.
For long, steady-state exercise (long bike rides, running, or low-load endurance training) your oxidative system takes over. It’s always working in the background, fuelled mainly by fats and glucose, and is the only system that directly requires oxygen.
Whatever your goals, the three main variables you control are volume, frequency and intensity.
Volume
Volume is defined as The total amount of work performed.
There are three common ways to quantify this:
Volume Load = Sets x Reps x Load
Or…
Number of Repetitions = Sets x Reps
Or…
The total number of sets at a given intensity
The latter is the most useful for strength training — the results are more stable and more easily correlated to progress. Research shows that as the number of sets increases, both strength and hypertrophy increase. In fact, when intensity is equated — lifting to near failure — 3 sets of 6-8 produces similar hypertrophy to 3 sets of 15-20.
How much volume is needed to effectively build muscle?
This is where smart programming is vital. The ideal training volume for building muscle is around 9-18 sets, per muscle, per week.
It’s a wide range because it’s so individual. People are stronger or weaker in different lifts, and the bigger compound lifts tax your CNS far more than isolation work.
But if you’re following a well-designed program with good form — 2-4 sets of 6-20 reps, brought within 1-3 reps of failure — the bottom end of the range (9-10 sets) is usually enough to grow muscle.
Doing the least amount of work needed to stimulate growth is where most people want to be, most of the time.
Frequency
How often should you actually workout?
Frequency comes down to choice, schedule and goals. 3 well-programmed workouts a week, around 45-60 minutes each, is a good starting point. More is fine if you prefer. If your goal is maximal strength over hypertrophy, even less can work, given the high CNS stress. The more useful question is:
How often should you train each muscle group?
Most research suggests that for maximal muscle growth (hypertrophy), each muscle group should be trained at least twice a week.
Training 3 times a week, you could do 3 full-body workouts, hitting every muscle group at least once each session.
Or 1 upper, 1 lower and 1 full-body workout — more time to focus on specific areas, with similar frequency per body part.
Training 4 times a week, 2 upper and 2 lower workouts do the trick.
5 times a week may be push, pull, lower, upper, lower.
And 6 times could be push, pull, legs, push, pull legs...
Once you hit 5 or more workouts a week, vary the intensity too — say 2-3 strength-focused and 2-3 endurance and hypertrophy sessions.
Whatever “split” you choose, what matters most is that the frequency suits you and your schedule.
The best program in the world is the one you can stick to.
Intensity
Intensity, in strength training, usually refers to the amount of load placed on the body.
The most popular way to quantify it is the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale, an ascending scale that correlates to how hard you feel you’re working. The version used today is an updated Borg RPE scale — where Borg ran 6-20, the updated scale runs 1-10.
For max strength, RPE 9-10 is where you want to be — 1-3 reps, max effort, long rests.
For hypertrophy, 7-9 is a good range. Not quite failure, leaving room for higher volume and growth, but still producing enough stress to stimulate the response you want.
The RPE scale describes how hard we’re working, but how do we ensure intensity stays correct — at an optimal level as we get stronger and fitter through the program?
The Principle of Progressive Overload
Progressive Overload means continually and gradually increasing the demands on the musculoskeletal system over time.
It ensures your loads and intensity generate enough stress to keep producing a response. Keep doing the same thing and your body adapts — you stay the same. So every workout, or every week, slowly increase intensity via reps, sets, load, tempo, and the other variables below.
The most effective variables are usually sets, reps and load. To optimize progression we suggest a system of auto-regulation known as Reps in Reserve (RIR).
Reps in Reserve (RIR)
RIR is how many reps you stop short of technical or muscular failure. Going to complete failure correlates with maximal growth, but it’s also the most fatiguing, so we don’t usually want to go that far. Stopping before failure accumulates less fatigue and leaves room for progressive overload, letting you incrementally raise the demands of your workouts over time.
Research shows the optimal reps for growth are around 0-3 from failure, so start your RIR cycles pushing to about 3 reps from failure (3 RIR). The next week aim for 2 RIR, then 1 RIR, then 0 RIR, then an optional deload before starting again.
A sample Reps In Reserve Model
Week 1 — 3 Reps in Reserve
Week 2 — 2 Reps in Reserve (More reps than last week, or More weight with same reps)
Week 3 — 1 Reps in Reserve (More reps than last week, or More weight with same reps)
Week 4 — 0 Reps in Reserve (More reps than last week, or More weight with same reps)
Week 5 — Optional 0 RIR again or Deload
The focus is always on beating the reps you did last time at the same weight, or matching the reps with more weight — all while staying roughly to the designated RIR.
