How much muscle can a woman put on in a year realisticall?

shirazum2023
shirazum2023 Posts: 54 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Pretty much the title.
I am 105/6 lbs, 28% body fat. Want to shed some fat and gain some muscle. Beginner lifter, just around a month. Lifting quite heavy. Progressive overload. Eating at maintenance. 100-125g protein, 35-40g fat, 170-200g carb. 4.11, 105/6 lbs. Lost 4 lbs in one month. Went from 33% to 28% body fat. Feeling quite strong still.

Replies

  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,608 Member
    There are experts on here that can give you some overall figures, but it depends on sooooo many variables (age, hormonal balance, your body’s ability to adapt, your programme, eating in maintenance compared to bulking, how long you’ve been lifting etc).

    For instance, I’m 46 yrs old, 5’3, c121 pounds and been lifting for 3.5 years. I eat roughly at maintenance with an occasional slow bulk and I work my bum off on a progressive overload programme. I’ve defo got stronger (pbs) but I’ve only managed to put on about a kilo of muscle in 18 months. Even when I’m focusing on hypertrophy I don’t seem to bulk that much - I guess my genetics and hormones are against me!
  • shirazum2023
    shirazum2023 Posts: 54 Member
    @claireychn074 I guess my only bet to get down to 17 to 20% body fat is then to slowly lose body fat and lifting progressively all my life. Haha. I can do that. I am pretty satisfied with my calories and lifting. I do occasionally have difficulty eating 125g protein only. Fats and carbs are nothing. 😅
    Thank you. That's going to be help me in my journey.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Worth a read - https://bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/genetic-muscular-potential

    The article covers a few different opinions on the matter and of course there's a whole lot of "it depends".
    Depends on your size, how well you train of course, how well you personally respond to that training.

    What you will notice is that rates of average/probable gains reduce massively with each year of effective training.
    You might get a buzz as a petite female and a beginner to realise you can gain muscle quicker than huge guys who have been training for many years who have to optimise everything to get anywhere in terms of muscle growth.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    It may not be helpful as it varies so much as others have said, but as a woman in her mid-forties, max I've been able to gain (not deliberately bulking) is .25-.5lb per month approximately.
  • GaryRuns
    GaryRuns Posts: 508 Member
    Generally you hear numbers thrown around like 0.5-1 pound of muscle per month, maximum, for a woman who is not taking any performance enhancing drugs, has her nutrition dialed in, is consistent in the gym, and is utilizing a well designed progressive lifting program. So you'd be looking at 6-12 pounds of muscle gain in a year, max.

    That's a pretty large range and I bet there's even more variation when you consider how long you've been lifting and genetics. And you're doing recomp which is generally slower for muscle growth. So, all of that means that nobody can really tell you how much muscle you will gain. There are just too many variables involved in determining that for you as an individual.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,608 Member
    @shirazum2023 I’d also add that 17-20% body fat is pretty low for a woman. Some women can maintain really easily at that level but others can’t. I’ve been down as low as 15% and I’m probably 20-22% now, and I defo lift better at my current level, even if aesthetically I preferred having less squidge. I didn’t lose my periods at 15% but I have a friend who’s younger than me, and when she hit about 17% she completely stopped. That’s dangerous and can lead to long term problems so if you want to get down low, please do it slowly and carefully and listen to your body.
  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,136 Member
    I’ve been recomping for 4 years. These are Boditrax scale results nov 2019 and 2020. Almost identical body weight. Shows a muscle gain of 3.5 kg and a body fat percentage reduction of 6 per cent over a year.8jdaqnbjml10.png
    a1wo12uq21bf.png

    These scales are known to be inaccurate so I don’t put huge worth on them but they are useful for tracking trends.
  • alexmose
    alexmose Posts: 792 Member
    I know my fellow female lifters will agree...very little *sigh*. Lift heavy. lots of protein.
  • GaryRuns
    GaryRuns Posts: 508 Member
    alexmose wrote: »
    I know my fellow female lifters will agree...very little *sigh*. Lift heavy. lots of protein.

    If it's any consolation recent studies and reviews of previous studies have shown that, as far as strength training goes, men and women are more alike than previously believed. I didn't read in a lot of detail but conventional thinking was that because of our testosterone we had a huge advantage for strength training. It turns out IGF can make up for a lot of that, they think.

    Anyway, as usual, the SbS team has a good article on the subject:
    https://www.strongerbyscience.com/strength-training-women/
  • alexmose
    alexmose Posts: 792 Member
    GaryRuns wrote: »
    alexmose wrote: »
    I know my fellow female lifters will agree...very little *sigh*. Lift heavy. lots of protein.

    If it's any consolation recent studies and reviews of previous studies have shown that, as far as strength training goes, men and women are more alike than previously believed. I didn't read in a lot of detail but conventional thinking was that because of our testosterone we had a huge advantage for strength training. It turns out IGF can make up for a lot of that, they think.

    Anyway, as usual, the SbS team has a good article on the subject:
    https://www.strongerbyscience.com/strength-training-women/

    Thank you! That was a hopeful read!
  • shirazum2023
    shirazum2023 Posts: 54 Member
    Thank you everyone. I am in my early 30s and I am hopeful. I want to stick to what I am doing since I think its working for me and most importantly I am loving it. I am cool with slow steady pace. And thanks bunch for all the information.
  • tictoerest
    tictoerest Posts: 9 Member
    edited November 2020
    For a natural adult woman that is devoted around 5lb per year is what I read. It's a slow process and the fitness industry would have you believe otherwise so they can sell you their snake oil.

    It makes me think of learning an instrument. It takes years to get good at it. If you quit practicing, you won't get any better. If you quite playing all together for years you lose a lot of your talent. However, if you pick up your instrument after years of not playing, it won't be that difficult to get back to being good again. It's basically the same with people who achieve a certain amount of muscularity. They can let their muscle go flat, but they don't have to totally start over say if they stop lifting for years. They can get their gains back pretty quick granted they haven't injured themselves or became a blimp.
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
    My first REAL attempt at bulking, with short breaks for maintenance lasted close to 18 months, and I gained 10-12lbs of total weight. I used the same scale to determine bf% (not necessarily high validity method, but some reliability). I gained approximately 8-10lbs of muscle in 18 months.

    The moral of the story is that substantial muscle gains take time and patience.
  • shirazum2023
    shirazum2023 Posts: 54 Member
    @deputy_randolph That's a lot of muscle. I would be happy if I can gain 10 lbs in 5 years time. That's my ultimate goal.

    @tictoerest I really liked your analogy. I am someone who likes learning new things and I can attest anything given patience and dedication turns out fruitful. Thank you.
  • ExpressoLove11
    ExpressoLove11 Posts: 337 Member
    edited November 2020
    u8c3cdtafy2e.jpg

    I have been lifting progressively and eating at maintenance since last October with some off periods from injuries. Between January 2020 and October 2020, my bodpod analysis results show I've gone from just under 30% BF to 25% BF. In that period I lost 2kg of fat and gained a kg of muscle. Consistency with the lifting and nutrition will get you there.

    This picture is from today - a year ago my arms were flabby and quite round.
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
    My diet was pretty on point for 18 months. I ate adequate protein, made small incremental adjustments to calories, lifted heavy and smart. You just have to trust the process...and don't give up when you start to feel fat. You'll get over that hurdle...and your lifts will increase.

Categories