How much muscle can you really gain in a month?

You want to know how to meet a fitness professional who is knowledgeable and trustworthy? Ask them how much muscle you can gain in a month. If they give you an answer other than “it depends”, work with someone else.

In a world that values ​​quick fixes, it’s natural to wonder how soon a training plan will start producing visible results. But hypertrophy — or growth skeletal muscle fibers — is a complicated equation with multiple variables. Biological sex, genetics, nutrition, training, sleep habitsand current fitness level everyone plays a role.

“Saying how much anyone will gain is impossible to answer,” says Todd Buckingham, Ph.D., senior exercise physiologist The Bucking Fit Lifea wellness coaching company. “To be honest, I couldn’t even answer that question.

And if someone quotes you a specific number of pounds or inches? “They’re fed up!” quips Buckingham.

While no one can predict exactly how much muscle you can 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

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

Mechanical stress refers to the force acting on your muscles during resistance trainingwhich causes micro tears in your muscle fibers.

“Your body has to repair and rebuild these micro-tears to make your muscles bigger and stronger so that the next time you do the same activity or lift the same weight, they don’t get damaged as much as before. time,” Buckingham explains.

Metabolic stress occurs when you exercise your muscles to the point where “metabolic waste” (a byproduct of energy production) accumulates in your body faster than it can be removed.

But where does the balance lie between mechanical stress and metabolic stress when it comes to building muscle mass?

According to research from one of the leading exercise scientists, Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., CSCS“Mechanical and metabolic stress occur in tandem, making it difficult to separate the effects of one from the other.”

What we do know is that real muscle building happens between exercises when your body is at rest.

“While you’re lifting, you’re actually breaking down muscle, but then it’s going to build up,” says Buckingham. What’s more, the hormones that facilitate muscle growth are mostly released at night. “That’s why sleep is really important for increasing muscle mass,” he adds.

How fast can you gain muscle?

Although muscle growth occurs at night, it definitely does not overnight — several factors affect how quickly you can gain muscle. And while you may focus on muscle improvement at the start of a new fitness program, the most significant gains are actually in your nerves.

“In the first eight to twelve weeks of starting a strength training program“The most impressive factor in improving your strength is neural adaptation,” says Buckingham. “Your nervous system will be more efficient at sending messages from the brain to the muscles and getting more of the right ones.” muscle fibers.”

Buckingham likens it to completing a maze. You’ll hit dead ends the first few tries. But with time and repetition, you will eventually learn the fastest way.

“Lifting and recruiting muscle fibers is kind of like that,” he says. At first, your nervous system may recruit too many muscle fibers or the wrong muscle fibers altogether, but eventually it will learn the fastest and most accurate path. AND it is when hypertrophy becomes measurable.

So, if you see little or no difference in muscle size after a month of training, don’t stop! Your body is changing – you just can’t see it yet.

Factors that affect muscle growth

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

1. Genetics

Here’s the unfair truth about genes and muscle mass: You can follow the same diet, weightlifting program, and sleep schedule as someone else and experience completely different results. Some research suggests that heredity accounts for 50 to 80 percent of your muscle mass.

Also, men tend to gain more muscle faster than women. “This is primarily due to testosterone and growth hormone,” says Buckingham, because women have less. But research also shows this strength gains in women they are usually similar to what men achieve, which means they are able to build a chest without adding bulk.

2. Age

As we age, our levels of anabolic (growth) hormone decline, making it more difficult to gain muscle. Even the most dedicated lifters experience this eventually sarcopenialoss of muscle mass associated with later stages of life.

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

3. Diet and nutrition

Most people get it high protein intake is essential for muscle repair and recovery. Studies suggest that a number 1.4 grams on 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day can be effective for building muscle.

Other macronutrients – carbohydrates and fat — are also necessary because they are an integral part of regeneration and hormone production (among other physiological processes). In addition, you need enough carbohydrates will support your training.

Buckingham also notes that you have to be va caloric surplus build muscle. “A lot of people want to lose weight but also gain muscle, and that just doesn’t happen because you need more calories to gain muscle.”

4. Rest and recovery

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

Try to get at least seven hours of sleep a night and include recovery time between workouts periodization of your training and scheduling rest days. “If you’re constantly lifting and never giving the muscles a break, then they don’t have time to repair, rebuild, and grow,” he says.

5. Training

The way you structure your exercise program greatly affects muscle growth, and luckily it’s something you can calibrate to your goals. In general, you want to hit each muscle group multiple times per week (with recovery time) and your load should usually be heavy.

“Three to four sets of 8 to 10 reps at 75 to 85 percent of your one-rep max,” says Buckingham. “That will give you the most money.

Weight lifting programs on BODi like THE DEEPEST ONES, ELEVATOR 4and Sure thing target different muscle groups in each workout to maximize training and recovery. They also vary the exercises and intensity to prioritize progress and keep things fresh.

The best exercises for fast muscle growth

For hypertrophy, Buckingham recommends focusing on compound (multi-joint) elevators which target large muscle groups. Below are some exercises.

1. Dumbbell front squat

• With the barbell resting on the squat rack, grasp the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart. Bring your shoulders under the barbell so that your elbows are bent and pointing forward and the bar rests on the underside of your palms or fingers across the top of your shoulders.
• Lift the bar from the rack, step back and stand tall with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. This is the default position
• Keep your back straight, chest up and reinforced corepush your hips back, bend your knees, and lower your body until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor.
• Pause, then push through your heels to return to the starting position.

2. Romanian deadlift

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a pair of heavy dumbbells or a dumbbell in front of your thighs, palms facing you. This is the default position.
• Keep your back straight, shoulders back and core engaged, push your hips backlower the weight along the front of the body to the level of the mid-shins, maintaining only a slight bend in the knees.
• Pause and then slowly reverse the movement to return to the starting position.

3. Dumbbell bench press

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

4. Dumbbell Bent Row

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding 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 engaged to protect your lower back.
• Let the dumbbells hang at arm’s length with your palms facing each other. Engage your shoulder blades to keep your shoulders pulled back. This is the default position.
• Without moving your torso, keeping your elbows tucked in and your back straight, row the weights to the sides of your ribs and press your shoulder blades together. Make sure there is a 90 degree bend in the elbow so you are rowing into the ribs and not the armpits.
• Pause and then lower the weight back to the starting position.