For the young guys out there, have patience. I started seriously training around 21, just turned 40 last year. Bigger and stronger at 40 than I ever was in my 20s. Eat well, don’t do stupid stuff that causes injury and you’ll get there.

I've only been training for about 9 months, but just looking at the pics I took when I started lifting compared to now and there's quite a difference. It's weird how you don't really notice it until you look back. I've still got a long long way to go on my journey but I'm proud so far and really enjoying it!

Been training intensively 5 days per week for the last 2 years along with high protein diet and very happy with my results with significant improvements from were I started 💪💪💪

9 Years to go

Be patient, I've been lifting since high school off and on. Do it naturally and stay at it, I don't mean 4 or 5 days every week but be consistent and you'll eventually look well defined and not abnormal. I just turned 60 and still lifting and stronger now then when I was 40. Keep it naturally no chemicals.

10 years! Can’t wait 😅

Took me 10 years from a skinny 16 year old, to a decent 14 stone of muscle at 26 years old. Great thing is that you muscles remember, i have trained on and off for years. i have just started back again at 50, getting decent results after 3 months. Once you have done it, it easy to do again!

I feel like 10 years to be content is extremely over estimated. I would say after even only a 3-6 months (as a complete beginner) you will feel more confident in yourself. After about a year you should feel pretty good about yourself. Sure you may still want to chase further gains but I feel like if you don’t feel confident in your body at that point you may have body dysmorphia. I think most dudes don’t want to be fully shredded like a bodybuilder - they just want to be a bit more filled-in and that actually doesn’t take very long with the right diet and strength training.

Thanks for this, I’m doing ok right now but I’ve been demotivated in the past and this will really help if it happens again. ❤

Thanx a lot for explicitly and repeatedly pointing out the factor of time. As a 30year old who tried his first fitness stuff before 18 without getting anywhere until 2 years ago, this feels like a great relieve: Knowing that sticking to something proven and actionable over time WILL eventually work. Not giving up and changing up every few months like I did for most of my life. That is a deal I can get behind.

Great video once again man, just found your channel a few weeks ago and ive recommended it to all my gym friends and they love it. Very professional and useful information and almost always trying to add all types of variables. Appreciate this man ive gotten so much knowledge from this youtube channel alone. PLEASE, please keep up the good work😂 much love

I love your content bro, as a new PT in the industry your videos have really helped boost my knowledge. Thank you 🙌

Over a one-year timeframe, I found pictures not very useful because my weight training caused proportional growth everywhere, but the best indicators were more than doubling of my compound lift weights, improved mirror self-perception, clothes fitting better (or not fitting), and other people I hadn’t seen in a while unprovokedly asking if I’d been lifting; on the other hand, taking DXAs a year apart was useless as it said all of my ~20lb weight gain was fat and that I’d lost a few ounces of muscle!

This is the video i’ve needed to find. Cheers bro.

Your video was excellently explained and presented, and you've gained a new subscriber!

Have been training for 7 years. And alot of that time was wasted. For all the young guys out there, be careful, dont mess up your form, master movements before going heavy, eat alot of calories if trying to gain a lot of muscle mass, and get alot of sleep. Im completely natural and have 18 inch biceps.(without pump) You might have great genetics so putting on muscle might come quicker for you, however for all naturals it takes awhile. Be patient, your hard work will pay off.

I lost 5% of bodyfat (it was already rather low) and gained +3kg of skeletal muscle in 2 months (beginner gain bonus)

I am glad to stumble upon your videos. Well made and very informative

Goldmine content... Keep up the good work...

Consistency and patience - aka Discipline - that´s the hardest part!

❤️🙏राधे राधे बहुत ही बढ़िया राधे राधे❤️🙏

Yeah, I hate that it always looks like I'm making progress at a snail's pace, if at all, but I try to remind myself to be patient and consistent.

