How Long Does It Take to Start Building Muscle?

Trying to join the ranks of musclebound men and women? Hoping to shed that winter weight and work on your beach bod? Looking to build a bigger, stronger, more muscular body and bid farewell to being a scrawny son of a gun?

You’re not alone if you answered “yes” to any of the above! A whopping 45 million Americans have gym memberships nowadays and almost all of them are pursuing similar health goals. But how long does it take to start building muscle and seeing results?

Alas, there isn’t a simple answer to this particular question.

It’s a bit like asking how long it takes to get richer, wiser, or more successful all-around. Myriad internal and external factors impact the time it takes to get from A to B.

However, that doesn’t mean we can’t offer some enlightening insights on the topic! Want to learn more about the nuances of this issue and discover how to build muscle faster in the process? Keep reading.

Factors That Impact the Muscle Building Timeline

We’d love to present you with a clear and definitive timeframe for the muscle-building process. But we’d be lying if we tried! There are simply too many different factors that come into play and determine how long it takes.

Growth Hormone

Due to our different biological makeup, men and women develop muscle at different rates. In other words, if a man and woman did the same training regime for the same length of time, the man would be more muscular by the end of the experiment. Why?

Because they have access to more testosterone and growth hormone. These key elements combine and speed up the rate of muscle development. This isn’t to say that women don’t respond to training as readily, it’s just that the results usually happen slower.

Effort

The only way to build muscle is to work them out. Think of like driving across the country…

Two people could drive the same car along the same route. But the winner will always be the individual who brakes less and pushes harder on the gas pedal. If you train with intensity on a regular basis, you should start seeing results in a matter of weeks.

Nutrition

It’s hard to overstate the importance of nutrition when it comes to getting fitter, stronger, and more muscular. Fail to fuel your body with the right nutrients and you’ll never achieve the results you’re pursuing!

Of course, the key nutrient in this regard is protein. A macronutrient that’s crucial to building muscle, it has a major role in how quickly you recover from exercise. Assuming you’re working out on a regular basis, eating enough (but not too much!) high-quality protein is imperative to building muscle fast.

Sleep/Rest

It might sound strange, but resting your muscles helps them grow! As the old adage goes, you don’t build muscle in the gym, but outside it. One half of that particular equation comes down to nutrition; the other’s rest and recovery.

Taking days off from the gym is important here, but the secret to success is getting enough sleep each night. Your beauty sleep’s the perfect opportunity for your muscles to recover, recharge, repair, and rebuild. If two people of similar build work out at the same intensity, the one who sleeps better and longer each night will gain muscle faster.

How to Put on Muscle Faster

In a hurry to build muscle? Check out these quick-fire muscle-building tips:

Try Strength Training

Not all types of training are made equal when it comes to building muscle. Heck, some forms of exercise (such as running long distances) can even kill your gains. The secret sauce is what’s called strength training.

In simple terms, you’re using resistance (i.e. weights of one form of another) to work your muscles. Using your muscles in this way forces them to contract, which sets the foundation for growth and strength. Lift heavy weights, experiment with calisthenics, and gradually make the exercises harder as you become stronger.

Try Working Out More

Quantity and intensity both matter in the realm of training and muscle growth. To speed this process up, try working out with greater intensity on a more frequent basis.

However, the trick is to ensure you get enough rest as well. Work out so hard that your body doesn’t have a chance to recover and you can actually slow down your gains. You might get injured, for example, or be too fatigued to exercise at pique performance.

Try Taking Supplements

Eating the right food for building muscle isn’t easy. Eating enough of it can feel impossible- especially when you’re not accustomed to consuming huge platefuls of food.

That’s where supplements can help. They’ll make it ten times easier to consume the nutrients that facilitate muscle growth in the necessary quantities. From protein powders and pre-workouts to beta-alanine and peptides, do some research to learn more about the best ones for the job.

Tens of millions of Americans (and hundreds of millions of people around the world) are on a mission to build muscle and get a better body nowadays. Are you on a similar journey? Well, you’ll know better than anyone how slow, effortful, and frustrating this process can be.

In a state of exasperation, almost everybody gets to a point where they ask: “How long does it take to start building muscle!?”

As we’ve seen, the honest answer is that it’s anybody’s guess! Remember the insights in this article, though, and it shouldn’t be too long before you start seeing results. To continue your education on muscle-building matters, browse the ‘Health’ section of the website now.