5 Exercises to Pack on Lean Muscle
IF YOUR MAIN FITNESS goal is to add mass and chisel out your figure, then the thought of building "lean muscle" likely sounds rather appealing. After all, why would you dedicate hours in the gym and effort in the kitchen only to gain subpar muscle?
Except here's the truth: What you want to do is build muscle, period. Yes, "lean muscle" is a trendy term used by social media influencers and magazines before that (including us!). And there's nothing wrong with using the term, either. But as the experts explain, whether you're trying to add strength, change your appearance, or just move and feel better, muscle (and not "lean" muscle) is your ticket.
Still, the question remains: Is lean muscle real, or is it just a buzzword used to get views, likes, and clicks? We asked the experts.
What Is Lean Muscle?
Let's clear it up, once and for all: all muscle is lean.
"Lean muscle is kind of an oxymoron—all muscle is lean," says Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., and professor of exercise science at CUNY’s Lehman College.. "You can have fatty infiltration about a muscle—that can happen with age where your muscles can deteriorate. But, you don't build fatty muscles."
As we age or become sedentary, there's a reduction in muscle fibers that can be replaced with fat, creating these infiltrations. New muscle does not come with these fat deposits. Don't let your social feeds fool you—there should be no difference in your training strategy to build "lean" muscle versus "regular" muscle.
Benefits of Building Lean Muscle
Muscle Powers Movement and Support Joints
Our muscles support the movement that happens at our joints. They can absorb shock that may radiate through impactful motions, such as running and jumping, which can help protect your joints from long-term damage. Strong muscles also keep joints moving in the correct direction. If your muscles are weak, they may not be able to handle powerful forces, causing fractures and breaks.
The muscle you build sets you up for success in a host of areas that extend beyond the gym and aesthetics, because strength has few downsides (and, all things equal, a bigger muscle can display more strength). That means muscle can help any other movement you enjoy doing, from playing outside with your kids to hauling your garbage out the door. Building muscle can “set [you] up for success in the things you enjoy doing outside the gym,” says Jahkeen Washington, C.P.T., owner of JTW Fit and the Harlem Kettlebell Club told Men's Health.
Better Overall Health
Muscle uses blood glucose and fatty acids for fuel, helping lower our blood sugar. Long-term high blood sugar has tons of scary effects, including an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, blood vessel damage, kidney problems, eye disease, and nerve damage.
You'll Look Good, Too
Obviously, there are aesthetic benefits to having a muscular physique. While this shouldn't be your number one motivator, it's also okay to want to achieve a certain look, within reason.
4 Tips for Gaining Lean Muscle
Building muscle is not achieved simply by stacking as many plates as possible on a barbell and repping out as many squats as you can. There's a reason many men struggle to gain muscle mass. It's a fine science encompassed by lifting heavy, yes—but also by sleeping properly, fueling the body effectively, and training smarter, not harder. Here are a few expert-backed tips for gaining muscle.
Challenge Yourself (In a Smart Way)
Strength training, especially with heavy loads, will help you build muscle. That said, you should never sacrifice form for more weight plates on the barbell. Neglecting form can lead to injury—setting you even further back than where you started. Once form is established, then you'll need to load up and challenge your muscles to build them.
"Training heavy, safely and efficiently, has many benefits," says Curtis Shannon, C.S.C.S. "Heavy training challenges the muscles not only concentrically but eccentrically. If done right, the stimulus of heavy weight going down with control and going back up will cause greater muscle tear and rebuild."
Utilize Proper Sets/Reps
Muscle hypertrophy is the name of the process behind muscle growth. When we challenge our muscles enough, their cells adapt to their environment by increasing in diameter and length.
There are specific training protocols that have been found to emphasize muscle hypertrophy. According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), incorporating multiple sets of moderate loads creates the greatest elevation of testosterone and human growth factor, two hormones that stimulate muscle hypertrophy, when compared with low reps of high loads and high reps of low loads. That means aiming for sets of 6 to 12 reps with loads between 65 to 85 percent of your 1 rep max, with at least 1 to 3 minutes rest between sets.
Eat More Protein
In case you haven't already heard, protein is incredibly important to building muscle. It forms the building blocks that create muscle tissue. If you don't get enough of it, all your hard work in the gym won't matter.
Aim to eat at least 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight. That's about the the maximum amount your body can use in a day, according to a landmark study in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Fill your plate with protein-packed chicken, turkey, eggs, edamame, and peas. If you're still not getting enough, consider opting for a high-quality protein powder to add to smoothies or mixed with a low-fat milk as a snack.
Don't Neglect Recovery
You may be killing it in the gym, but it means nothing if you're not allowing your body time to rest and recover. You'll want to make sure you're not forgetting to program in some rest days in between your workouts—at least one a week, according to Kurt Ellis, C.S.C.S., owner and coach at Beyond Numbers Performance.
Prioritize your sleep, too. When you sleep, the growth hormones that kick start muscle growth are secreted. Ideally, you'll want to try for eight hours of sleep—but that's not always possible when life gets busy. Make sure you're getting at least at least six hours.
5 Best Exercises for Building Lean Muscle
If you really want to put on muscle, you'll need to incorporate exercises that challenge multiple muscle groups at one time. The way to do that is by programming multi-joint movements—exercises that require the use of several muscles at one time.