10 years may seem like a lot but it realy isn't alot of time, especially when you finish school and go into your working career and your 'responsibilities' increase, time flies and you regret how fast it flies! lol

OMG - this makes me so relieved! Thank you! Subbed for life :) I started by weightloss journey this year with a GYM Personal trainer, with Keto, IF, meal tracking and cardio. My first dexa scan was: 1) Feb 7th 2022 - Before 120.2 kg with 34.6% Body fat = 41.57 kgs of fat 2) July 29th 2022 - 2nd Dexa milestone (appx 24 weeks) 107.4 kg at 33.3% body fat = 35.76 kgs of fat Key result was 12.82 kgs lost = 5.825 kgs of fat + 6.997 kgs of lean body mass I was disheartened because I personally don't feel like I've lost muscle; instead I feel strong since I can finally squat/bench/lat pull down/deadlift 50 kgs now. My assumption was that 70% of that 6.997 kgs of lean body mass, must have been water loss, due to keto (and less than

Love your videos. Cheers from 🇨🇦

I started out a year ago as a very skinny guy and although the difference is not that noticable at first, I gained 20lbs because I exchanged what little fat I had for some muscle definition. Remember, fat volume per lb/kg is larger than a lb/kg of muscle. You're doing progess even if you can't notice it over time.

I'm 40, and just started going to gym fairly regularly. I have been going for 4 weeks and combined with diet I have noticed fat loss and muscle growth already.

In that long, hopefully very long, journey, I find the most satisfying thing going to the gym when you feel like crap, it's so rewarding to know that it's in those exact moments that everything is at stake and you just do it. And you'll do it again!

46 and I can see results after a month But I never lifted before and I started out in pretty rough shape. I also know early gains are faster so it will slow significantly. Now I just hope I'm building muscle and taking off this belly because I can't tell a difference down there.... I'll know when I can see what's "down there" again

I just started lifting again from a scientific perspective ie hypertrophy. I am very happy with the strength endurance and muscle size after 4week. I’m 38 now. I worked out 5 days a week using mostly calisthenics in 9-12 grade. And had a physical appearance i was happy with at the time. I feel like I went back to my 19 year old mussel mass quickly, I also am active day to day. I had a similar appearance at 29-30.

Hi FHP, I really appreciate the content you provide, even when much of it goes unnoticed. Just a quick question is the best way to train for hypertrophy through mechanical tension?

I like to measure muscle circumference with a measuring tape on the biceps and the calves (thickest part). This is by no means perfect but I thought it can detect changes in the short term quite well especially in the first few years of training. Additionally, it is somewhat robust to body fat changes since even during a bulk (unless you dirty-bulk) most men are unlikely to gain much fat on the arms and calves. Unfortunately, this doesn't work well with other muscles like the chest, upper legs, back etc. since it is so hard to get the measurements right. For biceps and calves this is easier since you can look for the thickest part.

I've been lifting for 4 months now, no change in bodyweight but my waistsize is going down. Also my shirts are getting tighter around my arms and ive been crushing my pr's this week!

Not to beat a dead horse, but the 10 year thing bugged me a bit too. I started out untrained 8 weeks ago. The first 3 weeks was mobility work, baselining my diet, and establishing a routine with body weight. I am 45, 6'0, 170lbs. 5 weeks of strength training, i picked strong lifts 5x5, empty bar to learn the moves, practice form, and test my joints and tendons. I'm now at 180lbs. I'm already starting to lose that pudgy gut and starting to see definition in chest and arms. I couldnt be happier with the results so far! All that said, i believe i will build 10lbs of lean muscle in the next 5-6 months. I've already started to hit pullups and dips. I think it would be realistic for me to check in this time next year at 190-195lbs at around 12-15% body fat and "look like i lift". I've always been tallish, thin, and athletic. My main goal empirically is to go from 13.5 inch flexed arms to 16 inch flexed arms with shoulders and chest to match. I understand this will take years, i just dont think it will take 10 years. I am thinking with the right training, 5 tops. I feel like that is conservative. Of course, i am a total noob, so i do appreciate that i might be over estimating what my body can do, and i will definitely reevaluate my goals based on your excellent description on how to measure progress over time. Perhaps my expectations are too high. At the end of the day, this is something ive always wanted to do but for some stupid reason waited until now. As long as i can keep feeling good the way i have been these last 5 weeks, i will be happy with whatever progress i make. If that means i "look like i lift" or somehow miraculously over achieve, or if it just means i am simply fit, its all gravy to me at this point!

