He may not be qualified but it does sound outlandish. Not saying you’re lying but how did your buddy test body fat %? And he walks around in professional body builder stage condition? 5% is shredded. Off the top of my head in a study on steroids elite bodybuilders put on like 5lbs in 8 weeks and half was speculated to be water. This was the genetic elite. Peptides whichever he may be taking aren’t anywhere near the level of actual steroids. So yes your buddy would be a genetic freak. Like a bodybuilding unicorn. Curious how you know I’m not qualified? Sorry you’ve taken offense I wasn’t trying to be offensive. Outliers exist I mean just because I’ve never heard of anyone gaining four pounds of pure muscle in one week from “peptides” doesn’t mean it can’t happen but just that I’ve never ever heard that.
Not offended at all; the vague anecdotal comments lead me to believe you and @A_3PO are not qualified medically and/or professionally to make a salient observation. If so, please do back them up. My friend is an extreme outlier. He religiously did triathlons until he got bored with them, he's single with no kids, lives and eats like a monk and goes to bed at 7:00pm every night so he can wake up at 3:30am to train for 3 hours. It's a lifestyle choice, not a cycle of training and dieting like bodybuilders or other seasonal athletes. He's trying peptides because he's looking for non-juicing ways to improve. I know for a fact that he goes through exercise cycles like anyone else but he's currently on an upswing... but even on downswings his exercising and physique make most bros feel like simps.
I've already said that I'm not an expert on the subject and don't have a dog in this fight. I do know that the longer you lift and the bigger you get the harder it is to make gains. So an "elite" body builder only gaining five pounds in 8 weeks is not really a good example. Someone relatively new to lifting could theoretically run circles around a so-called elite lifter, at least in terms of adding muscle mass. I can't point to any studies, but I've read examples of layman putting on 1.5 pounds of lean muscle in a one week period fairly commonly. I've had weeks where I've probably done just that myself. Of course there are many, many variables. I've also seen the scale fluctuate several pounds in just a few hours and I've seen my gains and strength go right out the window almost as quickly. Maybe there's more to the study or I'm not following. Either way, the more the merrier in this thread.
So in research you'd want to throw out beginners for this very reason. They can gain muscle doing pretty much anything so it skews the results. Putting on muscle outside of being a true beginner, returning after a very long layoff or using steroids, is a very very arduous process. Like professionals may put on grams per year of pure muscle. Not even a full pound. Also 1.5 pounds of muscle in one week isn't all muscle as water will register as lean body mass. To get a true measure of what was actually (muscle vs water vs fat) gained you'd have to use an ultra sound and possible take a muscle biopsy from a specific region. It's fun to theorize but hard to really know for certain without certain measures.
Couldn't I argue that you gave us a vague anecdotal reference regarding your friend? And I stated It’s ironic because you gave “vague anecdotal comments” to say your friend went from 7% to 5% in one week on “peptides.” So therefore based on your comments I don’t put much stock into your assessments either. We’ve both said and agreed that outliers exist. Good for him for stumbling upon something that works for him and also for the dedication and discipline shown to take it to another level.
lol. makes an outlandish claim. then it's on others to prove him wrong. 168lbs @ 7% 11.76 fat + 156.24 lean mass 172lbs @ 5.8% 9.98 fat + 162.02 lean so in 1 week... he lost 1.8lbs of fat + gained 5.78 lbs of lean mass. lol. lol...............bcuz. peptides. and this is not newbie gains either because supposedly he is a triathlon athlete. and also doesn't mention how he measured the bodyfat because unless he did an autopsy, even the gold standard methods like dexa scan has an error rate of 1-2%.
I believe my friend who I've known for 20 years and has given me zero reason to doubt him, you all can just keep on doubting. /shrug /topic Going back to positively supporting the people in this thread who are bettering themselves.
I always try to keep it civil, never understand why there has to be a right or wrong unless there’s clearly a right and wrong. It’s important for me to understand otherwise it turns into a pissing match. Truly I never meant to insinuate you were lying and I genuinely apologize if I came off harsher than intended. I actually am in health and fitness but I promise you I don’t have an ego. I constantly search for why I am wrong versus why I’m right because that leads me to be more objective. This is a perfect example of why I believe so many people struggle in the fitness world because of all the varying and seemingly contradictory information. It usually turns into people shouting over one another and the ones who need the most help left out.
Interesting. Not sure how I would feel if I ever got to the point where I was putting on grams of muscle in a year. But you can go ahead and shoot me if it happens soon.
