How to Choose the BEST Exercise for Muscle Growth
You’ve probably seen tons of videos or blog posts on the Internet entitled “The best arms exercise!” or “The only glute exercise you’ll ever need!” And I’m sure other videos titles like “You should never do this exercise” have caught your attention before, especially if it has more than a million views. I’m guessing you’ve watched them and took their advice as golden. I do use such headliners myself on my YouTube page, but that’s all for marketing and click bait purposes. The truth is, there is no such thing as a best or worst exercise for muscle growth. There might be a grain of truth in that, but it is mostly BS - the best exercise for arms or glutes does not exist! Does that mean that the fitness influencers are wrong?
In this article (adapted from concepts by Dr. Mike), I will be giving a checklist to assess if an exercise is not good for you or not. Then you can judge for yourself if these fitness influencers are wrong. Let’s dive in.
4 Must-Dos to Ensure Optimal Muscle Growth
Everyone wants to build muscle as fast as possible. In fact, one of the top reasons why people come to me for Personal Training is to build muscle. However, the truth is that muscle-building is a long, slow and often frustrating process. As a result, it may be hard to tell if you’re actually effectively building muscle or not. And the added fact that progress will slow down as you gain more experience, is not helping.
But roughly how fast can you realistically build muscle? A study at McMaster University found that the average male beginner training 4 times a week can gain about 3kg of muscle in 10-12 weeks. That means about 1kg of muscle per month while training in optimal conditions. In this other study, it was found that with good nutrition and consistent training, 0.9kg of muscle growth per month is possible for beginners. While it may seem little, over time, the results can be significant. With 12 months of consistent training, you’ll be able to gain up to 10kg of muscle mass! But as you progress, the rate of muscle gain will slow down. At the intermediate stage, researcher Alan Aragon estimate the rate of muscle growth for a 70kg male is about 0.4-0.8kg per month. And for advanced individuals, about 0.2-0.4kg of muscle growth per month.
And these numbers are assuming that your training and nutrition are optimal, but since this does not happen for most people, muscle-building can actually be even slower than previously outlined. So the important question is - What should you do to build muscle as fast as possible? In this article, check out the 4 Must-Dos to ensure optimal muscle growth.