how many pounds of muscle can a woman build in one year?

[vinylgroover]

In this book, Mind and Muscle by Blair Whitmarsh, PhD he states that for wll trained male athletes the maximum amt of muscle you can gain in a month is approx 1.5 lbs, or 18 lbs per year. This is naturally. For untrained men the first year can be up to 25 lbs.

Female athletes can gain 8 to 12 lbs per year. This is also done naturally via diet. Note the word, "athlete" typically someone who lives and breathes for their sport not a recreational bodybuilder or gym goer.

I don't know how they come up with these numbers. In theory it's fine, but i don't think anyone would get anywhere near those numbers in reality.

 

[spatts]

I gained more in 2002 than I did in 2001, and I did a full test cycle in 2001. Only change was in my training.

...and I gained more than 8-12 both years.

 

[MS]

A novice (or someone who hasn't been training optimally for a while) MAY be able to gain that much for a year or two naturally, but no way can you continue to gain at that rate, especially if you're talking true LBM gain (excluding gains of excess fluid, increases in bone density and other factors that confound LBM measurement). If an 'athlete' continued to gain mass like that (assuming minimal fat gain) for years on end then you can be sure they are no longer natural. I have gained around 50-60 lbs total fat-free mass, but it has taken me 20 years, making my avergae yearly gain only 2-3 lbs. At my age I don't really expect I will be gaining ANY more LBM no matter how well I train or eat (unless I am willing to also gain an unacceptable amount of fat). However YMMV and there's no point in limiting yourself by other folks results.

 

[spatts]

I agree. That first year was my first real year back after having a baby...which is practically like starting over, in terms of LBM. The second year, when I first switched to training for powerlifting, it just packed on. It's tapering off now, and I expect the "beginners luck" is over. Like you said, I changed to a more optimal method (for me), and saw things take a crazy jump. So both years had special circumstances. I don't expect to see that again in 2003. As long as I hit my lifts, I really don't care, either.

 

[BrickGirl]

Lets see, last time I "bulked" up was after a contest and I put on 40lbs, after I leaned down, I had gained abour 3lbs of lbm and was VERY happy to get that, 3lbs made a huge diference in my physique and that was through massivly heavy eating and powerlifting, and that lasted 6 months.

 

[BronzedGoddess]

Back in 1997 I gained 12 pounds in 8 weeks in Basic Training. Granted I was 17-18 years old, but this was without any weights only basic army P.T and road marches with a heavy ruck sack. I believe it was all muscle becuase I came out with a six pack but I was just skinny going in. So that took me from 118 to 130 @ 5'7. Since then I've gained about 5 more pounds of muscle (in between pregnancies). However what's holding me back is I'm not willing to gain a lot of fat in order to gain a substantial amount of muscle, so that's on me.

 

[Cheetarah]

Back in 1997 I gained 12 pounds in 8 weeks in Basic Training. Granted I was 17-18 years old, but this was without any weights only basic army P.T and road marches with a heavy ruck sack. I believe it was all muscle becuase I came out with a six pack but I was just skinny going in. So that took me from 118 to 130 @ 5'7. Since then I've gained about 5 more pounds of muscle (in between pregnancies). However what's holding me back is I'm not willing to gain a lot of fat in order to gain a substantial amount of muscle, so that's on me.

Sounds similar to me. I put on 7-9 lbs in AF basic training. I was just thin (altho not as thin as you) at 5'5" between 118-120 lbs going in, came out at 127 lbs. Did sports, lots of cardio, and some weight resistance training at my first duty base and put on another 5 lbs. Then I stayed right around 132 lbs until I got into bodybuilding and started seriously weight training. I put on another 8 lbs in the first 3 months! Then I just leveled out and also started finally paying attention to my diet.

Hard to believe I'm 20 lbs heavier now than when I graduated HS but I actually look BETTER now! Now I've got sexy muscle and definition, woohoo!

 

[satchboogie]

A. There's no commotion, and after the weekend I had, there ain't gonna be.

B. If I had a 5-8 pound year, I would be seriously re-evaluating my training. I'd probably even throw something. Perhaps my scale.

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HELLO SPATTS....

i'm not clear about your your re-evaluating.

are you saying that it is possible, or it isnt possible to gain 5-8 pounds of lean muscle in one year give that you're not a novice? (we'll say that a novice is anybody with less than a year of continous training under their belt)

FOR THE OTHERS...

the original post read "how many pounds of muscle"... NOT how many pounds in total weight.

with that cleared, i'd like to hear some more opinions/experiences from those of you who have trained for over a year. the bottom line again.......HOW MANY POUNDS OF LEAN MUSCLE CAN ONE GAIN IN ONE YEAR OF NATURAL TRAINING?

 

[Cheetarah]

I put on about 12 lbs of LBM my first year of lifting. I went from 132 lbs at about 22% bodyfat to 140 lbs at 18% bodyfat. Since then I have only put on another 3 lbs of LBM (training for 3 years now) altho I haven't actually been TRYING to put on more. I've been eating mainly to cut or maintain rather than gain.

 

[MS]

satchboogie, your question is impossible to answer. First, without some extremely sophisticated equipment, it is not possible to measure how much of your gain in fat-free mass is due to nett nitrogen deposition (in other words true muscle growth), increased hydration of existing muscle, or increases in bone density. On top of that, everyone is different. Thirdly, the law of diminishing returns apples as WarLobo pointed out. Fourthly, it depends on where you're starting from. In my case, I started at 5'5" and ~105 lbs. There was nowhere but UP for me to go in terms of muscle gains. At 160+ lbs, there is little chance I can gain much more muscle naturally.

So maybe a woman could put on 15lbs LBM in her first year of training, 5-10 in her next year, 2-4 in her third year, and only a pound or two after that (if she's not too old like me). I would think that would be pretty good going for your average natty female!! I also want to point out that MOST of my keepable LBM gains have occurred post-competition dieting. There is no way I could have gained as much as I have without that rebound muscle growth that comes from dieting down to very low bodyfat levels. Most importantly, that rebound muscle growth also requires some rebound fat growth, and if you are unwilling to put on some fat, then your chances of contined growth are not too good without AAS. I'm not talking about slobbing out and eating all the junk food in sight....just good quality muscle and moderate fat gain.