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2002/05/24, 01:53 PM
Here's a general question for more experienced lifters out there: I've read that those programs that promise huge gains of 10 pounds or more of muscle mass within a few months are actually pretty deceptive, because it's physiologically impossible to add that much muscle mass naturally. The naysayers argue that a gain of 3 to 7 pounds of muscle in a year is amazing for anyone, and that a good deal of rapidly gained mass will be due to increased glycogen stores, water weight, or even additional body fat. So have there been any credible studies done on the rate of actual muscle gain with training? And how should you factor in bigger glycogen stores and water weight when trying to gauge your lean gains? It seems like this could still be considered "lean" mass since it's not fat. Also, though I'm not personally concerned about "bulking," as a female, I'm curious to know what bodybuilding women should realistically expect in terms of mass gains over time.
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2002/05/24, 02:23 PM
I have recently read for lean mass (no fat), it's about 1 pound per week. But, how can that be truly determined? I guess by just measuring bodyfat (which is not completely accurate) level, weight and certain bodypart measurements.
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**_Robert_**
Pain is temporary; glory is forever!
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2002/05/26, 01:57 PM
I personally believe that women will gain about 1/3 to 1/2 as much muscle as a man would using the same intensity. The reason-less testosterone. I also believe that women have a tendancy to have "clingy" bodyfat. You know, really tough to get rid of, because we are preprogrammed to having the extra estrogen that seems to deposit it as such. Bodyfat measuring may not be the most accurate way to tell which is which, but until we get a better way.... its all we have.
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You've never looked into my eyes, what don't you want to know?
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2002/05/28, 06:11 AM
I gained over 5 pounds of muscle this year naturally......lifting heavy, eating right and supplementation.
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There is no substitute for hard work....
Leslie
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2002/05/28, 09:25 AM
I've heard of that 1 pound per week before but thats probably for beginners and wouldn't last very long.. (its probably been done but how many people actually gain 30lb of lean mass in a month?.. probably not that many)...
I saw an article that goes
"Bulking up is a sure way of gaining mass (and it shows when you compare him to today's professionals like Flex Wheeler), but by simply keeping fat content low and recording what you consume in a food log, one can gain, according to him, 12 pounds of pure muscles mass each year until they reach their body-size limit."
but I heard elsewhere that it was 10lb per year... I wonder if Arnold (the member here @ ft) has read anything like that in any of Schwarzenegger's books...
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2002/05/28, 12:53 PM
I gained about 15 total pounds in 2001 and went from 10% to 7% bodyfat. I started training hard and eating a ton of food just after the New Year and kept it up ever since.
Genetics play a huge role in how much muscle you can gain. There is a genetically-controlled substance in your body called Myostatin that limits the amount of muscle one can grow. There have been a lot of recent studies (since 1997) on this topic and there have been some interesting findings. Do a search for myostatin on a search engine and you'll find out some info on it. Here's a couple of links to start you off:
http://www13.netrition.com/cgi/article_display.cgi?magazine_id=RIP&issue_number=7&article_id=13
http://www13.netrition.com/cgi/article_display.cgi?magazine_id=RIP&issue_number=8&article_id=4
These articles have a lot of good info, but I wouldn't buy in to the supplements company's claims of halting this myostatin gene just yet. Wait for more research to be done.
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--JBennett
"I've up-ed my intensity.... now up yours!"
"Pain is only weakness leaving the body."
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2002/05/28, 12:58 PM
(This is just an attachment to my last post..........)
Although most females do not gain as quickly as males, I have seen some women naturally gain some incredible mass in just a short amount of time.
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--JBennett
"I've up-ed my intensity.... now up yours!"
"Pain is only weakness leaving the body."
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2002/12/12, 10:25 AM
It took me a year, but I but on 12lbs of muscle. It was slow at first, but somewhere in the middle I just had a growth spurt. I haven't gained any weight since, but it gets harder and harder as my recommended protein intake gets higher. I'm not used to having to eat so much and so often, but I'm working on it. I haven't given up hope yet.
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