How much muscle can you really gain in a month?

Wondering how to identify a knowledgeable fitness professional? and Is it trustworthy? Ask them how much muscle you can gain in a month. If they give you any answer other than “it depends,” work with someone else.

In a world that values ​​quick fixes, it’s natural to wonder how long it takes for a training program to start producing visible results. but Fat ——or growth skeletal muscle fibers — is a complex equation involving many variables. biological sex, genetics, Nutrition, train, sleep habitsand the current fitness level All play a role.

“To say how much a person will gain is an unanswerable question,” said Dr. Todd Buckingham, the company’s chief exercise physiologist. Reverse healthy livinga health coaching company. “Honestly, I can’t even answer that question personally.”

What if someone quoted the specific number of pounds or inches for you? “They’re full of it!” Buckingham joked.

While no one can accurately predict how much muscle you’ll gain in a month, you can use what we know about muscle growth to optimize your training and lifestyle to achieve your body composition goals. Here’s what you need to know.

how muscles are formed

Fat Buckingham explains that this is the body’s way of adapting to new or increased stimuli. This comes in the form of mechanical and metabolic stress.

mechanical stress Refers to the force exerted on muscles during training resistance trainingwhich causes micro-tears in the muscle fibers.

“Your body has to repair and rebuild these microtears to make your muscles bigger and stronger, so that the next time you do the same activity or lift the same weight, they aren’t as damaged as the previous time. .

metabolic stress This happens when you exercise muscle to the point where “metabolic waste products” (by-products of energy production) accumulate in the body faster than they can be removed.

But where is the balance between mechanical and metabolic stress when building lean body mass?

According to research by a leading sports scientist, Brad Schoenfeld, PhD, CSCS”, “Mechanical stress and metabolic stress occur simultaneously, making it difficult to distinguish the effects of one stress from the other.

What we do know is that the real muscle building happens between exercise When your body is at rest.

“When you lift weights, you’re actually breaking down your muscles, but then they gradually build up,” Buckingham says. What’s more, hormones that promote muscle growth are mostly released at night. “This is why sleep is so important for increasing muscle size,” he adds.

How quickly can you build muscle?

Although muscle growth occurs at night, it certainly does not overnight — There are several factors that affect how quickly you gain muscle. While you may focus on muscle improvements at the beginning of a new fitness program, the most significant gains are actually happening right now in your nerves.

“Within the first 8 to 12 weeks of starting treatment, Strength training programthe most influential factor in improving strength is neuroadaptation,” Buckingham said. “Your nervous system will send messages from the brain to the muscles more efficiently and recruit more of the right neurons. muscle fiber”.

Buckingham likened it to completing a maze. The first few times you try, you’ll hit a dead end. However, with time and repetition, you will eventually learn the fastest path.

“Lifting and recruiting muscle fibers are the same thing,” he says. At first, your nervous system may recruit too many muscle fibers or the wrong ones entirely, but it eventually learns the fastest, most accurate path. and that is When hypertrophy begins to become measurable.

So if you see little to no change in muscle size after a month of training, don’t give up! Your body is changing—you just can’t see it yet.

Factors affecting muscle growth

Factors within and outside of your control determine how much muscle you gain in a month (or any time period). When setting any body composition goals, it’s important to consider the following factors.

1. Genetics

Here’s the unfair truth about genetics and muscle mass: You can follow the same diet, weightlifting plan, and sleep schedule as someone else and experience completely different results. Some Research Genetic factors have been shown to account for 50% to 80% of muscle mass.

Additionally, men tend to gain more muscle faster than women. “It’s mostly due to testosterone and growth hormone,” Buckingham said, because women have less testosterone and growth hormone. But research also shows female strength enhancement Typically similar to men, meaning they are able to build muscle without adding bulk.

2. Age

As we age, our levels of anabolic (growth) hormones decrease, making it more difficult to build muscle. Even the most dedicated weightlifters will eventually experience Sarcopeniathe loss of muscle mass associated with later in life.

“Strength training will help preserve some muscle mass, but even if you continue to lift weights for the rest of your life, your muscle mass will inevitably decrease,” Buckingham says.

3. Diet and Nutrition

most people understand High protein intake Necessary for muscle repair and recovery. Research shows that a series of 1.4 grams arrive 2.2 grams Protein per kilogram of body weight per day is effective in building muscle.

Other macronutrients – carbohydrate and fat – are also essential as they are integral to recovery and hormone production (among other physiological processes). Plus, you need enough carbohydrates Cheers for your training.

Buckingham Palace also states that you must be in excess heat Build muscle. “Many people want to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time, but that’s not possible because in order to gain muscle, you need to eat extra calories.”

4. Rest and recovery

“Sleep is where you release the hormones that cause muscle growth,” says Buckingham. “So if you don’t get enough sleep, then you’re not causing the release of these hormones.”

Aim for at least seven hours of sleep each night and incorporate recovery time between exercise Periodized training And schedule rest days. “If you’re constantly lifting weights and not letting your muscles rest, they don’t have time to repair, rebuild and grow,” he says.

5. Training

The way you approach your exercise program can greatly impact your muscle growth, and thankfully, you can calibrate it to your goals. Generally speaking, you want to work each muscle group a few times per week (with recovery time in between), and your loads should generally be heavy.

“Three to four sets of 8 to 10 reps, 75 to 85 percent of your reps,” Buckingham says. “That’s what will get you the most bang for your buck.”

Weightlifting events on BODi such as you deeper, Elevator 4and sure Each workout targets a different muscle group so you can maximize your training and recovery results. They also vary exercises and intensity to prioritize progression and keep things fresh.

Best exercises for rapid muscle growth

For hypertrophy, Buckingham recommends focusing on Compound (multi-joint) lift Targets large muscle groups. Here are some common exercises.

1. barbell front squat

• Place the barbell on the squat rack and hold the barbell with your hands shoulder-width apart. Place your shoulders under the bar, keeping your elbows bent and facing forward, and place the bar on the underside of your palms or fingers, over the tops of your shoulders.
• Lift the barbell from the rack, take a step back, and stand upright with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. This is the starting position
• Keep your back flat and chest up, core supportpush your hips back, bend your knees, and lower your body until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor.
• Pause, then return to starting position with heels.

2. Romanian deadlift

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a pair of heavy dumbbells or a barbell in front of your thighs, palms facing you. This is the starting position.
• Back flat, shoulders back, core tight, push hips backlower the weight on the front of your body to the level of your mid-shin bone, keeping your knees only slightly bent.
• Pause, then slowly reverse the movement back to the starting position.

3. Dumbbell bench press

• Lie on a flat bench and hold a pair of dumbbells directly above your chest, palms facing forward. Your head, upper back, and hips should be touching the bench, and your feet should be flat on the floor. This is the starting position.
• Keeping your core engaged, slowly lower the weight to the sides of your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body (your upper arms should form a 45-degree angle with the sides of your torso at the bottom of the movement).
• Pause, then push the dumbbells back to the starting position.

4. Dumbbell Bent Rowing

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Brace your core, push your hips back, bend your knees slightly, and lower your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor. Keep your glutes tight to protect your lower back.
• Let the dumbbells hang at arm’s length, palms facing each other. Engage your shoulder blades to keep your shoulders pulled back. This is the starting position.
• Without moving your torso, keeping your elbows in and back straight, draw the weight into the sides of your ribs while squeezing your shoulder blades together. Make sure your elbows are bent at 90 degrees so that your row hits your ribs and not your armpits.
• Pause, then return the weight to the starting position.