Starting From Scratch
The hardest part of any journey is just getting started. This is especially true when it comes to building muscle and getting into shape for the first time in your life.
Even the most driven people can feel afraid of failing, especially when trying to change their bodies with New Year’s resolutions or getting ready for summer. Sometimes, it seems easier to stay in your comfort zone and keep your fitness goals to yourself, rather than risk criticism from family and friends.
An abundance of information on the internet often causes confusion about building muscle. Many influencers and gurus sell generic fitness advice. Without properly assessing your fitness level and identifying goals that matter to you, starting training can often lead to selling generic fitness advice or wasting your time.
A proper training regimen for consistent muscle growth includes the right amount of nutrition, appropriate training intensity, and adequate rest/recovery from those exercises for each individual. Those metrics will change over time, but the rate of muscle growth will eventually increase regardless of how quickly it initially increases or during the first couple of years of training.
Muscular development, or hypertrophy, is not a complicated process, and trainees new to resistance training can see results in a few months. As long as an individual is consistent and determined, virtually anyone can see muscular development within four weeks to a few months.
If the variables that determine muscle growth can be taken into account, acquiring muscle mass can be a very simple process.
What is An Appropriate Pace to Build Muscle Naturally
Building muscles, or muscle hypertrophy, involves increasing skeletal muscle through a combination of strength training, progressive overload, proper nutrition, and adequate hydration (see What Progressive Overload is). As workouts become more intense and the body is supplied with adequate nutrition, this creates an environment suitable for muscle growth.
During exercise, muscle fibers undergo small tears that require amino acids to repair and rebuild. This is where protein plays a vital role in rebuilding damaged muscle so it can grow bigger and better handle stress (see How Much Protein is Required For Muscle Growth Daily).
Of the essential amino acids that are consumed, leucine is the most valuable, as it stimulates protein synthesis for the repair of damaged muscle tissue. Consuming 10-15grams of essential amino acids per meal, with 2-3 grams of leucine, is essential to start muscle repair post-workout.
This can be accomplished by eating a 6-8oz portion of lean meat with a meal or by substituting a protein supplement that can be consumed throughout the day (see Best Sources for Quality Protein).
In addition to nutrition, adequate rest is required for damaged muscle tissue to be rebuilt after intense exercise. During deep sleep, the body releases higher levels of hormones, mainly growth hormone and testosterone. Sleep is when the body repairs and grows, which has a large impact on protein synthesis for muscle development (see Why Sleep Is Necessary While Training).
Finally, there is the intensity from resistance training that’s necessary for significant muscle growth. Resistance training creates metabolic stress, which builds lactic acid in the muscle.
For this lactic acid to be released, an adequate metabolic stimulus must occur without completely fatiguing the muscle. It’s important NOT to go to complete failure; find the right balance between intensity and volume to avoid overtraining (see What Are Signs of Overtraining?).
Volume training involves adding additional sets to a training routine to compensate for the increased intensity needed for growth. Some examples of additional-volume/intensity routines include drop sets and supersets (see How to Create More Intensity for Workouts).
Adding these to your training days will create more fatigue while building endurance and strength. Getting stronger over time is a surefire way to build muscle hypertrophy.
By including all the variables listed above, good results can be achieved within 3 months with consistent training and nutrition. Over time, within 1 to 2 years, this can add a sizeable amount of muscle without any additional supplementation needed.
Factors That Will Slow Down Muscle Growth
Age is one factor that works against you when it comes to muscle growth. This is due to lower levels of growth hormone and testosterone produced as males get older, although there are methods to keep hormonal levels above average (see How to Naturally Boost Growth Hormone).
The second biggest factor against muscle growth is a poor diet, as it is nearly impossible to outwork a poor diet. Eating foods that are worthless to the body (highly processed foods, sugary drinks, baked goods, candy) will be counterproductive to improving fitness and overall health.
By eliminating these foods or at least moderating them for rare occasions, you prevent yourself from sabotaging your ability to make significant progress in shorter periods. Cleaner foods that are higher in nutrients and fiber will also keep you satiated longer and prevent overeating, which can lead to unnecessary fat gain (see Downsides of Gaining Too Much Fat).
After staying focused on your diet, you want to keep your motivation high, especially when results are not yet visible after several weeks. Many people are extrinsically motivated by results in the mirror, and oftentimes it takes more time and consistency for muscle hypertrophy to become noticeable (see How to Avoid Burnout From The Gym).
By staying focused on making small, progressive improvements towards your fitness goals throughout your journey, you will be motivated to see the changes in your physique you set out to achieve.
The Wrap Up
The timeframe for significant muscle growth from training can be seen within twelve weeks or a few months from the start. A proper regimen of nutrition, progressive exercise, and adequate rest is what is required to see an improved physique from whence it first started. Monitoring your own progress and becoming satisfied with your appearance through a healthy lifestyle is all it takes to achieve impressive muscle growth.
