How much muscle can you gain in a month? There are several factors that play into how much muscle you can gain in a month such as training experience, sex, age, how many calories and protein you are consuming, training regimen, etc.
How much muscle can you gain in a month?
Beginners with no strength-training experience have the most potential of gaining muscle faster. And this is because of new stimulus and as your newbie muscles endure strength training for the first time you will be able to see the most muscle growth gain in the shortest amount of time. As opposed to being an advanced trainee who is close to his or her genetic potential.
Newbie gains are seen as a period of rapid muscle development.
Your DNA or genetic makeup may help you respond better to lean muscle mass growth stimulus as that is another factor too.
It is difficult to give an exact number on how much muscle you can gain in one month because it would vary based on so many different factors. But if we look at some of the studies that have been done it will show some interesting data.
A small older study that happened in 21 weeks saw a 5.6% increase in muscle size with 8 non-strength-trained athletes vs 8 strength trained athletes. There was another study in 30 college aged men who had previous training experience saw a 23% increase in their leg size after 6 weeks of structured training.
For best muscle building results, it is best to consume 10 to 20% more calories than your metabolic rate which is known as your daily energy expenditure. And this means consuming more calories than you burn when it comes to building lean muscle mass.
To maintain your weight, you need the Total Daily Energy Expenditure which is your basal metabolic rate plus calories burned through daily activity and digestion. What many people don’t know is your basal metabolic rate is the minimum calories needed for basic life sustaining functions such as breathing and circulation at rest.
To gain muscle it is important to be slightly in a caloric surplus and consume at least A gram of protein per pound or more. And the main reason for this amount of protein is because it is a key factor in muscle building.
One of the reasons why men can build more muscle in a month than women because they produce more testosterone. So that hormonal difference is the key why men produce more muscle than women.
What is interesting that I believe most people don’t know is when it comes to exercise volume fatigue and being able to recover quickly women have an advantage over men. And this is due to higher estrogen levels which have a protective effect on skeletal muscle.
Building muscle requires patience and time and it is not going to happen overnight. You need to have a structured strength-training plan and structured diet plan that will allow you to gain muscle over a period.
Again, if you are newbie meaning your training experience is less than 1 year. You will be able to gain more muscle in a year than someone who is an advanced trainee that has been training for more than 7 years.
The average muscle gain for beginners based on systematic review studies is 0.5 to 1.5 pounds per month. If that person is following a structured training program while eating enough calories and protein. The average muscle gain for intermediate trainees is 0.25 to 0.75 pounds per month.
There was a 2020 metanalysis that was done on intermediate and advanced trainees that found that their lean muscle mass growth when training was minimal. And that means if you are an intermediate and advanced trainees your muscle gains will be limited because you are either at or close to your natural genetic potential.
The Bottom Line is how much muscle you can gain in a month depends on your training experience. If you are a newbie or beginner training level, you can gain up to 0.5 to 1.5 pounds per month.
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References
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