by You do the work, you feel the combustion, but how long does it actually take to build muscles?
Building muscles is not only a matter of showing up and training and whenever you want. Looking in the mirror does not help (sorry) either. You must include a few important strategies in your training regime to activate the physiological reaction that leads to hypertrophy, the process that ensures that your muscles grow.
Depending on how solid you want you to get muscles, there are a few tricks that you can record, such as bloodstream restrictions and extra proteins, but as a general rule you can expect the process of three to 12 weeks. A beginner should be able to win around one to four pounds in a month, while an experienced lifter may only win about half a pound a month.
Hypertrophy is defined as the enlargement of an organ or tissue due to an increase in the size of the cells. This natural process occurs when the body is emphasized to the point of tissue damage, which activates a repair process that prepares the body to tackle the same amount of work without the same amount of damage next time. While you gradually load your tissue, what actually happens is a process of ‘stimulation and repair’. By lifting heavier loads than your body is used to, you stimulate an inflammatory and hormonal response that leads to increased cellular activity, increased size of your cells and increased cross -section of your muscles.
During the inflammatory response, certain cells are flushed in the stressed or “wounded” place to restore the damaged tissue. This reaction also tells your body’s skeletal muscle cells that they should become larger and stronger to handle the increased load. Testosterone is one of the activated hormones (together with cortisol and growth factor). These hormones help regulate cell activity and lead to increased protein synthesis (specifically actin and myosin, the contractile proteins in muscle) that in turn builds the muscle fibers thicker and stronger.
But this does not happen overnight. Although the inflammation can arrive quickly, the repair process takes longer. As with every training, the time needed to grow muscles can vary based on many factors. Smaller muscles require less time than larger muscles (such as forearms versus quads), and countless personal factors such as age, gender, health history and nutrition can play a key role in the outcome.
Nutrition and tranquility are also very crucial during this process. The simplest step: supplement your diet with extra proteins. The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), one of the most respected authorities in the field of exercises, recommends 1.2 to 2.0 g protein per kilogram of body weight for men who want to build muscles. You also have to get seven to nine hours of sleep every night, because that is when the body spends its time and energy with repairing damaged tissue.
There are several ways of thoughts about the best ways for fast muscle growth, but The National Strength and Conditioning AssociationThe guidelines for efficient muscles suggest that your plan should look like this:
- Determine your 1 RM (or 1 repetition Maximum – the maximum amount that you can lift for just one repetition). If you are not completely comfortable to find that 1 RM (with good reason), this Training loading graph of the NSCA Can help you estimate your 1 RM with a more manageable amount of weight.
- Calculate 65 to 85 percent of those 1 RM.
- Perform 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 12 repetitions 3 times a week with a rest periods of 60 seconds between sets. This creates the biggest increase in testosterone and growth hormone.
- Continue to review your 1RM while you train and adjust your resistance to the new 1RM, so that you gradually increase the load on your muscles with a specific to you.
Remember: there is a nice line between loading your body enough to change it positively, and being too aggressive with the concept of “overloading”, which can lead to injury. If you cannot work with a trainer and/or dietitian to build a personalized plan, use a trusted guide such as that of the NSCA to ensure that you build up strength in a smart and safe way.
If you are training yourself, try to estimate your 1 RM instead of pushing your body to find it. And always make sure you listen to your body while you go. A good 12 -week general strength training plan can be found here.
