Muscle Building
Personal Training
Your personal trainer plans your training and nutrition to add muscle at a steady rate, with every session coached one to one.
More Muscle, Built One to One
Working with a personal trainer to build muscle takes the guesswork out of your sessions. Your Roar trainer chooses the exercises, sets the weights and decides when to add load, so every set moves you forward.
Muscle grows when your training gets progressively harder, you eat enough protein and you recover between sessions. Your trainer plans all three and tracks body composition, so you can see the muscle you gain rather than just a number on the scale.
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Muscle Building Results From Roar Clients
Tom
Featured in Men’s Health after 8 weeks
Matthew Holder-Bizou
Built muscle and strength over 24 weeks
Lucy Cleland
Leaner and stronger at 49
Michael Du
Lost 25kg while building muscle
Haley
Lost 17kg and built definition
Adam
Built muscle and improved his lifts
How Your Training Works
From your free consultation to your progress reviews, this is how your trainer takes you through your programme.
Free Consultation
Meet a Roar personal trainer at our City of London, Kensington or Downtown Dubai gym. You talk through your goal, your training history and how many sessions you can fit into your week.
Assessment
Your trainer starts with a movement analysis and a body composition reading, then checks your strength on the main lifts and any injuries that affect which exercises you do.
Your Training Plan
Your plan is built around compound lifts such as squats, presses and rows, with extra work for the muscles you want to bring up. Every session is one to one, and your trainer sets the weights, sets and rest.
Your Nutrition Plan
Your trainer sets your calories and protein for steady muscle gain, built around foods you already eat. You know what to eat on training days and on rest days.
Weekly Check-Ins
Each week your trainer reviews your lifts, body weight and food. When progress stalls, they change the load, volume or calories before you lose time.
Review and Next Steps
At the end of the programme you repeat the assessment and compare body composition, strength, measurements and photos. Your trainer then plans the next block of training with you.
Muscle Building Myths
Plenty of muscle building advice is out of date or simply wrong. These are the myths our trainers hear most, and what actually works.
Lifting heavy will make women bulky
Women build muscle in the same way as men, from a lower starting point, and the look most people call bulky takes years of focused training and eating. Lifting heavy builds strength and shape.
You have to train to failure on every set
Sets that finish close to failure build muscle. Going all the way on every set adds fatigue without adding much growth, so your trainer judges how hard to push each one.
Light weights tone, heavy weights bulk
There is no separate toning effect. Muscle grows with lighter and heavier weights when the sets are hard enough, while heavier loads build more strength. Your plan uses both.
You need supplements to build muscle
Training, enough protein and good sleep do the work. Creatine is one of the few supplements with strong research behind it, and your trainer can tell you whether it suits you.
Muscle turns to fat when you stop training
Muscle and fat are different tissues, so one cannot turn into the other. Stop training and keep eating the same amount, and you can lose muscle and gain fat at the same time.
It is too late to build muscle after 40
Muscle responds to training at any age. It matters more as you get older, because strength falls faster than muscle size, and regular strength training helps you stay capable for longer.
What Builds Muscle
Muscle comes from a few things done consistently over months. Your trainer manages each one and adjusts it as you get stronger.
Progressive Overload
Muscle adapts to the work you give it, so the work has to keep rising. Your trainer adds weight, reps or sets in small steps and records every session, so you always know what to beat.
Training Volume
The number of hard sets each muscle gets in a week drives growth. Your trainer sets a weekly volume you can recover from and raises it as your body adapts.
Effort and Technique
Sets need to finish close to failure to build muscle, with good form on every rep. With a trainer beside you, you push hard enough without the sloppy reps that lead to injury.
Protein and Calories
Muscle needs protein to grow and enough energy to fuel your training. Your plan spreads protein across the day and puts you in a small calorie surplus, or keeps calories level if you also want to lose fat.
Sleep and Recovery
Muscle is built between sessions, so recovery is part of the plan. Your trainer schedules rest days and lighter weeks, and asks about your sleep and stress at every check-in.
Women and Muscle
Women build muscle the same way men do and respond just as well to strength training. Programmes for women take account of hormonal changes, including menopause, which can affect energy and recovery.
Meet Your Personal Trainers
Every Roar trainer holds recognised qualifications in personal training and nutrition, with years of experience helping clients build muscle. Many come from elite sport, strength and conditioning or competitive bodybuilding.
Your trainer writes both your training and your nutrition plan, so one person knows your whole programme. Every trainer works to the standards set by our founders, Olympian Sarah Lindsay and Rich Phillipps, considered the UK’s leading expert in body transformations.
Meet the Trainers
“The UK’s leading expert in
body transformations”
Building Muscle After 40
From middle age, muscle and strength fall each decade unless you train for them, and strength drops faster than muscle size. Regular strength training slows that decline and can reverse it, which is why many of our clients start in their 40s, 50s and 60s. Lucy Cleland began at 49 and was leaner and stronger three months later. Many clients also add a block of strength training once they have built a base.
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Choose Your Focus
Other Goals We Train For
Muscle building often runs alongside another goal. These are the other programmes our trainers run.
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Free Consultation
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions we hear most about building muscle with a personal trainer. Anything else, ask us at your free consultation.
How long does it take to build muscle with a personal trainer?
Most people notice strength gains within a few weeks and visible muscle within two to three months of consistent training. Tom’s 8-week transformation was featured in Men’s Health. Your own rate depends on your training history, nutrition, sleep and age.
How many sessions a week do I need to build muscle?
Each muscle group should be trained at least twice a week. Your trainer recommends how many sessions to book at your free consultation and plans any sessions you do on your own around them.
Should I lift heavy or light weights to build muscle?
Both build muscle when sets finish close to failure. Heavier weights build more strength, so most plans combine heavy compound lifts with lighter accessory exercises.
How much protein do I need to build muscle?
Enough to include a good source at every main meal, spread across the day. Your trainer sets a daily protein target from your body weight, goal and training, then builds your meals around foods you like.
Do I need supplements to build muscle?
No. Training, food and sleep matter far more. A protein shake helps if you struggle to eat enough protein, and creatine is one of the few supplements with strong research behind it. Your trainer can advise whether either suits you.
Can I build muscle and lose fat at the same time?
Yes, especially if you are new to strength training or returning after a break. Your trainer keeps calories close to maintenance with plenty of protein, so you lose fat while you gain muscle. Michael lost 25kg while building muscle with us.
Will lifting weights make me bulky?
No, not by accident. Building a large amount of muscle takes years of planned training and eating. Most clients end up looking leaner and more defined, as Haley did after she overcame her nerves about weight training.
Am I too old to build muscle?
No. Muscle responds to training at any age, and it matters more as you get older. Lucy Cleland started at 49 and was leaner and stronger after three months.
Do I need gym experience to start?
No. Your trainer teaches every lift from your first session and sets the weights for your level. Many of our clients start with no strength training experience at all.
How much does muscle building personal training cost?
Pricing depends on how many sessions you book and which gym you train at. Your trainer explains the options after your free consultation, once you have agreed what your programme needs.
Where can I train with Roar to build muscle?
At our private gyms in the City of London, Kensington and Downtown Dubai. Read more about personal training in London and personal training in Dubai, or train with us remotely through online personal training.
