How long does it really take to build muscle?

Be honest: you’re checking the mirror after every lifting session wondering when you’ll actually start seeing results, aren’t you?

Asking yourself “How long does it take to build muscle?” is a strength training tradition as time-honored as waiting for some dude to finish with the leg press.

The truth is, muscle doesn’t magically appear overnight, and it won’t always be smooth sailing. However, when you understand the core principles of muscle-building and what your body needs to succeed, it’s a whole lot easier to stay motivated and make real, sustainable progress. So let’s get you up to speed.

How fast can I build muscle?

If you’re doing all the right things with your training, diet, recovery and sleep, the average man can gain 1-2lbs (0.5-1kg) of lean muscle mass per month, and the average woman up to 1lb (0.5 kg) per month.

New to strength training? Get ready – the first few weeks can bring noticeable changes fast. These ‘newbie gains’ happen because your body is adapting quickly to a new stimulus. Your strength improves, your muscles start responding and suddenly everyday tasks feel easier.

Already been training for a while? Your progress might feel slower, but it’s still happening. At this point in the journey, growth comes from a smart, consistent training plan – increasing intensity, refining technique and allowing time to recover properly.

Every individual will add muscle at their own pace, so don’t get discouraged if your results don’t mirror someone else’s. Keep showing up, stay focused on your plan and trust the process – your gains are coming.

The 5 non-negotiables for building muscle

Showing up to the gym (or your home gym in the garage) is just the start. To build muscle, locking down these elements of your routine is key.

1. Hypertrophy
When you’re training for muscular hypertrophy, you’re focusing on pushing your muscles to their limit – it’s also just a fancy way of saying your muscle fibers are growing.

During exercise, your muscles endure microscopic damage. When you rest up, your body starts to repair the damaged tissue by fusing the damaged muscle fibers together. The result? Stronger, thicker and more plentiful muscle fibers.

As your muscle fibers grow, so does your ability to lift more weight and handle more volume. That means you can dial up the intensity of your training, steadily progressing toward your goals.

2. Progressive overload
To consistently build muscle, you have to keep challenging your body – and that’s where progressive overload comes in. To keep making gains, you need to gradually increase the challenge of your training by:

• Increasing the weight of your lifts

• Doing more reps or sets

• Improving your form and controlling your tempo

• Reducing rest times to push intensity levels

If you’re doing the same reps at the same weight every week, your progress will eventually stall. Aim to keep pushing your limits – that’s how you grow.

3. A calorie surplus
There’s an old saying that gains are made in the kitchen – the work you do there is just as important as your reps in the gym. To add muscle, your body needs extra fuel. That means eating more calories than you burn. Not dirty bulking, but a controlled surplus that gives your body what it needs to grow stronger.

Nailing the nutrition side of your routine will take a bit of effort, so set yourself up with an expert plan. When you set your goal to Build Strength or Gain Muscle on the Centr app, your meal plan is immediately personalized, calculating the calories you require and providing increased calories via extra snacks and Super Smoothies.

A dietitian-approved meal plan will give you a solid base for making gains. But remember, everybody’s nutrition needs are different – your requirements will vary according to a range of factors, including:

• How hard and often you train

• Your body composition

• Your muscle mass

• Your age, metabolism and genetics

• Your specific goals

Make sure you monitor your progress and adjust your nutrition as needed.

The quality of your food matters, too – think complex carbs, lean protein and healthy fats. Before you dig in, we’ve got the answers to all of your muscle-building nutrition questions, plus some recipes to get you started.

4. Getting enough protein
Protein isn’t just a buzzword – it’s an essential building block that repairs, rebuilds and creates new muscle tissue. Your daily protein needs range from around 1g per kilogram of body weight if you’re not very active, up to 2.2g (or more) per kilogram if you’re training to build muscle. In short, the harder you train, the more protein your body needs.

If you’re worried about consuming more than the required amount of protein, don’t worry. Extra protein isn’t going to harm you “unless you have a specific medical condition that requires a lower protein intake,” according to Centr dietitian Angie Asche.

