How much muscle can you add while on gear?

[ironchick22]

OK so I know that NATURAL lifters can MAYBE add 1/2 pound lean mass a week if their training and diet are right,, but when you are on gear (I am on anavar/ GH), how much MUSCLE can I realistically expect to put on a week? If my diet and training are on target and I am gaining 2 pounds a week, what percent will probably be muscle?

 

[oldfella]

OK so I know that NATURAL lifters can MAYBE add 1/2 pound lean mass a week if their training and diet are right,, but when you are on gear (I am on anavar/ GH), how much MUSCLE can I realistically expect to put on a week? If my diet and training are on target and I am gaining 2 pounds a week, what percent will probably be muscle?

First off, this is a loaded question I hope you know. Where did you get the figure of .5lb per week for natty?? Everyone is different. if you are a noob to weight training maybe, and I say maybe this is possible. Adding lean Body mass (muscle) is not that easy. All of the conditions must be right for this to occur. Now when enhanced i hear all these stories of "how I gained 14lbs of mss in 10 weeks" and such. I can tell you when the shit (fat) is taken into account for these gains and then you take out water weight, your gains in actual lean mass are not that dramatic. Now let's add number of years training into this equation and the lean mass figure reduces again. Top level pros are extremely lucky to add 10lbs of lean mass per year!! That's 10lbs in a year, so out the window goes 2 lbs a week or a month for that matter. Shit I'd be kicking Ronnie and Jays ass if I could add .5 lb of mass a week even while ON. So to an untrained athlete maybe you can add lean mass a little quicker than a fully trained well developed BBer, but that will only go on for a short period of time. Otherwise we would all just keep growing. After all these years I would be like a 450lb piece of granite!! So the direct answer to your question is "HOW LONG IS A PIECE OF STRING"?

 

[AWN2004]

genetics....genetics....genetics....genetics......read that again. If you have shit genetics there is not a whole heck of a lot that any gear will do for you. Eating, sleeping, and training of course play huge rolls and eating and sleeping being higher on the list. Also 1/2 a pound a week of muscle is an insane thing to accomplish. Thats over 24lbs a year. Keeping that in mind if that was truely possible there would a ton of 600lb freaks walking around. Just a word of caution....don't mess with anabolics unless you really know what you are doing. You are setting yourself up for some rough times if you dont.

 

[Amazon Doll]

I generally figure out of the weight I am gaining

3/4 is water
1/8 is fat
1/8 is muscle

so if I gain 20 lbs while on 15 of that is water weight
2.5 lbs is fat
and 2.5 lbs is muscle

I just went off this week and dropped 9lbs in less than a week from water
On the next month I will find out how much I actually gained

Not everyone gains water like I do, but just so you are awre of the possibilities.

I think on my first cycle a few years ago I only gained 3lbs......but wow , what a difference that can make on a girl!

 

[sammarbella]

There are so much variables that could affect the equation result....a simple answer to your question is imposible:

- Age
- Genetics
- Diet
- Rest
- Years of SERIOUS training
- Gear

This is the old non-sense "one size fits all" attitude like in: "You need to drink 2 liters of water every day and it's enough for you"...FOR WHO?

 

[maldorf]

When you first start lifting, as a newb, the muscle does come pretty easy. It did for me at least. I went from 135 lbs at 6 foot at age 16 to 185 lbs at age 18, so thats 50lbs in 2 years natural. Now some of that was probably due to just normal growth of being in puberty etc, so its hard to seperate that effect out. Once I hit 220lbs the gains were very slow, so once you are developed well you wont be able to sustain that level of gains.
When I do my short heavy 4 weeks cycles now, ive done 2, I have gained 4 to 5 pounds of muscle each time. this new approach has been working well for me. It used to be I might put that much on but it would be a typical cycle of 8-12 weeks long. I am sure that the method I am doing now will eventually peter out, and gains will slow. I just hope that time doesnt come any time soon!

 

[aw1218]

It's called diminishing returns in economics. I think Anavar+GH won't do much except make you shredded. If I would really want some mass, I will go for deca. I think it's very safe for women as well.

