How Long Does it Take to See Progress From Working Out?

Can you make gains in just a few weeks?

When it comes to joining a gym for the first time, most people will join with a few different main goals. For some, they want to put on muscle mass and strength, and be the strongest powerlifter, others want to be more of a bodybuilder and have a ripped physique, and some just want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. That being said, if you are just starting out in the gym, how long until you see actual results from your training routine? A day? A week? A month? Actually, it can take a bit longer than that depending on a lot of factors that we will be taking a look at today.

Let’s break down getting started in the gym and how long it will take to see actual results.

How Long it Takes to See Results From Working Out

The main reason that people will give up on going to the gym is that they do not see results quick enough for their liking. A lot of time they start right around the New Year and by February they give up, looking pretty much the same as when they started. Too often do people hop on the bench press or venture into the squat rack and expect to be the next world’s strongest man or bodybuilding phenomenon within a few weeks. Then, they do not see the results that they want and think “there’s no point” so they end up canceling the membership and going back to doing whatever they do.

We are here to tell you that results do not happen overnight. You won’t hop on a treadmill once and be absolutely shredded, you won’t go through one chest day and be built like a Greek God, but you will be one step closer to having the physique that you want. 

So how long does it take to see results from working out? Typically, physical changes will take around 8-12 weeks to start to become noticeable. However, you will start feeling better overall almost immediately after starting. Going to the gym can help with things like mental clarity and better sleep overall, so those are some things you will notice right away.

Factors That Contribute to Seeing Results in the Gym

There are plenty of factors that contribute to the results that you see from working out. Believe it or not, it is not just the training that will deliver results, but actually a large amount of your results will depend on your life choices. Let’s break them down.

Diet

While training is certainly crucial to seeing results from your fitness journey, and it probably is the most fun part of your fitness journey, diet is a big part of your growth. Making sure that you are consuming the right amount of calories, as well as the proper amount of macronutrients, meaning the protein, fat, and carbs is where you will see a lot of your progress stem from. 

This is because when you are training, you are breaking down the muscle fibers, and in order to make them grow back bigger and stronger, you need to fill them with the proper nutrients.

Supplementation

Piggybacking off of diet is supplementation, which is huge when it comes to seeing progress from your fitness journey. Diet is where you will get a large majority of your nutrients from, but sometimes you will fall short in getting in things like micronutrients or even hitting your macros. Nutritional supplements are designed to help give you the extra boost in your fitness journey, whether that be helping your immune system or making sure that you are getting the proper amount of macronutrients, supplements are there to help.

Some supplements to add to your gym bag are things like pre-workout for energy, or creatine for aided muscle growth, and even protein powder to make sure that you are getting enough of the macro.

Sleep

While you may think that you are some type of superhero, like Batman, who can function off of 2-3 hours of sleep at night and still be ripped and strong, that is not possible. Sleep is actually one of the most important parts of seeing progress in the gym, as it is where your body generates the most amount of testosterone and growth hormone, which are both necessary for progressing. Testosterone and growth hormone help to build muscle and burn fat, so they are absolutely necessary for seeing progress, and therefore, sleep is also crucial.

Cardio

Every bodybuilder or strength athlete dreads cardio, as they think it is a gains killer. However it is quite the opposite. Cardio helps to speed up metabolism and keep fat off, as well as improve your digestion. Cardio is also important for keeping the heart healthy and regulating blood flow, which can improve not only your muscle pumps but also your sexual health.

Follow a Training Regimen

Another way to truly see progress is to follow a training regimen. This can help you stay on track and really take your workouts a step further, making sure that you are pushing yourself and incorporating different methods of training, such as progressive overload or deloads or different set and rep ranges. Workout regimens can also be adjusted for your schedule and incorporate different exercises.

Following a training regimen also means that you will be properly monitoring workout progress, which is vital for achieving fitness milestones. Following a routine and monitoring your progress helps you with incorporating different things, such as an increase in weight on your big compound lifts like the squat and deadlift, or even those accessory movements like bicep curls and tricep extensions. Tracking your workouts also promotes a positive attitude toward exercise and enables adjustments for progression. Tracking allows for metrics monitoring, ensuring endurance and wellness are on track.

Where to Find the Best Training Programs to Progress

If you are looking for workout programs to really forward your progress, Boostcamp is the place to find a program for just about any style of training you can imagine. When you are looking for a program that will really push you to the limit and help you continue progressing in a linear fashion, look no further than the Boostcamp App. 

There are plenty of free programs, over fifty to be exact. When it comes to following a new workout program and seeing how you are progressing with it, you would want to find a platform that caters to your needs and guides you in the right direction. Boostcamp can help with that, and it can even help you to measure your progress, track your workouts, and continue with linear progression. You also do not have to choose from prewritten programs, you can create and customize your own!

Wrap Up

Overall, when it comes to your progress in the gym, it is not something that will happen overnight. Progress takes time and you need patience, but there are plenty of things that you can do to ensure you will continue to progress, such as focusing on diet and supplementation and following a regimen.

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