Scroll through social media for muscle-building advice and the message is often clear: go to the gym; lift weights so heavy you can barely finish your final set. “People assume that’s the only way to build muscle,” says Leigh Breen, professor of translational physiology at the University of Leicester. “But there are other ways.”
Muscles grow when we place a demand on them that isn’t typical in our daily lives. If that demand is repeated often enough, the muscles adapt: getting stronger and, yes, larger. But they don’t “know” whether this stimulus to the muscle is coming from a heavy or low load.
“You can build muscle at home,” he says, especially if you’re a beginner, “using resistance bands or just your own bodyweight – press-ups, squats, dips, lunges – two or more times a week. It’s also possible to build muscle using lighter weights.” What matters is whether the training places a demand on the muscles and is progressive – that is, that the demand is increased over time.
The key to sustained improvement, Breen says, is gradually increasing training volume. You might start with a 5kg dumbbell, but progress by going from 10 to 15 to 20 reps a session as it begins to feel easier. “The muscle should feel fairly fatigued – like you couldn’t do too many more reps.”
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Breen warns that for healthy young people, bodyweight training can become limiting if continued muscle and strength gains are the desired outcomes. “Eventually, for the majority, the gym environment is the most appropriate space to keep making gains.” For everyone, the most important thing is to avoid stagnation: “Whether you’re lifting weights, using resistance bands or your bodyweight, don’t plateau for too long. Change up the exercises every few months or find ways to make the workout demanding.”
