Building large amounts of muscle is actually a very complex phenomenon. It is the result of placing intense demands on your body and attempting to illicit certain desirable responses, specifically to increase size, strength, endurance, and appearance. In order to do so, you have to maximize the effects of your training, the nutrients you ingest, your body’s  ability to repair and heal itself, and the natural daily responses by your hormones and chemical functions.

Luckily for you, the basics of gaining muscle is not nearly as tough as you might think. All it really takes is  implementing a series of short changes to your diet and workout habits and a little dedication. The following set of rules will demonstrate the most important things you must know to make your workouts and diet more effective and start gaining size and strength.

Rule # 6 -Repair the Damage!

Are you spending hours a day training only to unwittingly sabotage your own efforts each night?

Gaining muscle can really be broken down into three key components – Eating, Training, and Sleeping. The first two are topics of much debate and controversy (some of which has already been discussed) but the last is far more straightforward. Either you are sleeping enough or you aren’t. And if you aren’t, well…you really should be.

In order to gain size and strength, your body needs to repair the muscles that you have torn in the act of lifting weights. But did you know that the majority of muscle repair occurs while you sleep? If you don’t get enough of it you are cutting yourself short, and thus limiting your own progress. Sleep is needed for both protein synthesis and energy conservation (as well as to stay alive) – required to rebuild muscle tissue. Sleeping ensures that the food you eat in the course of the day goes towards replenishing muscle glycogen and healing the body. It is also necessary for the production of Adenosine – the chemical that recharges the brain and allows you to recover and feel refreshed.

If that isn’t enough for you, consider this – the three most anabolic hormones in the body are Testosterone, Growth Hormone (GH), and Insulin. You need to maximize all three to achieve muscle growth, and it just so happens that close to 70% of your body’s growth hormones are released while sleeping. (GH is also extremely beneficial for weight loss, which is why poor quality of sleep tends to cause you to retain body fat).

It isn’t enough to lie in bed staring at the wall, either- in order to repair, you must clock in a significant amount of time in the deepest stages of sleep - the REM phase.

How much do you need? It is a pretty standard – aim for 8 hours a night. Now obviously people’s busy lives, careers, and short attention spans won’t always allow for this, but thats why i said aim. This will yield the best results, but anything within proximity to 8 hours is usually okay. Just make sure you get at least 6 to achieve enough REM sleep (it comes in stages, and should not be cut short). Try not to sleep more than 9 as well, as this will begin a new cycle and interrupt your natural bodily rhythms. Although it is important to get enough sleep each night, this is especially true on the days you lift, as your body is in most dire need (I actually don’t lift on the days I know I won’t be sleeping much). If you are unable to do so, at least try to make up for it on the weekends or whenever you can.