When autumn comes, the majority of beginners are enrolled in the "simulator", from the classes in which they expect to become strong and pumped up. And here the question arises: "How much muscle can you gain in a month?" Let's consider it in more detail in the article.
What does muscle grow from?
Before considering the question of how much per month you can gain muscle mass for a girl or a man, we explain why this mass increases.
Our muscles have a unique ability to train. If she receives the necessary physical activity, high-quality "building" material and rest time, then she will grow. At the same time, muscle fibers become thicker and are able to develop greater strength during their contraction.
In addition to the factors mentioned above, genetics has a strong influence on the growth rate of muscles and on reaching its maximum volume. So, one athlete needs several months of regular training, following a healthy diet, and his body looks aesthetic and pumped up. Another athlete may need to put much more physical effort and time to achieve a similar result.
How many kg of muscle can you gain in 1 month?
A lot of research has been carried out on this subject, and although the influence of the training program, diet and genetics causes a large spread of the numbers, scientists still managed to draw some important conclusions.
Firstly, beginners who have not previously been engaged in physical activity for the development of muscle hypertrophy (that is, to increase their volume) gain muscle mass faster than advanced athletes who have such experience.
Secondly, muscle growth rate is not constant. Obviously, a novice athlete in the first year of regular training will gain more muscle than in subsequent ones. In addition, this speed is not constant for shorter periods of time (weeks, months). So, a beginner who goes to the gym in his first weeks may not notice any changes in his body at all. This happens because the muscles that began to receive physical activity take some time to adapt to a new lifestyle. During this time, a large amount of energy and protein is spent on their recovery, and not on growth.
Thirdly, there is always a limit, that is, muscle cannot grow indefinitely. However, this limit can be expanded up to some point, "squeezing" the maximum out of the biological capabilities of your body. There are two ways to do this or a combination of them:
- changing the training regimen;
- taking special medications (steroids).
Finally, fourthly, the dynamics of muscle growth and its final volume are determined by the gender of the athlete. How much per month can a girl gain muscle mass? About 2 times less than a man, ceteris paribus.
Figures for men
Now we give specific values of muscle mass that men who had a certain plan of physical training and followed a balanced diet for 4 years managed to gain. Statistics for years of training for men who have not taken steroids are given below:
- 1 year: 10-12 kg;
- 2 year: 4-6 kg;
- 3 year: 2-3 kg;
- 4 year: 1-2 kg.
From these data it can be seen that as soon as a beginner begins to practice regularly, for each month in the 1st year he gains about 0.8-1.1 kg of muscle mass. With each subsequent year, this figure decreases by about 2 times. Finally, by the 5th year of training, the athlete reaches the so-called "saturation" or reaches his physiological "ceiling".
Below is a graph that reflects the numbers given. The vertical axis shows the values of muscle mass growth, the horizontal axis shows the training time. The graph shows a drop in the initially high muscle gain rate to almost zero (horizontal position of the red line).
Muscle mass gain rate in girls
The structure of muscles, the features of metabolic processes and the total volume of muscles in the fair sex are very different from those for men. Therefore, the figures given for girls will be completely different.
How many kg of muscle can a girl gain in a month? One of the studies showed that novice athletes gain an average of 3.54 kg, i.e. 0.59 kg per month, in 6 months of regular training. This figure is approximately 60% of that for men.
The dynamics of muscle growth in the following years of training for both sexes is the same, that is, in the second year, the girl will gain 50% of the mass of the previous year, in the third - 50% of the second, etc.
The effect of steroids on muscle growth
Currently, a huge amount of drugs (steroids) are on sale that stimulate the process of increasing muscle mass. Their effectiveness, along with physical activity and an appropriate diet, is not in doubt for anyone.
To answer the question of how much muscle mass can be gained in a month using steroids, we present the results of the next 1996 study, which was conducted on bodybuilders. Their training program was based on two main exercises: squats with a barbell (100-125 kg) and a bench press lying on a bench (90-110 kg). Each athlete took 600 mg of testosterone per week for 2.5 months. During this time, each of them gained muscle mass of 6.1 kg, that is, 6.1 / 2.5 = 2.44 kg per month. The given figure is almost 2.5 times more than that of athletes who did not take any drugs.
When steroids enter the athlete’s body, their effect on the dynamics of muscle growth is similar to that for a beginner, that is, in a state of saturation (see the horizontal part of the line in the graph above), the muscles experience a new growth spurt and reach saturation even at higher percentages values.
Steroid Dose Effect
It has been experimentally established that the more steroids an athlete takes, the stronger his muscles will grow. As soon as this growth stops, the athlete begins to use a large dose of the drug, and a new leap occurs. Is this process ongoing? Of course not. The fact is that reaching saturation with an increase in the dose of consumed steroids every time happens faster and faster. The described characteristic is presented in the graph below.
From the graph it is clear that there must be a limit value for the dose of steroids, above which further muscle growth of the athlete will not occur.
The program of physical training for gaining muscle mass
Many studies have found that in order to pump large muscles, it is necessary to load the muscles with large weights, perform a series of intensive exercises, and also virtually exclude cardio training from the training program. The described rules contribute to the effective building of lean muscle mass and the burning of adipose tissue.
Most trainers recommend the following exercises in physical complexes:
- deadlift (base);
- bench press or dumbbell bench press (basic);
- squats with a barbell (dumbbells) (basic);
- pull-ups with weights (basic);
- army bench press with dumbbells or barbell (basic);
- isolating exercises for biceps, triceps, back, abdominals, buttocks, quadriceps, chest.
Attend the "simulator" is recommended at least 3 times a week. During training, you should perform a variety of exercises, but it is good to work out each muscle group.
Nutrition issue
Muscle growth requires building material and energy. If an athlete practices grueling workouts, but the amount of calories supplied to his body with food is less than the number he consumes every day, then the muscles will degrade! Therefore, the athlete who set himself the goal of gaining muscle mass should eat high-calorie and healthy foods.
Experts recommend adhering to the following rules:
- The diet should be 40% protein, 40% carbohydrate and 20% vegetable fat.
- For confident muscle growth, you should eat 1 g of protein per 450 g of body weight. Protein products include meat, fish, cheese, cottage cheese, kefir, eggs.
- From flour products and sweets should be discarded, because they have a lot of harmful fats and low-quality carbohydrates. The latter is recommended to be obtained from fruits and vegetables. These carbohydrates are complex, so they are absorbed slowly by the body, providing it with energy throughout the day.
- The more meals, the better. Five meals a day are ideal.
How much per month can you gain muscle mass with protein?
This issue is specially posed in a separate paragraph. The fact is that the protein that you can buy in a sports nutrition store includes a number of essential amino acids, that is, it is not a steroid. The latter means that the answer to the question indicated in the title of the paragraph will be exactly the same as the question of how much muscle can be gained in a month without protein.
According to the reviews of some athletes, it can be concluded that protein actually accelerates muscle gain. However, the explanation for this fact is simple: if, when taking the product, the athlete really noticed positive results, it means that his diet simply does not contain enough protein food, which the protein makes up for.
Thus, answering the question of how many kg of muscle can be gained per month with protein, we can say that a maximum of 1-1.1 kg for men and 0.6 kg for girls. Any value that exceeds these figures indicates that either the athlete gained not only muscle, but also adipose tissue, or he was taking steroids.