How much muscle can you really win in a month?

He wants to know how to identify a fitness professional who is well informed and reliable? Ask them how much muscle can earn in a month. If they give you any response that is not “depends”, work with another person.

In a world that values ​​rapid solutions, it is natural to ask how soon a training plan will begin to produce visible results. But hypertrophy – o The growth of skeletal muscle fibers – It is a complicated equation with multiple variables. Biological sex, genetic, nutrition, training, sleep habitsand current Physical level Everyone plays a role.

“Saying how much someone will win is an impossible question to answer,” says Todd Buckingham, Ph.D., main physiologist for the exercise of exercise Bucking Fit LifeA well -being coaching company. “I couldn’t even answer that question for myself, to be honest.”

What if someone cites a specific amount of pounds or inches? “They are full of that!” Buckingham jokes.

While no one can predict with precision how much muscle can obtain in a month, you can use what we know about muscle growth to optimize your training and lifestyle to work towards your body’s composition goals. This is what you need to know.

How muscle is formed

Hypertrophy It is the body’s shape to adapt to new or older stimuli, Buckingham explains. This comes in the form of mechanical stress and metabolic stress.

Mechanical stress It refers to the force placed in the muscles during Resistance trainingwhich causes micro-tears in muscle fibers.

“Your body has to repair and rebuild these micro-tears to make your muscles larger and stronger, so that the next time you perform the same activity or lift the same weight, they are not damaged as much as they did the previous time,” Buckingham explains.

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

But where is the balance between mechanical stress and metabolic stress when it comes to building lean mass?

According to the research of one of the main scientists of the exercise, Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., CSCS“Mechanical and metabolic stress occurs together, which hinders the search for the effects of one from each other.”

What we do know is that real muscle construction occurs between training When your body is at rest.

“While you are lifting, you are actually breaking your muscle, but then accumulates,” says Buckingham. In addition, hormones that facilitate muscle growth are released mainly at night. “That is why the dream is really important to increase muscle size,” he adds.

How fast can you earn muscle?

While muscle growth occurs at night, it certainly does not happen overnight – Several factors affect the speed with which you can gain muscle. And while it is possible that it focuses on the improvements in the muscle at the beginning of a new physical conditioning program, the most significant profits are really happening In your nerves.

“In the first eight to 12 weeks of start strength training programThe most shocking factor to improve its strength is neuronal adaptations, ”says Buckingham. “His nervous system becomes more efficient to send messages from his brain to his muscles and recruit more than right muscle fibers. “

Buckingham compares it to complete a maze. The first times you try, you will reach the dead ends. But, over time and through repetition, you eventually learn the way faster.

“Lifting and recruiting muscle fibers is the same,” he says. At first, your nervous system can recruit too many muscle fibers or incorrect muscle fibers completely, but eventually learn the fastest and most precise path. AND that is When hypertrophy begins to be measurable.

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

Factors that affect muscle growth

The factors inside and beyond their control determine how much muscle can obtain in a month (or any period of time). When establishing any objective of body composition, it is important to consider the following.

1. Genetics

Here is the unfair truth about genes and muscle mass: you can follow the same diet, the weightlifting program and sleep schedule as another person and experience completely different results. Some investigation It suggests that the inheritance explains 50 to 80 percent of its muscle mass.

In addition, men tend to gain more muscle at a faster rate than women. “That is mainly due to testosterone and growth hormone,” says Buckingham, since women have less. But research also shows that Women’s strength profits They are typically similar to those achieved by men, which means they are able to build strength without adding volume.

2. Age

As we age, our anabolic hormonal levels (growth) decrease, which makes it more difficult to gain muscle. Even the most dedicated lifters will eventually experience Sarcopeniaa loss of muscle mass associated with later stages of life.

“Strength training will help preserve part of that muscle mass, but it is inevitable that, even if it continues to raise the rest of its life, its muscle mass will decrease,” says Buckingham.

3. Diet and nutrition

Most people understand that high protein consumption It is necessary to repair and recover muscle. Studies suggest that a variety of 1.4 grams to 2.2 grams Protein per kilogram of body weight per day can be effective for building muscle.

The other macronutrients – Carbohydrates and fat – They are also essential, since they are an integral part of the recovery and the production of hormones (among other physiological processes). In addition, you need adequate carbohydrates for Feed your training.

Buckingham also points out that you must be in a Caloric surplus To build muscle. “Many people want to lose weight but also gain muscle size, and that will not happen because, to gain muscle, you must have additional calories.”

4. Rest and recovery

“The dream is where you release hormones that cause muscle growth,” says Buckingham. “Then, if you are not sleeping enough, then you are not causing those hormones to be released.”

Aim to sleep at least seven hours per night and incorporate the recovery time between training by PERIENCE YOUR TRAINING and schedule rest days. “If you are constantly raising and you are never giving your muscles a break, then they don’t have time to repair, rebuild and grow,” he says.

5. Training

The way in which its exercise program structures greatly affects its muscle growth and, fortunately, is something that can calibrate according to its objectives. In general, you want to hit all muscle groups a couple of times a week (with the time of interspersed recovery), and its load must generally be heavy.

“Three to four series of 8 to 10 repetitions at 75 to 85 percent of its maximum of a repetition,” says Buckingham. “That will give you the greatest explosion for your money.”

Weightlifting programs in Bodi as Your deepest, Elevator4and Sure thing Point to different muscle groups in each training so that they can maximize training and recovery. Exercises and intensities also vary to prioritize progress and keep things fresh.

The best exercises for rapid muscle growth

For hypertrophy, Buckingham recommends focusing on Compound raises (multiple joints) that are directed to large muscle groups. Some reference exercises are shown below.

1. Squat in front squatting

• With the bar resting on a cloth on squatting, grab the bar with separated hands. Bring your shoulders under the bar so that your elbows are bent and looking forward and the bar rests at the bottom of your palms or fingers at the top of your shoulders.
• Raising the grid bar, go back and strip with your feet slightly more wider than shoulder width. This is the initial position
• Keeping your back flat, chest up and coronaryPush the hips back, double the knees and lower the body until the thighs are at least parallel to the floor.
• Pause and then push the heels to return to the initial position.

2. Romanian dead weight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICebqhya8cq

• Stop with feet separated to the width of the hip, holding a couple of heavy weights or a bar in front of your thighs, the palms in front of you. This is the initial position.
• Keeping your back flat, shoulders back and the core committed, Push your hips backLower the weight along the front of your body to the middle back, maintaining only a slight curve on the knees.
• Pause and then slowly reverse the movement to return to the initial position.

3. Bank of Banking

• Lie on a flat bank holding a couple of weights directly on your chest with the palms forward. His head, the top of the back and the rear must touch the bank, and his feet must be flat on the floor. This is the initial position.
• Keeping its core compromised, slowly down the weights on the sides of your chest, keeping your elbows near your body (the upper arms and sides of your torso must form an angle of 45 degrees in the lower part of the movement).
• Pause and then pushing the weights again to the initial position.

4. Dumbbell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qctqncvlaa00

• Stop with separate feet, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Prepare your nucleus, push the hips back, double the knees slightly and lower the torso until it is almost parallel to the floor. Keep your buttocks committed to protect your lower back.
• Let the weights hang at the length of the arms with the palm trees one in front of the other. Hook the shoulder blades to keep your shoulders removed. This is the initial position.
• Without moving the torso, and while keeping the elbows hidden and flat back, it summarizes the weights on the sides of the ribs while tightening the shoulder blades. Make sure there is a curve of 90 degrees in the elbow, so he is paddling to his ribs and not his armpits.
• Pause and then lower the weights back to the initial position.