 

[Dad]

Deca (and Trens) are NOT good for women who are sensitive to progesterone.

 

[lucian]

?????

OK so I know that NATURAL lifters can MAYBE add 1/2 pound lean mass a week if their training and diet are right,, but when you are on gear (I am on anavar/ GH), how much MUSCLE can I realistically expect to put on a week? If my diet and training are on target and I am gaining 2 pounds a week, what percent will probably be muscle?

1/2 pound a week??? what natural person can do this??
somguys use gear and only put on maybe 5 lb on the scale a year and maybe 10lb of muscle total a year.
id say mabe like 3-5 lb a year if your natural and thats if you have all your ducks in a row!!!!!!
where did you get this info? if they gained .5 lb a week it wasnt all muscle. maybe that possible.
var and gh??? not much per week if any. every couple of weeks you might see a difference on the scale. you might change your body composition over so many weeks but i do not think you will get the gains you are looking for on that stack.
lucian

 

[littlemack]

Way too many variables here to be able to answer this question.
As far as what a natty can do? lol. My best results ever were 16lbs of muscle in 8 weeks. 80lbs to my bench. 100lbs to my squats. Then I blew out my pec. Everything was in check. Diet, training, rest and Beverly Supplements(no prohormones either). Its not as far fetched as it sounds.
Could I have done this forever? Of course not. Am I doing this now? No. I've lost my focus, but I tell you what...if I can pull this off again...I'll be sure to show you guys... hahahahaha...

 

[ironchick22]

How much SCALE weight do you all add typically add a week when bulking? I am eating extremely clean, no cheating, training hard, taking my var and GH, and I've reduced my cardio to 3 times a week. Taking in 2200 cals a day, 40/40/20 split roughly. I've been putting on about 1- 1.5 pounds a week since starting the cycle. Is this mostly fat then, or water? Should I reduce cals or increase cardio?

How much do you typically gain a week when bulking?

 

[Narus63]

OK so I know that NATURAL lifters can MAYBE add 1/2 pound lean mass a week if their training and diet are right,, but when you are on gear (I am on anavar/ GH), how much MUSCLE can I realistically expect to put on a week? If my diet and training are on target and I am gaining 2 pounds a week, what percent will probably be muscle?

There was a study a few years back where couch potatoes where given 200mg of test a week and didn't work out at all. and a group of natural BB where monitored and where given nothing but OTC sups. The couch potatoes gained more muscle then the natural guys...LOL Sad but true. training natural is a hard road.

 

[oldfella]

How much SCALE weight do you all add typically add a week when bulking? I am eating extremely clean, no cheating, training hard, taking my var and GH, and I've reduced my cardio to 3 times a week. Taking in 2200 cals a day, 40/40/20 split roughly. I've been putting on about 1- 1.5 pounds a week since starting the cycle. Is this mostly fat then, or water? Should I reduce cals or increase cardio?

How much do you typically gain a week when bulking?

Put calories up to 2500 and make that up from protein. Your cals are too low if on any gear. You need more protein. So add roughly another 100-150 gms protein and reduce fat intake by 5%. I am assuming your goal is muscle gain??? If yes protein and cals are too low. That's why I suggested this. 1-1.5lbs a week it will not all be muscle. Probably 3-5% of this would be some lean mass gains. Like I said earlier. The body can not produce that much lean mass in such a short period of time. Most peoples estimates of BF %'s and lean Body mass are way off or exagerrated. BTW my estimates are just that........A guess!!

 

[aquaholic]

i think what everyone is saying is that there's no answer to your question.

everyone's body reacts differently.

you've been looking for cut and dry answers on many of these very related topics, but as many will tell you, they've been playing with the system for years. They know how there body reacts, etc --- that's something that comes with years and years of training and dieting.

 

[GeeNo]

There was a study a few years back where couch potatoes where given 200mg of test a week and didn't work out at all. and a group of natural BB where monitored and where given nothing but OTC sups. The couch potatoes gained more muscle then the natural guys...LOL Sad but true. training natural is a hard road.

