Yesterday i was talking to my trainer and i was wondering what was a realistic goal for increasing muscle mass. I know that for weight loss, a 1-2 lb loss per week is reasonable and healthy so i was looking for some similar guideline for increasing lean muscle mass. His short answer was that it was realistic and healthy to gain 1 lb of lean muscle every 3 weeks.

I thought that was really interesting. I always hear people saying "oh, well, i just started working out so i probably didn't lose weight because i gained muscle". Ultimately that is just a rough guide just like the 1-2 lbs weight loss per week is a guideline. Some people lose at different rates but i thought it was helpful knowing that on average you can expect/hope for gains of 1 lb per 3 wks if you have an intense and regular weight lifting routine combined with healthy eating and cardio.

Even though my weight seems to come off in random chunks (ie. 0.3 lbs one week, 2.8 lbs the next) it does seem to average within the 1-2 pound per week range. I wonder if i'm having the same results with my lean muscle mass. Monitoring body fat percentage is a good way to see how you're doing.

My exercise routine looks like this:
Weights - 2 times per week with trainer (60 min - very intense)
Cardio - Running 3-4 times per week, Cross train 3 times per week
Food - about 1200 calories per day and tons of water

I think that's a guy number, or a beginner number. In 5 years of lifting, I've probably added about 10 pounds of lean mass, and I lift VERY heavy, doing a 5 day split. That means 1 body part per day, for about an hour. I lift for size and strength, eat and train like a body builder.

When most people say "oh I'm not losing because I'm gaining muscle", IMO, they are deluding themselves unless they started at a fairly healthy body weight and are documenting the changes with a reliable measure of body composition- NOT an online calculator.

Guys can put on muscle much faster- especially young guys who are novice lifters.

If you've been pretty inactive and are young, and are eating to maximize muscle growth, I'm sure you can put on more that I've achieved. I'm a lot older and have always been active. Even so, after a while it gets harder an harder to build muscle, and realistically, do you really want to keep adding a pound of muscle every 3 weeks? What are your goals?

Mel