How many lbs of muscle can a woman gain in a month?

[HotSauceJunky]

On average? I'm 5'3, about 148lbs, 19 yrs old, round 28% BF right now..might be slightly less...I don't know, I used that electronic thingy you hold

Just seeing how much I can gain in a 3 month (maximum) bulk training religiously, first 4 weeks @ 3 days/week, next 4 weeks @ 4 days and last 4 weeks @ 5 days/week...

please give me some insight..I'm very eager to begin bootcamp hell

[tewen]

I dont think there is a given number on how mouch you can gain.. its pretty individual. Just get on it and let us know how it turns out!

[HotSauceJunky]

You're not giving me much initiative to begin...I need to know how long (approximately) i need to make my bulk and if it's even worth it, because i'm debating between bulking and cutting..seriously..lol

I realize you can't give me accurate numbers...I believe there may be an average amount?

[ILIEKFUDE]

Well they say the max a man can gain naturally in a lab controlled environment is 1 lb of muscle a week with perfect circumstances.
Lets say, a lady has maybe 25% of the test / growth hormones naturally a man does. That'd lead me to assume that a natural female athlete can grow .25lbs of muscle (estimate) a week or 1 lb a month.
Find out the exact ratios of what i discussed and you'll have your concrete answer.

[jaleena]

Ballpark one pound of muscle per month, although we don't remotely come close to having a quarter as much test as men
If you've not done any lifting before, you'll get a little more out of it. It takes a very long time to see muscle growth in women, you'll notice much faster/more dramatic results from a cut. Plus if you're completely new to lifting, you'll get some growth even in a mild caloric deficit just because your body needs to adapt.

[ashley2212]

Originally Posted by jaleena

Ballpark one pound of muscle per month, although we don't remotely come close to having a quarter as much test as men
If you've not done any lifting before, you'll get a little more out of it. It takes a very long time to see muscle growth in women, you'll notice much faster/more dramatic results from a cut. Plus if you're completely new to lifting, you'll get some growth even in a mild caloric deficit just because your body needs to adapt.

x2

If you're a natty woman, it's a rough road to pack on muscle.

[sassy69]

Altering your body composition is not a one shot deal & then you get to maintain it - its an ongoing process where you gain and then you spend time 'training' your body to operate more efficiently, during which time you are also gaining muscle maturity. The important thing is to be 100% consistent and just do it to see what happens. No one can give you any guarantees except yourself in being honestly consistent & balls to the wall about what you are doing.

[Ulter]

I agree with Sassy. It's cyclical unless you're on steroids. If you naturally added 5 pounds of muscle in a year you'd be at the top end of genetically gifted women. When you first start you'll get a good spurt but that levels out pretty quickly.

[T-Cake]

Originally Posted by ILIEKFUDE

Well they say the max a man can gain naturally in a lab controlled environment is 1 lb of muscle a week with perfect circumstances.
Lets say, a lady has maybe 25% of the test / growth hormones naturally a man does. That'd lead me to assume that a natural female athlete can grow .25lbs of muscle (estimate) a week or 1 lb a month.
Find out the exact ratios of what i discussed and you'll have your concrete answer.

The use of science here to guesstimate an answer for her is good. I like that answer. Nice!

That being said, I also totally agree with this:

Originally Posted by sassy69

Altering your body composition is not a one shot deal & then you get to maintain it - its an ongoing process where you gain and then you spend time 'training' your body to operate more efficiently, during which time you are also gaining muscle maturity. The important thing is to be 100% consistent and just do it to see what happens.

What 'fude said is probably ballpark but there are other factors involved in muscle mass gain aside from the training schedule you are planning to undertake.

Some people are so conditioned that they can 'cut' and drop body fat and gain muscle at the same time. They can walk around saying they're in 'cutting' mode... but really at 3 month's end, their lean body mass has gone UP. Again, that comes with time and mature muscle.

I think what everyone here says is true: just go for it, stick to the training and see what happens. What hasn't been mentioned yet, though, is that your diet is going to play a large role in 1. if you gain body mass and 2. the type of body mass you gain.

Either way -- whether you want to put on some fat with that muscle (and then drop the fat later) OR if you want to stay relatively lean as you gain this muscle... you diet MUST include protein to accomodate your muscle-gain goal. To be safe, 40-50% of your calories per day should come from lean protein sources, such as chicken, turkey, and seafood. This is important because your muscles are made of protein... and protein is made of amino acids. When you eat protein, your body breaks it down to the amino acids... and uses those 'building blocks' to help add on to your muscle mass. If there is a lack of protein... then there will be a lack of muscle gain, regardless of your lifting efforts in the gym.

If you do a traditional "bulk" and don't mind putting on some fat during the next 3 months, then your choice of carbs and fats in your diet are really irrelevant as long as you are consuming enough calories each day. What you can expect with THIS diet choice is...
- increase muscle mass (comparable in numbers to what 'fude and Jaleena said, I think)
- increase fat mass
- increase water mass (since, as you tear up your muscle fibers, they need to heal as they grow -- and this process needs water, so you will hold water and probably feel a little more bloated than usual)

If you do a 'bulk-cut', if you will -- what this means is that you'll consume the calories and the protein you need daily, but you'll play it 'smarter' with your carb and fat choices. Carbs will be low glycemic index (GI) carbs (think whole grain, sweet potatoes, brown rice, veggies, darker fruits, etc.) and your fats will be the good fats (think nuts, nut butters, olive oil, nothing fried, no trans fats, etc.) What you can expect with THIS diet choice is...
- increase muscle mass (comparable in numbers to what 'fude and Jaleena said)
- increase water mass (since, again, the repairing of and adding to your muscles will need some water retention).

As you can see, the bloat is inevitable during your muscle-adding because you'll need to be lifting heavier so tears in your fibers are to be expected. The amount of fat gain and the amount of bloat you experience will be fully dependent upon your diet, as well as if you choose to do any cardio during this time as well.

I hope this helps you in a bit more detail. I don't think anyone here was trying to short-change you with an answer -- there are simply too many variables in training to give a one-size-fits-all answer.

Ask if you have anymore questions!!!