How to Actually Build Muscle When You Work Out

This is why researchers recommend ending each set one or two reps before failure. “This gives you the ability to both stimulate the muscle and train the muscle more frequently, so it’s like the best of both worlds,” says Welch, who generally recommends hitting each muscle group with at least three sets of 4–8 reps, with three minutes of rest between sets. Ultimately, the effective reps you’ll rack up from being able to train more frequently will outweigh the ones you’ll sacrifice from not taking every set to complete failure.

As for how you organize your workouts, according to Welch, it doesn’t really matter as long as the muscles you’re focusing on are getting enough attention each week. “Organizing your workouts into body part splits is a great way to target the muscles you are trying to grow, while managing fatigue and recovery. Full-body workouts, however, can be just as effective for hypertrophy,” he says. “Which routine is best? This depends on personal preference.”

Pursue progression—but don’t obsess over it

One of the longstanding muscle-building principles that still holds true today is progressive overload—the idea that to keep building muscle you need to consistently be increasing either the number of reps or the weight you’re lifting. “It gives us feedback that our training is working and the desired adaptations are taking place,” says Welch.

However, what we know now, thanks to the research on mechanical tension, is that those numbers don’t necessarily need to go up every workout in order for you to continue building muscle. “You just have to have the intent for them to go up,” says Carlson. “Let’s say you got 11 reps last time, so you were going for 12 today. If you fail at 11, that’s fine. As long as you tried to get 12.”

In terms of how often you need to be hitting the gym to maximize hypertrophy, experts recommend giving a muscle at least three days to recover after each workout. “Generally, training a muscle 1–2 times per week is recommended—assuming you are using progressive overload and getting enough stimulating reps to the target muscle,” says Welch.

Just remember that progressive overload is specifically about increasing either reps or weight—while keeping all other variables, like rest times and range of motion, constant. “Adding extra sets, doing intensity techniques, or trying new exercises doesn’t count as progressive overload,” says Kravchenko. “All that does is add more volume and more strain on your body to then recover from.”

According to Welch, beginners and intermediate lifters should aim to see progression every one to three workouts, while experienced lifters can expect this to happen every three to five workouts.

“Once you start to plateau or become uninterested, it may be time to change the exercise,” he says. “Over the long term, if you’re able to train close to failure and progressively overload, you’re going to be in a really good place and you’re definitely going to see the gains that you’re looking for.”