How to Build Quality Muscle Mass: Myths vs. Reality

We live in the information age, where finding info on anything you could possibly imagine is just a Google search and lighting quick .0078 seconds away. 

With so much information at our disposal, you would think everyone would be a little bit better informed about everything in the world, right?

To some extent, most people are, even though most still lack some common sense at times, but we’re still somewhat resourceful.

Want to know how to better handle your finances? Google it.  Want to learn everything you need to know last minute for that upcoming test? Watch a Youtube video. 

But with this vast and ever expanding universe of information at our fingertips, there’s also something known as an information paradox happening.

The information paradox means that with so much available information based on different sources, opinions, and studies, deciding on ONE single thing is virtually impossible. 

The old adage of less is more” definitely holds true here.

And a prime example of this information paradox is fitness; more specifically, how to build quality muscle.

You may read one web article saying you’ve got to consume 300 grams of protein to build any kind of muscle, then an hour later the huge guy at the gym tells you to only eat 1 gram of protein per body weight. 

Your friends may say train with a traditional “bro bodybuilding split” while your co-workers tell you crossfitt’s the only way to train. Then there’s the media bombarding you with endless “tips, tricks, and hacks” and how to finally get the muscle tone and body you’ve been longing for. 

Everyone’s going to have a different spin and opinion on the subject, and sometimes they may work, the hard part is knowing what’s actually important and what isn’t. 

Some of the “myths” I discuss in this article weren’t just fabricated and pulled out of thin air because they sounded good, but most likely based on actual scientific evidence that was available at the time.

Data, research, and the general knowledge about human physiology and building muscle change so rapidly that a lot of these old methods have become outdated and propagated as “myths” today in light of newer studies. 

So these myths may have had some validity to them in the past, my point here is to show you that there is a more effective way to build some quality muscle mass and help keep you from spinning your wheels when you’re not seeing the progress you hoped for.  
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Myth: Confuse the muscles by constantly switching up workouts to make them grow                  
Reality:  Excel at a handful of quality movements and exercises and continually get better at them

I don’t really know where the idea of “confusing the muscle” came from, and it’s a bit baffling to think how it ever gained momentum.

I mean, muscles don’t think or have brains, how the hell are you going to confuse them?
Muscles are responsive and adapt to stimulus, that’s all they know. 

Okay, maybe I can see how if you do barbell bench presses with the same weight and rep scheme for 2 weeks then switch over to doing dumbbell presses for another 2 weeks to confuse the muscle.

You want to shake things up and keep the muscle guessing, hitting them with a left hook when they were expecting a soft right jab. 

But constantly jumping from exercise to exercise in hopes that your muscles won’t catch on isn’t the way to do this.

The body is extremely adaptive and will get used to an applied stimulus in order to cope.  It’s the main reason we as a species have made it this far in existence.

We want our muscles to adapt to the training to become proficient at the movements and also grow and become stronger, but we also want to make sure the stimulus is increased to ensure adaptation continues.

The best way to do this is through progressive overload.  Progressive overload is applying more load (weight, reps, total volume) to an exercise overtime.

Every time you train you need to place the body’s muscles under a stress beyond what it is typically used to. 

​By progressively increasing the weight, reps, or total volume through the same exercise, your body will be forced to adapt and grow with the stimulus. 

Myth: Bigger muscles are stronger muscles. There’s a direct correlation between strength and muscle size
Reality: This can be true *SOMETIMES, but not always the case.

But Craven, you just told me to get stronger if I wanted to get bigger muscles??
Yes I did, but please allow me to explain.

While there is some correlation between getting stronger and getting bigger, being stronger is not a direct cause of muscle growth.

Stronger muscles will benefit you in a way that will allow you to lift heavier loads witch will directly apply more stress to the muscles you’re working and trying to grow. 

Guys who have great muscle development will always be “strong”, but strong is such a relative term.

Powerlifters are some of the strongest guys on the planet, but because they do not train for direct muscle growth, they often hardly look like they even lift weights and definitely don’t have physiques that are magazine cover material.

Most of the time “getting stronger” at a lift isn’t even your muscles getting stronger. 

If you’ve been lifting and performing an exercise for a while, your body’s neural efficiency is improved and the mechanics of the lift become smoother. 

This means by being more efficient through a lift, you waste less energy and can lift more weight.  So it isn’t because you got stronger, but that you became ‘better’ at the lift, just FYI.

Muscles grow by a wide range of variables, one of which is strength, but mostly through a principle known as “time under tension.”  When you train with weight to become stronger, you typically dabble in the rep ranges of 1-4 reps.  You’re just trying to move weight through space as fast as possible, which is known as power. So yeah, that’s where the term powerlifting comes from.

But to follow the time under tension principle, 1-3 reps isn’t going to cut it.  Applying direct stimulus to the muscle for a longer time period, which is typically expressed as repetitions anywhere from 8-20 is the best way to force the muscles to adapt and grow (provided you’re consuming adequate calories through protein and carbs for this to happen, but we’ll get to that in a second.)
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There’s also the fact that muscles don’t grow overnight, unless you’re a beginner or you’ve hopped on the sauce (steroids.)  Building muscle is a long and arduous process that isn’t based on only getting stronger, but by applying quality stimulus through time under tension. 

Myth: I have to have a post-workout shake or my workout will be a waste. I also have to make sure I’m eating my 6 meals a day because that’s the only way to make muscle gains!
Reality: Energy in the form of calories is what matters most when building muscle or losing bodyfat

The idea of eating 6 meals a day doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, even though it’s been debunked and deemed unnecessary for both building muscle and dropping body fat.