The amount of weight you can lift is a good way to measure as well. Track your progress

I have been lifting for 2 months. My muscles are significantly bigger. Everyone is different.

For me, it is just focusing on my progressive overload. If I am squatting 30Kgs more in 9 months, you know muscle has been gained. If your form is consistant + your output and volume exceeds that what is considered an early neuro-muscular-adaptation, then you will undeniably have built muscle. Just keep your head down and follow thaz formular. You'll start to notice it by how other look at you or talk about your physique. For me personally, I am also a rugby player. So my performace on the pitch during contact is also a big indicator for me that my training has worked.

For important info, ive been training since I was 12, I am 20 now, so ive always had muscle but never took my research seriously until recently. In my personal experience from having been the same weight basically for 3 years now (65-70kg) I found that taking pictures really demotivated me, because it is really hard to tell if youre larger, I can only see definition differences. I took a picture before I started my program, and then after 6 months or so, and they looked so identical, I even showed people and they thought my before picture was the after picture. But to prove I had gotten bigger, I found a picture of me wearing a shirt before the program, and I found the shirt and tried it on. Before, it was really loose and made me look really skinny, then when I tried it after, it was tightly fit around my arms and you could tell i had gotten alot more volume overall on my back and chest. I dont know why this happens, but pictures of pure posing has never helped me as proof. I think measurements and just looking in the mirror will help alot more.

If you lift in the usual way it can take a very long time but using partials only & slowing down the speed of the reps you can gain gain a lot of muscle in a short amount of time, take for instance my chest, I added a inch & a half in about 2 months, I did that with other body parts but the chest was the biggest, if you do it right you will really work the muscle which is what you need.

Stop worrying about visual change. Focus on the weight. You know youre building muscle when you are getting stronger. Ex: If youre adding 10lbs a month to your bench press, you know youre getting stronger and in return are gaining muscle.

This man speaks the truth. I wish more fitness videos would be honest like this. You're not going to see huge results or even small results within a few months. It takes a long time to build up and become big naturally. Only way you're getting jacked in a year is by taking steroids and a huge concoction of drugs. And that's dangerous. Please don't do that.

24 and noticing huge improvements just in 1 month of training. Probably newbie gains. I started running again too and my endurance is rapidly increasing. I was fairly strong at 18 looking back at old pics but I didnt notice. I wasted away with depression and addiction to pretty much skin and bones.

Im training since september '23 - already seeing A LOT of extra muscle. Lost 2% fat but gained almost 4kg. High intensity every 60hrs. I do eat very, very clean. No alcohol alot of water and a plenty of eggs and red meat. 1,7gr protein per day per kg bodyweight. I do have above average testo levels (tested).

I'm not looking to build mass or physique, I just started some general purpose weights and exercises to gain strength and get fit. Obviously I'm getting stronger week by week. So this is due to the existing muscles I already have just getting stronger from working out? Thanks just found your channel.

I mean, I feel like it depends on what your goal is, because a "muscularity you are content with" is subjective. Also, I think that everyday diet and protein intake is more important than a day of water of few days of extra carbs, as you need the aminoacids to build the muscle and avoid muscle autophagy. For example, with a slightly bigger amount of protein intake I was used to, I gained 2 lbs of lean muscle in 4 months, however, on the 5th month I reduced my overall nutrient intake (carbs, fat and protein) to try and lower my body fat percentage and lost 1 lb of lean muscle (on my arms and torso), however I dont think I lost strength. I would say that if you are taking enough protein daily and you are excersicing with rest time on the targeted muscles to generate hypertrophy, you are building muscle. Nevertheless, good tips haha

Some exercise is better than no exercise. I have only done 15 pushups everyday since I was 14 and eating what my mom made me. I will soon be 20 but I have a toned body (I was a bit chubby back then) and even have some visible muscles in my chest, back, and arms (Still have chicken legs though 🐹)

The way I am proposing to lift it can seem like a lot of work but that is the price you pay for size, i did lift the way everyone else lifted for yrs & i was in very good shape but i got frustrated at my growth so i decided to try this way, no steroids just blood & guts & it was hard work but after about 2 months i took measurements & i was shocked at the growth but if you want to debate it try what I'm suggesting & see for your self, make sure you have a spoter unless you workout on a machine which is what I did & you will also have to decrease the weight that you lift.

