If I go to the gym 6 times a week,how long would it take to see changes in my body?

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I'm a 6'1" guy at 180 pounds and planning to build some muscle(just to look toned and healthy).How long would I have to continue to see changes?

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  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,288 Member
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    Depends on your regimen and intensity. I could go to the gym 7 days a week and eat like crap and the only change I'm going to see is weight gain. It's not the amount of days you go but what you do while your there and how you eat.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I'm a 6'1" guy at 180 pounds and planning to build some muscle(just to look toned and healthy).How long would I have to continue to see changes?

    how much of a surplus are you working with?
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,288 Member
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    My recommendation is find a good progressive strength training program and, since you're looking to put on muscle, eat a little above maintenance so that you'll be able to feed your body for muscle growth. You will gain some body fat as well. If you keep your protein levels high and have a good weight training program, you could gain up to 1lb of muscle a month, maybe a little more than that with the right program and if you're new to lifting (newbie gains). I'd be extremely happy with if I were you to put on an additional 20 lbs after 6 months with half of that being muscle gain. Then go into a cut phase to strip off the excess fat.
  • McCloud33
    McCloud33 Posts: 959 Member
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    So many assumptions here...first, you're assuming that the harder/longer/more time you put in at the gym, the more your muscles will grow. This is true to a point, but muscles are actually built in the rest between days of working out. Get on a good 3-4 day progressive lifting program and move one to assumption two.

    That being that all that is needed is to go to the gym. Diet is THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of weight loss/gain. If you want to lose weight, it doesn't matter how much you work out if your diet is crap. YOU CAN'T OUT EXERCISE A BAD DIET. It sounds like you're wanting to gain muscle while still maintaining a lean look. This can be one of the hardest things to do, because it's nearly impossible to gain significant muscle without also putting on fat. You need to be in a calorie surplus to gain muscle and sufficient protein for muscle building. I'll let you research how much protein is needed as there are several schools of thought on that.

    Assumption three is that there's a timeframe to see changes. This depends on so many factors and just how much muscle you're wanting to add. Completely untrained late teen male can maybe add 24lbs of muscle in the first year, then basically start halving that every year after as a rule of thumb. And those are IDEAL conditions. Most people don't have the time/discipline/genetics to reach those type of numbers.

  • aaromalloyola666
    aaromalloyola666 Posts: 50 Member
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    Guys I am maintaining a diet and also I'm a complete beginner at the gym! Can I expect changes in 3-4 months?
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,288 Member
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    Again, read the above posts. Your results will vary dependent upon too many factors to give you an answer. How intense are your workouts? How are you eating? To gain muscle, you need to supply your body with enough calories and protein to support growth, hard to do in a deficit. If you're already pretty slim, it's not going to happen in a deficit. You'll need to really up your intake. Any changes you may, or may not, make are dependent upon mainly 2 things, how you eat and what/how much your lifting.
  • PiperGirl08
    PiperGirl08 Posts: 134 Member
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    Yes, assuming you do anything consistently for 3-4 months, you'll see something you can point to for your efforts. Having said that , as a beginner you should work with a trainer so you can see the results you're after.
  • shagerty777
    shagerty777 Posts: 185 Member
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    Here is my personal experience. I started lifting a full body program 3 days a week on November 1st of last year. I do cardio 6 or 7 days a week as my number one goal is to lose body fat right now. In that time I can notice very positive changes in the way my body is looking. So, I am seeing some muscle growth and definitely a lot more definition after 6 months, am i getting huge, not yet but that comes with time and a much more generous diet than I am doing now. The best advice I can give you is this, if you don't start...you will never see changes! Good luck!
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    Somewhere between several months and never.
  • filovirus76
    filovirus76 Posts: 156 Member
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    Guys I am maintaining a diet and also I'm a complete beginner at the gym! Can I expect changes in 3-4 months?
    Yes
  • professorhuggins
    professorhuggins Posts: 72 Member
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    Take pictures. After three months I don't think I look any different, but I see my January pic and think, "holy crap, that's awesome!" But I've been lifting 4x per week and making sure to get plenty of rest.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    You haven't given anyone enough information to predict when you'll see changes. "go to the gym". Then what? I've been the fat guy who goes to the gym, works hard, sweats buckets, then goes to the buffet and eats back every calorie I just burned. I saw no changes in me with that conduct. Oh, I did notice some cardiovascular improvement, but that doesn't show up in the mirror or the tape measure.