How Much Muscle Can You Build?

Today, I have a question for you: "How much muscle do you think you can really build?" Is it 5 pounds of muscle a month? Maybe 10 pounds a month? Or is it more like 20 pounds a month?

The supplement industry would have you believe it's impossible without their expensive potions. The reality is that they are making it impossible for you to build a better body. Understanding the truth about muscle is your first step. You can go from dealing with your struggle of looking and feeling average, to living in the body you deserve.

Reliable muscle-building and nutrition information isn't that easy to find. Eager for the quick gain, the inexperienced person gets caught in the trap of exaggerated claims from the supplement-industry-supported magazines. I hope that you're following my posts and have come to trust that I look for the real truth, with your best interests in mind.

How Much Muscle Can You Really Build?
Most gym rats expect to build lots of muscle really fast. This is a myth. You can't build muscle really fast. The majority of my students and clients had completely unrealistic expectations when they first came to me, regarding quick muscle building.

I can't put an exact number on how much you can gain. Most people believe that they can build 20 pounds of muscle in 3 months. It's amazing how frustrated many people become because they only gained 1-5 pounds in their first month of training. I can't help but think to myself, "That’s fantastic, what are you complaining about?"

There is no doubt you can gain 20 pounds of WEIGHT in 3 months, or even one month. I'm not talking about "weight gain." I'm talking about "pure muscle tissue gain." That is not including water weight or glycogen weight. There is not a chance that you will gain 5 or even 10 pounds of "pure lean muscle" in 1 month or even 3 months; not even close. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but unless you are using growth enhancing drugs, it's impossible. Many of you might be upset or discouraged about the truth of how much you can actually build.

The purpose of this knowledge is to help you to eat and train with a more realistic perspective. Under the best possible circumstances (training, nutrition, supplementation, recovery, mind-set) the average male body can create between 1/4 and 1/5 pounds of "pure lean muscle" tissue per week. That’s the natural amount that your body chemistry will allow. That means you're looking at 1-2 pounds of "pure lean muscle" each month.

You don't think that's very much? Consider this... What will your body look like a year from now with an extra 12-24 pounds of muscle? Now... Are you starting to see the importance of consistency?

Most people can maintain up to 40 grams of glycogen per 100 grams of muscle tissue. That means, if you're gaining 10 pounds of new muscle, you'll consequently increase glycogen storage by around 4 pounds. If you gain 10 pounds of muscle, your scale will show a gain which will actually be closer to 14 pounds (if you didn't gain any fat). Rarely will someone not gain any fat, if they are gaining more than 3 pounds per month.

When you set your muscle-building goals, clarify in your mind whether "20 pounds of muscle" is your weight gain goal or your lean muscle goal. Then put a realistic time frame on your goals based on the information I just shared with you.

If you simply focus on keeping your body fat between 10%-13%, while gaining around 5 pounds per month, then it is safe to say you are gaining 1-2 pounds of lean muscle a month with the addition of 1-2 pounds of glycogen and water. Hopefully, there will be no more than a pound of fat.

Train hard. Expect success. Ask Bodies@Work for help when you need it.