BullI have seen results in 3 to 4 weeks . working as Mason tender. As well as dumbells

Hey! Thanks for the video, it was so useful. I have two quick questions, can one build muscle if one´s not sore the next day after training a muscle group? Like, muscle building can only be achieved if one ends up feeling sore?

I finally got my dream physique because of this video

Is local muscle recovery a limiting factor for how much volume each muscle can handle. For example 20 sets for chest muscle per week ( two sessions per week) may lead for the chest not to be locally recovered well between these two sessions even though their no systemic or joint fatigue and thus hypertrophic stimulus will be less. What do you think?

I’m using a body composition scale to track my muscle gains & other measurements. Not sure how accurate it is. I also take photos. I’ve noticed a change in my strength since I started to properly train 6 weeks ago. I’ve been working out since last year through cardio & throwing in some lifting here and there. I can see my arms have changed already (taking photos) & I’m lifting heavier weights. I’m female so will probably gain muscle differently to a male.

Thank you! Still have 9 years to go xP

Some people expectations are simply too high, thats why it need 10 years.. after certain muscle size, the body simply refuse to grow any bigger, hence need the strict diet n harder excercise.. 3-5 years is enough to get into optimal body build.

Like for the bench i extended my arms all the way until my arms were straight & i only mived the bar maybe 4 inches & kept it that way until I was done with the set.

First comment, Love your videos

Science beast

Hi, can you make a strentgh and conditioning program for skateboarding? that would be amazing

You can skip everything you said in this video. The best indicator. If you are getting stronger, you are building muscle. It is easy as that

Obviously, it seems the easiest way to know if you're building muscle is whether or not you're getting stronger. If you're still lifting the same weights now that you were 6 months ago it's a guarantee you've built little if any muscle, and if you're stronger then Obviously you have built muscle.

This is out of the normal because most people won't do this but I did & I gained a lot of muscle in a short period. I was accused of taking steroids. With any exercise only do partials ( move only 3 or 4 inches) but take only 10 seconds for the negative & 10 seconds for that positive part of the exercise, you will have to reduce the amount of weight that you lift but it was put a lot of muscle on.

I quit excersicing for two months, when resuming I got bad muscle soreness - barely could move. 😅 But after a week or two the soreness completely went away. Now after a training session I feel that I have done something, but no soreness at all. Don't know what to make of it. Other content creators say that soreness doesn't striclty corelate with muscle growth and it could be the case that soreness goes away with time, but on the other hand - I dont know if I'm pushing myself hard enough.

Make a video on the cardio vascular system

Don't train for a goal. Train for the difficult.

Realistically, there are many factors to achieve growth. Training effectiveness is the most important. No training change, no muscle change. Imo most people will notice a difference in themselves that is objective in 6 weeks. In 6 months family and friends that had a good baseline of your body, 1 year until co-workers and friends not adjusted to your baseline will notice, 2 years until you have significant changes, and 6 years until you are pretty nuts, maybe 3 or 4 times the size (2-3 times the measurements) you were visually originally. 10 years until endgame physic is reached. The longer the timespan, the more setbacks are taken into account. In 6 months of training, a 3 month setback might mean that local friends and family still don't notice much change, but a 3 month setback or 2 doesn't impact your size over a 8 year career.

You won't see a significant difference from day to day, also not from week to week but maybe from month to month since its just so hard to actually take notice of changes in your physique when you spend 2h in front of the mirror every day. I thought I wasn't making any progress for the last few months but the pictures tell me a whole different story, that's why I recommend people to take progress pictures

If i keep getting stronger at conventional deadllifts is it fair to assume my hamstrings , glutes and quads are seeing muscle growth?

For me a couple months and I look bigger, but I naturally just have a bigger frame

Its been a week and im actually seeing visible changes i wasnt able to control my chest but now i can (mind muscle connection?) Idk if i grew muscle or its just the pump

4 minutes of useful information stretched out to 14.

