Fair enough.
So no credence to the thought that once you’ve built the muscle it takes less to maintain it than it did to build it?
4 Likes
I think it may assist him to get back to where he was before. Probably not push past it though with anything keepable. I also don’t think he needs to run Var to get back to where he was though. It would probably only take a couple months of proper training and nutrition anyway.
2 Likes
Yea I would’ve thought the same. I put on 15 lbs with TRT in about 9 months. The quick gains slowed dramatically but have held it all with the exception of the last couple of months with the bulging disk. That said, I’ve been maintaining the same 200/week test protocol that I used to build that muscle.
Myea but 6,5 of those oz will go on your legs, glutes, back. Percentage wise only 10% of that will go on muscles that would be noticable.
I added 40lbs of muscle and a solid inch to my arms. So an inch of arms = 40lbs total in this case. So lets say half an inch is 20lbs. Quarter of an inch is 10. For a 6’2 guy quarter of an inch is not noticable.
Its not like we can gain all the pounds only on side delts and arms. Arms is the only muscle i care, if it would work like that id have 22inch arms after i gained 40lbs cuz id choose to gain them ONLY there. But it doesnt work like that. 60% of the weight goes on lower body. 30% goes on back and traps.
Now take those 8oz meats and distribute them on the ground, roll them so they are 6’2 splat on the floor and see how thin the layer will be. It will be a millimeter. Thats exactly what he will gain.
1 Like
I asked this exact question on another forum and everyone, and i mean EVERYONE says you have to train just as hard to maintain it as you did to make it.
I’m not entirely sold on that tbh, but it is a notion believed by many.
I’d actually like @asmonius’ opinion on this - he’s one of the few that can actually speak to maintaining large muscle mass long term.
1 Like
In the last 25 years I have only taken an extended break once for a surgery and it was about a month. I didn’t notice much loss that didn’t return in about the same amount of time. Hard for me to speak on such things without a lot of personal experience. It’s one of my core beliefs though that PEDs should not be used to “get back” or substitute for what you can do without them. They should be used by those with experience and that have reached at ceiling they couldn’t break through otherwise.
4 Likes
This is probably why we get along lol.
I guess i believe that new size can be maintained with slightly less effort than it took to gain, but I’ve never been in a position to test that belief. Everyone i asked seems to not be in that position either.
I made a thread about it, but once i find that the juice isn’t worth the squeeze (bad pun), I’d actually like to cool it a bit with training. Id be willing to bet that if diet was upkept and training lagged a bit, that new muscle could stay.
Am I reading that muscle added to legs isn’t noticeable?
I will state that the bodybuilding judges notice lack of muscle in legs.
I suppose I will never forget what the judges told the competitors in the first contest I entered. “We’ll be looking for leg, back, and ab development. We know you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t have chest, shoulders, and arms.”
I do get the point that the taller the bodybuilder the thinner a few pounds of additional muscle is spread around.
3 Likes
You mean I can’t just staple the 8oz beef filets to my shoulders? Well shit
1 Like
Neither am I, I think there are many examples of BBers lowering their doses in the off season and maintaining the muscle, if not the leanness. Or at least most of it. Same with a few, let’s say questionable, YouTubers. I think if the 3 stimulus items are there: positive hormone environment, adequate training and appropriate diet, no reason to lose everything you build while on a cycle.
3 Likes
I think we forgot he is trying to gain 5lbs from this.
So 1lb is not really enough to notice, but OP is lean and it’s 5lbs were talking about… I’d genuinely be happy if a 5mm layer of USDA Prime beef wanted to see it’s way onto my frame. Shoulders, arms, thighs, chest, traps… count me in, dude.
2 Likes
Correct. Honestly aside from gaining 5 lb it’s a “look” that I want to achieve at least once in my lifetime. I’ve been self conscious of my skinny fat body my entire life and am probably in a bit of a mid life crisis at the moment where I want to have one summer that I look fantastic with a shirt off. I feel like I have the “base” and am looking for extra assistance. Even if it is “renting the look” Is it worth the liver and cholesterol issues? I guess that’s a question we all have to reckon with ourselves, and I am having that conversation with myself now. For reference this insta influencer dude is the dream look for me. Athletic, lean, muscular. Feel like a lot of women love this look. I don’t know if I can get close in 8-10 weeks but I want to try.
Me, 5 min ago, no pump, half flexing after a big blueberry pancake 
1 Like
IMO, it is a huge ask to gain new, never had, muscle and simultaneously chisel to the hard look of the model, regardless of the amount of AAS. A true genetic freak could get there (assuming he had not been training optimally, or even close to that.)
If you had the muscle previously, you could achieve the goal with the required discipline.
IMO, have patience and get there in a few years. Use AAS if you understand the risks, they do work, but it takes time (usually years).
3 Likes
I’m ballparking numbers here. You’d need to get down to 8-10% BF and add probably 10-15lbs muscle to get to that physique.
5lbs isn’t groundbreaking. Aim higher, and adjust the steps to get there accordingly.
2 Likes
Anavar @40 to 50mg daily split in 2 doses will help you prevent current muscle and adding a few pounds over while keeping that BF.
8 weeks from star till the end of real oxy will get you there.
Also, 300mg cyp splited Monday / Thursday will be more than enough.
If you tend to retain water, add Adex 0.5mg twice a week, maybe with shots day.
Real Anavar will get you above 5lbs lean gain with 300mg cyp.
2 Likes
you could easily take that same picture in 10 weeks.
he is leaner with goonlighting.
3 Likes
Naah, just buy 5lbs of meat, grind it up… lie on the floor, draw a contour of your body… now put the ground meat in the center, take the pizza roller or whats its called, and roll the meat evenly through the contour…
Keep in mind, the thinness of the layer is only HALF, because we would gain front and back… so basically you will have 1mm layer at best… split that in half… not noticable.
p.s - im sure you wont be even able to cover half the contour… thats how little it is… i find it silly how people say “put the meat next to your arms and imagine that added there”… not how it works.
Actually grind the meat and roll it over your contour and divide it by 2… thats is REALITY.
Pretty sure none of this is reality at all bro. Unless you decided to calculate the surface area of your entire lean body, under the skin, then also calculate the volume of 5lbs lean meat, then extrapolate the volume over your fat and skin-free frame.
So unless you did that, none of this is reality. 5lbs LBM gain would make me happy. 1lb LBM gain would make me happy. Any muscle gain makes me happy.
4 Likes
Same for me.
Im just saying that for a tall guy, that weight doesnt do much.
When i started training i gained like 30lbs and no one ever even tought i have ever lifted anything.
2 Likes
When I first started training seriously after trt like I mentioned I was 180-182 skinny fat guy and when I added 10lb everyone I saw made comments about how I looked “jacked” lol. I am deferring to you guys for all of the anavar related questions but my own humble opinion is that 5+ lb of good muscle will be absolutely noticeable on my frame. At any rate, I’ve decided I am going to move forward and run the var. now deciding on timing, and if I’m going to get it through my clinic or a trusted source. But let’s be honest, after all my reading even a trusted source could have fake or not full strength so it’s going to come down to cost from the clinic. Need to get labs also before I begin, I haven’t had them done since Nov.
Also, I’d like to keep this thread active and post updates/results/photos/successes and failures so that it may serve others who have the same question. Thanks again
2 Likes