If you're trying to build muscle mass, progress sometimes may seem painfully slow. Although you might lose as much as 5 to 7 lbs. in a month on a diet, you won't see that much weight gain from muscle mass no matter how hard you work. Realistically, you won't gain more than 7 lbs. of muscle over six weeks.
Gaining muscle weight requires hard work, and different people
will gain it at different rates. Men gain muscle weight more
easily and quickly than women, and bigger people gain muscle
weight more rapidly than smaller people. Therefore, your results
will vary depending on your gender and the size at which you
start.
If you're a man who's already in good shape and you've been
working out for a year or two, you might be able to add on
muscle weight that represents about 2 to 4 percent of your body
weight over the course of about six weeks. For a man who weighs
200 lbs., that equals about 8 lbs. Women might see half that
gain, or up to 2 percent of their body weight, so a woman who
weighs 125 lbs. might only add 2.5 lbs. in muscle tissue.
You can’t diet when you’re trying to gain muscle mass, either.
To gain that much muscle, you'll have to eat enough so that you
don't lose weight, even if you’re working out hard and burning
lots of calories. If you diet at the same time you're trying to
gain muscle, you actually can hinder your efforts. A balanced
diet and enough protein are necessary because your body needs
that protein to gain muscle mass.
Realistically, most men can't gain more than 25 lbs. in a year
from increased muscle mass, and a woman would be lucky to see 10
to 12 lbs. in muscle gain in that length of time. If your weight
climbs more than that over the course of a year, you've probably
added some fat along with your new muscle bulk. In fact, you'll
probably put on 1 lb. of fat for every 5 lbs. of muscle mass you
add. Your body fat percentage may stay the same or even rise
slightly, but if increased muscle mass is your goal, you
shouldn’t let a modest increase in body fat percentage deter
you.
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