How many muscles can you build in a month?

It depends on your experience in the gym and a few other things.

Many young people enter the gym and expect in a 4-week training cycle to turn into The Rock. Normally, this doesn't work, and they start looking on the internet for information on "how to". To build muscle mass you need patience and a realistic sense of what you can expect in a certain period of time. The maximum muscle building rate is divided as:

• Beginner: from 1 to 1.5% of total body weight.
• Intermediate: 0.5% - 1% of total body weight.
• Advanced: 0.25% - 0.5% of total body weight.

Let's put these percentages in concrete figures. Let's say that John is 70 kg and 19 years old, he is an ordinary guy, who didn't do much sports in his life. If John trains intensely 3-5 times a week, has an impeccable diet and recovers well after training, here's what to expect:

Year 1: John weighs 70 kg and fat mass 14%

• 70 x 0.01 = 0.7 kg of muscle per month. In one year that means 8.4 kg of muscle.
• 70 x 0.015 = 1.05 kg of muscle per month. In one year that means 12.6 kg of muscle.

Let's say that at the end of the year John weighs 80 kg.

Year 2: John weighs 80 kg

• 80 x 0.0075 = 0.6 kg of muscle per month, 7.2 kg of muscle per year.

John has a progress and reaches 87 kg.

Year 3: John weighs 87 kg

• 87 x 0.0025 = 0.21 kg of muscle per month or 2.5 kg of muscle per year.

John reaches 82.5 kg of muscle and 15% body fat in 3 years of serious training. Sounds good for only 3 years, but many young beginners can't watch over 3 years. They want everything now!

People who use anabolic steroids can also gain 1 to 1.5 kg of muscle mass per month as beginners. Water retention and fat also add a few pounds, but it takes a while to build lean muscle tissue, even when you do everything right.