I've heard that 'study' quoted many times but have never seen an actual reference to it.

 

[ironchick22]

Did I mention that I am a female, only around 103 pounds right now.... do I still need to up my protein and cals if I am gaining 1-2 pounds a week? Isn't that just going to make me gain MORE fat, since I am already gaining....? Also isn't like 200-250 grams protein/day enough for a female my size, or do I need even more on gear?

 

[oldfella]

Did I mention that I am a female, only around 103 pounds right now.... do I still need to up my protein and cals if I am gaining 1-2 pounds a week? Isn't that just going to make me gain MORE fat, since I am already gaining....? Also isn't like 200-250 grams protein/day enough for a female my size, or do I need even more on gear?

Protein synthesis is greatly enhanced while ON. this is why I suggested upping your protein and lowering your fat. Yes I already knew you are a female and 100+ lbs. By upping your protein you are creating a more positve nitrogen balance in the muscle. This will tend to better lean mass gains. I think 20% fat is too high for quality lean gains. But everyone's body reacts differently to this. But while on your body requires more protein for gains. I have always believed that protein should be higher than carbs and carbs higher than fat. Especially while on. We are only talking another 300 or so cals from protein. If your training heavy it will be put to good use.

 

[ironchick22]

Thanks Olfella... So would something like 300 g protein, 200 g carbs, 40 g fat be a good ratio, or should I lower the carbs and fat a bit more? I am counting fiber carbs and carbs from veggies.... starchy carbs are usually just about 3 or 4 servings (1/2 cup dry) oatmeal a day.... the rest are from veggies, and from my postworkout shake (40 grams waxy maize).

Also, I have posted this in another thread, but can you give me some advice on a really hardcore, high intensity/volume workout? I have been training high volume, 6 days a week push/pull/legs, repeat style... with like 30-35 sets per large muscle group each day.... I am training HEAVY and HARD. I SCREAM when I lift, yet I still recover really fast..... I am getting bored though and need a change-up. Could you recommend a different way of splitting it up for a 6-day week program? I want to focus on the "big lifts"
Something Like:
Workout A: back/bi/quad/hams- (deads,squats,curls,rows)
Workout B: chest/tri/shoulder/calves- (bench variations,dips, push press, cleans, calve variations...)

Could I do a routine like that where I just alternate those two days, with SUndays completely off? Maybe 12-15 sets for the large muscle groups each day, and 8-10 sets for the smaller groups (hams, calves, bis, tris).

So a total of 36-45 sets for the entire week for the large muscles, and 25-30 sets for the smaller ones...

May sound like too much for some, but I would only do it to shock the body for a few weeks and then deload.... any opinions/routine suggestions?

 

[oldfella]

I train 5 days with 2 days off. i train one body part each day. i use a very high volume approach. Select four exercises for chest and do 5 sets of each. Do the same for back. Focus on the big lifts and some good rowing movements. If you've seen my recent back pic, I use a lot of rowing type movements and a fair amount of d/bell work. this gives width and thickness all the way down to the insertions. For legs pick 6 exercises and do 5 sets for each. Include squats and stiff leg deadlitfs as two of them. Remember to think balance as you train. What happens to the front must also happen to the back. Arms I pick three exercises for tri's and three for bi's also five sets. go heavy. This type of training is brutal but my ex wife trained with me for ten yrs this way. She is 5' 3" and ended up at a BW of 125lbs hard and lean. 100%natural also. She helped me through all of my comps. Her physique is awesome for a non comper. Have a shot at it.

 

[Big Danny]

OK so I know that NATURAL lifters can MAYBE add 1/2 pound lean mass a week if their training and diet are right,, but when you are on gear (I am on anavar/ GH), how much MUSCLE can I realistically expect to put on a week? If my diet and training are on target and I am gaining 2 pounds a week, what percent will probably be muscle?

The result will be the perfect reflection of everything you have done. You have to set yourself a realistic goal which you are going to achive if you are dedicated. I like to stay away from counting pounds, the mirror will say everything. You will be either satisfied or unsatisfied by the way you look when the cycle is over.