Have you ever wondered how long it would take to build muscle?
In this post, we give you the answer! How long does it take to build muscle?
How Do You Build Muscle?
Muscle building, also called muscle hypertrophy, is the increase on the volume of your muscle fibers.
There are many ways to build muscle, but the basis are compiled in three big fields: training, nutrition, and sleep
With constant and regular training, a balanced nutrition, and good sleep, you’ll have everything you need to build muscle and change your physique.
Training to Build Muscle
Resistance training is the best practice to build muscle. It compromises your body, giving out a signal to build more muscle and adapt to the training stimulus.
In response to resistance training, your body builds more muscle and adapts to the new environment. From an evolutionary point of view, this follows the so called Natural Selection.
Mechanical tension and metabolic stress are the main mechanisms behind muscle building. They create enough stimulus to induce an anabolic response and build muscle over time (study)
To build muscle, focus on these two mechanisms and follow a progressive overload throughout the weeks. This will ensure your muscle gains over time.
Nutrition to Build Muscle
A healthy and balanced diet will give you all the nutrients you need to maintain, repair, and build muscle over time.
The most important aspect to consider is the calorie balance. Depending on your goals, you will be on a calorie deficit, calorie surplus, or mainteinance. This will make you lose, gain, or maintain weight, respectively.
There are three macronutrients in a diet: protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Each of them play an important role in your metabolism and health, and you should include them in the recommended dose:
- Protein: 2-2.5 g/kg
- Fat: 0.8-1.2 g/kg
- Carbohydrates: 4-7 g/kg
Sleep to Build Muscle
A good sleep, together with a balanced diet and training program, completes the triangle for health and muscle building.
Sleep deprivation can make you gain weight, deteriorate your health, and decrease your training performance. In other words, a complete disaster…
To get the most out of your sleep, prioritize 7-9h of sleep daily. This will set you up for a great muscle building journey and long lasting life.
The Reality of Muscle Building
Everyone thinks building muscle is easy. You go to the gym, eat a lot of chicken and protein, and that’s it… magic!
The reality of muscle building is, however, far from that believe. The process of muscle building requires time and a lot of sacrifices. Constancy, patience, and perseverence.
Muscle Building Takes Time
Rather, muscle building is a long term journey. Don’t pretend to be like Arnold in one, two, nor three weeks.
It’s a matter of months, or years, when you’ll start noticing the big changes.
Focus on What Really Matters
Muscle building is a lifestyle.
You must adhere to a sustainable long-term lifestyle to keep going to the gym, eating healthy and sleeping enough while enjoying the journey.
That’s what matters. The rest (supplements, timing, exercise selection,…) will only account for the remaining 5% of the entire process.
How Long Does It Take to Build Muscle?
When you start training, the first adaptations will come from strength. Your neurons will create synapsis with the muscle fibers through the nervous system.
The more efficient these connections are, the stronger you will be.
During the first weeks of training, there are large amounts of stress and muscle damage.
Because your body is not adapted yet, all the nutrients and sleep you are providing will be used to repair the muscle that was damaged during the training.
After 4-6 weeks, you will start building muscle with noticeable changes. This is the sweetspot in where you will build most muscle.
As you train, the curve of muscle building starts to flatten down. The more advanced you are, the harder it is to build muscle.
Along your entire lifespan, it is estimated to put around 40lbs of muscle.
Conclusion
Muscle building is long process, taking about 4-6 weeks to start noticing some big changes. The three legs of the table are nutrition, training, and sleep.
In this post, we have seen how long it takes to build muscle and the main aspects to consider to succeed on this journey. I hope you enjoyed it!!