Ok mate. For young ppl just get your strength up and everything else will follow and stay away from drugs like 99% of fitness gurus on KZfaq 100% of the time

It's simple. Strength gains + weight gain= muscle gains.

There's this sound going on in Gymtok I absolutely hate: "In one month you will feel the difference, in 2 months you will see the change, In 3 months your family and close friends will see it, in 4 everyone can see it, in 6 months everyone will you ask how" In reality only you and your family will notice the change after 6 months, and it will be extremely minor (unless you do an aggressive bulk/cut, I am talking strictly muscle growth). I know the sound is there to encourage people to go to the gym, but if you go to the gym thinking you're gonna have your dream body in 6 months, you're gonna be sorely disappointed or think you're doing something wrong

GoOd job

I always notice a pretty big difference just after a few months of training

Damn that 10 years hit me hard 😂

I've always built muscle fairly easily and relatively quickly but my problem is I also get fat very easily. After a cut I still look like I ate the couch. Luckily I'm 6'3 which helps a bit but it is flipping annoying

You need energy to grow them. If you do not feed yourself properly, you will just be honing the muscle that is already there.

I been training for 16 weeks , I had to change my routine every now and then because i kept getting caught at the gym (I am not allowed to bench , squat , deaslift or use dumbells ,only machines since I am not 15) But I adapt and learn to come to the gym during times where i wont get caught lacking and now I can deadlift 300 ( my starting was 200)

If you are taking years to start building muscle and not seeing a difference within a month you are either not training hard enough, eating right, or resting right. Even just one of these will kill gains

I hate that I can’t focus on things when I hear a British or non American accent. This guy is probably dropping gems and my dumb mind just wanders off.

Don't let the "at least 10 years" thing scare you off from starting. You get the MOST gains earliest, and then it slows down on a decreasing curve. Then at some point - you'll hit your genetic ceiling and gainst will slow exponentially. - The first 1-3 years will net you the biggest improvements IF your diet is good, IF your training program and consistency is good. - 10 years to get your dream physique is also not true for MOST PEOPLE. If you want to look like a huge bodybuilder type - sure - you'll be disappointed. My goal was Brad Pitt's physique in fight club. I reached that 1.5 years into training, with more muscle mass and looking even greater 2-2.5 years in. No roidz, just working out hard and consistently with proper diet. The number 1 reason everyone isn't walking around looking fit, lean, and muscular. Isn't because you need to use roidz to see "real results". It's because the VAST MAJORITY of people do NOT have the PATIENCE AND DISCIPLINE to keep working out and eating right consistently. So we end up with lots of people just giving up from the get-go because they don't realize that muscle building is a marathon. It's not a sprint. TL;DR: If you want to look like Brad Pitt in fight club, or that but more muscular. PERFECTLY achievable for most men in 1-3 years. If you want to look like one of those massive mountains of muscle body builders carry around. You will be disappointed though. Because they chose to trade their future for "ez gains" in the present. Using steroids as a shortcut is like the demonic bigger brother of student debt. Where you get fast results and physique but you'll be paying for it big time later in life. You don't want or need to do that.

Great video, yes makes sense, if you lift heavier and heavier your muscle group is obviously adapting getting stronger and growing, if you can maintain at least 8 reps designated weight that means the muscle is doing fine, if next week you can do more on same weight thats even better, time to increase weight just a little bit and try to reach that 8 reps again etc, you will see results I made mistakes of doing literally same full body training 3 days a week, after a little while i started hating it, it was repetitive and boring but i thought i had to stick to it, it did give results, until results were kind of meeh considering the time and money and effort i give to it. couple of months later so i did the worst, i burned out and completely stopped gym, few months later returned and started doing at least two or 3 groups of muscles 2 times a week. I divided lower body and upper body sessions, for me personally this works, I realised that my muscles need more time to recover, results were weirdly eveb better than when I was hammering myself with same boring stuff, I was like you know what I dont care how will I look or whatever lets just do this for fun and see what happens. now im doing this for quite a while and Im not dreading of going to gym, i just increase weight little by little when I feel Im ready for more, no pressure, idk it works for me

holly freaking god damn, 10 freaking years??

