Muscle growth factors may change significantly under the influence of various conditions. Just to start right into the topic: here are the 6 proven factors that affect it the most.
#1 Anabolic Steroids
What a surprise, huh?
Sure, they're no magic pill, but they sure aren't just a myth either. If you’re lifting heavy, eating big, and you’re on a cycle, steroids WILL make your muscles grow.
Just so you understand, here’s how it works:
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Steroids (bulking classics like Testosterone, Trenbolone, or Deca Durabolin) boost your body’s ability to use protein to repair and grow muscle tissue;
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At the same time, they improve nitrogen retention, keeping your muscles in an anabolic state instead of breaking down (catabolic processes);
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Extra red blood cell production improves oxygen transport from your lungs to your muscles, so you get more stamina and better performance. Even not-so-bulking gear, like EQ or Masteron, is guaranteed to make your workouts more effective;
Also, some steroids increase Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (aka IGF-1), a natural hormone essential for muscle growth and recovery. And if you want to keep things natural, you can get IGF-1 in an injectable form as well.
Let’s look at what actual studies have to say when it comes to gains from anabolic steroids. Two classic studies are worth mentioning more than others here:
Bhasin et al. (1996)
It’s one of the most cited studies on testosterone and muscle growth, ever. In a 10-week-long study, men on mere 600 mg of testosterone per week gained an average of 13.5 pounds of lean muscle mass without any special workout protocol.
Hartgens & Kuipers (2004)
Not a research paper, but a scientific overview of a whole dozen of other studies, less popularized ones. This one review found that athletes most typically would see up to 20% more gains within 8-12 weeks, in comparison with natural athletes.
#2 Training Experience
It is indeed possible for beginners to build muscle and burn fat at the same time.
The mass gain will also be pretty fast, in the first year many end up with up to 5-10 kg, and then the progress starts to slow down.
The more experience, the slower the progress.
But if, for example, a person quits the gym for some life circumstances, after coming back they will return to their previous results faster.
#3 Muscle Memory
This phenomenon has more to do with people who have previously used anabolic steroids and then suddenly decided to become natural athletes, rather than with “pure” athletes. Firstly, a couple of years are devoted to a classic training with pharmacological support, mass is being gained, and a large amount of training work is being done. And then the athlete intentionally goes for a certain “rollback” in mass, stopping the use of anabolics.
If the training won’t be abandoned completely, but only its volume will be reduced, the muscles will remain “in place”.
WIthout the gym the muscle mass will decrease. In this case several years may pass, but the established neuromuscular connections will not go anywhere. Then, when the athlete returns to the gym once again, a part of the mass will be gained back pretty quickly.
Natural athletes also have muscle memory. The more experience and technical skill, the better the muscles gain after a break.
#4 Genetics
Someone may be unlucky in that regard, and even while eating and training like a professional athlete, there is no mass gain to be seen. And there also are mesomorphs who look like people on steroids while only training 3 times a week without much of a specialized diet.
Unfortunately, a genetic predisposition to certain sports is a very real thing.
Hormonal balance, bone structure of the body, the amount of muscle fibers, the tendency to gain fat and the metabolic rate, as well as the number of digestive enzymes, the characteristics of the central nervous system and the speed of body reactions - everything matters when it comes to muscle gain rates.
#5 Age
The hormonal explosion in youth should be used to its fullest potential. The level of testosterone in adulthood may decrease, and therefore the rates of muscle gain will be lower. Young athletes not only have a higher level of anabolic hormones, but also their central nervous system performs better under pressure.
Therefore, those who were involved in sports under the age of 20 have an easier time gaining muscle afterwards.
With neuromuscular connections being developed, a person only needs to slightly adjust the training volumes and loads. It is believed that natural bodybuilding can be effectively practiced from the age of 15.
#6 Training Plan and Nutrition
It is impossible to gain muscle if there are not enough training stimuli for their growth and high-quality nutrition, protein synthesis and body restoration.
There are a lot of factors at play, but usually the idea of beginning a training program is that it should suit a specific person according to his lifestyle, physical characteristics and training level.
Many beginners use pre-made training plans from bodybuilding magazines to no success. They go to the gym 5-6 times a week, firmly believing they need to do tons of cardio and perform some special exercises, when in reality it’s quite simple.
A huge training volume only increases calorie consumption, and does not actually allow the central nervous system to "digest" the pressure loads. As a result, the level of hormones decreases, catabolic processes increase, regular food is no longer enough to recover, and instead of mass, a person receives fatigue, injuries and rather small muscles.
The main rule of training for a natural athlete is — less volume, higher working weight, and more multi-joint exercises.
In addition, doing power training more than 3 times a week does not make much sense. In nutrition, a proportion of about 1.5g of protein per kilogram of body weight, and 5-6 g of carbohydrates should be kept.
Moreover, the latter should not only be simple and scooped from sugar and fruit. Pasta, potatoes, rice and buckwheat — this is the basis of the “mass diet” of a natural athlete.
It is also important to eat enough fat for the stable functioning of the hormonal system, while keeping it lower than 1.5g per kilogram of body weight so that a person does not experience digestive problems.
Conclusion
Are there any foolproof universal programs for mass gain? No, everything needs to be adjusted individually.
Someone might find frequent workouts with an average weight more suitable, while others may really need to train to failure to cause enough stimulus for muscle growth.