If everyone could just add unlimited amount of muscle, the folks who dedicate their lives to it would have 6000lbs of muscle. So clearly there's a law of diminishing return at play here. Experienced lifters approaching their max potential would be happy with 5lbs of lean mass in a year. So excuse me if I don't believe the 5lbs in a week claim for someone who was described as a dedicated fitness guru. It's a simple formula of: Base potential (includes genetics and other uncontrollable factors) + Years of "Proper Fitness Regimen" (everything from diet to sleep to workout routines) = max potential. And at the end of the day, everyone has a max. for some it might be another 10lbs of muscle than their untrained state, others might be 30....but after that you are hoping for grams without the assistance of steroids/other substances. My issue with the fitness community is it's a lot of bro science. "my buddy took this and he got this". "my buddy who is 330lbs and 1% bodyfat does this before each workout, so it works". the same anecdotal crowd are the first to sht on medical science randomized control trials. BCUZ BIG PHARMA. but i digress.
Old guy report: Been doing some regular lifting over the last three months after an extended period of physical therapy for assorted issues. I only do certain lifts that don't put too much pressure on back or knees, have to pay attention to an elbow, and never max out either. Just follow my therapist's advice. Still, I have definitely noticed an increase in muscle mass and strength. Haven't lost a lot of weight, but body seems to be changing as evidenced by having to get the leather punch out to make a new belt hole.
That’s great! Don’t stop! I imagine you’re in pretty good health for your age based on the physicality involved in your career but it’s never too late to be even healthier. ***** On a personal note, I’m down 2.2% body fat and up 2.5% muscle mass in a week and a half after starting my new diet and adding in kickboxing. My wife says I’m the skinniest she’s seen me in years and I can see a mild 6 pack with definition in my obliques (sides of abs). Minimal downside is that my chest is losing fat so it’s not as beefy looking but that was fake anyway so I can live with it. My arms need extra attention because they’re looking a little smaller than I prefer so I’m going to hit both of those areas harder on my lifts. It makes total sense that I would gain muscle and feel better eating carbs but it’s still a little cognitive dissonance since I’ve fallen back on no carbs so many times in the past for quick 10-20lb weight loss over a month. I feel really good. Taking a few days of light work after I hit a wall last week was a good idea. Don’t stop, y’all!
Try chaining your lifts brehs. Excellent workout. Romanian Deadlift → Jerk → Front Squat → Overhead Press → Unloading the weight 5 reps 5 times, 100lbs on the barby. Kettlebells and hanging leg raises too. I'm beat!
I did 9 and 5/6th chin-ups unassisted from fresh...up from 7. I would have had that other 1/6th if my shoes were off. We'll just round that up to ten. I think it would have counted. That last...you always end up trying to use momentum to get up there as the arms are complaining on that last one. And, I put on 5 pounds of muscle in 5 days! Not 7 days! 5 days!
Down to 213 this morning. According to the kickboxing place fancy InBody scale I’ve put on about six pounds of muscle in a month so that means I’ve lost about 15 lbs of fat. I think. It’s totally the change in diet, I get carbs at breakfast and lunch, way more protein. I guess the additional workout helps too. anyway found this video interesting for building mass. Essentially the last five reps to failure account for most growth so if you’re doing 10-12 reps for mass you aren’t using enough weight.
I used this One Rep Max Calculator - Strength Level to calculate 1RM. It's not perfect but it's a good place to start. Been going for 80% weight and 5-7 rep range. I'm in the garage alone so I'm not pushing for total failure but it's definitely helped me get closer to the edge. Gotta be smart especially when it's heavy weights on a free weight squat.
For "max growth", most data shows the # reps per set (anywhere between 6-35) doesn't matter. The key is taking each set to near-failure (or failure). So, what's probably the best rep range for most people? IMO, it's 5-10 or 6-11. Absolute minimum is 5. When you get to 15+, going to near-failure starts becoming more uncomfortable and metabolically fatiguing. The "burn" and/or fatigue causes people stop well before reaching near-muscular failure. A heavier weight with fewer reps removes both of those from the equation. For me, 7-8 reps is the sweet spot for compounds. Fast-twitch muscles are forced to kick in from the first rep. For 12 or more reps, the first 5 or so are just wasted filler before the concentric part of the movement starts becoming difficult. For some reason, 8-12 reps is mentioned most often as the ideal range for muscle growth. I like this range only for some iso movments at the end of a session. Then there are others who believe 12-15 reps is best. The #1 most important thing is to take every single set to near failure; otherwise (as the saying goes) it's just a warm-up set.
