[Episode 26] Understanding Ways You Can Train: Part Three – Mass Gain

This episode is part three of our mini-series about different training methods. I want to take the time to explore ways that you can train and the outcomes different training styles will have on your body.

Today we’re looking at training to gain mass. Gaining mass is a way of training to build bigger muscles.

There are many reasons folks like to train to build mass. One of the biggest reasons is because It is perceived as masculine to have bigger muscles.

Trans and gender diverse folks that are seeking to look more masc or are transitioning either medically or non-medically sometimes choose to train to gain mass so that their bodies better align with who they know they are inside.

Being more muscular also helps masc TGD folks be read by others as more masculine and less feminine. This can help with being misgendered.

Gaining mass does not mean that you will gain strength. Big muscles are very much for aesthetics.

You don’t require big muscles to be strong or have muscle endurance. In reality there are many folks that are very lean and muscular that are all show and no go, meaning that when it comes to actually putting their big muscles to use, they often lack lasting strength or endurance.

It requires balanced training to acquire all round strength, endurance and muscle size.

If you wanna learn how you can put together a well-rounded program for yourself, first have a listen to Episode 22 about Strength Training and Episode 24 about Endurance Training to get a good idea about how all these ways of training influence your body.

Training to build mass is a tough way to train. To build muscle, you need to build up lactic acid in your muscles. This stimulates growth hormones which are the key to muscle growth.

You can either lift a weight that’s 80-90% of your one max rep for 6-10 reps for 2-4 sets OR by lifting a weight around your 70% 1 max effort for 10 reps for 10 sets.

Put into a training session a heavy session for low reps would look like this:

 

 

A bodyweight session would follow a high reps high sets layout and look more like this:

 

 

With both of these sessions, you would complete all the sets and reps of one exercise before moving down the list to the next one.