Deloads
A deload week is a week where you significantly decrease your workload, letting your body fully recover from previous weeks so you come back stronger. Training stresses your muscles and temporarily decreases aspects of fitness like strength. Rest days and deload weeks give those adaptations time to occur, through a process known as supercompensation.
Keep the same exercises but adjust the loads or volume. For example, in a deload week you could:
- Reduce weight by 50-60%, keeping rep ranges roughly normal
- Keep the same weight but cut volume by up to 50%
So if a normal week is Bicep Curls at 3 x 10 / 15 kgs, your deload might be 3 x 5 / 12 kgs OR 3 x 10 / 7.5 kgs.
Pull back the intensity, enjoy the “time off,” and know you’re staying fresh and strong for the following week.
Periodization
Periodization systemizes the stages of your program to reach goals optimally, maintaining performance while avoiding plateaus.
It’s not as important early on, where progressive overload and RIR suffice for a while. But eventually the gains don’t come as thick and fast. That’s not a reason to give up — it’s a reason to get smarter with your programming.
There are three phases to periodization:
Macrocycles
The big picture, usually a whole year or 52 weeks. A bird’s-eye view of your entire program and every phase within it. Especially useful for competitive athletes — you can see the whole journey from day one to game day.
Mesocycles
The blocks or phases that make up the macrocycle. For example, a 6-week strength mesocycle followed by a 6-week hypertrophy mesocycle, then perhaps an endurance, speed or power phase. Strength and hypertrophy are the most relevant to building muscle, combined with the right diet and recovery.
Microcycles
Microcycles are usually a week long and hone in on a specific type of training. They’re less useful for strength work, as they focus on high-intensity consecutive workouts followed by intense recovery to boost lactate threshold and aerobic capacity.
Periodization is more for advanced or advanced-intermediate trainees and competitive athletes. But once you keep hitting plateaus and deloads and progressive overload stop working as well, it’s time to train smarter.
If you get to this stage and need guidance, let us know — Gyroscope Max gives you a human coach who’s happy to help.
Optimizing the Variables
Now that we’ve covered the main principles, let’s look at how to squeeze the most gains out of your training. To get the most from every workout, ask yourself:
How can I get the best muscle fiber recruitment while achieving high tension within those fibers?
Tension
Increasing and optimizing tension requires maintaining good technique, while achieving a high level of effort and proximity to failure. There are three main ways to maximize this...
1) Maintaining Proper Posture
Proper posture ensures the exercise stimulates the intended muscles — keeping your back straight and heels planted in a squat, or not letting your back round in a deadlift. It also reduces injury risk.
Your first and last rep should look the same.
Don’t ruin your form to squeeze out a few more reps. Those reps aren’t as stimulating if you’re sacrificing posture, joint alignment, range of motion or tempo.
2) Range of Motion (ROM)
Range of Motion is the full movement potential of a joint — its flexion and extension. It varies from person to person, but work within your full and controllable ROM: the range where you can still initiate and control a force like a press, pull, hold or squat.
Avoid “half reps” and incomplete ROMs, unless a mobility restriction prevents you from working safely beyond a point — for example, limited ankle mobility preventing a deep squat.
Optimizing ROM recruits the most muscle fibers across the whole muscle. Look for that “stretch” in the targeted muscle at the bottom of the lift and a strong squeeze at the top.
Control and Tempo
Don’t use momentum to “swing” or “pull” a weight up.
The correct weight is one that challenges you but lets you complete all prescribed sets and reps with good form, while leaving some reps in the tank (RIR).
Use tempo by slowly lowering the weight. If you’re not controlling the eccentric (lowering phase) or you’re using momentum on the concentric (way up), you’re losing tension — the primary stimulator for muscle growth.
Recruitment
Recruitment is about activating more motor units to increase a muscle’s contractile strength.
Or, more simply: working your hardest, or close to it.
3) Increase Intensity with Progressive Overload
Ways to increase intensity for your next workout include:
- Add reps
- Add weight
- Add sets
- Decrease rest periods
- More time under tension (tempo)
Mind-Muscle Connection
The connection between your muscles and brain is more than “bro science.” Focus on squeezing at the top of a movement and really think about the muscles working. For example:
Pull-ups. As you pull, focus on your latissimus dorsi (upper back) pulling you up with help from your biceps. At the top, squeeze and pull your shoulder blades back and down for extra lat recruitment. As you lower, feel the tension move across your biceps as they lengthen.
