How long does it take to build muscle? Building muscle is a major fitness goal for many people, for good reason. Adding muscle mass can help you with functional strength, athletic performance and the prevention of injury and some of the negative effects of aging. Developing a consistent routine out of the habits required to add muscle can also build confidence and help you feel and look better. But as is the case with many widespread fitness goals, there are many misconceptions about what it takes to add muscle. We see Hollywood stars and celebrities in the media drastically changing their bodies in just a few months and assume that there must be some kind of secret trick or tip that can unlock massive muscle gains. In reality it takes a long period of time - at least a month, but probably longer - to see muscle gains of any significance.

Patience is a key ingredient for adding muscle, especially if you are new to weight training or haven’t ever seriously pursued muscle gain in the past. In this article we’ll break down some of the science behind muscle gain, talk about how to create a program for it, and include information about how proper protein consumption will make it easier to hit your goals for adding muscle. How does the body build muscle? The two biggest factors in gaining muscle are your diet and your training habits. The CDC recommends American adults get either 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise every week, along with muscle-strengthening workouts performed at least two days a week, working all major muscle groups. This is a great recommendation to serve as a baseline for staying healthy and preventing the deterioration of muscle. However, if your main fitness goal is building more muscle, you may want to aim for at least three full-body lifting sessions per week.

More advanced weight lifters may lift five or even six times per week by splitting up their routine to focus on different muscle groups on different days. The other big factor in building muscle is your diet - specifically, your consumption of protein. Whey protein has been shown to help increase muscle protein synthesis, particularly when used as a post-workout protein shake to replenish the muscles, since whey is a fast-digesting form of protein. However, your total consumption of protein in grams per day over the long run is more important than timing your protein for a specific part of the day. How long will it take for me to see muscle gains? Muscle growth is an extremely slow process. Your body adds muscle very slowly, and even if you do everything right, you can't change that biological fact. It takes years to gain a significant amount of lean weight. You may see some gains in certain areas in just a month or two, while others may take much longer to develop.

A lot of your muscle development also depends on genetics that determine the exact shape of the different muscle groups on your body. Generally speaking, it’s possible to is by dedicating a percentage of their total calories per day to the three macronutrients: carbs, fats and protein. Consuming around 10-25% of your total calories from healthy protein sources is the general rule of thumb if you’re using this method to set a daily protein intake goal.