Good vid. Say is there any hope for a 60 old to gain muscle, if muscle gain is such a slow process?

Be patient but "being patient" isnt always so simple right? Right. So we need to find other activities/strategies that emulate patience indirectly. Find ways to enjoy the process. For some its easier because they genuinely enjoy being at the gym. For others, maybe its a bit more difficult... Add things to your routine that spice things up and make you excited about the process. Play some of your favorite music in the car on the way to the gym. Get a new gym fit or 2. Make yourself a special workout playlist. Try out some new protein recipes and protein loaded desserts! Think about your favorite muscle group to work out ( or your least miserable for some people lol ) and put that workout day at the end of your split. If you dont like a certain workout, research some other ways to hit the target muscles or muscle groups until you find something more enjoyable. Figure out your macros and eating goals. Stick to that diet plan and stop looking at the scale! Once you have your plan figured out, and you know it works, just keep your head down and work at it for a while. A constant reminder every morning that youre not jacked yet isnt great. Space out those weigh ins a bit. Really focus on progressive overload. Its fun as hell to track your lifts and find out that youre lifting more weight than you did last week. You can assume that if youre getting stronger, shit's working. Think about how accomplished you feel the rest of the day when youve gotten that early morning workout in. Thats a valid reward on its own!

This makes me wonder about how my goals compare to the question of “how many years until you are likely to be satisfied with your physique?” I am low body fat percentage, I’ve always been toned. I don’t have goals to look like Chris Bumstead (although that would be cool). My goals are to remain on what I suppose most “body builders” would call small… since I don’t consider myself a body builder. Ideally I just want to be noticeably bigger. So I’d say about 20-30 more pounds (I’m 160 right now which is light because I am 6 feet 2 inches) putting me at about 180-190 pounds. Lean of course. If you see this, would this take less time? Consider me a beginner, would this only take 4-5 years rather than 10?

Why is muscle soreness a good indicator? 🤔 the fact that if we have sore muscles on a given muscle that we have exercised, we can be sure that in fact this muscle was strongly involved, however, I do not think this is a good factor, because a muscle with pain may interfere with exercising it again (when, for example, we have a higher frequency),and secondly, I do not understand how muscle pain should be a good indicator of muscle growth, because it is unnecessary for muscle growth. Are there any specific research on this topic?

OK . . . if you say so.

I am surprised taking muscle circumference measurements are not mentioned as a tool to assess progress for muscular hypertrophy gains, especially with more mediocre methods such as using body fat calipers being mentioned (or maybe they are more reliable, just based on my current understanding). Not a criticism, just curious, perhaps they are no longer as effective as once thought and I am not up to take on the current research. I would think that these measures would be the most cost effective and reliable tool in todays world. Also I am more referring to measuring progress for intermediate and long term hypertrophy adaptations rather than assessing progress for short term adaptations which I guess was the main focus of this video. It would likely be more so a very effective method for new trainees who will have a faster rate of muscle gain than experienced lifters, which I why I was surprised there was no mention to tape measurements. What are your thoughts?

not me having a forearm pump 24/7 in the gym no matter what exercise I was doing 😂

In and out of shape all my life. It's usually work that knocks me off the wagon. But it only takes me 6 months to get shredded when I find the time and motivation to get back. I don't get the 10 year thing - maybe that's talking to teenagers who never had any mass to begin with.

An easy way to tell if you’re growing muscle is your clothes, check how your fall wardrobe fits each season, same with your T-shirts next spring.

I believe Natural Hypertrophy said 10 years as well.

I'm only on week 14 but i can definitely tell my pants fit way better which means I'm making gains cuz I'm the exact same weight

Its hilarious. I am woefully out of shape, but because i did more work with my arms as a teen and adult, I have unusually large upper arm/finger muscles. Even compared to thinner, more fit men.

The best way to know is if you get a pump from training. If you don’t, you aren’t getting enough nutrients. If you are, you’ll get a pump and some permanent growth. Eat every 3 hours or your gym time is wasted.

The literal only short term indicator of strength is hitting one more rep

How to check fat and muscle growth, what's the use if u grow fat with size

What are we measuring then? Mitochondria?