How fast do women put on muscle?

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Replies

  • Reneefit135
    Reneefit135 Posts: 170
    LOL I just noticed what i wrote in the re quote didn't come through...i was saying i really liked that post, makes the most sense.
  • gxm17
    gxm17 Posts: 374
    You both may be right about the comments, but no one is right about people getting stronger doing bosu ball curls and kickbacks with 5 lbs. To suggest so is a disservice to uneducated people looking to truely get strong.

    I keep pointing to this study which proved that lighter weights can be *more* effective than heavy weights.

    Here's the science: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2918506/?tool=pubmed

    Here's someone explaining the science: http://www.cbass.com/LightWeights.htm

    The weight required for exercise-induced fatigue varies from person to person. IMO, it does a disservice to people who are not interested in lifting heavy to tell them that working out with lower weights is "pointless." And that's not even touching on the ridicule, which is the only truly pointless aspect of this discussion.
  • DfantaBeneFIT
    DfantaBeneFIT Posts: 68
    TIME! The most important point. I have been doing this a long time & I happen to have a cool before/after shot. TWO YEARS to get to that point and still working... Slow gains!!!

    <a href="http://s1174.photobucket.com/albums/r602/dfantabenefit/?action=view&current=c08e2ad0.jpg&quot; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r602/dfantabenefit/c08e2ad0.jpg&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

    Any trainee regarless of gender builds muscle by working at max effort in a reasonable rep range preferably at the proper frequency and volume for their training level\recovery ability (if they are too far outisde of this they may actually NOT get results)adding weight and\or reps while eating a surplus. Of course it eventually gets more complicated with periodization and stalls\resets\deloading etc. but anyway...

    @OP

    Bet you didn't know your thread would be so full of win when you created it did you?

    Nope I sure didn't.... Nor did I expect so many smart A** remarks from people. I'm not joining a gym, I'm not trying to be as strong as womanly possible I just wanted to know if gaining muscle took a long time... All I want to do is tone up.

    I think any comments that you have taken as smart *kitten*, perhaps aren't, but are just blunt.

    However, questions like this come up very often because people don't seem to realise how slow a process gaining muscle is, whether you are a man or a woman.

    You asked about the little pink weights - those are all but useless...in fact scratch that - they are less than useless...

    I think sometimes it doesn't matter how many times it is said, people don't take certain things in until they experience them and have that- 'oh my god!' moment.

    Those sorts of 'womens exercise' dvd workouts take advantage of the fact that a lot of women believe that they can put on muscle in a matter of days and will end up looking like a man.

    This is not the case - men have the hormones to build muscle a lot more easily than women, and yet it is a damn hard slog for us. It takes a massive amount of effort and dedication, and even then is sloooowwwww..........

    It is good that you are looking at actually doing weights as opposed to sticking with purely cardio, but those dvds and baby weights are practically pointless.

    You should have a look at new rules of lifting for women and get a good plan where you are lifting such weight that you can only manage between 8 and 12 reps before failure. (Failure being that you physically can't move that weight one more time).

    That is how to work out the right weight for you.

    If you can't afford weight, then that is fine, there are things you can do with bodyweight that can be effective and there are many many mannnny routines that you can google.
  • DfantaBeneFIT
    DfantaBeneFIT Posts: 68
    And thats FAST For a woman!
  • bacamacho
    bacamacho Posts: 306 Member
    It's taken me 4 months gym (floor stuff with body weight) and P90X with max 15 lb weights to get this little bit to show:
    guns.jpg
    My arms are normally either skinny twigs when I'm fit, or squishy tree trunks when I'm fluffy, so this little bit is a huge deal for me, LOL! I'm not looking to get jacked. Just want to be strong for my triathlon training and racing. It's easier to carry your mountain bike if you've got some strength.
  • Determinednoob
    Determinednoob Posts: 2,001 Member
    You both may be right about the comments, but no one is right about people getting stronger doing bosu ball curls and kickbacks with 5 lbs. To suggest so is a disservice to uneducated people looking to truely get strong.

    I keep pointing to this study which proved that lighter weights can be *more* effective than heavy weights.

    Here's the science: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2918506/?tool=pubmed

    Here's someone explaining the science: http://www.cbass.com/LightWeights.htm

    The weight required for exercise-induced fatigue varies from person to person. IMO, it does a disservice to people who are not interested in lifting heavy to tell them that working out with lower weights is "pointless." And that's not even touching on the ridicule, which is the only truly pointless aspect of this discussion.

    Some outlier study of dudes doing leg extensions to failure and results being measured by spinning crap in a centrifuge vs the thousands of studies and hundreds of thousands of emperical data points (people) that have proven the opposite with results being measured by anyone with eyes looking at them and immediately thinking "Wow that dude is big as f***"
  • Determinednoob
    Determinednoob Posts: 2,001 Member
    And thats FAST For a woman!

    Do you know how many lbs of muscle you have put on total, and how many lbs in each year? What kinds of routines did you move through as you went? Are you still gaining? Still trying to gain?
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    TIME! The most important point. I have been doing this a long time & I happen to have a cool before/after shot. TWO YEARS to get to that point and still working... Slow gains!!!

