When it comes to Building Muscle and Getting Stronger, there’s a ton of information out there, which, ironically, makes it harder to understand. It can be nearly impossible to find one easy to understand source that can clearly explain all the key points from start to finish.
Monthly Applications in Strength Sport (MASS) by Greg Nuckols, Eric Trexler, Eric Helms, and Mike Zourdos comes close but you’d have to dedicate weeks to reading and then deciphering all the information in order to design a training plan that works.
What follows is a brief summary of the most important parts to Building Muscle and Getting Stronger.
1. Lift weights with good form.
2. Train mostly (not only) in the 6 – 12 Rep range.
3. Train Hard: All sets after warm up (RIR 1 – 3) also known as (RPE 7 – 9)
4. Use ample, but no too much, rest between sets.
5. Use mostly (not only) compound movements.
6. Use enough volume for muscle hypertrophy and strength gain.
7. Incorporate Mesocycles into your training.
8. Use Progressive Overload in your Mesocycles.
9. Eat enough Protein and Fat.
10. Eat a caloric surplus to gain Muscle Size.
11. Eat a caloric deficit to Lose Fat.
12. Be consistent with the above.
The above is obviously oversimplified with lots of details missing.
Nevertheless, you don’t really have to know all the details because we’ve simplified it all for you.