Learn about the most effective daily strategies to integrate into your lifestyle and maximize muscle building for the long term.
Key Questions
Why are Habits so important?
What does having a Positive Energy Balance mean?
What is Progressive Overload?
How long do I need to Sleep to build muscle?
What’s the best tool for tracking Macros?
How can I accurately record the amount of food that I eat?
How can I make tracking my food easier?
Why is Water so important?
The Importance of Habits
“Our daily habits culminate into the bigger picture we paint of ourselves.”
The secret to accomplishing anything is to consistently take actions that move you closer to your goal. When you complete the same tasks every day, they become habits. We have good habits and we have bad habits. You must eliminate the bad habits that are not helping you master your body and replace them with good habits. Good habits make the process easier for you to achieve your goals because they will not require much work. The more you do it, the easier it gets. The better habits that you create, the better the results. Here is a list of the best Muscle Building Habits that you can begin implementing into your lifestyle:
Maintain Positive Energy Balance
“As your body adapts and as the program progressively challenges you, energy demands change.”
A positive energy balance or caloric surplus is when you are burning less calories than you are consuming and is the state where your body can use fuel to repair/grow muscle. A negative energy balance or calorie deficit is when you are burning more calories than you are consuming and is the state where your body can burn fat for fuel. A neutral energy balance or maintenance is when your body is burning the same amount of energy as you are consuming and is the state where your body maintains itself.
The muscle building program within our Warrior Coaching and Warrior Academy’s are designed to maintain slightly higher energy input than output by modifying your calories throughout the week based on your workout demands. On days where your training intensity is higher, we increase carbohydrates/calories to achieve a slightly positive energy balance to maximize repair/muscle building potential. On days where your training intensity is low or you are practicing active recovery, we decrease carbohydrates/calories to achieve a neutral energy balance to minimize fat storage. More demands mean more fuel. Less demands mean less fuel.
As your body adapts and as the program progressively challenges you, energy demands change. Developing the habit of tracking your calorie intake is crucial in understanding if we are maintaining slightly higher input than output and ultimately achieving a Positive Energy Balance throughout your Muscle Building journey.
Progressive Overload
“Your body must adapt to the stress that you are putting on your body which is why you must continuously challenge your muscles or risk losing it.”
Progressive overload is continuously pushing your muscles beyond what it is capable of and forcing it to adapt. The best way to maximize muscle building is to progressively get stronger by performing more difficult movements, increasing resistance, increasing total training volume, or repetitions.
When you are challenging your body, you are increasing the demands required by your muscles which creates microscopic tears. Your body must adapt to the stress that you are putting on your body which is why you must continuously challenge your muscles or risk losing it. If you are consistently consuming the required number of protein/calories for recovery and practicing progressive overload, then your damaged muscles will repair and grow stronger.
Sleep for 7-9 Hours
“If you want to learn more effective stategies to optimize your sleep quality, then consider grabbing the book Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson.”
Sleep is the most underrated factor when it comes to building muscle and minimizing fat gain. Sleep directly affects your calorie intake, hormones, workout performance, and recovery. When you are working out, your body is in a catabolic state where it is damaging and breaking down your muscle. The best time for your body to recover is when it is at rest while sleeping.
During sleep, your body is in an anabolic state where your body releases hormones and breaks down protein to repair the damaged muscle cells (protein synthesis). For muscle growth to occur, muscle recovery must exceed muscle breakdown. When your body does not properly rest and recover, it requires more energy to function efficiently. Your body will elevate hormones and send hunger signals indicating that it needs more energy. This may cause you to have extra meals which will, increase your daily calorie intake, put you in a higher calorie surplus, and cause you to gain extra bodyfat. The lack of energy will also negatively impact your strength and performance during your workouts.
Research has shown that lack of sleep increases muscle loss, decreases workout performance, increases cortisol (most catabolic hormone), and reduces testosterone (most important hormone for muscle growth).
Sleep an average of 7.5 - 9 hours (Five to Six 90-minute sleep cycles) to guarantee that your body is maximizing recovery, minimizing bodyfat gain, and maximize muscle growth.
Track Your Macros
“Guessing will only guarantee that you are either underestimating or overestimating how much you are eating. ”
Tracking how much protein, carbs, and fats you eat will decide how quickly you build muscle. You must be in a positive energy balance (caloric surplus) to maximize the benefits of recovery and muscle growth. The best way to know if you are maintaining a calorie surplus is if you are consistently hitting your macronutrient targets. Guessing will only guarantee that you are either underestimating or overestimating how much you are eating. The more precise you are with your nutrition the more muscle you will build. Download the free iPhone/Android app MyFitnessPal to track your macronutrients and calories every day.
Weigh Your Food with a Food Scale
“Protein is the most important nutrient for muscle building, and it requires consistency.”
Do you know how much 6 ounces of chicken breast looks like? How about 112 grams of brown rice? The only possible way to accurately measure the quantity of the food you're eating is with a food scale. Protein is the most important nutrient for muscle building, and it requires consistency. Without weighing out your food, you might be overestimating or underestimating your protein needs and the calories you are consuming which will decide the rate at which you build muscle. We want to maximize your results, so head over to Amazon and grab yourself a food scale.
Plan Your Meals in Advanced
“Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”
The key to staying consistent with your nutrition is planning your meals in advance. If you choose to think about what you’re going to eat in the last minute, then you’ll always choose the fastest most convenient option that just satisfies your hunger and doesn’t help you with your goals. We all have busy schedules and not having time is no excuse.
Prioritize your meal planning by choosing one day (ex. Sunday) where you’re preparing your Lean Protein (Chicken, Turkey, etc.), Starchy Carbs (Brown Rice, Sweet Potatoes etc.), and Fibrous Carbs (Broccoli, Spinach, etc.).
Weigh your food with a food scale and structure your meals around your daily macro goals. The three compartment meal prepping containers will provide you with accurate portion sizes for your meals as well as plenty of containers for you to prepare multiple meals throughout the week.
Another option is to track your meals around your macros for the day before having them. This allows you to create unique meals without worrying about hitting your macro targets by the end of the day.
Hydrate Frequently Throughout the Day
“Water transports nutrients into our muscle cells, flushes out toxins in the body, and helps with digestion”
We are literally fish out of water. Ever wondered why it is difficult to get out of bed in the morning? It is because we are dehydrated after sleeping 7-9 hours without water. Our Blood = 90% water, Our Brains = 85% water, Our Lungs = 80% water, and Our Muscles = 70% water. Water transports nutrients into our muscle cells, flushes out toxins in the body, and helps with digestion.
Maximize the effects of water by also drinking a glass of water before, during, and after eating and exercising. Water quality is another extremely important factor in improving your overall health. Here’s a link to the best water purification filter.
Get The Right Plan For You
These 7 habits are the foundation that Gamers need to start building muscle, but without the right plan, tools, and guidance, Gamers will inevitably hit a plateau. Gamers need a custom tailored plan based on their individual goals, preferred training style, and experience level.
That’s why we created our Warrior Muscle Building Academy. An online, multiwarrior, fitness coaching course that teaches novice Gamers how to integrate Role-Playing Game mechanics into Certified Fitness Systems to build quality muscle.
If you want a proven plan, the best tools, and expert guidance on your muscle building journey, then see if you’re ready for the Warrior Muscle Building Academy below.
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