    <a href="http://s1174.photobucket.com/albums/r602/dfantabenefit/?action=view&current=c08e2ad0.jpg&quot; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r602/dfantabenefit/c08e2ad0.jpg&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>



    So you got all that muscle in 2 years???
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    I am going to start doing weights with my Jillian Michaels exercise videos but have a couple questions.

    1. How long does it take a woman to put on one pound of muscle?
    Too many variables to give a specific time. How you lift, what you eat, rest, cardio, hormones, etc. all play into this.
    2. How long after strength training or how much muscle do you need to gain, for the new muscle to speed up your metabolism and start burning more fat faster?
    Just lifting with enough resistance alone will speed up your metabolism.
    Aslo- will 5 and 8 pound weights be enough to to tighten everything up?

    Thanks for the help!:wink:
    IMO no. If that were true, then mommies who lift their babies daily would be pretty tightened up.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • RedHeadDevotchka
    RedHeadDevotchka Posts: 1,394 Member
    My suggestion, go to the gym and start lifting like a man, and eating like a man! RAWR! I've gained 10 lbs since March and I haven't gotten any fatter as a result. I eat between 2200-2400 calories a day and it's (mostly) clean carbs and quality protein. Don't worry about too much too soon. Lift what's heavy for you (provided you have good form), and don't sell yourself short, I bet you'd be shocked how strong you are! and eat to fuel that machine called your body!
  • DfantaBeneFIT
    DfantaBeneFIT Posts: 68
    Hello.
    A few months after the before photo I had competed in two figure shows. After being at such a huge deficit for so long when I normalized my eating I added A LOT of weight. I had a strategic plan since I knew that post show it was easy to gain fat and start to look sloppy
    I increased my protein slowly over a 6 month period from 110grams to 220. During show prep I was at about 1500 calories a day so I slowly ramped that up by a few hundred a week whilst increasing my intensity and weight in the gym
    In 2008 I competed at 108 lbs 15% BF second show 2010 130 lbs 10% when I decided that figure didn't suit my physique I switched gears to bodybuilding. When I began to embrace a body building lifestyle (as oppose to figure type diet) I responded REALLY well. When my calories increased while I was "bulking" I got up to about 163 lbs 15% bf. I maintain at about 140 now around 10% bf so the answer is In two years I gained 55lbs at my heaviest. (about 32 now)
    I am done "gaining" I think and working now on conditioning and bringing it all in tight. As far as "routines" I always used compounds. What worked best for my upper body was overall exposure to heavy things lol. My legs responded to leg press and quad extension (although I tend to avoid those now) in that time I had a blood test done and my fiancé and I realized that I genetically have a great hormone profile. I attribute a lot of my ability to that, SLEEP (I nap 2-4 hours daily), cortisol control and of course FOOD!
    Hope that answers your questions

    And thats FAST For a woman!

    Do you know how many lbs of muscle you have put on total, and how many lbs in each year? What kinds of routines did you move through as you went? Are you still gaining? Still trying to gain?
  • DfantaBeneFIT
    DfantaBeneFIT Posts: 68
    If you read my reply to the other poster you can see my story, my situation is a little different considering this is not just for general fitness for me. Regardless. The same rules apply to any lady looking to build. To answer your question it was a little more like year and half.


    TIME! The most important point. I have been doing this a long time & I happen to have a cool before/after shot. TWO YEARS to get to that point and still working... Slow gains!!!

    <a href="http://s1174.photobucket.com/albums/r602/dfantabenefit/?action=view&current=c08e2ad0.jpg&quot; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r602/dfantabenefit/c08e2ad0.jpg&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>



    So you got all that muscle in 2 years???
  • Determinednoob
    Determinednoob Posts: 2,001 Member
    Hello.
    A few months after the before photo I had competed in two figure shows. After being at such a huge deficit for so long when I normalized my eating I added A LOT of weight. I had a strategic plan since I knew that post show it was easy to gain fat and start to look sloppy
    I increased my protein slowly over a 6 month period from 110grams to 220. During show prep I was at about 1500 calories a day so I slowly ramped that up by a few hundred a week whilst increasing my intensity and weight in the gym
    In 2008 I competed at 108 lbs 15% BF second show 2010 130 lbs 10% when I decided that figure didn't suit my physique I switched gears to bodybuilding. When I began to embrace a body building lifestyle (as oppose to figure type diet) I responded REALLY well. When my calories increased while I was "bulking" I got up to about 163 lbs 15% bf. I maintain at about 140 now around 10% bf so the answer is In two years I gained 55lbs at my heaviest. (about 32 now)
    I am done "gaining" I think and working now on conditioning and bringing it all in tight. As far as "routines" I always used compounds. What worked best for my upper body was overall exposure to heavy things lol. My legs responded to leg press and quad extension (although I tend to avoid those now) in that time I had a blood test done and my fiancé and I realized that I genetically have a great hormone profile. I attribute a lot of my ability to that, SLEEP (I nap 2-4 hours daily), cortisol control and of course FOOD!
    Hope that answers your questions

    And thats FAST For a woman!

