Engage in resistance training regularly as it is considered indispensable for overall health. It uniquely strengthens muscles, bone density, and improves posture, benefits not primarily gained from aerobic training alone.
Begin resistance training regardless of your current age, as individuals in their 60s, 70s, and 80s who have never lifted weights can still achieve profound improvements in muscle strength and hypertrophy within 8-12 weeks.
Incorporate resistance training into your routine, focusing on multi-joint movements like squats, rows, and presses, to significantly strengthen bones. This is particularly crucial for preventing osteoporosis, especially in post-menopausal women, as muscle pulling on bones stimulates bone strengthening.
Start resistance training early, ideally in your teens and 20s, to build a strong ‘bone bank.’ This proactive approach is vital for women to stave off osteoporosis later in life, as it’s harder to regain lost bone density.
Combine resistance training with a caloric deficit to effectively lose fat and preserve or gain muscle (recomposition). Without resistance training, 25-30% of lost weight can come from muscle, whereas lifting helps maintain lean mass during fat loss.
Aim for 1.6 to 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily if you engage in resistance training. This intake is roughly double the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) and is required to maintain or promote muscle anabolism and maximize gains.
When in a caloric deficit, increase your protein intake to the upper range of 2.0-2.2 grams per kilogram per day. This higher intake is crucial to preserve lean muscle mass, as protein needs increase during energy restriction.
If you are overweight or obese, calculate your protein needs based on your target lean body weight (e.g., 10-15% body fat for men, 20% for women). This ensures an appropriate protein target for muscle preservation without excessively high intake.
Older individuals, due to anabolic resistance, should aim for higher protein intake per meal to meet the leucine threshold for muscle growth. Prioritize animal-based protein sources or use supplements if whole foods are difficult to consume.
You can achieve similar muscle gains regardless of the load (heavy or light, up to 30-40 repetitions) as long as you train with a high degree of effort. The key is that the last few repetitions should be difficult to complete, challenging your muscles beyond their present capacity.
For most people, a minimal effective dose of resistance training, around four sets per muscle group per week, can yield very good results. This can be achieved through two to three half-hour resistance training sessions per week, provided you train hard.
To optimize muscle hypertrophy, aim for 10 to 20 sets per muscle group per week. Volume is a key driver of muscle growth, showing a dose-response relationship up to a certain point.
Rest for at least 2-3 minutes between sets, especially for compound movements, to allow for sufficient recovery and maintain volume load. Shorter rest periods can compromise the total amount of weight lifted, which is more important for hypertrophy than acute hormonal responses.
For the general population, it is not necessary to train every set to muscular failure; instead, aim to stop 1-3 repetitions short of complete failure (1-3 RIR). This approach promotes optimal adaptations for hypertrophy and strength without excessive fatigue or potential detriments.
Older individuals should incorporate some power training into their routines to improve functional capacity and reduce the risk of falls. This involves exercises that move weights quickly or explosively, such as medicine ball throws, to enhance rapid force production.
Focus on training that targets both Type 1 and Type 2 muscle fibers, which occurs when training hard regardless of load. Age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia) primarily affects Type 2 (strength-related) fibers, making their preservation crucial for functional capacity.
When combining aerobic and resistance training, space them out on separate days if possible, or always perform resistance training first in the same session. This prevents fatigue from aerobic exercise from compromising strength training performance and allows for optimal adaptation.
Engage in light recreational activities, such as walking, after resistance training to promote blood flow and aid recovery. Avoiding a sedentary lifestyle helps optimize nutrient delivery and expedite muscle repair, reducing soreness.
Be in tune with your body and take rest days or deload periods (reduced training frequency, volume, or intensity) when needed. This intuitive approach is crucial for preventing overtraining and ensuring long-term, sustainable progress.
Apply research findings as general guidelines, then tailor them to your unique individual circumstances, including genetics, lifestyle, stress levels, sleep, nutritional status, and specific goals. Research provides a starting point, but personalization is key for effective program design.
Introduce supervised resistance training to children as young as six or seven, starting with lighter loads and making it fun. This practice is safe, does not stunt growth, improves self-esteem, reduces bullying, and enhances athletic performance.
Utilize protein shakes as a practical means to meet daily protein requirements, especially for older individuals who may have difficulty chewing or for women who may not be accustomed to high protein intake through whole foods.
If practicing time-restricted eating, schedule your resistance training within the earlier part of your eating window. This allows for post-workout protein intake, leveraging the anabolic window to optimize muscle gains.
Do not stress about consuming protein immediately after a workout, as the ‘anabolic window’ is a broader period, not a narrow, critical timeframe. The much more important factor is achieving your total daily protein intake.
Opt for lighter loads and higher repetitions if heavy lifting is contraindicated due to injuries or joint-related issues, such as osteoarthritis. This approach allows for effective muscle challenge without excessive joint stress, providing training flexibility.
Optimize your training by combining different concepts rather than adhering to a single, rigid method. Integrating approaches like lighter and heavier loads, or power training with moderate training, can lead to better overall adaptations for your specific goals.
For very high-level athletes or bodybuilders who are close to their genetic ceiling, incorporating some failure training (e.g., taking the last set of single-joint or machine-based exercises to failure) might be beneficial. This provides an additional challenge with lower injury risk on isolated movements.
Women should generally follow similar resistance training programs as men, as there is no significant evidence for fundamentally different protocols. Women may have a slightly faster recovery rate, potentially allowing for shorter rest intervals or higher frequency.
While soreness is not necessary for muscle gains, experiencing mild soreness after a workout can be a positive indicator. It suggests that your muscles have received a novel stimulus and have been challenged beyond their current state, prompting adaptation.
If you experience very intense soreness, which can impair your ability to train hard again, consider strategies like warm water baths, active recovery (light movement to increase blood flow), or temporarily sticking to familiar exercises. These methods can alleviate discomfort without blunting hypertrophy.
Limit frequent cold water immersion (cryotherapy) immediately after resistance training if your goal is to optimize muscle hypertrophy. Emerging evidence suggests it can blunt anabolic signaling, muscle protein synthesis, and circulatory response, which are important for muscle development.
Endurance athletes should adopt a minimalist resistance training approach, focusing on heavy loads with low volume (e.g., 3-5 repetitions for a few sets). This strategy maximizes strength for endurance capacity while minimizing unwanted muscle mass development that could hinder performance.
Perform resistance exercises through a full range of motion to improve or maintain flexibility, as resistance training itself is an active form of flexibility training. This can provide similar benefits to static stretching, and combining both can yield even better results.
To make resistance training more time-efficient, utilize multi-joint exercises (squats, presses, rows), supersets (performing two different exercises back-to-back), or drop sets (reducing weight immediately after a set to continue reps). These methods minimize rest time and work multiple muscle groups simultaneously.
Advanced trainees might consider incorporating intense, loaded stretches (e.g., holding a stretch with weight for 20 seconds between sets) to potentially enhance muscle growth. Muscle tension during stretching is a mechanism of hypertrophy, and this technique can provide that stimulus.
Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training, using a cuff proximally on arms or legs with very light loads (20-30% of 1RM), can achieve similar muscle development to traditional resistance training. Ensure proper technique and safety, as incorrect application can cause damage.