--- title: 'How do I Gain Muscle? The Science Behind Gains and Muscle Growth' source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=RlBPMa7E_cU' video_id: 'RlBPMa7E_cU' date: 2026-06-28 duration_sec: 259 --- # How do I Gain Muscle? The Science Behind Gains and Muscle Growth > Source: [How do I Gain Muscle? The Science Behind Gains and Muscle Growth](https://youtube.com/watch?v=RlBPMa7E_cU) ## Summary This video explains the science behind muscle growth, covering the process of muscle hypertrophy, the importance of training and nutrition, and the factors that affect progress. It provides practical advice on how to gain muscle effectively and emphasizes the role of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. ### Key Points - **Gaining muscle involves more than just eating right and working out** [00:00] — Gaining muscle is a lot more complicated than simply eating right and working out. - **Muscle growth occurs through micro-tears and repair** [00:38] — Micro-tears happen when you put stress on the muscle. With rest and recovery, the muscles repair themselves, and if you consistently work out and give your body time and nutrition, this process leads to muscle growth. - **Muscle hypertrophy is achieved through progressive strength training** [01:08] — Muscle hypertrophy is an increase in muscle mass that promotes growth in size and strength, achieved through strength and resistance training that gradually increases over time. It does not mean lifting heavier every session, but rather challenging muscles consistently. - **Muscle growth takes several weeks or months** [01:39] — Factors affecting muscle growth include training frequency, diet, age, and genetics. In general, it takes several weeks or even months to see visible change. Training major muscle groups twice per week is enough. - **Protein, carbohydrates, and fats are essential for muscle growth** [02:05] — Protein promotes muscle growth (lean meats, poultry, dairy). Carbohydrates fuel workouts and aid recovery (vegetables, sweet potatoes, nuts, seeds, oats). Fats boost energy and hormone production (oily fish, nuts, avocados). - **Many factors affect muscle growth including medical factors** [02:59] — Factors include age, gender, training frequency, recovery time, hydration, diet, as well as medications, injury, and hormone levels. Low testosterone in men can make muscle growth difficult. - **Home hormone tests can help identify imbalances** [03:38] — Let's Get Checked offers male hormone tests to identify imbalances that might affect muscle growth, with online results in 2-5 days. ### Conclusion Gaining muscle requires a combination of consistent strength training, proper nutrition, and adequate recovery, and it takes several weeks to months to see visible results. Medical factors like hormone levels can also play a role, and at-home tests can help identify issues. ## Transcript How do I gain muscle? The science behind gains and muscle growth. Fuel often, train hard, eat protein. Better yet, drink protein. There are so many tips that crop up across the internet, claiming to be the key to growing your muscles effectively. But we're going to take it that you have had your fair share of sweaty gym sessions and you now know as well as us that gaining muscle is a lot more complicated than eating right and working out. How do muscles grow? You're probably familiar with the sore feeling you get in your muscles after a workout. This is a result of tiny micro-tares that happen when you put stress on the muscle. With the right amount of rest and recovery, the muscles repair themselves and any soreness will go away. If you consistently work out and give your body the time and nutrition it needs to recover, and this process will continue to occur, this is what helps muscles grow and get bigger. How do you gain muscle? If you have done your fair share of research, you're probably familiar with muscle hypertrophy, an increase in muscle mass that can promote growth in muscle size and strength. This is achieved through strength training and resistance training that gradually increases over time. This doesn't mean that you need to lift heavier during every single training session though. It just means you should try out a variety of strength exercises and repeatedly challenge your muscles so they adapt and ultimately grow. How long does muscle growth take? There are so many factors that play when it comes to muscle growth. These include how often you train, your diet, your age, and your genetic makeup. In general, it can take several weeks or even months to gain muscle and see any visible change. And remember, increasing your strength sessions isn't going to make the process any quicker. In fact, one study found that training major muscle groups twice per week is just enough to build muscle. What can you eat to gain muscle? Starting with the one we're all too familiar with. Protein This nutrient is essential for promoting muscle growth. Try out lean meats like beef or pork, poultry like chicken or turkey, or dairy products like milk and Greek yogurt. Next, carbohydrates. This macro nutrient is a great source of fuel for before or after your workouts and can help with muscle recovery. Some sources include vegetables, sweet potatoes, nuts, seeds, and oats. Last but not least, fats can help boost your energy and can even help promote the production of hormones like testosterone. Reliable sources of healthy fats include oily fish, nuts, and avocados. What can affect muscle growth? Muscle growth is pretty complex so it makes sense that there are plenty of different factors that might be affecting your muscle growth. These include the more fundamental factors like your age, gender, how often you train, the time you set aside to recover, hydration, and your diet. After that, there are medical factors that might be at play such as certain medications, injury, and your hormone levels. For men with low levels of testosterone, muscle growth can be difficult. If you are facing problems with gaining muscle and you think a hormonal imbalance or another medical cause might be playing a role, why not try to speak with your doctor? They will be able to offer advice or even refer you to a specialist person's site. If you'd prefer to check in from home, let's get checked's range of male hormone tests can help identify hormonal imbalances that might be affecting muscle growth. Online results will be available within two to five days and our medical team will be available to answer any questions you may have during or after the process. Thanks for watching! Let's get checked as a healthcare company that allows customers to manage their health from home with our range of at-home health tests and treatment options. 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