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All of us with a longer history in the gym and resistance training have experienced a plateau in weight gain at least once. If you are ready for advanced strategies for muscle growth, this article is for you. Regardless of the body type—whether it’s an ectomorph, an endomorph, or a mesomorph—everyone has experienced what it means to hit that growth plateau.
This article will attempt to provide some options on how to “get past” that plateau and restart the momentum of increased protein synthesis that leads to muscle mass growth.
As in many other aspects concerning our sport, here too we can operate on several (legal) fronts: training, nutrition, and rest (recovery).
In each of these segments, there are two extremes. One group of people stays on the same diet, training, and supplementation regimen for too long. Let us remember that our body is a boring conservative that instinctively avoids anything new (“neophobia”) and is in constant search of balance (homeostasis). If you keep the same regimen too long, the body adapts, finds balance, and your progress stops.
The second group consists of those who change the regimen too quickly because it “didn’t give them results,” when in fact, they don’t give the body enough time to react to each new regimen they impose on it.
The solution, logically, is somewhere in the middle. The body needs time (up to 2-3 weeks) to react; if there is no progress, try something new. Likewise, don’t change a winning combination; keep the program until muscle gain stops. As soon as the body adapts and stagnates, you must shock it with a different regimen.
TRAINING
Regardless of the body type you belong to, the basic principles of mass gain training are the same for everyone.
Training should be short and demanding This means that, not counting the warm-up, the training should not last longer than 1 hour and must challenge the muscles to stimulate adaptation (read: growth!).
Periodically change load parameters. You most often need to change the number of repetitions and the number of sets. The next variables are exercise tempo, exercise choice for each muscle group, and execution order.. For best results, emphasize moderate and slow tempo, because lifting the weight creates muscle tension directly proportional to growth stimulation.
Prioritize exercises that recruit the largest possible number of motor units Squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, and dips will activate a greater number of motor units than leg extensions, leg curls, pull-overs, or dumbbell flyes. This means that by choosing such exercises, we will pack on much more muscle mass.
Do not talk during training For serious mass gain, a serious, focused, and concentrated approach with a clear head, without distractions, is also necessary so that we can direct all our attention to the muscle we are training. So, you are at the gym with a “hit-and-run” mission. One hour is all you have, and your goal is to utilize that hour to the maximum quality.
Reduce or completely eliminate other types of training This primarily refers to cardio training. You can include cardio 1-2 times a week at a lighter pace for cardiovascular benefits.
Change training regimens Every three weeks, alternate high-volume training with high-intensity training. Training with short breaks results in increased growth hormone secretion, strengthens connective tissue, and improves lactate tolerance. Conversely, longer rests between sets with heavier weights develop the Type IIb fibers that bodybuilders often neglect. For maximum mass, we need developed Type IIa and IIb fibers, which we achieve with this kind of training.
After all, we can always “employ” one of the shock techniques. Here are a few shock techniques that will move even very experienced lifters off the plateau they may have been stuck on for some time (we use original names because they best capture each technique’s essence).
- Target training – If we have a muscle part that is particularly lagging, we “attack” it from time to time with isolation exercises exclusively for that part.
- Drop sets – Each drop set should be performed to failure.
- Partner-assisted reps – When we reach failure, a partner helps us with a few more repetitions by supporting the weight and “taking away” a few kgs. For example, if we are doing a bench press and reach failure, the partner helps us in the next few repetitions just enough so that the bar does not stop moving.
- Rest pause training – When we reach failure, we pause for a moment or two, and then try to squeeze out one or two more repetitions until failure again.
- Emphasizing the eccentric – Here, we concentrate on making the negative component of the movement (lowering) as slow as possible.
- Assisted negatives – Here, the partner makes the negative part of the movement more difficult for us.
There are many more shock techniques, and you can come up with some yourself with a little dirty imagination and inventiveness.
NUTRITION
Experts have countless times emphasized the importance of nutrition in any sport, especially in fitness. What you consume directly impacts your success, whether you want to gain mass or get shredded.
Eat five to six smaller meals throughout the day Never leave your body without energy and building materials.
Evo preformulacije u dvije kratke rečenice (ispod 20 riječi):
If you deprive the body, it will meet its needs in a way we don’t like. It will sacrifice your hard-earned muscle mass!
If stagnation occurs, you need to change your diet. This means you must either increase caloric intake within meals or increase the number of meals by adding more snacks.
Regularly consume BCAAs Besides being useful to consume before and during training to ensure an anabolic environment, it is good to have them handy at other times of the day. If we miss a scheduled meal, we can “patch up” the time until the next one by taking BCAAs.
Post-Workout Meal (PWM) shake Try the following PWM: The composition of the PWM should differ depending on whether the person has mostly beneficial body mass (body fat % below 10%) or is prone to gaining weight (>10%).
- For someone with BF <10%: Immediately after training, take 10-15g of an amino acid mixture. Shortly thereafter, consume 2g of carbohydrates/kg and 50g of whey protein (of course, isolate is the first choice).
- If a person has BF >10%: Carbohydrates from the example above should be significantly reduced, if not removed entirely.
RECOVERY
Quality recovery will allow us to withstand frequent and strenuous workouts without symptoms of overtraining. Consequently, we will have higher quality workouts, and you will more likely progress continuously without hitting a plateau.
Set aside time and funds for regular massages Deep connective tissue massage is especially effective. How will you know if the massage is right? Simply, there is no enjoyment or falling asleep during this massage. This massage is vigorous and far from relaxing.
Stretch 4-5 times a week By stretching the fascia (the muscle sheath), we provide new space for the growing muscle.
Pay attention to the quality and quantity of sleep If you have trouble falling asleep, the intensity of your training may be too high. If you feel like you can never fully catch up on sleep, your training volume may be too high. Magnesium supplementation is quite important because magnesium deficiency overexcites (overstimulates) the nervous system, making it difficult to fall asleep. A suitable supplement for before bedtime is ZMA, a combination of magnesium, zinc, and vitamin B6.
Limit sleep time to a maximum of 8 hours The reason is simple: if you sleep more than 8 hours, you are not eating often enough because you have slept through more than 1/3 of the day. If you still need more sleep, take time during the day for a short nap (the so-called power nap). Ideally, this daytime sleep should not end later than 1.5 hours before training. This way, we will get half an hour for the pre-workout meal, which allows an hour to digest that meal.. Another plus is that we won’t be groggy, but awake and ready for training.
Abstain from alcohol Remember that fitness is not only a sport but also an art, a way of thinking, a philosophy, … basically – a lifestyle. This means it should be practiced 24/7! Let’s look at the strongest arguments why we should eliminate alcohol if we want maximum results:
- Alcohol reduces the sustainability of intense workouts because it inhibits enzymes involved in energy production.
- Alcohol disrupts sleep patterns. For example, going out on Friday and consuming alcohol will shake up the quality of sleep until the following Tuesday.
- Alcohol reduces the natural production of testosterone, and this typically lasts for 3 days after alcohol consumption.
I hope these strategies help you overcome stagnation and provide new ideas for progress. Also, don’t miss out on a few other exercises you shouldn’t skip to improve your routine.
