The online realm is infested with bodybuilding routines promising an inch to your arms in a negative time period. The guys from T-Nation usually post one of those every month and promise you brutal growth in 30 days. Naturally, it’s all nonsense. Gaining an inch takes a lot longer than most people think.

How long does it relly take to add an inch to your arms?

Beginner 

If you are just starting out, and you are really skinny, you can add an inch to your arms in 4-6 months.

In general, beginners gain muscle mass faster than intermediate and advanced lifters because they are untrained and relatively far from their genetic potential.

Intermediate

If you’ve been training seriously for a while [10-16 months], you classify as an intermediate lifter, and it will probably take you about a year to add an inch to your arms.

The reason for the slower gains in this phase is that the body has limits, and you are getting closer and closer to them.

Advanced

Once you are an advanced lifter [2-3 years of experience], it will take you about 2-3 years to add an inch to your arms… if it happens at all.

Note: Those numbers are not written in stone and represent just a guideline. The predictions may surprise some of you, but a true natural bodybuilder who has trained for a significant amount of time will back them up.

The promises for fast gains in the mainstream bodybuilding media are fake and have only one goal in mind – to sell you something.