Hi all,
I'm not aiming to build muscle myself (although a friend of mine is), but when my friend and I were discussing it, it made me realise that I didn't really know that much about the subject. Now I have a decent grasp of the ideas behind fat burning, for instance, how a ~3500kcal surplus can supposedly lead to a 1lbs gain in body fat (for the record, I'm not entirely sure how true this is in practice; I've found that just a few days of proper eating can make one look much leaner, ANYWAY, I'm getting off topic), however, I don't really know what the 'rules' are when it comes to building muscle.
For instance, does eating x grams of protein per week lead to a gain of 1lb of muscle? I'm aware that a calorie surplus is necessary for weight gain, but obviously 'calorie surplus' can mean bad calories, thus leading to fat gain rather than muscle gain. I've also heard that lean muscle only tends to grow at a rate of about 1lb per month (and a little more for beginners), is this true? Also I'm interested to know, how quickly can one lose muscle mass given a period of improper eating/training?
If anyone can clear up the fact from the fiction for me and also offer some general information on how building muscle works I'd be really interested to hear it! (And I'm sure my friend would also appreciate any help; he's having a hard time getting started!)
Thanks in advance everyone!
Harry
I'm not aiming to build muscle myself (although a friend of mine is), but when my friend and I were discussing it, it made me realise that I didn't really know that much about the subject. Now I have a decent grasp of the ideas behind fat burning, for instance, how a ~3500kcal surplus can supposedly lead to a 1lbs gain in body fat (for the record, I'm not entirely sure how true this is in practice; I've found that just a few days of proper eating can make one look much leaner, ANYWAY, I'm getting off topic), however, I don't really know what the 'rules' are when it comes to building muscle.
For instance, does eating x grams of protein per week lead to a gain of 1lb of muscle? I'm aware that a calorie surplus is necessary for weight gain, but obviously 'calorie surplus' can mean bad calories, thus leading to fat gain rather than muscle gain. I've also heard that lean muscle only tends to grow at a rate of about 1lb per month (and a little more for beginners), is this true? Also I'm interested to know, how quickly can one lose muscle mass given a period of improper eating/training?
If anyone can clear up the fact from the fiction for me and also offer some general information on how building muscle works I'd be really interested to hear it! (And I'm sure my friend would also appreciate any help; he's having a hard time getting started!)
Thanks in advance everyone!
Harry