Martin Köpp

Muscular strength is primarily determined by one thing: 1. How forcefully can a muscle contract. The force with which a muscle can contract is determined by two things: 1. How large is the muscle 2. How efficiently can the body contract the muscle

Muscular strength is primarily determined by one thing: 1. How forcefully can a muscle contract. The force with which a muscle can contract is determined by two things: 1. How large is the muscle 2. How efficiently can the body contract the muscle

When someone who's never lifted weights before, or hasn't lifted weights in a long time, starts a resistance training program, they almost always see very rapid gains in strength without much of a corresponding gain in muscular size. This is because the body very quickly becomes more efficient at telling the muscle to contract.

When discussing how to gain lean muscle, you should ask yourself if you would mind gaining a little fat. If you are willing to gain a little fat, your muscle building goal will be easier to reach. If you aren't willing to gain any fat, it will be more difficult. You must eat 100%, and be very disciplined. But you should reward yourself with a cheat meal once a week to keep your sanity. Speaking of nutrition, it will be flat out impossible to gain lean muscle without proper nutrition. For starters, you should find your basal metabolic rate (BMR). The BMR is the amount of calories your body burns per day just keeping your body alive. A quick way to calculate your BMR is as follows: Fat loss = 12-13 calories X,22 bodyweight in pounds Maintenance = 15-16 calories X bodyweight in pounds Weight gain = 18-19 calories X bodyweight in pounds

The only way to induce muscle growth is to inflict damage on the muscle. This damage is cause micro-trauma. This micro-trauma is actually an injury, and the body's response to this injury is to make the muscle better able to handle the stress the next time it occurs. It does this by increasing the size of the muscle.

So even if you are enthusiastic about your workouts, do not overdo them as that would bring harm. Understand that the results would not come overnight and if you know of the right exercises to do, even 2-3 hours of workout in an entire week would reap the desired results in as little as 3 months.

That doesn't mean that this is the only way to gain size, but it seems to be the method that works best for the most amount of people. Once your beginner gains have faded, it's up to use to use your familiarity with your body to figure out what works best for your personal size and strength goals. Good luck and get bigger!