The abstract explains that heavy resistance training and about 20 g of protein right after a workout can boost muscle building for up to three days. It also shows that the muscle‑growth engine (mTOR) is turned on by signals like IGF‑1/MGF, mechanical stress, amino acids, and the muscle’s energy state, while myostatin works against growth. For biohackers, this means the basics—hard training, timely protein, and possibly IGF‑1/MGF‑type peptides—are what drive growth, and blocking myostatin could help further.

Progressive high-resistance exercise with 8-12 repetitions per set to near failure for beginners and 1-12 repetitions for athletes will increase muscle protein synthesis for up to 72 h; approx. 20 g of protein, especially when ingested directly after exercise, will promote high growth by elevating protein synthesis above breakdown. Muscle growth is regulated by signal transduction pathways that sense and compute local and systemic signals and regulate various cellular functions. The main signalling mechanisms are the phosphorylation of serine, threonine and tyrosine residues by kinases and their dephosphorylation by phosphatases. Muscle growth is stimulated by the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) system, which senses (i) IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1)/MGF (mechano-growth factor)/insulin and/or (ii) mechanical signals, (iii) amino acids and (iv) the energetic state of the muscle, and regulates protein synthesis accordingly. The action of the mTOR system is opposed by myostatin-Smad signalling which inhibits muscle growth via gene transcription.