Building muscle is why most of us constantly return to the gym.

It's the
beacon of light that continues to drive our effort-driven workouts that
many consider us crazy for, but how do we build muscle effectively?
That's the question that trips up so many lifters.

The physical act of building muscle is easier said than done because in
order to build muscle we need to have multiple variables aligned both in
regard to our training and nutrition.

A great starting point for everyone on the quest of adding mass to their
frame is to first define what muscle building actually is. The act of muscle
building, or purposely causing muscle to grow through resistance
training, is often referred to as muscle hypertrophy.

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Muscle hypertrophy is the adaptation our muscles experience from

continual exposure to progressively overloaded forms of resistance
training, which then results in an increase in our muscle fiber size, both
in diameter and length. Essentially, muscle hypertrophy

is the process through which our muscles get physically larger through
the act of strategically consistent and harder workouts.

Remember, effort is one of the most definitive drivers of muscle gain

over time.

If you note the definition above, progressive overload was mentioned as

being needed for adding mass and muscle to your frame. Progressive
overload entails creating some form of increased, strategic effort based
on the style of training you're doing.
This is why it's incredibly important to have a plan in place and build a
framework for your training and nutritional habits that coincide with
your goals. "Workouts without a plan just won't get you to the goals you
want," says MH fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. "You need a
strategy."

Note, your muscle building strategy doesn't need to be so rigid that it

leaves no room for fun. In fact, you can still eat meals you enjoy, and you
don't need to spend hours in the gym, as long as when you're training
and fueling yourself strategically a majority of the time. The goal is to
create a muscle building plan that is realistic for your goals and needs.

The tips below will help you—whether you're a beginner or somebody

who's hit a frustrating training plateau—build muscle with a strategic
and realistic means.
1. Maximize Muscle Building

The more protein your body stores—in a process called protein synthesis
—the larger your muscles grow. But your body is constantly draining its
protein reserves for other uses—making hormones, for instance.
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The result is less protein available for muscle building. To counteract

that, you need to “build and store new proteins faster than your body
breaks down old proteins,” says Michael Houston, Ph.D., a professor of
nutrition at Virginia Tech University.

Shoot for about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, which is
roughly the maximum amount your body can use in a day, according to a
landmark study in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

For example, a 160-pound man should consume 160 grams of protein a

day—the amount he’d get from an 8-ounce chicken breast, 1 cup of
cottage cheese, a roast-beef sandwich, two eggs, a glass of milk, and 2
ounces of peanuts. Split the rest of your daily calories equally between
carbohydrates and fats.