Energy Focus Pump†
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On the label
01Bodybuilding, decoded
MuscleDNA is here to help you learn how bodybuilding really works, with the optimal training and nutrition guide for your goal.
What muscle is
Skeletal muscle is the tissue you train, and in adults it makes up roughly 30 to 40% of body mass (Janssen et al., 2000). Each fiber is one long cell that shortens when a nerve tells it to. Cardiac and smooth muscle work without conscious control.
Select a muscleIt lights up on the figure.
- Muscle fiber10 to 100 µm wideone cell with many nuclei
- Myofibrilabout 1 µm widea chain of sarcomeres, end to end
Inside a fiber
A sarcomere is a stack of thin actin filaments and thick myosin filaments between two Z-discs. When calcium arrives, myosin heads grab actin and pull. Neither filament shortens. The Z-discs move closer together.
- Sarcomere length
- 2.50 µm
- A-band (myosin)
- 1.60 µm, fixed
- I-band (actin only)
- 0.90 µm
- H-zone (no overlap)
- 0.50 µm
How muscle builds
Growth starts with a stimulus. Three signals are most often credited with turning hard training into bigger fibers (Schoenfeld, 2010).
TensionHeavy or near-failure sets through a full range of motion.
Metabolic stressThe burn and pump from higher reps and shorter rests.
Muscle damageSmall tears from unfamiliar or stretched loading. Useful in small doses.
After a hard session, muscle protein synthesis rises and stays elevated for roughly a day or two. Food and rest decide what that window builds. Satellite cells then donate extra nuclei, so a larger fiber can keep up its protein production.
How muscle is lost
Muscle shrinks when breakdown outpaces rebuilding for long enough. The usual causes are disuse, too little energy or protein, and age without resistance training. Strength drops faster than size does (Mitchell et al., 2012).
0Strength falls this many times faster than muscle mass in studies that measured both
Grow or shrink
Muscle protein is built and broken down all day. Move the sliders to see which way the balance tips.
A directional sketch of the logic, not a size prediction. More dots show as growth gets large; whether growth needs new nuclei is still debated in humans (Roberts et al., 2018).
Why food matters
Training sends the signal. Food supplies the material and the energy to act on it. Enter your details, then slide to see roughly how many calories each goal takes.
Slide to choose your goal— kcal a day · Maintenance
Estimate from the Mifflin–St Jeor equation, rounded to the nearest 10. Adjust by your weekly weight trend.
0kcal per gram of protein. It builds and repairs tissue
0kcal per gram of carbohydrate. It fuels hard sessions
0kcal per gram of fat. It supports hormones and cell membranes
What makes muscle grow
Adding muscle takes a hard training stimulus, enough protein and slightly more energy than you burn (Iraki et al., 2019). The ranges are what the research gives. Edit the boxes to use your own numbers.
0
%
energy surplus above maintenance0
% a week
of bodyweight gained per week by novice and intermediate lifters0
g/kg
g of protein per kg of bodyweight each day- Carbohydrate: at least 3 to 5 g/kg per day keeps sessions productive.
- Fat: 0.5 to 1.5 g/kg per day. Advanced lifters gain more slowly, so they use a smaller surplus.
- Protein ceiling: in a meta-analysis, intakes above about 1.6 g/kg per day added little extra lean mass (Morton et al., 2018).
What muscle maintenance takes
Keeping muscle is easier than building it. Eat around maintenance energy, keep protein in the range recommended for exercising people, and keep lifting so the body has a reason to hold on to the tissue (Jäger et al., 2017). Edit the boxes under the lines to use your own numbers.
0
g/kg
g of protein per kg of bodyweight each day for most exercising people0
g
of high-quality protein per meal, or about 0.25 g/kg- Spread it out. Aim for doses roughly every 3 to 4 hours across the day.
- Keep training. Resistance work is what tells the body the muscle is still needed.
- Watch the trend. A steady weekly average of body weight shows whether intake matches the goal.
What makes fat loss
Fat loss needs a calorie deficit. What you control is how much muscle goes with it. Slower weight loss and more protein both help with muscle maintenance. Edit the boxes under the lines to use your own numbers.
0
% a week
of body weight lost per week keeps muscle best in lean athletes (Helms et al., 2014)0
g/kg
g of protein per kg of bodyweight each day for athletes in an energy deficit (Hector and Phillips, 2018)- Lose gradually. In an elite-athlete study, 0.7% of body weight a week kept and added lean mass; 1.4% a week did not significantly change it (Garthe et al., 2011).
- Protein first. In a trial with a large energy deficit and hard training, 2.4 g/kg per day produced more lean mass and more fat loss than 1.2 g/kg (Longland et al., 2016).
- Do not stop lifting. Heavy sets are the signal to keep muscle while energy is low.
