Now that we’ve covered the right eating and exercise strategies, we need to make sure you’re not sabotaging those gains with excessive exercise. Athletes often engage in long training sessions or a large number of sessions in a week believing that “more is better.” If you struggle to add muscle, it’s not necessarily more exercise you need, but more exercise efficiency.
On the cardio side of things, be sure not to add long, steady state exercise days while training to gain lean muscle. This will more rapidly raise stress hormone levels and catabolize your lean muscle. Furthermore, if you’ve already been training this way, more sessions of high volume, long distance work is not likely to make you fitter, either.
You need to change your mindset and think like a sprinter. Shorter, more intense bursts are what you need to build more power in your strong posterior chain muscles — glutes and hamstrings — that help to build a strong, powerful and athletic body. (5)
Ditch the steady-state cardio and add more sprints to your regime. Aim for two days per week and sprint at a distance of 50 and 100 meters for 5-6 sets. Be sure to rest at least two minutes between sets, as your goal is to run as fast as possible and not “feel the burn” during your workouts.
If adding lean muscle is your top priority and you’ve struggled to achieve your goal, get back to basics. You don’t need any fancy equipment or elaborate eating strategy. Increase your protein and caloric intake and pair it with compound movements and sprints to maximize your anabolic hormones, build lean muscle and achieve your desired weight.
Happy training!
