Lyle McDonald is a physiologist and author known internationally as an expert on nutrition, fat loss and muscle growth. He wrote several books, as well as amazing epistles on his website Bodyrecomposition.com. McDonald stands by his opinion and does not shy away from kicking holy houses. YouTuber Adam Peeler managed to get him to participate in a podcast, in which McDonald unfolds a lot of interesting insights. You will receive a handy summary of this podcast from us.

PROGRESSIVE TENSION OVERLOAD AND TRAINING VOLUME: WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT AND WHAT INTERACTIONS DO THEY HAVE? (3:46)

The scientific literature teaches us that mechanical tension – the tension applied to the muscle fiber – is the main driver of muscle growth. However, it is not the only factor involved in the process. After all, if that were the case, you would only have to do one set with your one-rep max per exercise. However, we know that for muscle growth you need to do multiple sets with multiple reps each. By multiple reps I mean an average rep range, so from roughly 6 to 15 reps.

Yes, there are some studies that show that more volume (i.e. more sets) produces more muscle gains. But keep in mind that all these studies are based on progressive tension overload. So you need to use more weight and/or reps over time to grow. Doing much or more volume is therefore not sufficient in itself, at least not for myofibrillar hypertrophy, the sustainable form of muscle growth in which muscle fibers are enlarged. Volume may well be the main driver of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, the ‘non-functional’ form of muscle growth in which no increase in muscle strength occurs.

It is also a misconception that for progressive tension overload you have to put more weight on the bar every workout or every week. Beginners may still succeed, but as you get more advanced, the body adapts less quickly and you will therefore stick to a certain weight for longer. The point is that you see an increase in weight in the long term.

There are studies that suggest that very high volumes, up to 45 sets per muscle group per week, are superior, but these are poorly designed (e.g. too short rest intervals), resulting in a low quality of training. And the lower the quality of the sets, the more you need. The general consensus is that an average natural bodybuilder can achieve optimal results with 10 to 20 sets per muscle group per week. I already said that years ago.

WHAT ABOUT TENSION AND VOLUME IN ENHANCED BODYBUILDERS? (22:15)

Tension is less important for bodybuilders who use steroids. After all, they get the main stimulus from the steroids, allowing volume to do the rest of the work. They therefore benefit from very high training volumes.

I even advise against enhanced bodybuilders to gain weight quickly. They can handle such high weights that injuries are lurking.

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE YOUR OWN ‘OPTIMAL’ TRAINING VOLUME? (24:14 AND 38:15)

Coach Eric Helms says do as much volume as you can recover from. I don’t know if I agree with that. My opinion is more: do the least you can, while still making progress. After all, you also have a life besides bodybuilding. Many natural bodybuilders are obsessed with optimizing in order to achieve maximum muscle growth. But the fact is that you often only achieve a little bit of extra muscle growth for a much larger investment of time, while as a natural you will sooner or later reach your genetic limit anyway.

A natural’s training career lasts four years, provided it is productive training. After four years you have reached your genetic potential for muscle growth and it only makes sense to train for maintenance. During those four years, the training volume undergoes a certain evolution.

For beginners I prescribe 3 sets per muscle group three times a week. Because if you start with high volumes as a beginner, say 20 sets a week, what do you do when you reach a plateau? Then you go to 30, 40 sets? That’s why I suggest: as long as you make progress with 10 sets a week and recover well, you don’t have to add volume.

Intermediates do 14-16 sets per week, with 6-8 sets per workout. Because believe me, if you’ve done 8-10 hard sets during a workout, you’re really done with that muscle group. Otherwise, you’re just not training hard enough (you’re leaving too many reps in the tank).

I advise advanced players to do specialization blocks: for example train two muscle groups at high volumes and train the rest on maintenance, i.e. at low volumes. Three or four sets a week is often enough to maintain a muscle group. Do that for four to six weeks and then rotate. This means that as an advanced you do less volume in total than an intermediate. Logical, in my opinion, because as an advanced bodybuilder you are so strong that the training load per set is much greater than with a beginner or intermediate.

AND WHAT ABOUT THE TRAINING FREQUENCY? (51:40)

From a certain number of sets it seems logical to distribute them over the week. Many studies do not show a benefit of a high training frequency, but that is because they work at low volumes. Assuming that 10 sets per muscle group is the maximum productive volume per workout, you will need to train a muscle group at least twice a week if you use a volume of 10-20 sets.

The same goes for powerlifters: you can only do a limited number of heavy sets per workout. If you want to do more, you have to train more often.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT VOLUME RAMPING (GOING FROM MINIMUM EFFECTIVE VOLUME TO MAXIMUM RECOVERABLE VOLUME IN A CYCLE)? (54:00)

I’m not in favor of it in general. After all, there is a certain risk involved in working towards the maximum of your abilities. It’s safer and easier to find your optimal volume and maintain it until your body adapts.

There may be situations where you gradually increase your volume during a cycle, especially if it is difficult to make progress in weight. This can happen, for example, with small muscle groups that are trained in isolation, such as the side shoulders with lateral raises. If an increase in weight is too great to do a decent number of reps, it may make sense to do more sets.

HOW SHOULD YOU STRUCTURE YOUR DIET FOR OPTIMAL MUSCLE GROWTH WITHOUT A LOT OF FAT GAIN? (57:47)

The number of calories you need to achieve maximum muscle growth is surprisingly low. Let’s assume the most ideal conditions. A natural bodybuilder can build up to 1 to 2 pounds (0.45-0.9 kg) of muscle mass per month in his first year of training. How many calories do you need for that? That has never been properly researched. Estimates have been made of 2400 to 2700 calories per pound. Others estimate it at 3500. Let’s assume the latter. If you gain 1 pound of muscle mass per month, that equates to just over 100 calories per day. So you only need few extra calories, simply due to the fact that muscle growth is slow (relatively fast for a beginner). And unfortunately, you can’t speed up the process by eating even more. The extra ‘gains’ you create with this are fat mass. You can’t force feed muscle growth.

When you bulk, you will always gain some fat. That’s not a problem, as long as you keep it within limits. After all, it has to come off again. I therefore recommend staying within a certain margin: men between 10 and 15% body fat, women between 20 and 24%. You then go through a number of bulk cycles and you insert a minicut as soon as you have reached the limit of your fat percentage.

DOES CALORIE CYCLING, SO EATING LESS ON REST DAYS, MAKE SENSE? (1:03:07)

Many train more than three times a week and then it really makes little sense. In fact, if you maintain a calorie deficit on rest days to lose some fat, it can get impair adaptations. After all, muscle protein synthesis does not stop abruptly after 24 or 36 hours. Only if you have two rest days in a row, you could maintain a calorie deficit on the second day.

But it is better to ensure that you do not become too fat during a bulking cycle. A matter of using a not too large calorie surplus. The little fat mass that is nevertheless added, you remove it after a few bulking cycles by means of a minicut.

No calorie cycling at all? Yes, but very simple: eat every day at a maintenance level and on training days you add a post-workout shake on top.