If you’re successful, you’ll feel it in those muscles (tension, heat/burn, “pump”).
Proximity to Failure
Not working close enough to failure won’t produce enough stress for growth. Working to absolute failure has an occasional place, but it’s highly stressful, unnecessary, and shouldn’t be done too often.
For the most part, working within 1-3 RIR before muscular or technical failure (whichever comes first) produces the most effective reps.
Rest and Recovery
You don’t get bigger and stronger in the gym.
Without rest, your muscles, tendons and ligaments can’t repair, grow and strengthen. That leaves huge gains on the table, causes plateaus, and increases injury risk.
Don’t overthink it: when you’re resting, you’re building; when you’re training, you’re stressing. Leave at least 48-72 hours before targeting the same muscle group again — sometimes more is even better. Don’t be scared to rest. It makes all the difference.
Sleep is hugely influential on your results. Optimizing both quality and quantity goes a long way toward bigger, better, more sustainable progress.
Quantifying Progress
Tracking progress matters — you won’t be motivated every day, and on bad days, without data to keep you honest, it’s easy to convince yourself nothing is working.
Relying on the scale alone is risky: daily fluctuations (mostly water and food) can swing 5-6 pounds either way. Misread, that’s demotivating. The scale is useful, but it’s just one of many tools.
So how should you track progress?
Progress photos
Photos are highly recommended. Sometimes you’ll look in the mirror convinced nothing has changed when it actually has. Significant adaptations take 4-6 weeks, so take photos every 4 weeks.
- Make sure lighting is good and can be replicated each time
- Make sure you wear minimal clothing
- Take one from the front, back and side
- Stand in a relaxed stance for the above three, but you can take some extra “flexing” pics too if you like
Body measurements
Measurements are another metric that can be accurate. If you’re trying to pack on size, measurements are very useful to know. Every 2-4 weeks is a good rule of thumb, with the following being good areas to keep an eye on.
- Upper arms
- Chest
- Waist (around navel height)
- Hips
- Thighs
- Calves
Find the widest point of all areas and take a few times to make sure it’s as accurate as possible. No flexing!
Strength tests and exercise videos
Choose movements or lifts you want to progress, take videos, record form, max reps, max weight, and check in every 2-4 weeks. Push-ups, pull-ups, deadlifts, squats, plank holds are all good ideas, but think about what matters to you for your athletic goals.
Weigh yourself every day, or just every 2-4 weeks
You weight will fluctuate significantly every day, but in the short term it’s rarely from bodyfat or muscle. When you consume carbs or sodium rich foods, your body holds onto water, about 4 grams of water for every gram of carbohydrates. This can add up, but it’s nothing to worry about.
Exercise, sleep, stress, menstrual cycles and the literal weight of the food and drink you consume will cause some natural fluctuations on the scale.
Weighing yourself every day but looking only at the weekly 7 day average in your weekly report is the best way to follow your progress in gaining or losing weight.
Do it at the same time every day, preferably in the morning, wearing as little as possible, post-bathroom and pre-food or drink. At the end of the week, calculate the average and compare weeks to weeks and months to months.
If you’re bulking (building muscle), an increase of around 0.25-0.5% of your body weight each week is a good target to aim for. If you’re cutting (losing fat), 0.5-1lb of weight loss based on your weekly averages is a good place to be. More than that is possible, but be aware that the faster you go, the harder it will be to sustain and the more likely you are to lose some muscle in the process. More on bulking and cutting in the next chapter...
Put your metrics into Gyroscope
Gyroscope tracks all of your important biometrics, so be sure you have all devices working in sync and everything is up to date before you begin! This will be useful for knowing not only your physical measurements like weight, bodyfat and muscle, but all the other aspects of your health like VO2Max, resting heart rate, HRV, blood pressure, glucose levels, ketone levels, and more.
Summary
It’s vital that you focus on optimizing the basics above everything else. Regardless of what protocol and periodized plans you follow, a good training plan will always be based on the optimization and repetition of the same fundamentals.
- Choose your program and ensure you can keep up with the frequency
- Make sure the volume and frequency is adequate for your goals
- Maintain intensity by using RIR to apply progressive overload
- Recover by way of rest days and deload weeks
- Optimize tension and recruitment of muscles
- Repeat for as long as it works, then consider periodization to keep making progress
Once you start training and are adequately stressing your muscles, nutrition is essential to provide your body with all the buliding blocks to create new muscles. In the next chapter, we will look at how to optimize your nutrition for getting the most results from your training.