how quickly can you gain muscle?

Question:

Muscle memory?

I suspect the real work was building those muscle fibers and you still have them, easier to strengthen then build a muscle. — Dragon Mom started at size 28W, today wearing 20W, goal 16W started low carb Sept. 2000.

Response:

Muscle memory? I suspect the real work was building those muscle fibers and you still have them, easier to strengthen then build a muscle.

You don’t actually build more muscle fibers (well in theory you could, but its not the rule in humans) as your muscles grow and/or strengthen. What happens is that the different types of muscle fibers within the muscle increase their size due to damage and repair — the type of fibers that are accessed is dependent upon what type of stress you put upon the muscle. I haven’t read why someone who once had increased muscle size or strength has an easier time growing again than someone who hasn’t. If it is true then I suspect that it would be due to the central nervous system having retained a "memory" on how to recruit the different muscle fibers, hence faster growth. Or just plain knowledge — if you’ve trained before then you would have a larger knowledge base the second time around. To go back and answer the question about how quickly you can gain muscle — as in the muslce size getting bigger, I believe its around 4-6 weeks. However, strength gains come much faster. — Rudy – Remove the Z from my address to respond. Check out the a.s.d.l-c FAQ at: http://www.grossweb.com/asdlc/faq.htm

Response:

Additionally, women with PCOS may build muscle a bit easier due to hormonal issues.

Heh, that’s probably the only good side effect of PCOS. (Which reminds me, I need to make an appointment with a doctor to get screened for that….) Laura

Response:

Muscle memory? Charles – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’ve been digging around on the Internet trying to get an idea of how quickly a person can put on muscle. I’m looking for some kind of rule of thumb…like, we all know the rule of thumb that you should lose about 1/2 to 2 pounds of fat a week. Is ther a similar guesstimate for gaining muscle? Laura it depends on your body type and how you train (I build muscle quickly and easily). I have a endomorphic body type I have always been extremely strong for a woman. Another thing that affects muscle building is previous fitness levels (if you were really fit as a child and are now much older and flabby you recondition faster then someone who was never fit and the same age (they are starting from point zero) — Dragon Mom started at size 28W, today wearing 20W, goal 16W started low carb Sept. 2000.

Response:

I’ve been digging around on the Internet trying to get an idea of how quickly a person can put on muscle. I’m looking for some kind of rule of thumb…like, we all know the rule of thumb that you should lose about 1/2 to 2 pounds of fat a week. Is ther a similar guesstimate for gaining muscle? Laura

Response:

The problem is that it is different, but putting on 1-2 pounds of muscle a week IS HARD. Even with the "newbie gains." If you’ve been lifting for a while (and it sounds like you have) and you’ve eating at a caloric deficit, I’d say it’s nearly impossible. (Notice I said nearly). Additionally, in doing a mass program, one expects to gain *fat* along with *muscle* It’s part of the regimine. Laura, I know you’ve been having problems, but have you tracked calories? It may take a while to figure out what level you’re supposed to eat at. Some people it’s less, some it’s more – regardless of how much exercise you do. As I’m sure you’ve read, even with all the cardio and heavy weight training and I even take the occasional hip-hop class at night and play softball on the occasional weekend, I can only lose at 8 cals per pound. I saw your previous post about wanting to gain 9 pounds of LBM but realize that for that significant amount of a gain you’ll probably gain fat as well. Also, what are you eating? I’ve seen mention of alcohol and sweets before, but I didn’t know if you were still incorporating those into your diet. Just a thought. All this said and done, you could consider posting this to the LC-Exercise list. http://www.solid.net/~homerc/ Good luck, Nina

Response:

All this said and done, you could consider posting this to the LC-Exercise list. http://www.solid.net/~homerc/

Thanks for the reference. I just read the FAQ and had a few questions answered and got a lot of interesting information to think about. Laura

Response:

it depends on your body type and how you train (I build muscle quickly and easily). I have a endomorphic body type I have always been extremely strong for a woman. Another thing that affects muscle building is previous fitness levels (if you were really fit as a child and are now much older and flabby you recondition faster then someone who was never fit and the same age (they are starting from point zero) — Dragon Mom started at size 28W, today wearing 20W, goal 16W started low carb Sept. 2000.

Response:

Additionally, women with PCOS may build muscle a bit easier due to hormonal issues. Cheers, Nina

Response:

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