How long does it really take to build muscle?

If you’re entering your fitness era and wondering how long it will take to see changes in your muscles, here’s everything you need to know. When it comes to your body, lasting change won’t happen overnight. Many people expect to see quick results when they try this Muscle building. It’s understandable, especially when you see others constantly showing off their progress on social media. However, the process can be slow and depends on more factors than just going to the gym or doing so Workouts at home regularly. Your diet, rest, and even genetics play a big role in how your body responds to training and how quickly you see those muscle gains. You may feel like pushing yourself harder to see faster results, but it’s best to be patient and trust the process. After all, you don’t want to overdo it and get injured.

If you strive for bigger and more Toned musclesIt’s important to start New workout plan With the right expectations. Lifting weights is the best way to build muscle over time. Supports research Resistance trainingEspecially lifting weights, as the best way to induce hypertrophy (the scientific term for muscle growth).

Here you’ll learn how long it takes to build muscle and the factors that affect your ability to do so become stronger, Smaller And fix who Weight training.

Read also: How to build muscle faster

How does muscle growth occur?

Building muscle involves repairing microtraumas in your muscle fibers. Below is a breakdown of this very complex process:

1. Each muscle is made up of thousands of small muscle fibers.

2. When you lift weights (or do body-weight exercises), your muscles experience micro-injuries throughout their fibers.

3. Then, when you rest your muscles, your body begins repairing damaged muscle cells.

4. The repair process involves fusing torn muscle fibers back together, as well as placing new proteins inside each muscle cell.

5. Your muscles become larger and stronger as a result of the repair process.

Keep in mind that the above is a very simplified version of what actually happens in your body after a weightlifting workout. In fact, the process involves more than just your muscles – your nervous system, circulatory system, and endocrine system all contribute to muscle repair and growth.

How long does it take to build muscle?

There is no set timeline for building muscle, because several factors affect your ability to build muscle mass, including:

The amount of protein you eat: While all Macronutrients She has her roles, protein He is the king when it comes to building muscle. Your muscles need adequate protein to repair themselves after stress Weight training. Without enough protein, muscle growth stops.

The calories you eat: If you don’t eat enough Calories On a daily basis, you will not be able to build muscle even if you eat a lot of protein. To build muscle, your body must create new tissue, and it can’t create something from nothing. The additional fuel from the extra calories speeds up muscle recovery and growth. This is one reason why many people never reach their muscle growth goals – they are not prepared to deal with the excess body fat that comes with the muscle building phase.

Your sleep schedule: Lifting weights while sleep deprived Not a smart strategy. You may see some gains, but you certainly can’t optimize muscle growth when you don’t give your body a fighting chance to recover.

Your lifting routine: If you’re trying to build muscle, you should know two main strength training concepts: frequency and volume. Frequency refers to how often you train a muscle or muscle group Amount It refers to the total load exerted on the muscle.

For example, if you perform three sets of 10 reps on squats using 100 pounds, your total volume is 3,000 pounds. More volume and higher frequency usually means more muscle, unless you get to that point Overtraining.

Your training age: The more advanced you are, the less muscle you will grow (yes, that sounds backwards). Everyone has a maximum genetic potential for muscle growth, and the closer you get to it, the harder it becomes to build more muscle.

Your real age: Like many things, building muscle becomes more difficult as you get older. SarcopeniaOr loss of muscle mass and function, is actually a major problem in older people. This is one of the reasons why this is important Stay active as you age.

Other key factors include your genetic ability to build muscle (which is impossible to measure without lab testing, and even then, kind of fluctuates) and your testosterone levels — which is why men typically have more muscle than women. Other hormones, including human growth hormone and insulin growth factor, also play a role in muscle growth.

However, the muscle building process begins the moment you challenge your muscles to do something. True beginners may see muscle growth within six weeks of starting resistance Training programAdvanced lifters may see results within six to eight weeks of changing their usual strength training regimen.

Regardless of your fitness level, building muscle takes several weeks, even with your diet. He sleeps The training regimen is connected to improve muscle growth.

Can you build muscle through cardio?

This depends on your definition of the heart And the age of your training. Most people won’t be able to build a lot of muscle through traditional cardio exercises, such as walking or jogging, and people who train for a long time certainly won’t build new muscle through traditional cardio exercises. It does not recruit your muscles in a way that sends a muscle building signal to your body.

However, cardio that involves high-intensity exercises such as plyometrics (such as jump squats) or high-volume weight training can It helps you build muscle to some extent. Hill running, hiking, skiing and other outdoor cardio can contribute a small amount to muscle mass, especially for beginners. People with a long training history may not see as much success with cardio.

Although cardio can improve your overall fitness and help build muscle in specific scenarios, strength training remains the best way to build muscle mass.

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