Sneaky muscle-builders.......

Roll over
It’s not all about grunt, sweat and tears – the smart man bulks up under his duvet: Your muscles recover twice as quickly in the deep regenerative stages of sleep. If you’re doing full-body weights, add an extra hour to your usual sleep quota. Call it the snooze-button workout.

And an udder thing…
Down 500ml of skimmed milk a day. University of Ontario nutritionists found lifters who drank the white stuff gained up to 10% more muscle than those drinking soy or sports drinks. More good news for middle managers: milk drinkers also lost up to 20% more fat.

Sofa, so good
“Adding an extra day of complete rest after a heavy session will significantly increase your gains,” says Nick Grantham, Director of Strength and Conditioning at genr8sport.com. “After a workout your body’s in muscle-growth mode for 48 hours - interrupt that with another session and you’ll undo your hard work."

Prep talk
The bulk-up process can begin hours before you pick up the dumb-bells, while you’re lifting your knife and fork. The Journal of Applied Physiology reports you can spike production of the essential muscle-making growth hormone IGF-1 by a fifth when you eat a 200g 65/35 combo of carbs and protein two hours before a workout.

Perfect dining
Don’t leave your pre-workout fuel too late, though. University of California research found working out with undigested food in your gut can inhibit your body's production of growth hormone by 54%.

Skip sessions
“Combining complex full-body moves three times a week, rather than more frequent, body-part specific training is the most effective way to gain muscle,” says Jonathan Folland, lecturer in Exercise Physiology at Loughborough University. Start with squats, lunges and deadlifts.

Sleep on it
Smart snacking before bed means you’ll pile on pounds in the right places. “Your muscles regenerate while you sleep, but they can’t without a drip-feed of nutrients,” says Anita Bean, author of Food For Fitness (A&C Black). Ninety minutes before bed have two boiled eggs (20g protein), a piece of wholemeal toast (complex carbs for consistent energy) and a glass of milk (slow-release casein protein).

Clean up
Keep building muscle in the shower. “Immediately after exercising, stand under a cold shower for 60 seconds, then turn up the heat for 60 seconds, and repeat five times,” says Grantham. “Your blood vessels will dilate and constrict, flushing out lactic acid so your muscles recover and grow quicker."

Less is more
Trick your body into growing more by doing less: “Alternating high rep, lower weight sessions with your heavy weight workouts causes a surge in the growth hormones and testosterone needed for muscle growth,” says Andy Wadsworth, author of Personal Trainer (Anness Publishing). Interested? Weeks 1-4: 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps, lifting 65% of your single maximum rep (SMR). Weeks 5-8: 4-6 sets of 3-6 reps, lifting 80% of your SMR.

The lard way
“Low-fat diets restrict testosterone production, limiting muscle growth,” says Folland. So embrace the lard-side, but make sure it’s not all bacon butties. A daily 2tbsp dose of Udo’s Choice Ultimate Oil Blend (www.health4youonline.com) was proven by University of Scranton researchers in the US to not only increase testosterone production and prevent muscle breakdown, but also increase good, HDL cholesterol.

Find pod
“Music has a proven pain-relieving effect while weight training, shown in tests to up your chances of completing your reps by a third,” says Brunel University sports psychologist Dr Costas Karageorghis.

Tap in
Up your daily H2O hit to over two litres and you’ll pack on 10% more bulk, University of New South Wales scientists found. “Protein generates metabolic waste that must be dissolved in water, without which your muscles simply don’t recover as quickly,” says hydration specialist Dr Susan Shirreffs from Loughborough University.