Why your muscles look bigger after just a few workouts
The development of skeletal muscle hypertrophy through resistance training: the role of muscle damage and muscle protein synthesis
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When you start lifting weights, your muscles swell up at first because they get damaged and hold fluid — not because they're growing. After about 10 workouts, they start to grow a little. But real, lasting growth only kicks in after about 18 workouts. Also, you don't need to feel sore to grow muscle.
Surprising Findings
Muscle damage is not necessary for hypertrophy or strength gains.
For decades, fitness culture has equated muscle soreness with effective training. This review argues the opposite—that damage is a side effect, not a driver, of growth.
Practical Takeaways
Don't judge your progress by soreness or early size increases—focus on consistency over 18+ sessions.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When you start lifting weights, your muscles swell up at first because they get damaged and hold fluid — not because they're growing. After about 10 workouts, they start to grow a little. But real, lasting growth only kicks in after about 18 workouts. Also, you don't need to feel sore to grow muscle.
Surprising Findings
Muscle damage is not necessary for hypertrophy or strength gains.
For decades, fitness culture has equated muscle soreness with effective training. This review argues the opposite—that damage is a side effect, not a driver, of growth.
Practical Takeaways
Don't judge your progress by soreness or early size increases—focus on consistency over 18+ sessions.
Publication
Journal
European Journal of Applied Physiology
Year
2017
Authors
Felipe Damas, C. Libardi, C. Ugrinowitsch
Related Content
Claims (9)
When you lift weights or push against resistance, your muscles get stronger and bigger because they're trying to handle the stress—this is exactly why people do strength training.
If you get much stronger—like more than 20% stronger—on an exercise you’ve been doing for a long time, it probably means your muscles got bigger, not just your brain getting better at telling your muscles to work harder.
After about 10 weight workouts, your muscles don’t just look puffy from water anymore—they actually start getting bigger because the muscle fibers themselves are growing.
You can't really grow bigger muscles until you've done about 18 weightlifting sessions—your body needs time to adapt before it starts building real muscle.
You don’t need to be sore after a workout to build muscle—some workouts cause less soreness but still make you just as strong and muscular as the super-painful ones.