I know that there are a lot of variables (genetics, food, water, excercise, effort, time, consistancy, etc) but there must be some studies on the average muscle weight gain that can be acheived using weight lifting.

Anyone have a guess as to the number?

Thanks,
Mike

Quote from a book I have just read (in a chapter about the myths of weight training) :"If you lift weights two or three times a week, you're likely to gain about 1 pound of muscle per month for about six months, after which the rate of the increase slows down."

Of course there could be many different opinions, but I do not think the average would be much more higher...

one more thing to remember, a day after you lift, your muscles retain lots of water... and it goes away in a day or two..

Like Galadriell, I have read .5 to 1 lb a month (with heavy lifting) at first but then it slows down considerably - newbies to lifting get all the perks.


Nat

I don't have an exact answer for you, but I hope this helps in your quest.

For the very reasons you state, it would be impossible to give you an accurate number for muscle gain. Genetics is the least controllable, yet most important factor in determining how much and how fast you put on muscle. At the world class level, good genetics often times is the determining factor for who comes out on top. Personally, I have never had a problem gaining muscle size and strength. On the other hand, I gain fat like there is no tomorrow.

If it's actual scale weight you seek, maybe the following will help. Weight gained from training may not be all muscle. For example tendons become stronger. I have not seen any research on the specifics of how much a tendon weighs, but I think it makes sense if a tendon becomes stronger, it also weighs slightly more. Bones strengthen, thicken and weigh more from the added stress of weight lifting.

I have heard talk in gyms about muscle size, strength and density. Usually bodybuilders are referred to as having size and shape and powerlifters are said to have strength and density. Although density has been called muscle maturity also, which comes about over time.

Unfortunately I don't have any references for you.

Good luck!

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one more thing to remember, a day after you lift, your muscles retain lots of water... and it goes away in a day or two..
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Also, if you carb it up your muscles will store glycogen and hold water and appear to be larger and heavier, and feel more pumped.

From the reading I have done, I don't think there is any way to estimate the muscle weight gains one can expect. All the factors listed in the above posts make it difficult to even guess. I have seen numbers from .25lb to 1.5lb.

Just got this from Active.com:

"Protein facts

To add 1 pound of muscle, the body needs an additional 10 to 14 grams of protein per day. This is equal to about 2 ounces of meat, poultry, or fish; one large egg; or 1 cup of beans.

The body can only add 2 pounds of muscle per week."

Now, I believe that the 2lbs per week figure is a maximum possible increase, not an average--but I think that lifting very heavy weights combined with well-timed protein and carb intake can result in much faster gains than 1lb. per month--in the past couple of months I have put on considerably more than 2lbs. LBM (and how much bigger can my organs and bones really be getting, anyway?).

just wondering, do u peepz take protein supplements while lifting? do we even need to since we take in so much protein anyway?

The commonly held belief is that you should eat 1.0-1.4g of protein per lb of LBM if you trying to gain muscle mass. That's a lot of protein, so a shake is a good way to get those extra grams.

any low-carb shake suggestions?

looks like i gained a lot of muscle (i'm a lifting noob ) since comparing my pictures from 2months ago, looks like muscle just came out of nowhere and went to my upperbody lol