To maximize muscle gain without overtraining, find the ‘just right’ amount of exercise stimulus between your minimum effective volume and maximum recoverable volume

Last week, I provided a quick refresher on recovery. I did that to lay the foundation for today’s article on maximizing muscle gain without over training. 

The function of building muscle, otherwise known as muscle protein synthesis (MPS) requires a stimulus followed by sufficient protein consumption. We’ve covered the guidelines for what qualifies as sufficient protein consumption, but as a reminder it’s .75-1.0 grams per pound of body weight and should scale up as we get older. However, the focus of today’s article is about the stimulus variable of the MPS equation. With that in mind, I’ll introduce two concepts:

• Minimum Effective Volume (MEV) – the least amount of training necessary to stimulate MPS
• Maximum Recoverable Volume (MRV) – the highest amount of training stimuli a person can successfully recover from in the interest of continued muscle building  

You should think about these two concepts at either end of a muscle-building spectrum, with MEV on the far left and MRV on the far right. To continually build and/or maintain optimal muscle mass, we want to find ourselves somewhere in the middle of these two points. So, how do we manage that? 

• First, let’s define our training cycle as a week (7 days). Within our 7-day training cycle, we want to stimulate muscle growth with a combination of intensity and volume.

• When doing fewer sets and more reps, focus on the range of reps that will produce fatigue but not strain, typically 12-20. When doing more sets within a lower-rep range, focus on strict form and technical failure, which is stopping the set prior to good technique breaking down.

• Whether a training session features high reps with lighter weights or fewer sets with relatively heavier weights, a strong mind-to-muscle connection is important. Your tissue does recognize reps, it recognizes the fatigue that comes from the reps. Therefore, work to fatigue using a “2-3 reps in reserve” model. Meaning, aim to complete each set with 2-3 reps left in the tank. This is often an alternative way to reach technical failure.

• If you’re new to training, it’s best to err on the side of loads that are too light, but once you’ve established that mind-body connection and understand your limits, progress to loads that challenge those limits.

OK, so you’ve got the basics down and you’re feeling good. But before you go all-out, take care not to overdo it. Keep an eye out for these signs of overtraining:

• Abnormal joint or muscle pain
• Poor sleep quality 
• Lack of desire to exercise
• Irritability and mood swings 
• Loss of concentration
• Training plateaus   

Everyday Takeaway

Goldilocks was on to something … with most things, the secret to success is finding the amount that’s “just right.” As it turns out, building the muscle that fuels longevity is no exception.