How much muscle can you build realistically? Find out and you’ll never have to resort to stupid diets that only make you fatter or expensive supplements which do nothing!

If you don’t take the time to find out and then accept the truth about how much muscle you can build naturally you’ll always be frustrated and wondering why you plan isn’t working.

The truth is, our expectations are way out of line, largely thanks to pro bodybuilding and the muscle building magazines.

You have to accept that you won’t gain 40 pounds of muscle in 8 weeks no matter how hard you train or how much you eat and no supplement can change that.

In this article I’ll explain just how much muscle mass you can gain naturally so you can come away with a realistic expectation that’ll become a goal for you to work toward.

Some people say putting a limit on the amount of muscle you can gain is aiming low and that if you eat like a horse and workout like a beast the answer to “how much muscle can you build?” would be as much as you want to.

Whilst getting your training and nutrition right is critically important, the amount of muscle you can build is largely impacted by your genetics and there’s not much you can do to change that

By understanding, “how much muscle can you build naturally?” you’ll save yourself the stress of always wondering what you’re doing wrong and a tonne of money wasted trying to find a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.

Supplements, workout plans, diet techniques, they can all help but none of them can really overcome your genetic potential for muscle gain.

Accepting how much muscle you can build will mean that you set your expectations and goals accordingly. This means when you gain that pound of muscle it’s inline with your expectations and you’re not disappointed that you didn’t gain 5 pounds.

There are a number of factors which determine the answer to “How much muscle can you build?”, the main ones are:

• Genetics
• Frame size
• Following a good training programme
• Providing enough of the right foods

Whilst it’s true that it’s very difficult to know how good someone’s genetics are when they first start training, after some time training and eating properly it becomes easier to know how good your genetics are.

Everyone knows someone at their gym who is able to build muscle despite them following a retarded workout plan and not really paying attention to their diet.

Everyone hates that guy because while you’re working out hard and tracking every meal and doing everything right you’re not making as much progress as he is. This comes down to genetics, that’s how important they are.

If you’re able to build muscle easily then you’re lucky and you may be able to build more muscle than the ranges provided below. For everyone else the ranges below are based on genetically average people (most of us) following a good workout and diet plan.

There are so many people writing about gaining muscle that it can become hard to know who to listen to.

There are so many people out there recycling out of date information they hear at the gym or read in magazines and the internet has helped spread this misinformation.

That’s why natural lifters still follow useless 6 days per week workouts designed for drug using athletes and believe they shouldn’t eat carbs after 6pm.

Despite the slew of bad advice and useless information there are good guys out there who spread great information for natural lifters based on a mix of science and real world experience.

Lyle McDonald is one of these people and his article What’s My Genetic Muscular Potential? was the inspiration for this piece. I highly recommend this article as it gives further details to the points I’m addressing in this article.

In that article Lyle tries to answer this very question with the help of other experts in the field (all of which I recommend).

All of the experts provided a table which sums up how much muscle a natural male lifter can gain (females would need to half the rates of gain).

It’s interesting to see that despite their different methods, they all end up in the same ballpark. This proves that there are limits to the amount of muscle you can gain regardless of your diet, workout and supplement plan.

I’d also note that the models below assume your workout and diet is set up properly, if it’s not these rates of muscle gain will be reduced.

Also as you get older you won’t be able to gain as much muscle as testosterone levels fall. Younger trainees with a boatload of T will likely be able to gain muscle quicker than these guidelines.

So let’s get to the bit you’ve been waiting for, here’s the summary of expert answers to the question “How much muscle can you build?” which Lyle compiled:

The Lyle McDonald Model

This is my favourite answer to the “How much muscle can you build?” question as this model makes it very simple to quickly see how much muscle you can build in each year. Proper training means having a good workout plan you follow where you try to increase the weights in each movement at each workout.

It doesn’t mean swiss ball crunches and endless sets of isolation exercises to “tone” your muscles, the answer to “how much muscle can you build?” will be very little if you use silly exercises. If you’ve not been training properly you can assume you’ll be able to make the gains of a newbie.

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The Alan Aragon Model

Alan’s model is pretty similar to Lyle’s just a different way of arriving at similar conclusions. Both models answer “how much muscle can you build naturally?” they just use a different calculation to get there.

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Casey Butt’s Frame Size Model

Casey Butt P.hD is a natural bodybuilder who knows his stuff when it comes to the science of gaining muscle naturally. Casey’s model above is based on 6 years of research on natural bodybuilders.

It’s all compiled in his book called “Your Muscular Potential: How To Predict Your Maximum Muscular Bodyweight and Measurements” which I recommend as the most comprehensive answer to the question “how much muscle can you build?”

As you can see Casey’s model is based on your frame, more specifically your height, ankle, wrist and bodyfat level. To calculate your numbers check out the calculator Casey provides here: Calculate Your Maximum Muscular Bodyweight and Measurements

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Martin Berkhan’s Model

Finally we have Martin Berkhan’s (aka Mr Intermittent Fasting) model which again references drug free bodybuilders in trying to answer “How much muscle can you build?”.

The simple equation is your height in cm – 100 = your maximum muscular potential in kilograms if you were in contest condition (e.g. around 5% bodyfat).

To work out your numbers follow these simple steps:

Step #1 – Take you height in inches (1 foot = 12 inches) so if you were 5 foot 9 you’d be 69 inches (5 x 12 = 60 + 9 = 69 inches)

Step #2 – Multiply that by 2.54 to get your height in cm (e.g. 69 x 2.54 = 175cm)

Step#3 – Minus 100 from that number (e.g. 175 – 100 = 75)

Using the 5 foot 9 example, this would mean that our guy would be able to have a maximum of 75kg (divide by 2.2. to get pounds) of muscle assuming he was at 5% bodyfat.

Whilst you may be disheartened that you’re not going to gain 45 pounds in 6 months or whatever else Flex magazine told you, you should feel good about the fact you know what’s realistic and what isn’t.

After all, you can spend years looking for a quick fix or a way to get around this but you’ll only waste time and money and arrive back at this conclusion.

Instead you can accept how much muscle you can build and aim to achieve your genetic potential, you really can’t do anything else and if you do fulfil it it’ll be an incredible achievement.

20 pounds of muscle in a year might not sound much in the context of pro bodybuilders who spend hundreds of thousands of pounds a year on drugs, but if you add 20 pounds to your frame in a year you’ll look very different.

Compared to Joe Public you’ll look big and ripped and you’ll get all of the kudos associated with it.

Bottom line: The answer to “how much muscle can you build?” is to know your limits and do everything you can to meet or surpass them. It’s also very important you don’t the realisation of your limits beat you into inactivity or following stupid and/or dangerous practices, after all this is supposed to be about being healthy too!