This Is How Long It REALLY Takes To Build Muscle

As much as we love how good strength training makes us feel, it’s natural to wonder when you’re actually going to notice a physical difference, too. One week into your training routine, you’re probably not going to see any dramatic changes, but how long does it actually take to build muscle?

Here’s a guide to the timeline you can expect, plus our top tips to ensure you’re doing everything you can to maximise your muscle growth along the way.

How to build muscle: a recap of the basics

In terms of the muscle-building process itself, to put it simply, when you lift weights and challenge your muscles, you cause microtears in your muscle fibres. As the National Strength and Conditioning Association explains, your body then undergoes a very intelligent process of adaptation to repair, rebuild and strengthen the muscle tissue in order to not break down under the same load or level of intensity again. You’ll find when you next increase your weights or level up the training intensity the process will repeat itself.

So, how long does it take to build muscle then?

How quickly you can expect to see results from strength training largely depends on where you are in your strength training journey, followed by other factors, such as your training frequency and how much you’re challenging yourself.

If we’re running with the assumption that you’re strength training three to four times a week and you’re lifting weights that feel challenging for you, changes will start to occur immediately under the surface, but you can expect to notice some visible results in muscle strength and size within four to eight weeks. These results will continue to compound over the coming months.

There’s one caveat here, though. This discussion only applies if you’re new to strength training or are following a program designed for hypertrophy for the first time (aka muscle gains). Sweat programs like PWR, PWR Strength or Strength & Sculpt tick this box! For people who have been strength training for months or years, or are older, noticeable muscle-building progress might not happen as quickly.

When you’re fresh to strength training, it’s also natural (although very frustrating) to hit a plateau after about six months or so. Here, you’ll need to make sure you’re following a well-structured program and tracking your weights to keep making gains.

What other changes can you look out for?

Luckily, there are so many great signs to keep an eye out for that will let you know your strength training is working before you see anything in the mirror. This includes:

• A weight you once found heavy to lift is no longer feeling as challenging, or you can see progression in your weights logged in the Sweat app

• Climbing up stairs is easier than before

• Carrying luggage, small children and groceries is a breeze (or you’ve realised you have the strength to carry all the bags in one trip!)

We also have this helpful guide to different kinds of progress you can expect to see at the different stages of your journey.

What can you do to support muscle-building?

Enjoying the occasional strength workout is great and is still going to deliver benefits for your body and mind, but if building muscle is a priority, your routine and daily habits will need a bit more structure.

You want to make sure you’re ticking off:

• 3-4 strength training sessions a week: Whether you prefer a muscle group split where you’re targeting different areas of your body in each session or three full-body sessions - you do you - just make sure you’re training your entire body each week.

• Progressive overload: On top of a regular training schedule, you need to be progressively challenging yourself and levelling up the difficulty. You can’t expect your muscles to grow if you’re doing the exact same thing week in, week out. While progressive overload can mean adding more workouts or reducing rest, for most people it means lifting heavier weights or going for a higher volume of reps. Plenty of programs in the Sweat app also include an RPE (rate of perceived exertion) guide to help you gauge if you’re lifting the right weight.

• Move with good form: So you want to build your glutes and are smashing out plenty of weighted squats but you’re primarily using your quads or rushing through each rep? You won’t see the progress you want. Lifting weights isn’t just about merely completing your workouts, it’s about making sure you’re performing them properly. Slow down your movements, prioritise any activation exercises, watch the demo videos in the Sweat app, check the in-app muscle diagram to know where you should be feeling it, and focus on that mind-muscle connection.

• Get enough rest: Your muscles don’t repair and rebuild during your workouts - that magic happens during your recovery time, so don’t skip it! Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night, schedule in rest days each week, and enjoy recovery activities such as stretching, foam rolling or yoga for a nice bit of TLC.

• Eat enough protein: If you want to build muscle, you’ve got to give your body the building blocks to do it. Try to include a lean source of protein in every meal and consider tracking your protein if you’re not sure if you’re eating enough. There are plenty of online calculators available to guide you, but the general recommendation for intense activity or muscle building is 1.2-2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day.

Feel like you’re on the right track but still not building muscle? Check out this guide.

Build yourself up

Muscle-building is a process that takes effort, consistency, patience and hard work, but you’ve got this. Stay the course, trust the process and enjoy the journey of getting stronger day by day. We’re in this for the long game.