How much muscle can a woman expect to gain?

[distantarray]

If the diet is right on, good workout routine, high intensity etc.

Natural with no anabolic steroids etc.

Noob gains in the first year, and normal gains years after?

Guys are said to have upto 25 lbs of lean mass the first year, and half every year until it hits 5-10 is normal. (usually on the lower end)

Wondering how much a highly dedicated and educated female body builder is expected to gain.

[Miranda]

less than half than the guys.

[Bronwyn]

Depends on the genetics. Some may gain around 22-33 lbs first year that is same - but when female do a bulking phase, she is more likely to gain higher % of bodyfat too... And usually hypothesis talks only about the gained weight, not gained lean muscles. Even in males those 25lbs-33lbs is the overall weight gained during the year. The true will show in diet precontest.

Usually 5kg = 11 lbs year gain in MUSCLES is considered as great result, offten on the edge of natural possibilities ..... usually it is between 4-2kg (8-4 lbs) a year.

I gained 22 lbs in 5 years.....

[SportyShorty89]

I gained about 10lbs a year for 3 years and I would like to think that at least 50% of that was muscle mass. I would like to know what the average is as well, even though there are a lot of factors between diet and training. I had a decent (yea, not great) diet but I trained as hard as my little body would allow. (97lbs --> 130lbs) (5/06 --> 3/09)

[spefitness]

If the diet is right on, good workout routine, high intensity etc.

Natural with no anabolic steroids etc.

Noob gains in the first year, and normal gains years after?

Guys are said to have upto 25 lbs of lean mass the first year, and half every year until it hits 5-10 is normal. (usually on the lower end)

Wondering how much a highly dedicated and educated female body builder is expected to gain.

Its hard to give a number on that. Genetics are a main factor. Taking other supplements to aid in gaining muscle makes a difference also. Supps like creatine, arginine, bcaas, just to name a few.
Iv'e been training many years and have stayed the same weight. I dont think I will gain any more muscle. I wouldnt want to, for my size.

[CrazyEnough]

Its hard to give a number on that. Genetics are a main factor. Taking other supplements to aid in gaining muscle makes a difference also. Supps like creatine, arginine, bcaas, just to name a few.
Iv'e been training many years and have stayed the same weight. I dont think I will gain any more muscle. I wouldnt want to, for my size.

Agreed...

well, except for the gaining no more muscle part! lol Im still eager! ;o)

[KyleAaron]

The consensus of non-drug-using trainers I've spoken to is that for men in their 20s it's about 25lbs of lean mass in the first year, 12lbs in the second, 6lbs in the third, and 1-3lbs per year after that. Total mass gained will be 1.5-2x that, depending on diet and other training.

The consensus is less strong for women trainees, since less women make an effort to get bigger and stronger; but seems to be "about half".

Likewise, when people begin training for the first time only after 35, the rate of gains is roughly halved. It seems to take until 55 to halve again, and gains if training is begun after 75 are minimal. None of which affects maintaining gains got earlier in life, nor the possibility of strength gains without significant mass gains.

The exceptions are when a person is very underweight, and/or when they're an adolescent; adolescence is the time when we grow like mad anyway.

I gained about 10lbs a year for 3 years [...] (97lbs --> 130lbs) (5/06 --> 3/09)

And current age, 21.

It's well-known that underweight male teenagers (eg 6'/140lbs) can gain 30-60lbs in their first year; even without training they were going to grow a lot, 15-21yo is the time to grow a lot. I see no reason women wouldn't have the same relative potential.

A 97lb woman at 5'0" is underweight, if you were 17-18 at the time, I'm not surprised that with resistance training and a good diet you were able to put on lots of lean mass in a short time, more than might generally be expected. Well done on the hard work and results!

Its hard to give a number on that. Genetics are a main factor.

I hate the use of the word "genetics". There exists no lab test to tell us how muscular a particular individual can get. The only way to find out if you have good or bad "genetics" is to go ahead and give it all a go.

So "genetics" is just another way of saying, "I dunno." I think it's better just to say we don't know. The figures above are averages, and averages don't affect individuals. The average woman may grow up to be (say) 5'5", 140lbs with 27% bodyfat, earning $32,109.65, having 6 sexual partners by the age of 30 and 2.1 children - but what does that mean to Jane or Mary here and now?

It gives them a rough idea of the sort of life they might expect to have, but really a lot is up to them. Their own decisions and efforts and some good or bad luck could take them far from those averages. And then someone will say "it was genetics". But really it was their own choices.

Iv'e been training many years and have stayed the same weight. I dont think I will gain any more muscle. I wouldnt want to, for my size.

So you may or may not have a genetic limit, you haven't found out because you haven't tried. "Genetics" didn't choose your muscle mass, you chose it.

How much muscle can a woman gain from training? As much as she chooses to gain.