You’re at the gym and you see that guy. You know the one. He’s got the $80 lifting belt, the gallon jug of neon-pink BCAAs, and he’s currently debating whether he should take five grams of creatine or six. Meanwhile, his actual workout looks like a disorganized mess of half-reps and scrolling through Instagram. He’s focusing on the 1% while ignoring the 99%. This is exactly why Eric Helms, along with Andrea Valdez and Andy Morgan, created the muscle and strength pyramid. It was a reaction to the absolute chaos of the fitness industry, where marketing budgets determine what people think is important rather than actual physiology.
People love the shiny stuff. It's fun to talk about the latest "biohack" or a specific brand of whey protein. It’s significantly less fun to talk about whether you’re actually eating enough calories or if you’ve slept more than five hours this week. But if you don't get the foundation right, the rest is just expensive urine and wasted effort.
The Hierarchy of What Actually Matters
Think of your fitness journey like building a house. If you try to put the roof on before the slab is poured, the whole thing collapses. In the muscle and strength pyramid, the levels are arranged by importance. The bottom is the biggest because it’s your foundation. The top is the smallest because, frankly, it’s the least important.
Most people flip this pyramid upside down. They spend all their mental energy on supplements (the tip of the pyramid) and almost zero energy on adherence (the base).
Adherence: The Boring Secret
If you can’t follow a plan, the plan is garbage. It doesn't matter if you have the "perfect" science-based routine written by an Olympic coach. If that routine requires you to be in the gym six days a week for two hours, but you’re a busy parent with a full-time job, you’re going to fail. Consistency beats intensity every single time.
Helms argues that for a program to be "adherable," it needs to be realistic, enjoyable, and flexible. You’ve gotta ask yourself if you can see yourself doing this in six months. If the answer is no, change the plan. Stop trying to suffer your way to gains. It doesn't work long-term.
Energy Balance and Your Macros
Once you've actually committed to showing up, we have to talk about fuel. This is level two. It’s basically just thermodynamics. If you want to build significant muscle, you generally need to be in a calorie surplus. If you want to lose fat, you need a deficit. It’s physics.
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But it’s not just "calories in, calories out" in a vacuum. The muscle and strength pyramid breaks this down into macronutrients. Protein is the big player here. You’ve probably heard you need two grams of protein per pound of body weight. Honestly? That’s overkill for most. The research, specifically meta-analyses by experts like Brad Schoenfeld, suggests that roughly 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight is the sweet spot for most lifters.
- Fats: Necessary for hormonal health. Don't drop them too low or your testosterone might take a hit.
- Carbohydrates: These are your performance fuel. If you’re lifting heavy, you need glycogen. Low-carb diets and heavy squats are usually a miserable combination.
Training Volume, Intensity, and Frequency
This is where the "strength" part of the muscle and strength pyramid really kicks in. How much are you doing? How heavy is it? How often are you doing it?
Volume is basically the total work you do (Sets x Reps x Weight). There is a dose-response relationship between volume and hypertrophy—up to a point. You can't just do 50 sets for chest and expect to look like Arnold. You’ll just burn out or get injured. Most intermediate lifters find success with 10–20 sets per muscle group per week.
Intensity is often misunderstood. It’s not just about "working hard" or screaming in the squat rack. In the context of the pyramid, it refers to the percentage of your one-rep max (1RM) or your proximity to failure. You don't need to hit failure on every set. In fact, leaving a rep or two "in the tank" (RPE 8 or 9) often allows for better recovery and higher total volume over the week.
Progression Is Not A Straight Line
If you’re lifting the same weights today that you were lifting last year, you haven’t gained muscle. Period. The muscle and strength pyramid emphasizes progressive overload.
This doesn't always mean adding weight to the bar. It can mean:
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- Adding a rep with the same weight.
- Improving your form.
- Decreasing rest periods.
- Adding an extra set.
Real progress is messy. You’ll have weeks where you feel like a god and weeks where the empty bar feels heavy. The goal is a long-term upward trend.
Exercise Selection and Rest Periods
We’re getting near the top now. This is where people argue on Reddit for hours. Should you do the Low Bar Squat or the High Bar Squat? Honestly? It doesn't matter as much as you think.
Pick exercises that:
- Fit your anatomy (not everyone is built to conventional deadlift).
- Allow for progression.
- You actually enjoy doing.
As for rest periods, the old "30 seconds for hypertrophy" rule is mostly dead. Modern research suggests that resting longer (2-3 minutes) allows you to recover enough to move more weight in subsequent sets, which leads to more total volume and better growth. Don't rush it. Check your heart rate. If you're still gasping for air, you aren't ready for the next set.
The Supplement Myth
Finally, we hit the top. Supplements. The stuff that makes up 90% of fitness advertisements but only about 5% of your actual results.
If your sleep is trash and your diet is inconsistent, a pre-workout isn't going to save you. If you do want to use supplements, stick to the stuff that actually has decades of data behind it:
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- Creatine Monohydrate: The most researched supplement in history. It works.
- Caffeine: For a bit of a performance boost.
- Whey Protein: Only if you can't hit your protein goals through whole foods.
- Multivitamins/Fish Oil: For general health, not specifically for "gains."
Everything else? Mostly expensive flavoring.
Why This Works (And Where It Fails)
The beauty of the muscle and strength pyramid is its logic. It forces you to prioritize. However, it’s a framework, not a religion. Some people have weird genetics. Some people have high-stress jobs that kill their recovery.
One thing the pyramid doesn't emphasize enough is the psychological side of training. Sometimes, the "optimal" science-based approach is so boring it makes you want to quit. If doing a "sub-optimal" chest fly variation makes you excited to go to the gym, then that variation is actually better for you because you'll actually do it.
Your Path Forward
Stop overthinking the small stuff. If you want to see actual changes in the mirror or on the platform, you need to audit your current approach against these levels.
- Audit your adherence: Have you missed more than two workouts in the last month? If so, your program is too hard or your schedule is too full. Scale back.
- Track your calories for one week: Not forever, just for seven days. Most people are shocked by how much (or how little) they actually eat.
- Log your lifts: Use a notebook or an app. If you aren't tracking, you aren't training; you're just exercising. There's a difference.
- Prioritize sleep: Seven to nine hours isn't a luxury; it's a physiological requirement for protein synthesis.
- Simplify your supplements: Finish your current tubs of "shred matrix" or "test boosters" and don't buy them again. Spend that money on better quality meat or a gym membership with better equipment.
Fix the base. The rest takes care of itself.