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Fitness, Losing Weight, Videos

How Long To Get Fit?

How long does it take to get fit? Weeks, months, even years? It depends on where you start from and how you define being fit: as muscular, slim or both.

The Road To Being Fit

One day you decided it’s time to change and do something about your body. If you’re skinny, you want to gain weight, preferably in the form of muscle. If you’re overweight, your goal is to lose some pounds, but some muscle along the way would be nice, too.

These two definitions of “getting fit” are very different:

You can find the Tokyo study about vigorous exercise leading to noticeable differences in muscle mass after three months right behind this link.

Fit In X Weeks Programs?

You no doubt at some point saw advertisements for workout programs that promise you “30 lbs of muscle in six weeks”, “build a six-pack in a month” or “get toned by summer” or some other nonsense.

It’s nonsense because of the reasons we talked about above: a 300 lbs guy who started losing weight and working out in March won’t look like Michelangelo’s David by June. Losing a lot of weight in short time isn’t healthy and it’s impossible to build enormous amounts of muscle in the first weeks of training.

In 2004, scientists from the University of Wisconsin put together a six-week workout program very similar to those offered by Body For Life (“12 weeks to mental and physical strength”) and Beachbody (“pack on up to 20 pounds of muscle in 90 days”). Not a single subject developed washboard abs. The difference in their physical appearance and attractivity judged by others was just about zero (PDF).

Of course, it’s up to you to believe that all that muscle materializes out of thin air in the latter six weeks of those programs. They do make a difference in your appearance at some point, but for many people it will take much, much longer than they promise.

Picture courtesy of “dave” / morgueFile.

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Latest Comments

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9 Comments

  1. Dr. J says:
    October 24, 2012 at 9:54 pm

    That can be viewed as the question least liked by artists,”How long did that take you to do?”

    An answer to both questions could be “My whole life!”

    However, I can’t say that I remember the day, but I do remember getting a feeling after I had been running consistently for a few months that felt very good, and I did not want to lose it. I called that feeling being in shape. For what it’s worth, I still got it 🙂

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      October 25, 2012 at 7:27 pm

      I think you do! 🙂

      Reply
  2. William says:
    October 27, 2012 at 8:24 pm

    This is one of your most important videos Evil.

    I will however note that this really should be a two or more parter.

    THIS video is more aptly titled : How long DOESN’T it take to get fit.

    This video is mostly dispelling the MYTHS of getting ripped in a few months.

    You will need a follow up video outlining how long it DOES take, that’s a whole other subject.

    I really would like to see a follow up video on how long it DOES take, what to expect after

    6 months
    12 months
    18 months
    24 months

    etc

    For each age group

    Teen
    20 – 30
    40 – 50

    etc

    Expectations are terribly important, but there is a massive amount of misinformation out there.

    Some detailed samples would be great. It’s really hard to envision

    5, 10, or 20 lbs and how that LOOKS on a person.

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      October 29, 2012 at 2:32 pm

      Heah William, it is extremely difficult to say how long it takes, because it depends on so many factors: age, sex, gentic disposition, type of training etc.

      The one thing I can say with some certainty is that after a year of regular training there will be no mistaking you for someone that doesn’t train, but that it most likely takes 3 – 4 years to reach the amount of muscle some fitness gurus claim they got in six months.

      As for what it looks like: I will ponder that! Thanks for the interesting idea!

      Reply
      • William says:
        November 4, 2012 at 9:00 pm

        Scooby has an expectations calculator on his website, but it’s only numerical.

        The missing piece of the puzzle is some honest samples of what muscle gain looks like and how long it takes to hit that mark.

        Scooby can tell you to expect 5 lbs of muscle gain a year, but he isnt’ showing anyone what that looks like.

        Most people dont’ know what an additional 5 lbs or 12 lbs looks like spread out over the body.

        That’s what’s needed in my opinion. For your part 2.

        Reply
  3. Diane, fit to the finish says:
    October 29, 2012 at 12:29 pm

    I still don’t consider myself fit. Fitter than I was at 300 pounds, but I honestly know that I could work harder. No excuses here – I am making a choice to stay at this particular fitness level. However, I have been working harder at strength training (love your videos) because I know that I am at the age where that is really no longer a choice.

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      October 29, 2012 at 2:34 pm

      Yes, I can echo that. When I started out, I thought there would be a definitive point where I could sit back and think, “heah, it’s finished”. Today I see it as a work in progress, where I improve some aspects and have to maintain others.

      Reply
  4. KHILAN GAJJAR says:
    November 16, 2014 at 12:00 am

    In a Gym ,is der any type of exercise tht decide us body type, coz i dnt want make my body bulk, i just want to make Cuts in my body !!!!

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      November 16, 2014 at 12:58 am

      Then you need to lose weight. This is what would work best for you:

      https://evilcyber.com/fitness/gain-muscle-and-lose-fat/

      Reply

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