How Much Muscle Can You Gain & How Fast Can You Build It? If I had to guess, I’d say that the 3 most common questions people have about building muscle (besides just how to actually build some) are: How much muscle can you gain? How long does it take to build it? How fast can it REALLY be done? Now, I’ve seen people ask these questions and get answers like “Stop worrying about how long it will take or how fast it will happen.
You see, most people (men and women) expect to gain MUCH more muscle at a MUCH faster rate than they actually can. With men, these unrealistic expectations cause them to jump from stupid program to even stupider program seeking the type of so- called “lightning fast muscle growth” they couldn’t achieve even with steroids/drugs. So when they aren’t building 1. They also greatly overestimate how much muscle they can gain and how fast they can build it, BUT they do everything they can to avoid it because they don’t want to get “too big and bulky” like a guy. Which is why 5. 0 new completely useless “Toning Workout Routines For Women” come out every other hour. So, be it man or woman, your results suffer as a result of not truly knowing how much muscle you can gain or how long it truly takes to build it.
Which is why we’re going to change that right now. How Much Muscle Can You Gain. I’ve also seen a couple of studies that looked at this as well, and of course, I have my own 1. Based on all of this, here’s how much muscle you can expect to gain on average over your entire lifespan: Average Natural MAN: a total of about 4. Average Natural WOMAN: a total of about 2. Please note that we’re talking strictly about MUSCLE here, not WEIGHT.
- Carbs: Increase your carbohydrate intake to between 1.5-2 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight. In order to gain muscle, a carbohydrate increase will be required to.
- The Institute of Medicine encourages all adults to consume at least 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or about 0.36 grams per pound.
- Learn how to plan your diet and nutrition for your fitness goals. Nutrition for muscle building, fat loss and health.
You could obviously gain a whole lot more weight than muscle in your life time. Also note that these numbers are averages. There are always rare exceptions that might either exceed or never come close to reaching these amounts, and there’s a handful of factors that influence what these numbers will be for you specifically (all of which I’ll tell you about in a minute).
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But for most of the people, most of the time. The question now is, how long does it take to build it and how fast can it be done? Well, once again, I’m going by various trainers/coaches I’ve heard discuss the true rate of muscle growth among their clients, the few studies that have looked at this as well, and my own 1. Based on all of this, here’s how fast you can expect to build muscle on average: Average Natural MAN: between 0. Average Natural WOMAN: between 0.
Once again, we’re strictly talking MUSCLE, not WEIGHT. Besides actual muscle, weight gained throughout the week could be (and often is) fat, water or glycogen.
We’re not talking about any of those here. And really, this is the rate you can expect under the bestpossible circumstances. Meaning, an ideal muscle building workout routine and diet, an ideal amount of sleep every night, rest, recovery, consistency, lack of stress, and so on. Basically, when everything is done as perfectly as it could be, this is how fast you can expect to build muscle. And once again. Some may exceed them (rare) and some may never reach them (unfortunately true).
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The exact amount of muscle you can build per week, month or year is based on a handful of individual factors specific to you. Speaking of those factors, let’s find out what they are. Factors That Affect Your EXACT Rate & Limit Of Muscle Gain. Everything you’ve read so far, while almost always true and accurate for most people, is based on averages and generalities. Because there are 6 major factors that can change things, and they can vary greatly from person to person.
Here now are those 6 factors. Steroids/Drugs. In what should come as no surprise to anyone, adding steroids and/or various drugs into the equation completely changes how much muscle a person can gain and how fast they can gain it. So, when you see crazy claims of muscle growth (like every product/supplement claims) or see people who have clearly exceeded the rates and limits mentioned above (like every pro bodybuilder on the planet does), there’s a damn good chance it wasn’t done naturally. I cover this subject in more detail here: Steroids vs Natural: The Muscle Building Effects Of Steroid Use. Training Experience Level.
One simple fact of training is that everything comes MUCH quicker and MUCH faster when you’re a beginner. That’s why weight training newbies will often consistently build muscle at the high end of average rate, and possibly even exceed it at certain points. However, the more experienced you get and the more muscle you build, the slower your rate of muscle gain will become. How big is the difference? Based on what I’ve seen, it looks like the amount of muscle you can build in your first year is TWICE as much as it will be in your second year. And from there, it will drop off by about 5.
Muscle Memory/Muscle Regrowth Did you know muscle can be regained after you lose it at a much faster rate than it can be gained in the first place? Muscle memory is real and it makes a significant difference. Unfortunately, just like steroids, it’s one of the many methods used to trick people into thinking amazing muscle building results have occurred when in reality it’s just that the person lost a bunch of muscle at some point and was now RE- gaining it. The first 2 examples that come to mind was a total bunch of crap known as “The Colorado Experiment” back in the 1. Tim Ferriss, whose best selling book (The 4 Hour Body) initially garnered a ton of hype and attention as a result of him posting about how he gained “3.
HA! I’d link to it so you can see for yourself, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Search around and you’ll find it in a second.
And if you do, I beg of you NOT to become one of the countless people who read it and now think they can easily gain over 8lbs of muscle per week for 4 straight weeks. Genetics. It’s hard to come up with a factor that influences how much muscle you can gain and how fast you can gain it more than genetics. Hormone levels, muscle length, bone structure and more all play a huge role in your muscle building potential. Unfortunately, we can’t change our genetics (although drugs can be used to improve hormone levels), so if you ended up with less- than- stellar genetics (thanks mom and dad!), you’re kinda screwed to some extent. You can certainly still build muscle.
Enjoy all of the awesome results that come with being a genetic freak, and always know that I hate your guts. Age. Here’s another one that shouldn’t really shock you. A 1. 6 year old with raging hormones will be able to gain a lot more muscle a lot faster than say a 5.
It’s another unfortunate fact of life (unless of course you’re the 1. In terms of the rate of muscle growth (and probably everything else physiological), the younger you are, the better you are. The older you get, the more you can expect things to get slower and worse and generally suckier overall. Your Workout And Diet.
And finally, if your workout and diet are set up as optimally as possible, you can definitely expect to build muscle faster than you would if your workout was less than ideal or just total crap altogether. This also seems obvious, but it sure as hell hasn’t stopped people from working out and eating like idiots. To ensure you’re doing everything in a way that will put you in position to reach the high end of your rate and limit of muscle gain, use the guidelines laid out in my super awesome guides. It is completely designed to produce the best muscle building results your body is realistically capable of getting. I HIGHLY recommend it. Summing It Up. So, that’s how much muscle you can expect to gain, that’s how fast you can expect to build it, and those are the 6 main factors that can influence those amounts and what your body’s exact potential is. In most cases, muscle cannot be gained anywhere close to the rate some people like to make it seem like it can, or some of us just wish we could (hi guys!) or hope we don’t (hi girls!).
You can now set realistic goals and have realistic expectations. And at the same time, you can ignore much more of the silly deceptive bullshit found everywhere in the diet and fitness industry. Meaning, if you ever come across someone who claims to have consistently gained more muscle faster than I’ve explained is realistically possible, or a product that claims it will allow you to do the same, ignore it. That person is either an insanely rare exception/genetic badass, using every drug known to man, regaining lost muscle, flat out wrong, flat out lying, or just trying to sell you something. And every once in a while.