Managing Volume for Muscle Growth in Different Energy States

The key to managing volume for muscle growth lies in being reactionary and considering recovery capacity, optimal muscle growth, performance, motivation to train, exercise selection, enjoyment of movements, volume benefits, and overall health regardless of the energy state. It's important to not get caught up in unnecessary number crunching and to primarily watch the scale and performance. Performance is a good proxy for muscle growth, but in a deficit, changes in stability, muscle circumference, body fat, and tissue leverages can affect performance independent of muscle loss. Isolation movements can be a better performance proxy in a deficit, while in the off-season, coordination and isolation movements can both be considered. It's important to understand that changes in performance in deficit conditions may not necessarily indicate the need to eat more or reduce volume, but rather less favorable mechanics at the new body weight.