Celebrity trainer Corey Calliet breaks down the basics and gives his expert tips for building muscle. Training in Dubai 

People go the gym for all sorts of reasons, but two pop up again and again – to lose weight and build muscle. Both are worthy goals, and both require a good deal of hard work and commitment.

However, while putting in the effort is key to both losing weight and building muscle, you need a plan to go alongside your endeavour in order to succeed. When it comes to bulking up in particular, rushing in blind is as likely to lead to injury as it is a beefier physique.

To help ensure your effort leads to the results you’re after, Coach enlisted celebrity trainer Corey Calliet – who, perhaps most notably, trained Michael B Jordan when he starred in Creed– for his advice on building muscle.

What are the basics of building muscle?

There are numerous theories, methods and preferences, whether the goal is to improve health, aesthetics, performance or a combination of all three. There is no shortage of information to help you get there – so much that it can seem a little complicated.

Keep it simple! Eat the proper amounts of protein, carbs and fats at frequent times. Train intensely and with a purpose but also do not forget to rest. Sleeping properly and taking a full rest day each week will also help.

What are the best workouts and exercises to build muscle?

The best workouts for building muscle are made up mostly of functional weight training exercises, such as the bench press, barbell curl, triceps extension, lat pull-down, overhead press and squat.

For beginners, I would say find your rhythm first of all – as in what form of training do you enjoy the most? There are bodyweight exercises that you can do with minimal equipment at home or outdoors. If you are really itching to get in the gym, I recommend getting yourself a trainer who will teach you proper form.

What mistakes do people commonly make when trying to build muscle?

Most commonly it’s ego lifting – they try to go to heavy, do too much and end up injuring themselves. It’s best to understand the capacity of your body and build your strength, stamina and endurance, and eventually you will be at the point where you can lift heavier, run faster and so on.

How quickly should you expect to build muscle?

With proper and consistent training, you can start seeing results in 21 days.

Do you have any other top tips for building muscle?

The only way to build quality muscle is through a detailed nutrition program, intense training, rest and recovery. Above all, have patience, fall in love with the process and go into this journey with the mindset that it will take time.

Muscle-Building Tips

Go lighter for longer

The heavier weights you can lift, the stronger you are, and working towards improving your strength levels for the big lifts is a great way to ensure you are consistently progressing towards a fitter, healthier and stronger body. But if your primary fitness goal is to build as much muscle mass as you can, then spending more time lifting lighter weights might be a better option.

Research from McMaster University in Canada found that subjects who followed a 12-week lifting programme using 75-90% of their one-rep max for sets of eight to 12 reps added the same amount of lean muscle mass as those who used only 20 to 50% of their max but lifted to muscular failure, which was around 20 to 25 reps per set.

So if you want to add lean size but give your joints, tendons and other connective tissues an easier time, try going lighter for longer to pack on muscle.

Written by Nick Harris-Fry for Coach and legally licensed through the Matcha publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@getmatcha.com.