I’m surprised how quickly I’m building muscle without working out too much

[diane44]

(M25) I started going to the gym 1-2 times a week a handful of months ago, mainly for long term body health and to prevent my TMJ from acting up. Muscles haven’t been a big focus for me, but my gf and I have noticed my biceps looking bigger and torso trimmer just from the couple days a week I workout. My gf told me my testosterone helps muscles build quicker, and that she’s jealous (hehe).

I’m only posting this because I’m surprised how much fitter I’ve looked without even working out much. I do make sure not to overdo the weights, to get adequate rest between sets, and to eat and hydrate well afterwards. Have other beginners had this experience?

 

[crystalfaith2]

@diane44 Congrats on the progress! This is called beginner gains or "newbie gains" and all beginners will see some quick adaptation in the first few months, but not everyone will see the same amount of growth. Depending on genetics some people will respond extremely well to lifting weights and will progress faster than others.

Your body is a sponge to this new stimulus and it's absorbing everything you throw at it to become stronger and adapt to the stresses. Keep it going!

 

[diane44]

@crystalfaith2 Ohh wow interesting! Thanks for the info!

 

[dinafrancis]

@diane44 You haven't built muscle really as fast as you think, maybe you lost a bit of weight as well, but your body can definitely change quickly at the start, but muscle growth itself is still slow. (As a dude though, yes testosterone is a total cheat code compared to women. I agree with your gf. Totally jealous of men in that respect!)

And you don't need a ton of days. You can make fantastic gains only lifting 3x a week!

 

[diane44]

@dinafrancis I see, so my body is mainly shifting around which makes it appear like I’ve gained more muscle. Either way I’m happy with it so far.

 

[dinafrancis]

@diane44 Yup. If you've changed your diet some, even if you were maintaining weight, that can make a difference. Also, if your gf comments right after a workout, you could have a bit of a pump going on too, which makes your muscles temporarily look bigger.

But absolutely be happy about it!! It's a great start and seeing changes is always encouraging! Just wanted to let you know about the realistic nature of muscle mass. A man, under optimal conditions, can build about 1-2lbs a month (women is half that). For each pound of muscle you put on, the next becomes harder otherwise we'd all be walking around like giant body builders lol.

But I just bring it up cus I've seen other comments on r/fitness of people (mostly women) being like I'M GAINING MUSCLE TOO FAST... Sorry, no, you're not. If you think you look too big now, it's cus you gained weight.

 

[diane44]

@dinafrancis Yeah I’m a pretty skinny fella so any change in muscles is noticeable. Thanks for all the info! I’m new to all this so learning about the beginner gains has been helpful.

 

[kimberl321]

@diane44 25 years old and newbie gains. enjoy.

 

[gvsteady]

@diane44 congrats on the progress brother!

 

[pmcr63]

@diane44 Great job. Usually when you first start working out, you'll get a lot of muscle quick, it's maintaining it the problem lol. Also, you may hit a plateau shortly after where it seems you're not getting any muscle. Remember, take it slow and rest is more important.

 

[gypsyjill88]

@diane44 There is a bunch of things happening in your body once you start to train. Your testosterone levels rise, your body retains more water in order to repair the muscle tissue and depending on your initial physique it might appear like you are making crazy fast progress, which is called the noob gains (love em). Its nothing bad, its just that in the beginning it feels a lot easier to get results.

I can tell you after several years of training, crazy changes like that get more and more difficult to achieve. But just keep going dude, you are doing welL!

 

[2ndlight]

@diane44 Can you explain how you’re using fitness to counteract TMJ? I’ve been having really bad flare ups and also started recently going to the gym regularly.

 

[diane44]

@2ndlight My TMJ arose from my upper body being incredibly weak. My shoulders, neck, and jaw all became misaligned after years of being very weak, which essentially caused the TMJ. My physical therapist recommended upper body strengthening and general massaging of my jaw, which all ended up fixing my TMJ after a while. So nowadays to prevent my TMJ from coming back I make sure to keep my upper body strengthened.

 

[2ndlight]

@diane44 That’s really interesting and helpful, thank you!

 

[diane44]

@2ndlight No problem! I hope your TMJ heals up, I know how awful it can be.

 

[extiff]

@diane44 i think your metabolism is slow maybe? because let me tell you i started working out 2 months ago and i can see the difference but for that i had work really hard....

 

[daniellebouchie]

@diane44 What have you been doing? I’m 24M just starting out.

 

[diane44]

@daniellebouchie My routine is a mile on the elliptical, then I use a few weight machines (I don’t know their names honestly). One is a chest press machine, another is the butterfly thing that trains your shoulders, and a few others that train arms and upper body. If you have decent local gym just try out their various machines and see which ones you like.

I’m usually at the gym for 45-60 minutes. Afterwards I make sure to drink water and Powerade, and eat a nice meal of carbs/protein/fat.