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We talk a lot about weight loss and a calorie deficit, but people often forget about the importance of a building phase and a calorie surplus.
Firstly, so we are clear, entering into a build phase where we aim to increase calories above maintenance intake, should be done from a level of body fat that the individual is happy with. Why? Because during a build phase, an increase in body fat can occur (which is normal) but could, from a psychological stand point be negative for that person. So making sure you are sitting at a body fat % that you are happy with is highly recommended. For men, this could be between 10-15% and for women between 20-25%.
*Limiting excess fat gain can be managed by ensuring the calorie surplus isn’t too aggressive too soon. This is where having a coach and structured plan comes in handy.
Why would we enter a build phase?
To put it simply: to either get stronger or increase muscle mass, or both.
By increasing our caloric intake slightly above maintenance, we are providing the body with more fuel (energy) than what it needs to maintain that current bodyweight. This added fuel can be utilised to increase training intensity and aid in recovery.
So, here’s my top 4 priorities for gaining muscle
- Calorie Surplus:
A 10-15% calorie surplus can be a great starting point. You can use accessible calorie calculators like the Harris Benedict equation online by typing in calorie calculators to find your ‘estimated’ calorie requirements based off certain information inputted into the calculator.
- Adequate training volume
Between 10-20 sets per muscle group per week. Beginners will find themselves on the lower end of this with more experience trainers finding the higher ends to be more necessary.
- Intensity
You need to work hard when you are training. Both RIR and RPE can be used here.
RPE – Rate of perceived exertion: Essentially, on a scale of 1-10, how difficult the effort or the intensity of the movement is. An example of RPE here may be a 7/10 RPE. In this case, pushing a set to an RPE of 7 should be very challenging but still allow you to have 3-4 reps left in the tank. RPE is hard at first to judge for beginners, but as you progress further into your programming it is easier to judge intensity.
RIR – Reps in Reserve. Again, this is another way to judge intensity and how close in proximity to failure we are. For example, if an exercise had a 2 RIR, that would mean 2 reps in reserve. So you would need to find a weight where you would hit the intended rep range keeping 2 reps left in the tank.
Both RPE and RIR are ways to gauge intensity when training and play an important role in ensuring you train hard enough to stimulate the muscle to grow.
- Recovery
Recover as hard as you train. Give your body the opportunity to reap the rewards of the demands you are putting on it by nailing 8-9 hours of sleep per night, staying on top of your calories and macros and hydrating adequately. Men, 3-L per day especially if you are training. Ladies, 2-3L per day.
To conclude, this is all information that is explained time and time again to people, but the basics really do work. If you focus on prioritising protein intake, getting enough sleep, drinking enough water and training with full range of motion on your movements with good intensity, then you will set yourself up for the most success in putting on lean muscle.