"Yes, isolation training has value, but it can't be the backbone of your training," says Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., Men's Health fitness director. "Multi-joint moves are key in your workouts."
If you're unsure about which exercises will help you build muscle most efficiently, focus on movements that let you do three things. Aim for multi-joint moves, as Samuel explained. Then, search for exercises that allow you to utilize the principles of progressive overload (adding weight, volume, intensity, etc.) so you can continually challenge your muscles and improve over time. The final trait of moves that efficiently build muscle is this: They should allow you to work over a relatively large range of motion for the target muscles.
That means big, compound movements that can move big weight, like squats, deadlifts, chest presses, and more. Here are five of our favorite muscle-building moves.
Pushup
Why: The pushup challenges your entire body—if you're doing it properly. The plank position maintained throughout the movement challenges the core, shoulders, and back as you press using the chest and arms. This exercise is easily done anywhere, and can be scaled up or down based on ability. Try slowing down the lowering portion of the movement, or adding a plate to your back for extra challenge.
How to Do It:
Start in a high plank position, with your hands stacked under your shoulders, toes on the floor, and a flat back. Squeeze your shoulder blades, abs, and glutes to create tension.
Bend your elbows to lower your torso down to just above the floor. Don't allow your elbows to flare out; keep them 'glued' to your sides.
Press off the floor back up to the top position, extending your elbows.
How to Train It: Do 3 or 4 sets of as many good-form reps as you can. “You can easily take pushups to failure,” says Samuel. “The worst that will happen is you’ll plop to the ground on your final rep.” You can do pushups daily or with any upper-body workout.
Deadlift
Why: Deadlifts are more practical than you'd expect. Think about how many times a day you bend over to pick something up, or to tie your shoes. We mimic these motions in deadlifts, with the utilization of big muscle groups like your glutes, hamstrings, and spinal muscles. It's an exercise that you can quickly load up big weight, once you get the form down. Plus, there are tons of variations to keep the movement challenging as you progress.
How to Do It:
Step up to the loaded barbell, starting with your feet about shoulder-width apart (this might vary by your anatomy and personal preference with experience), with your feet under the bar. Your shins should be close to or actually touching the bar.
Push your butt back and hinge at the waist to bend down to grab the bar on either side of your legs. Grasp it in both hands using an overhand grip.
Make sure your hips are lower than your shoulders. Squeeze your shoulder blades together to set your lats, then engage your core. Keep your neck in a neutral position; don't look up.
Push your feet through the floor and pull the weight up, keeping the bar close to your body. You might find that you scrape your shins with the bar, that's okay. Invest in long socks or wear pants. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the list, but don't lean back.
How to Train It: Begin with 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps to start. As you progress, you can begin adding the load and working with lower rep schemes to build up strength.
Goblet Squat
Why: “The squat is a fundamental motion that all people should understand,” says Samuel. You can easily conform them to whatever equipment you have available to you, too—utilize a kettlebell, dumbbell, or medicine ball to perform a goblet squat. This squat variation provides an extra core and shoulder challenge that other forms don't emphasize.
How to Do It:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding the weight in front of your chest with both hands. Squeeze your shoulder blades to create mid-back tension to help support the load and brace your core.
Push your butt back, then bend your knees to squat down as low as you comfortably can while maintaining the proper upright posture. Push your knees out and keep your core engaged; don't rest your elbows on your knees.
Press off the floor with both feet to stand back up, squeezing your glutes and exhaling at the top.
How to Train It: Aim to do 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps of goblet squats, and don’t be afraid to go heavy, says Samuel: “Whatever the biggest dumbbells are in your gym, work up to those.” It’s a great way to start a leg workout. You can also use a lighter weight, aim for 15 to 20 reps per set, and do it at the end of your workout.
Reverse Lunge
Why: The reverse lunge is the ultimate entry point into single-leg training, in which you focus on just one limb at a time. Build up this fundamental exercise, and you'll work through muscle discrepancies and build single leg strength.
How to Do It:
If you have dumbbells or kettlebells, hold them by your sides. Keep your torso upright by rolling the shoulder blades down and back. Maintain tension here to not let the weights roll your chest forward.
On each rep, you step back, bend both knees, then power back to standing position.
The moment you power back, you’re blasting your glutes and driving into “hip extension,” a position that’s critical for athleticism—and can protect your lower back, too.
How to Train It: You can do reverse lunges with only your bodyweight daily, building athleticism and blasting your quads and glutes. To forge serious muscle size and strength, do reverse lunges with heavy dumbbells or kettlebells held at your sides. Aim to do 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps per side—and complete all reps on one side before going on to the other.
Chinups
Why: The chinup is an expression of relative strength, as you work to pull your bodyweight up to the bar. This move challenges your lats and your biceps—and if you're doing it right, your core will work hard, too. Like the pushup, you can scale up by adding an external load.
How to Do It:
Grasp the bar with an underhand grip. If the bar overhead is too high for you to grab from a standing position, step up to get a grip.
Squeeze your shoulder blades, abs, and glutes to get into position. Maintain this tension throughout the set.
Pull yourself up until your head is over the bar. Keep your hanging plank position strong.
Slowly lower back down to the starting position.
How to Train It: Aim to do 3 or 4 sets of as many good-form reps as you can at least twice a week.
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