In fact, in some very rare cases, you may benefit from more protein, Angie says.

“If your total calorie needs are much greater than average – for example if you’re trying to put on lots of mass and you exercise at a high intensity regularly – you may have a much larger energy expenditure. If that is the case, all three of your macronutrient needs will increase, not just your protein needs.”

If you think you might fit this profile, Angie recommends consulting a registered sports dietitian.

5. Getting enough rest
Progress starts in the gym, but results happen during recovery. While progressive overload and hypertrophy drive muscle growth, overtraining can quickly undo your hard work. Your body needs time to repair the muscle fibers you’ve broken down, rebuild them stronger and come back ready to lift again.

That’s why rest isn’t a sign of slacking – it’s an essential part of the muscle-building process.

A well-structured training plan should include:

• Scheduled rest days

• Active recovery sessions like walking or yoga

• Quality sleep (aim for 7+ hours a night)

Skipping the ‘rest’ part of your routine can stall your gains, increase injury risk and drain your motivation. Give your body the time it needs to recover – and you’ll return to each session stronger, instead of sore and tired.

How often should I train?

This will depend on your schedule and your goals, but we recommend training 2-3 days a week minimum, and if you’re aiming to maximize results, 4-5 times a week in a split workout style.

A split is simply how you carve up your training days to target different muscle groups. Some of the most common splits include:

• Push-pull-legs (PPL): Hitting each muscle group twice per week.

• Upper-lower split: Focusing on the upper and lower body on separate days.

• Body part splits: Training individual muscle groups on different days.

Train each muscle group at least twice a week and don’t forget about progressive overload and proper recovery.

How hard should I be working out?

If you want to push your limits to ramp up your muscle growth, there’s a few things you should know.

You don’t need to max out every lift, but training close to failure (where you can’t do another rep) can be a good idea for more experienced lifters. Training to failure – commonly used in drop sets – is a strength training technique that can help maximize muscle growth.

While drop sets can be effective, take extra care in maintaining good form when your muscles are fatigued to avoid injuries.

Unsure of how heavy your weights should be? Aim for two reps left in the tank, as explained by Centr bodybuilding expert Torre Washington.

“It can be tricky to get the load right at the beginning, but once you understand the exercises, technique and difficulty, you should be better able to select the right weight for you,” Torre explains. “My top tip: stick to two 'reps in reserve' at the end of each set – quality over quantity, always."

Remember to track your progress

Make your muscle-building journey as simple as possible for yourself by tracking your progress over time. Log how heavy and how much you’re lifting during each session – easily done with the logbook function in the Centr app – and gradually increase weight, reps or intensity to keep your muscles adapting and growing.

Don’t rely on the mirror. Week to week, look for gradual increases in workload, better form or improved endurance. These changes show your training program is working – for real.

Also check in on how you feel every day: more energy, quicker recovery and stronger lifts are all signs that you’re making progress.

Does Centr have any programs focused on building muscle?

Centr is home to the definitive muscle-building program Centr Power, designed by Chris Hemsworth and his personal trainer Luke Zocchi based on the training that Chris uses to prepare for movie roles.

You can choose where to train for your gains by selecting either Centr Power at Home (using minimal, home-friendly equipment) or Centr Power in Gym (a full-gym program). You can also select your training level – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced – each consisting of a 13-week program split into four 3-week phases, plus one deload week.

Want to cut body fat while building or maintaining muscle? Power Shred is the 14-week program backed by essential nutrition tools to help you get results safely.

If you prefer a mix of cardio and strength training, Hybrid Strong is for you. This program is tailored for an intermediate-advanced training level, and even has separate treadmill workouts in Hybrid Strong: Tread.

If you have access to a functional trainer or cable machine, we also have several 9-week programs designed to help you get the most out of your machine and your muscles.

• Centr 1 Strong
• Centr 2 Builder
• Centr 3 Max
• Muscle PRO

Check the specialized cable machine programs section of our guide for more information.

Ready to build? Start your free trial with Centr or head to the Programs section.