The Essential Guide to Muscle Growth and Lasting Strength

The Essential Guide to Muscle Growth and Lasting Strength

By Dr. Jackson Taylor, PT, DPT, CPS | Bio Precision Aging Contributor

The Essential Guide to Muscle Growth and Lasting Strength

By Dr. Jackson Taylor, PT, DPT, CPS | Bio Precision Aging Contributor

I've been in the gym most of my life—first as an athlete, later as a coach and clinician, and now as a husband and dad. And one thing I can tell you without hesitation: building muscle has changed everything for me.

It's not just about looking good in a tank top (though that's a bonus).It's about being strong enough to throw my daughter into the pool for hours. It's about being fit enough to protect my family. It's about voluntarily suffering to build a more resilient man. It's about walking into my 40s with energy, confidence, and the kind of strength that doesn't fade when life gets heavy.

The research is crystal clear on this: muscle mass and strength predict longevity better than your weight or BMI ever could. Yet after age 40, most men and women start losing about 1% of muscle mass and up to 3% of strength every year. That's why I think of muscle as "the great insurance policy." It protects you against falls, frailty, disease, and frankly, a weaker version of yourself. Better yet, it makes life more enjoyable because you are—simply put—harder to kill. And the best news? You can stop—and even reverse—the creep of muscle loss. Here's how.

Progressive Overload: The Foundation of Everything

As a former college football player, competitive powerlifter, and spending years coaching, I've watched what defines the strongest amongst us—they are the ones who show up and add a little more weight to the bar week after week. That's progressive overload. More weight, more reps, or more sets over time equals more muscle (as long as intensity is there to match).

If you've been lifting the same dumbbells for the last year, your body has no reason to change. It simply gets good at lifting that weight. You have to get out of your comfort zone to see results.

The science backs this up completely—progressive overload is the primary driver of muscular adaptation and growth.

Train with a Full Range of Motion

I'll never forget the first time I ditched ego lifting and actually squatted all the way down, putting my quads and glutes on their fullest stretch. It was humbling—the weight dropped by 25%—but the results were night and day.

The data doesn't lie: full range of motion builds more muscle than partial reps. Specifically, the most powerful portion is the end-range stretch—the bottom of the squat, the deepest part of a press, the full reach in a row. That's where the muscle fibers are maximally stretched and forced to adapt, and that's the sweet spot where real growth happens.

So if you want the most bang for your buck: lower the weight, own the full movement, and chase that deep stretch.

Finding Your Optimal Training Volume

Here's the rule of thumb I use with clients:

10–20 sets per muscle per week is the sweet spot for most people. You can go with 6–12 reps per set, but anywhere from 5–30 will build muscle if trained hard enough. The key is pushing each set close to failure—leave 1–3 reps in the tank most of the time, but every so often you need to let the big dog eat and see what you're capable of. Intelligently, of course.

Here's a practical example for building your chest with 12 weekly sets:

Day 1:

• Bench Press – 4 sets of 8 reps

• Incline Dumbbell Press – 3 sets of 12–20 reps

Day 2:

• Weighted Push-Ups – 3 sets of 12–20 reps

• Cable Fly – 2 sets of 12–20 reps

That's it. Simple, effective, repeatable.

Frequency: The Game-Changer Most People Miss

This one trips people up. Let me make it simple: every muscle group should ideally be trained at least twice per week. Think of it as two reminders to your body: "Hey, this muscle matters—don't shrink."

• Once a week = maintenance (and some growth, especially for beginners)

• Twice a week = optimal growth

• Three or more = extra benefit, but with diminishing returns

The biggest mistake most lifters make? Hitting a muscle once a week and thinking that's enough. Research shows you get immense benefit when you go from one session per muscle group to two.

Here's why this works: Muscle protein synthesis (the process that builds new muscle) only stays elevated for about 24–48 hours after training. If you blast chest on Monday and wait until next week to hit it again, you've left several days of "growth potential" on the table.

Instead, split that same workload into two sessions—say Monday and Thursday—and you'll stimulate growth twice without doing more total sets and without spending two hours in the gym.

Example with 12 weekly sets for chest:

• 1-Day Split (Monday only): 12 sets in one session → one spike in growth

• 2-Day Split (Monday + Thursday): 6 sets each day → two growth spikes, better recovery, and better results

After two days per week, each extra session still helps, but with diminishing returns. For most people, 2–3 quality sessions per muscle group is the Goldilocks zone.

Nutrition: You Can't Build a House Without Bricks

I tell my clients this all the time: you can't build a house without bricks. Protein is the bricks. Training is the workers. And carbs and fats are the fuel that keeps the workers building.

The essentials:

• Protein: 0.7–1 gram per pound of bodyweight daily

• Carbs: Essential for energy and recovery—don't fear them

• Fats: 25–35% of your diet to keep hormones balanced

Your nutrition doesn't need to be perfect, but it needs to be consistent.

Supplements That Actually Move the Needle

There are shelves full of hype, but here's what's actually worth your time and money:

Creatine Monohydrate (5g daily): The most studied supplement in existence. Builds strength and muscle, and newer research into brain health benefits is incredible.

Caffeine (200–400mg, ~3–6 mg/kg): Proven to increase strength and endurance. For me, that's just a strong coffee 60 minutes before I train.

Beta-Alanine (3–6g daily): Helps with those brutal high-rep finishers by buffering fatigue.

Citrulline Malate (6–8g pre-workout): Improves blood flow and can give you a performance edge on longer sets.

Remember: supplements are the icing on the cake. The cake is training well, eating to perform, and sleeping effectively.

Recovery: Where the Real Growth Happens

This one hits home as a dad. If I'm up at 12am and 3am with my little girl, I know my recovery is taking a blow—and the gym will feel it the next day. In small doses, lack of sleep won't kill your gains, but chronically undersleeping will destroy your ability to grow muscle. That's why I guard my sleep like it's part of training (because it is).

The recovery essentials:

• Sleep: Aim for 7–9 hours nightly

• Rest: Muscles don't grow when you lift—they grow when you rest

• Stress management: Your body doesn't know the difference between work stress and training stress

Some stress is necessary and good for growth. Excessive stress will wreck your progress.

Your Bio Precision Aging Action Plan

If you take nothing else from this article, remember these fundamentals:

✓ Train each muscle at least twice per week

✓ Aim for 10–20 sets per muscle weekly

✓ Use full range of motion, emphasize the end stretch

✓ Eat enough protein and total calories✓ Consider creatine, caffeine, beta-alanine, and citrulline

✓ Prioritize 7–9 hours of sleep and stress management

The Bottom Line

Here's the truth: muscle is medicine. I've seen it change lives in 20-year-olds chasing performance and in 60-year-olds chasing independence. If you want to age strong, this is your path.

The beauty of strength training is that it's never too late to start, and you're never too experienced to improve. Whether you're just beginning your fitness journey or you've been training for decades, these principles will serve as your foundation for building lasting strength and muscle.

Your future self will thank you for the work you put in today.

Learn more or how you can receive personal health coaching from Dr. Jackson Taylor at bioprecisonaging.com where average is not the target

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Dr. Jackson Taylor, PT, DPT, CPS is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, former college football player, former competitive powerlifter, and certified strength coach. He specializes in helping busy professionals build sustainable strength and muscle while balancing the demands of family and career. Connect with Dr. Taylor for personalized coaching and program design.