    Do you know how many lbs of muscle you have put on total, and how many lbs in each year? What kinds of routines did you move through as you went? Are you still gaining? Still trying to gain?

    Mostly. I was asking about routines in particular because i was wondering what volume and frequency you were going with to know whether you were at the (generally regarded) optimal for both along the way. I.E. 3 day full body>4 day upper\lower or push\pull>3+day split or any of the hybrid power+hypertrophy etc. And I take it your hormone profile would then be regarded as above average for a woman? Just curious wanting to compare your progress vs some general models for male progression ala http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/whats-my-genetic-muscular-potential.html
  • DfantaBeneFIT
    DfantaBeneFIT Posts: 68
    Typical week 2 days on one day off but lately it's more like 6 days (shoulders, back, chest, legs, off, touch up day (calves rear delts abs and repeat shoulders (whatever I want to grow I hit twice per week)
    I lift by the book hypertrophy style typically (supplementing with circuit training occationaly)
    5 sets heavy as possible up to 10 reps
    About 4 different Movements per muscle group

    I do often revert to stability style training to keep calorie burning high and keep my body symmetrical

    And yes for a woman I have naturally high testosterone

    Hello.
    A few months after the before photo I had competed in two figure shows. After being at such a huge deficit for so long when I normalized my eating I added A LOT of weight. I had a strategic plan since I knew that post show it was easy to gain fat and start to look sloppy
    I increased my protein slowly over a 6 month period from 110grams to 220. During show prep I was at about 1500 calories a day so I slowly ramped that up by a few hundred a week whilst increasing my intensity and weight in the gym
    In 2008 I competed at 108 lbs 15% BF second show 2010 130 lbs 10% when I decided that figure didn't suit my physique I switched gears to bodybuilding. When I began to embrace a body building lifestyle (as oppose to figure type diet) I responded REALLY well. When my calories increased while I was "bulking" I got up to about 163 lbs 15% bf. I maintain at about 140 now around 10% bf so the answer is In two years I gained 55lbs at my heaviest. (about 32 now)
    I am done "gaining" I think and working now on conditioning and bringing it all in tight. As far as "routines" I always used compounds. What worked best for my upper body was overall exposure to heavy things lol. My legs responded to leg press and quad extension (although I tend to avoid those now) in that time I had a blood test done and my fiancé and I realized that I genetically have a great hormone profile. I attribute a lot of my ability to that, SLEEP (I nap 2-4 hours daily), cortisol control and of course FOOD!
    Hope that answers your questions

    And thats FAST For a woman!

    Do you know how many lbs of muscle you have put on total, and how many lbs in each year? What kinds of routines did you move through as you went? Are you still gaining? Still trying to gain?

    Mostly. I was asking about routines in particular because i was wondering what volume and frequency you were going with to know whether you were at the (generally regarded) optimal for both along the way. I.E. 3 day full body>4 day upper\lower or push\pull>3+day split or any of the hybrid power+hypertrophy etc. And I take it your hormone profile would then be regarded as above average for a woman? Just curious wanting to compare your progress vs some general models for male progression ala http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/whats-my-genetic-muscular-potential.html
  • PANZERIA
    PANZERIA Posts: 471 Member
    .
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    Dfantabenefit:

    I look NOTHING close to THAT good, in fact, I don't think I could ever be that dedicated....
    I am at squat 110, bench 80, deadlift 125. progressing quickly and adding weight weekly.

    I bet you lift more than double that! :heart: :drinker: KUDOS!
    You rock!
  • cindyhoney2
    cindyhoney2 Posts: 603 Member
    I'm using 5-8lb weights (I am recovering from frozen shoulder in both shoulders so I don't want to re-injur myself) and my arms are looking really good, lots of definition. I also do pushups and reverse pushups. So it can be done w/lower weights. I have a picture of my bi-cep in my profile pics. This is w/weights and Insanity.
  • alexbusnello
    alexbusnello Posts: 1,010 Member
    I need to REBUILD lost muscle from training hard while eating little.... Now I'm fatter and flabbier, weaker, mood swings, ect. I got to stop being afraid of eating more.... And I want to lift heavier. I have 5lbs and 7.5 dumbbells. I can't afford a gym membership or personal trainer, ect, either.
  • GaidenJade
    GaidenJade Posts: 171
    Do what challenges you. Work your way up. If you need to start with 5lbs. then do it. But once you feel it getting easier, go up with the weight. Challenge your body and muscles. And don't forget the protein!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Five and eight pounds is a good place to start, but to really change your body, you need to really challenge it.

    I've been lifting heavy for about a year now, and have gained about 8 pounds. Probably not all muscle, but I'm about the same size as I was a year ago. Actually, I'm pretty sure at least three pounds is water weight from not watching my sodium the past week or so.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/LorinaLynn/view/one-year-of-strength-training-367482

    I started with 5 pound dumbbells and body weight exercises, but after a while, that stopped being a challenge.

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