How much muscle could you reasonably gain in a month

V

vojdancov

0
There are so many people saying I've gained 15,20 pounds of muscle this month or similar. Also various books that claim they reveal the secrets of working out and to gaining muscle mass fast, that promise crazy gains. So I'm wondering, how much muscle could you really gain in a month (without juice) . I mean most people gain 15-20 pounds of muscle per year. If a person could gain 20 pounds in a month that in 5 months he'll be 100 pounds (of muscle) heavier,looking like Coleman. I doubt you can gain that much even with juice, it's ridicioulous!


My opinion is that you could gain around 2 pounds of muscle per month with a perfect diet and exercise routine. Since nobody will have a perfect diet, I'd say a person who has a decent diet and decent workout plan will gain around 1.5 pounds of muscle per month. Am I too far off?
 
I'm sure it also depends how new you are to training. If you go through an entire lifestyle change and start eating really well and training very intensely you may throw on some decent weight in the first few months and then it will taper and gains will be harder to obtain when you hit plateus.
 
Impossible to tell. Some people have better genetics, can gain a lb of muscle a week training hard and eating right, others can do the same and gain only .25-.5lbs.

Muscle growth is not linear. You might can half a pound here, another quarter of a pound here, then maybe a 1lb there. So you can't assume your gaining the exact same amount each month.

Most people say realistically .25-..75 lbs of muscle.
 
Those numbers would be different for say an total beginner who is going on a high calorie diet and weight training for the first time? maybe 5-10lbs in their first month is not unreasonably?
 
I just think you should try and find out for yourself ;)

Although if someone gained 20 lbs in a month I think they should hand themselves in to a science lab to have tests done. That sounds like a crazy amount.

A lot of people who started skinny and then go on a traditional 'bulking' style diet will find that they can a) gain 3 or 4 lbs of extra retained water and b) a few pounds of fat which can easily appear to be muscle if the person started with low body fat to begin with. That's about 7lbs right there before the muscle gain starts
 
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Man, would you really WANT to gain 20lbs of muscle (or fat) in a month? That would reek havoc on your body (joins, bones, even crazy stretch marks). Also, if you gained that much weight so quickly, imagine how fast you will lose that once you stop training so intensely or decide to go on a cutting phase.

If you want to gain muscle with little fat, I'd set my goal to be about 4 solid lbs a month. It's a goal that's well within your limits, but will still force you to be disciplined. The best part is, you can do it ALL NATURAL.
 
CCR said:
I just think you should try and find out for yourself ;)

Although if someone gained 20 lbs in a month I think they should hand themselves in to a science lab to have tests done. That sounds like a crazy amount.

A lot of people who started skinny and then go on a traditional 'bulking' style diet will find that they can a) gain 3 or 4 lbs of extra retained water and b) a few pounds of fat which can easily appear to be muscle if the person started with low body fat to begin with. That's about 7lbs right there before the muscle gain starts
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Very good point!! I can second this from personal experience.. Unless you're uber-anal with regards to tracking body fat, it's very easy to mistakenly think those first 5-7/8lbs are all muscle!
 
I read and follow a lot of clinical studies. So far I have seen researchers claim the maximum potential for muscle gain is 8 pounds a year and some that claim the maximum gain is 2 - 3 pounds per month. Obviously a lot of this is biological and will change from person to person but so far I havent read any clinical study or case study anywhere near 15 - 20 pounds in one month so I would say its un realistic. If you are gaining 1.5 - 2 pounds of pre muscle each month then it sounds like you are doing really good. I am doing about that myself.
 
1 lb a month

Using the 5/3/1 program, eating about 3500+ calories a day for 7 months i put on 7lbs of muscle and 1lb of fat.
I take regular body composition tests at my gym. I have always had a slender build and im now 30 years old. Im Not sure exactly how great these results are but im pretty happy with them. Im currently cutting the fat using gsp rushfit ( im at 16% body fat, wanna get down to 10%) and when i finish with that program i plan on bulking/strength training again. My goal is 2 lb a month this time around, but well see. Good luck everyone!
 
Nice work!
 
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