I have a physique similar to Brad Pitt in Fight Club. I’d rather be more on the bulkier side like Vin Diesel. I figure that’s about 50 lbs. With proper traning and nutrition, Does anyone think I can gain 50 pounds in a year naturally? I think it’s possible if you plan every aspect of it in writing. I’m talking workout and diet logs and the whole nine yards. I realize that it won’t be all muscle, but that’s the case with any mass cycle. My problem has always been fear of getting fat. As it is, being ripped is the only way you can tell that I train. If I get a little smooth, I look like a regular guy who goes to the health club. So again I reiterate, Is it pssible to gain 50 lbs. of mass in one year?
Diesel is 200-210 on 6’2" … not that big. The movie tricks make him look much bigger than he really is.
BTW, gaining 50lbs of relatively lean weight is hard (and impossible for most)to do even if you were using steroids. Simply do your best and the results will come in time.
Photos and film generally add 10-pounds to a person. So, with this in consideration, Christain is very right, Vin Diesel ain’t that big. Generally, celebrities ain’t a good measurement to judge “real world” results or goals. Especially when they have “film tricks” like camera angles, makeup, etc. at their fingertips.
Use the mirror. And if in this mirror you see someone who is naturally lean, i.e., you're eating plenty of food, training heavy, not going insane with cardio and have no problem staying a low BF% and difficult time gaining LBM; then, maybe you should begin a food journal. To make sure you're eating plenty of food. Getting plenty of protein. Look into your routine. WHAT are you doing? Also, look at your goal. If 50lbs of LBM is unrealistic (as Christian correctly stated), maybe you should consider to look at improving your bench, dead or squat. Of course, all this is being said w/out knowing your height, weight, BF% and anyting else pertinent (current routine, how long have you been training....).
I guess the answer to your question is yes, it IS possible…but very unlikely. In my experience, those types of gains are only seen in individuals who’ve begun training and nutrition conducive to growth for the first time, in an age range of about 15-22 (give or take a few years), and who really have their shit together on that first go round (which is really the most unlikely thing of all).
I see this alot. You have to get over getting worried if you lose some definition. Concentrate on one thing at a time. Either gaining mass, or cutting down. The key is if your putting on muscle while bulking, then every time you tone down you should be from 4 to six pounds heavier. Do this say 4 times a year and the numbers indicate you could put on around 15 pounds of muscle at the bf% your at now. But thats IF your dead on with your diet and listening to your body.
I agree with Chris, but setting that goal, planning ahead, and believing in that goal will get you much farther than you normally would. Another thing, you can’t be afraid to gain fat, it is gonna happen in order to make progress. Just be confident in the fact that you will be able to get rid of it later. In order to get bigger, in my short amount of experience, you gotta set yourself up in cycles, bulking and cutting. You can’t gain 50 in a year doing just bulking. You gotta gain, and prepare to gain fat as well. Once my bodyfats around 14 percent i stop and do a cutting phase till i get around 7 or 8 percent. This may seem like im going back and forth, not gaining any size, but the trick is, you put more weight on during the bulking phase, than the amount of weight you lose during your cutting phase. So you slowly work your way up. Monitor your bodyfat and use variety when it comes to how you put on/take off fat. You can’t use the same protocal all the time or your body might get wise. Good luck brother!
Although it is possible, it is not likely that you could add 50 pounds of lean muscle tissue within a year. You would need considerable assistance from anabolics just to begin with…
Patience is one of the most coveted aspects of training. If you don’t have it, you’ll never get there. Continue to educate yourself and set your goals within reason. Perhaps 3 or 4 years would be a more likely scenario. Either way good luck with your endeavors!
Sorry dude but 50lbs in a year is about 1 pound a week of muscle. Your body doesn’t respond in a linear fashion. Meaning to say that you hit growth spurts not constant gains. 50lbs naturally isn’t going to happen in a year, heck it might not even happen in after 5 years.
Set realistic goals and just keep going for it. BTW, have you ever seen Diesel’s legs…he and Brad are twins in the leg department. Sad state. Croooz
I don’t think Diesel is 6’2", is he? He looks damn short in all his movies.
I am 46 and have gained just over 30lbs of LBM in 2.5 years. This is with the help of MAG-10 and some Finasol a couple of years ago. Each growth spurt came with about equal amounts of fat which is very tough to lose without dropping some muscle. I don’t know about others, but for me it’s better to zig-zag my weight up with some fat, drop the fat then go again. Otherwise the gains are just to slow.
www.world-of-celebrities.com/Diesel,_Vin
www.celebrity- fansites.com/celebrity_links/vin_diesel.html
http://members.tripod.com/Gracie_D/id17.htm
“it’s possible to gain 35 lbs of muscle in a summer if you hit the weights real hard” - James Caan in The Program -lol
Thanks for all of your input. BTW I’m 28 and was 6’1" and 186 with ripped abs at my best. Then I broke my hand in a fight 3 months ago, got depressed and lost 20 lbs. I’ll admit myself that I don’t eat as well as I should and I know I can do a lot better if I kept track.
Hey dude, shoot for 50 man. Just because not many people have done it, doesn’t mean squat until you actually try. I’d rather aim too high and miss, then aim too low and hit.
He didn’t say 50lbs of muscle. He said 50 lbs.
20lbs of it should be relatively easy if you are healed. Maybe start with a HST plan and then blend into an EDT??? Whatever you do, document it and take pictures and see what a year of effort can do.
I do believe that since you were a lean 186lbs, getting to 200 would be doable (and likely with proper training/nutrition). A lean 200lbs would certainly give you a physique superior to 90% of the peoples out there. From there you could probably attain a solid 220lbs within 2-3 years.
Just a note - I started training freshman year in college @ 124 lbs. Now, 4 1/2 years later I am at 170 lbs 6%. Thats a 46 lbs gain that most of the people I train with say is awesome, considering I only used supplements and no steroids. That much in a year seems a bit too high, for me at least. My gains were a result of smart supplementation, nutrition, and always varying training methods. Read this forum and site as I have been doing all this time, they have been the single biggest factor to my success in the gym. With the help here and from smart supplementation, you can push your body to grow at the fastest rate it can. Good Luck!
It depends on how you have trained previously. Your age will also come into play. After staying in the 170-180lb. range in high school for a couple of years at the height of 6’2’', I put on 5lbs a month for 8 months to hit 220. During that time, I also competed in a bodybuilding competition. I wasn’t ripped to hell, but a six-pack was there, and I won my class (high school). Previously I ate horribly for putting on mass, but I was still lifting. I started eating everything in sight and put on the weight. Obviously that trend shouldn’t be continued, but it did put 40 lbs of mass on me without a whole lot of fat. I comletely changed my build.
I did all of that under special conditions - I was 17 and had eaten poorly prior to putting on the weight. Another special situation is my current workout partner. We started working out about a year and a half ago, and he weighed 180 at a height of 6'2'', with pretty low bodyfat. A year later, he was 200-205 with a lower body fat percentage. He didn't eat nearly as much or as often as he should have, but just the change in stimulus from no training to training had a dramatic impact.
So if you're young, a newbie, and have eaten poorly before, 50lbs of mass wouldn't be impossible while still not looking like a fatty. Unlikely, yes, but not impossible. Give us samples of your diet and training and we can help you get where you want.