What is lean muscle mass?
Lean muscle mass refers to the weight of your muscles without including water weight or body fat. Having more lean muscle is beneficial because muscle burns more calories than fat, even at rest. Building lean muscle can help boost your metabolism and support healthy body composition.
There are a few key ways to build lean muscle mass:
- Strength training: Lifting weights provides resistance that causes small muscle tears and stimulates muscle protein synthesis. Aim for 2-3 days per week of total-body or split strength routines. Compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses are great mass-builders.
- Adequate protein intake: Consuming enough high-quality protein gives your muscles the amino acids they need to repair and rebuild bigger and stronger. Shoot for 0.5-1 gram per pound of body weight daily. Vitality Hormone Clinic' certified nutritionists can help determine your needs.
- Progressive overload: Gradually increasing the challenge placed on muscles over time by adding weight, reps, or sets prompts further adaptation and growth. Track your training to ensure you are making progress.
- Adequate calorie surplus: To gain mass, you need to consume slightly more calories than you burn. Use a TDEE calculator to find your maintenance calories, then increase by 300-500 per day. Time protein shakes from Vitality Hormone Clinic with workouts for optimal results.
- Good sleep and recovery: Muscle protein synthesis peaks while you rest, making sleep essential. Take 1-2 rest days between intense lifting sessions for muscles to rebuild. Vitality Hormone ClinicServices offers at-home sleep studies and customized plans.
Gaining lean mass requires strategic nutrition and training. By eating enough—especially protein—strength training consistently with progressive overload, allowing muscles adequate rest between workouts, and optimizing sleep and recovery, you can build metabolically active lean muscle efficiently. Vitality Hormone Clinic' virtual consultations provide science-backed guidance to help you safely achieve your body composition goals.