1. Track reps & weights.
For the first couple of years, I never tracked what I was lifting.
At the start you can just walk into the gym and put another 5-10 lbs on the bar every time.
You "learn" that you're stronger every time you set foot in the gym.
Eventually this stops.
You keep trying to lift more, but you find you can no longer make progress.
What you need now is to make smaller jumps.
You need to use fractional plates to make loads like 117.5 & add reps week to week.
You must track this or you'll forget what you need to do.
2. Do less volume.
The gym doesn't make you stronger, it creates a stimulus to get stronger.
Key difference.
You're breaking your muscles down in the gym with each hard set.
There's a point where more muscle damage doesn't help you & you'll struggle to be stronger next time.
Most people will see great results with 10 hard sets per muscle group per week, and exceeding this doesn't help.
More advanced and genetically gifted individuals may do better on more, but this is not most people.
In fact, many people will progress fine on less than this.
3. Improve lifting form.
Lifting as much weight as possible should not be the goal (unless you want to compete in strength sports).
The goal is to effectively fatigue specific target muscles to bring about a stimulus to get stronger.
Using momentum & changing your form to take tension off the target muscles of an exercise only reduces the effectiveness of your workouts (for gaining muscle).
Less weight, lifted properly is MUCH better than more weight lifted with worse form.
4. Split up protein intake.
Protein contains leucine, an amino acid responsible for kick-starting muscle protein synthesis.
You want MPS to be elevated as much as possible if you want to gain muscle.
3g of leucine will maximally raise MPS for about 4 hours...
Low protein meals won't maximally raise MPS.
Therefore you should aim to get in moderate servings of protein more frequently (every 4-5 hours).
Waiting until dinner to consume 120g of protein to get you to your daily target isn't an effective strategy.
5. Stop dieting every year.
Being obsessed with always having abs isn't a great way to gain muscle quickly.
To gain muscle you need to EAT.
Only a slight calorie surplus is needed, but you will get less lean as you gain more muscle (after the beginner stage).
Wanting to maintain 10% body fat year round is a great way to never gain any muscle.
Going back into a calorie deficit for months every time your abs slightly disappear will also ensure you never get any stronger and don't gain any muscle.
6. Track calories when gaining.
When gaining, don't just eat everything in sight.
You need a calorie surplus, but not a very big one. Aim to go just 10% over your maintenance.
If you're gaining 1-2 lbs every week, you're just getting fat.
7. Embrace machines, cables and dumbbells.
For too long I had a blinkered view and primarily focused on the barbell lifts.
Barbell lifts are great for getting your stronger and you will gain muscle by focusing on them.
But machines and dumbbells are great too.
Barbell lifts can result in a lot of generalised fatigue.
Certain machines, dumbbell or even barbell variations can provide more of a targeted stimulus to specific muscles without fatiguing the whole body.
Cables and machines are a great way to add more volume.
7 tips to speed up your muscle gains:
1. Track lifts.
2. Do less volume.
3. Improve lifting form.
4. Split up protein intake.
5. Stop dieting every year.
6. Track calories when gaining.
7. Embrace machines and dumbbells
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