how fast can one put on muscle?

RBTrucking · 14-Mar-06, 10:14 PM

I was wodering assuming the person is taking a gram of protien per pound of body weight a day how long would you say it would take to gain a pound of muscle?

**.V.** · 14-Mar-06, 10:22 PM

1lb of fat=3500 excess calories. 1lb of muscle is a bit more complicated. Some grow it quickly, some have a much harder time. 1g/lb is a reasonable amount for maintenance or slow controlled growth for most people. Some of us, it takes more. It all depends on your recovery abilities, other nutritional factors, how hard you push it when you work out.

Sorry there is no simple, easy answer to that one.

15-Mar-06, 05:01 AM

Teenagers can usually put on 10 to 20 pounds of muscle in a year with hard work in the gym and dedication to eating properly. The gifted ones can even put on 30 to 40 pounds.

Guys in their 20's and 30's will be lucky to put on 5 pounds of muscle per year. But the nice thing is - if you do that every year for 5 years that is a 25 pound gain of pure muscle. And that looks good on just about anybody!

stretchMk · 15-Mar-06, 02:44 PM

yep, i am in the 20's and I only got about a 7 pounds gains in about a year, I work out hard and I have plently of protein everyday.
however, i also believe that "how much you weight" now is also a factor, since it's harder for your body to grow if it's already closer to it's max growth.

Maxgain · 15-Mar-06, 02:58 PM

with all other factors correct you can get .5-.75 lb of gains a year obviously this will depend on what stage you are at also

killerduck · 15-Mar-06, 05:03 PM

[quote=IronMan]

Guys in their 20's and 30's will be lucky to put on 5 pounds of muscle per year. quote]

unless your christian bail

**Pelon** · 15-Mar-06, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RBTrucking

I was wodering assuming the person is taking a gram of protien per pound of body weight a day how long would you say it would take to gain a pound of muscle?

The amount of protein you consume has much less impact on muscle gains than the amount of iron you lift. Protein is just one of the building blocks. Hard work and genetics are the primary determinants of muscle gains.

DaRkAnGel · 15-Mar-06, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IronMan

Teenagers can usually put on 10 to 20 pounds of muscle in a year with hard work in the gym and dedication to eating properly. The gifted ones can even put on 30 to 40 pounds.

Guys in their 20's and 30's will be lucky to put on 5 pounds of muscle per year. But the nice thing is - if you do that every year for 5 years that is a 25 pound gain of pure muscle. And that looks good on just about anybody!

Ironman i've heard that in your 20's testosterone peaks and therefore better gains should actually be seen here all else being equal (training time, etc. )

15-Mar-06, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaRkAnGel

Ironman i've heard that in your 20's testosterone peaks and therefore better gains should actually be seen here all else being equal (training time, etc. )

Maybe I should have been more accurate in my time line. When I made that statement I was thinking of the ages 16 to 21~22. Most guys during this time will explolde with growth if they are truely dedicated to lifting as well as eating and resting. To be honest, most young guys lose it on the last two parts. There isn't a teen I know of who doesn't like busting their butt in the gym. But eating big and resting properly as well as consistently is the most difficult aspect of muscle building for them.

I would say from 22~23 on the endocrine system is settling into maturity. The time for rapid growth has ended and the body is shifting gears. Also, the mental and emotional maturity needed to reach certain goals is much stronger in someone in their twenties. But if diet and rest were equal I would have to say the rate of growth would have to be much slower.

Wish I could post proof of this via a study but all I can go by is what I have seen with my own eyes in the past 35 years.

DaRkAnGel · 15-Mar-06, 09:57 PM

The fact that in a sport like powerlifting you see people peek in their mid to late 30's and 40's is interesting considering what you are saying.

**MAURER** · 15-Mar-06, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaRkAnGel

The fact that in a sport like powerlifting you see people peek in their mid to late 30's and 40's is interesting considering what you are saying.

i don't know about that. i mean its not saying that you can't improve its just saying that you can't improve as quickly. those people have still had more time to improve and can therefore be successful provided they stay healthy otherwise. but also look at other sports where players often peak in their twenties such as basketball and football. that would support ironman

fitricise · 15-Mar-06, 10:07 PM

I think there was a study on this and the max someone could gain naturally was about 23 pounds in a year I think. maybe this was meant as an average person. that makes one ounce a day. this was a real study too not just jump on the scale and weight yourself for a year. i'll try and find where I saw this

16-Mar-06, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAURER

i mean its not saying that you can't improve its just saying that you can't improve as quickly.

Thank you!

**.V.** · 16-Mar-06, 06:20 AM

To add weight to what Ironman said and explain what Dark has noticed. The same holds true for bodybuilding. How many top pros in either sport do you see that are 20 years old? None - they guys with 5 or 10 years of hard work on them have more quality muscle, and more strength build - because they have been working on it longer. The 20 year old has been working for 4-5 years...the 30 year old has been working on it for 14-15 years. The guy that starts at 30 will never beat the guy that started at 16 and kept with it. OK, never is a pretty big word, but you get the idea.

Vas85 · 16-Mar-06, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pelon

The amount of protein you consume has much less impact on muscle gains than the amount of iron you lift. Protein is just one of the building blocks. Hard work and genetics are the primary determinants of muscle gains.

Thats right. Also you need your carbs to feul the muscles, without the carbs, you'll be running on empty no matter the protein you intake.

I probably take in the vicinity of 120-160(now-ish and i weigh 220lb) and in 3 years, i went from 68kg(149lb) ectomorph to 100kg(220lb) with maintaining bodyfat levels.

Like Welch said, its different for age (I started at 17.5, and at 18.5 skyrocketed with 37lb gain from 18.5yo - 19.5yo)

And all i Really did for changing my body was train smart (I used to do a 9day split at first.. maybe helped me not to overtrain), i Always ate a lot, and I would say was a pretty high protein diet for an 'average' individual, but just by training and eating the same as i was before I just started to pack on muscle. Before that, i had eaten like 2 large pizza's (in Australia, they are 8pieces per slice, 10grams of protein per piece dont knwo the rest... I ate 16pieces, when i was 16 and next day it just all went away, i dont know where it vanished, but i Can' tdo that now... I think i'd put on fat if i tried now)

Along with the training, consistency and just to have strong willpower to want to achieve, you have to believe you can, and it's possible.