From the Guidelines
The most effective exercises for building muscle are compound movements that engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously, such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, overhead presses, and rows, with a frequency of 2-3 days per week, intensity of 60%-70% of 1RM, and 8-12 repetitions per set, as recommended by the 2018 EULAR recommendations for physical activity in people with inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis 1.
Key Components of an Effective Muscle-Building Program
- Frequency: 2-3 days per week, with at least 48 hours of rest between sessions for the same muscle group
- Intensity: 60%-70% of 1RM (moderate to hard intensity) for novice to intermediate exercisers, and ≥80% of 1RM (hard to very hard intensity) for experienced strength trainers
- Repetitions: 8-12 repetitions per set, with 2-4 sets per exercise
- Progression: gradual progression of greater resistance and/or more repetitions per set and/or increasing frequency over time
- Nutrition: a slight caloric surplus (200-300 calories above maintenance) and adequate protein intake (1.6-2.2g per kg of bodyweight daily) are necessary to support muscle growth
- Sleep and hydration: sufficient sleep (7-9 hours nightly) and proper hydration are essential for recovery and hormone production
Additional Considerations
- The 2024 ESC guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension recommend dynamic resistance exercise training with large muscle groups, low-to-moderate-intensity (2–3 sets with 10–15 reps) 1
- The 2024 update from the American Heart Association and the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation recommends resistance exercise training with a frequency of 2-3 nonconsecutive days per week, intensity of 40%-60% of 1RM, and 10-15 repetitions per set 1 However, the most recent and highest quality study, the 2018 EULAR recommendations, provides the most comprehensive guidance on resistance exercise training for building muscle 1.
From the Research
Effective Exercises for Building Muscle
To build muscle, it is essential to combine proper nutrition with effective exercises. The following points highlight the most effective exercises and nutritional strategies for building muscle:
- Short-duration, high-intensity exercise, such as weightlifting, can increase lean muscle mass and exercise capacity when combined with creatine supplementation 2, 3.
- Resistance exercise, such as 3-6 sets of 8-12 repetition maximum (RM) using multiple exercises targeting all major muscle groups, can promote euglycemia and higher glycogen stores 4.
- Consuming carbohydrate and protein during resistance exercise can increase muscle glycogen stores, ameliorate muscle damage, and facilitate greater acute and chronic training adaptations 4.
- Ingesting essential amino acids (EAA; approximately 10 g) or a protein bolus of approximately 20-40 g can maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis (MPS) 4.
- Post-exercise ingestion (immediately to 2-h post) of high-quality protein sources can stimulate robust increases in MPS 4.
Nutritional Strategies for Building Muscle
In addition to exercises, nutritional strategies play a crucial role in building muscle:
- Meeting the total daily intake of protein, preferably with evenly spaced protein feedings (approximately every 3 h during the day), is essential for exercising individuals 4.
- Ingesting a 20-40 g protein dose (0.25-0.40 g/kg body mass/dose) of a high-quality source every three to 4 h can most favorably affect MPS rates 4.
- Consuming casein protein (~ 30-40 g) prior to sleep can acutely increase MPS and metabolic rate throughout the night without influencing lipolysis 4.
- Creatine supplementation can exert positive ergogenic effects on single and multiple bouts of short-duration, high-intensity exercise activities, in addition to potentiating exercise training adaptations 2, 3, 5.