I still see this concept floating around as I watch guys hauling around huge coolers of food day to day in hopes that they’ll one day be jacked and tan by eating every 2.5 hours during the day, or that they have to rush to their gym bag immediately after their last rep and slam 50 grams of protein and 70 grams in order to get their muscles to recover from their workout.

This one hits home the most, because I was once one of these bros.  I was explicitly (and wrongly) informed that if I did this and ate nothing but “clean” foods constantly throughout the day I would gain the body of the gods.

Long story short: these meals left me feeling unsatisfied after I ate them but also made me over-eat at the same time.  I did this for such a long time that I did put on a good amount of bodymass, however my bodyfat went through the rough. 

I got fat.

Yes, I got fat eating CLEAN foods. 

It happens when you don’t know anything about calories and how to eat properly for your exact goals.

To save on a long winded explanation of why energy balance, which is calories in versus calories out, is the determining factor on building muscle or losing bodyfat, I’ll lay out a short example.

Let’s say you’re somebody who’s been training with weights for sometime and still looking to add some quality lean muscle mass, you’re going to have to hit around 3200 calories a day to be in a calorie surplus (this is just for this example, not an absolute rule).

So maybe you have some eggs and oats for breakfast, a large chicken salad for lunch, you slam your protein shake with 50 grams of carbs and 50 grams of protein after your training session, and you go home and have a nice dinner of steak and potatoes. 

This may sound like the perfect plan to tack on some quality mass, but when you count up all of the calories behind these foods, you’ll see that combined they only add up to about 2400 calories. 

Since your goal is to add  body mass in the form of lean muscle tissue, it’s not going to happen if you’re only consuming 2400 calories when you should be consuming 3200 calories.  It just won’t.

Conversely, the opposite is true.  If you’re looking to cut down on some body fat, eat the same foods listed above but you need to be eating 2200 calories per day to see significant fat loss, it’s just not going to happen if you’re consuming 2400 calories a day and over eating by those 200 calories. 

It just won’t happen. 
This is precisely why the net effect of calories in versus calories out matter.  It’s the deciding factor of whether your body is going to get bigger, get smaller, or stay the same. 

The number of meals you eat in a day is not going to have a direct effect on your body composition (although eating small meals more often may leave you feeling hungrier, and fewer larger meals may make you feel too full and unproductive), it’s just a matter of finding what works best for your life and your schedule, and ultimately what you’re most comfortable with. 

So are the calories all that matters here? 

Well yes and no. 

Ultimately, the overall energy consumption of calories will determine a change in size, but there’s also the macronutrients that need to be accounted for too.

Macronutrients, which are proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, should be consumed in a ratio that suits your direct goals. 

Which for almost everybody who’s reading this, means protein should be the main emphasis of your nutrition.  The carbs and fats and key players too, but the amount you eat will vary on your training, current body composition, and physique goals. 

There’s no absolute definitive rule on what and how much you should eat of each macronutrient, or calories for that matter, as everybody is different. 

​At this point for you reading this, the best I can say is to not neglect your protein, and invest some time in learning how to set up and track your macros for your individual goals. 

Myth: You can only gain quality muscle eating “clean, healthy foods.”
Reality: There is no such thing as “healthy” food, it’s all a matter of context. Food is food.

To piggy back on the previous section about tracking macros, people will still tell you that “healthy food” is the only food to eat to build muscle. 

But what does healthy even mean? 

There’s no black and white way to label food as bad or good, healthy or unhealthy.  Sure, wholesome foods like fresh vegetables and fresh meats will always be your better option for foods to eat, but the label of “good or bad” is determine by the quantity of what you’re eating. 

Like I stated before, it’s very possible to get fat eating chicken and brown rice, I know this because it happened to me. 

​Conversely, it’s also very possible to lose weight eating pizza and ice cream every day (I don’t recommend you make a habit of this because you may not FEEL great eating that way for extended periods) as long as you’re consuming fewer calories than your bodies maintenance calories are. 

WATCH MY VIDEO ON CALORIES HERE

What’s most important to remember is that food can only be protein, carbs, and fats. 

That’s it. 

Worrying about the processed stuff, chemicals, and whether it’s organic, vegan, or gluten free is not going to impact if you gain or lose weight. 

It just won’t.  Food is food. 

At a smaller level, there’s the issue of micronutrients which are vitamins and minerals in food. 

These are definitely important, but if you’re eating wholesome foods like fresh vegetables and meats pretty often, they’re not a major concern. 

​It’s always important to remember the big picture, and not get bogged down in the minor details until you have the larger plan in motion.  

Myth: You have to bench, squat, and deadlift to build muscle
Reality: These lifts CAN be beneficial, but you don’t have to do them. The key to growth is progressive overload and consistency. 

Someone you know probably tells you all about how much they can squat, bench, or deadlift and how they’re getting bigger and stronger because of it. 

If you remember the principle of progressive overload from the first paragraph, then that’s all you need to know about making your muscles grow.

While benching, squatting, and deadlifting can be beneficial movements, there’s nothing magical about them.  In fact, there are some better exercises you could be focusing on if your main priority is making your muscles bigger.

Being good at a squat is only beneficial if your main goal is to be good at the squat.  That’s it.  Leg exercises like leg extensions, hamstring curls, and other movements that prioritize the leg muscles performed with a good amount of volume in the hypertrophy range (remember 8-20 reps) can provide better stimulus than sets of heavy squats. 

Squats, deadlifts, and bench presses are not for everyone, especially those who have suffered injuries and cannot perform them safely. 

But for most people, I do recommend you learn how to perform all of these lifts adequately. 

​There’s no need to try and become a professional powerlifter performing these lifts, but they teach you a lot about balance, control, and how to conduct your body when doing compound movements with a barbell. 

So yes, go ahead and do them if you can, but don’t worry about making them a major priority in your routine if they’re movements you can’t perform comfortable or safely.