Targets for your goal, from the details on the previous page.
Built on the evidence
The MuscleDNA plan is a 12-week hypertrophy program. It is organised around the variables research links to growth: enough weekly sets (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), a frequency you can repeat (Schoenfeld et al., 2019), hard sets close to failure and steady recovery.
0weeks from first session to deload
0training days each week
0goal tracks: grow, maintenance or lean
- Every muscle twice a week, so the sets are spread across sessions and each one stays hard.
- Progressive overload. Add a rep, then weight, whenever you reach the top of the rep range.
- Nutrition is built in. Each track comes with the calorie and protein targets for that goal.
Your week
Free sample
See how the plan reads before you commit. The free sample gives you a full training week with the progression rules, so you can run your first sessions on your own.
- One week of training with exercises, sets and rep ranges
- How to choose weights and when to add load
- A simple calorie and protein guide for your goal
More hard sets, more growth
A meta-analysis found a graded dose-response between weekly sets and muscle growth. Each extra weekly set per muscle was linked to about 0.37% more growth (Schoenfeld et al., 2017).
0extra growth for each additional weekly set
0more growth in higher-volume groups than in lower-volume groups
Illustration of the pooled slope (0.37% per set), not a prediction for one person.
Frequency is a scheduling choice
When weekly volume is matched, training a muscle more often does not meaningfully change growth. The authors note that frequency can be chosen by personal preference (Schoenfeld et al., 2019).
1 session
2 sessions
3 sessions
Same weekly total, same expected growth. Spread the sets so every one is a hard one.
What it means for your training
- Count hard sets, not exercises. Weekly sets per muscle is the number that tracks growth.
- Add volume gradually, and pull back when recovery slips.
- Two sessions per muscle is a practical default. Pick a split you can repeat for months.
MuscleDNA Pre-Workout: Energy, Focus and Pump† in one scoop.
† Not evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. 300 to 350 mg caffeine a scoop. Not for under 18s, or if pregnant or nursing.
Pre-workout that tastes like pizza night.
Per scoop: 6 g citrulline malate, 3.2 g beta-alanine, 300 mg caffeine, 600 mg Alpha-GPC. 30 servings, 420 g.
Shop pre-workoutYes, it tastes like fried chicken.
Per scoop: 6 g citrulline malate, 3.2 g beta-alanine, 350 mg caffeine, 1.5 g L-tyrosine. 30 servings, 420 g.
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Per scoop: 6 g citrulline malate, 3.2 g beta-alanine, 350 mg caffeine, 200 mg L-theanine. 30 servings, 420 g.
Shop pre-workoutCrisp pineapple, apple and pear.
Per scoop: 6 g citrulline malate, 3.2 g beta-alanine, 300 mg caffeine, 200 mg L-theanine. 30 servings, 420 g.
Shop pre-workoutThe MuscleDNA hoodie: a relaxed fit that stays out of the way, with the mark on the chest. Five colours.
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Relaxed fit with the MuscleDNA mark on the chest.
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Partner brand Shop partnerBodybuilders who want to see you win
MuscleDNA is made by bodybuilders. We train, we read the research, and we put what works in one place, so you do not have to dig through the noise to find it.
We care about the person on the other side of the screen. Whether this is your first week in the gym or your fiftieth, we want to see you get stronger, build the body you picture and keep going.
We trainBodybuilding is what we do, not only what we write about.
We check the scienceClaims here link to the study behind them, so you can read it yourself.
We want you to winStart where you are. We are cheering for you to reach your goal.
You can’t be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. … Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.
You need the attitude of a conqueror. … I’ve seen guys with tears as they perform the reps but they didn’t give up. You can’t either.
When it comes to mental toughness, the weight-room builds more than just muscle. It forges an unshakeable mind. … I want each and every one of you to choose an unshakeable mindset as I know it’ll deliver massive results in your lives.
It’s very, very basic what a professional bodybuilder does, and I’ve been basic since the beginning. … There’s no secret. The secret is progression, consistency, dedication day in and day out.
It’s just like a physical goal that I can chase that makes me internally and mentally a better person as well. … I think putting yourself in difficult situations is the way you become stronger and better in many aspects of life.
Today I lived a dream that I have carried in my heart for a long time. I requested… And the Lord fulfilled it, in Your time, not mine.
Everything on protein, fat loss and recovery in one file you can keep, print or read offline. Every claim links to the study behind it.
- Protein: how much, how often, and whether timing matters
- Losing fat and keeping muscle: the pace, the protein and the guardrails
- Recovery and supplements: sleep, creatine and a weekly checklist
Educational overview, not medical advice.
Questions about the plan, a partnership, or where to start? Send a message.
Educational content only, not medical advice. Check with a doctor before changing your diet or training if you have a health condition.