What kind of gains do steroid users actually make?

Arch0wl · 05-13-2015, 02:25 PM

I found one of the best cycle reports on /r/bodybuilding I've seen in a while.

http://www.reddit.com/r/bodybuilding..._who_posted_a/

Here we have his cycle-by-cycle results, starting from when he was natural to now, with (a) how he weighed before and (b) how he weighed after.

He gained 55lb in ten months. How much of this was muscle?

Well, this article shows the effect of steroids on muscle gain, specifically this:

125mg/week is what you'd get for TRT, so this is about natural levels. 300mg/week is supraphysiological but not by a huge amount, and 600mg/week is supraphysiological -- a recreational lifter's dose. (1g+/week would be what a competing bodybuilder might use.)

With the doses of test he was taking + dianabol + trenbolone, we could expect this guy to make about 2-3x the gains he would have made naturally. Dianabol and trenbolone provide an additive effect with testosterone. Since we could expect him to gain about 1lb or maybe 1.5lb/month naturally, we could expect him to gain 2 to 4lb/month with steroids, assuming his training/diet is ideal.

Keep in mind that testosterone at supraphysiological levels predisposes the user to retain water, and lots of it. This is exacerbated because people taking steroids eat more period, which means more water retention and so on. If he had cut prior to cycling, he might have depleted glycogen stores as well. I've had 10lb jumps on the scale immediately after starting a bulk, and this would increase with more muscle.

Also, he obviously gained some fat, because this will happen on pretty much any bulk. Not a lot, but you notice this less due to the increase in muscle; more muscle means more fat distributed over it.

So, my estimate for his 10 month gain breakdown is:

- 30 lb muscle at 3lb/month

- 12lb fat; this would take him from about 9% at his starting weight to about 12% at his final weight; not a huge difference, but it must account for some of the weight.

- 13lb water/glycogen.

If this is true, this would affirm something I've thought for a while: steroid use during short bulks (3 months or less) does not provide a dramatic effect, but steroid use during long bulks (8 months or more) provides a dramatic effect.

Arch0wl · 09-2-2015, 01:12 PM

UPDATE: really good article on this http://www.strengtheory.com/steroids...#axzz3kZyQiVal

05-13-2015, 02:25 PM	#1
Arch0wl Banned Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: fb.com/a.macdonald.iv Age: 35 Posts: 6,344	What kind of gains do steroid users actually make? I found one of the best cycle reports on /r/bodybuilding I've seen in a while. http://www.reddit.com/r/bodybuilding..._who_posted_a/ Here we have his cycle-by-cycle results, starting from when he was natural to now, with (a) how he weighed before and (b) how he weighed after. He gained 55lb in ten months. How much of this was muscle? Well, this article shows the effect of steroids on muscle gain, specifically this: 125mg/week is what you'd get for TRT, so this is about natural levels. 300mg/week is supraphysiological but not by a huge amount, and 600mg/week is supraphysiological -- a recreational lifter's dose. (1g+/week would be what a competing bodybuilder might use.) With the doses of test he was taking + dianabol + trenbolone, we could expect this guy to make about 2-3x the gains he would have made naturally. Dianabol and trenbolone provide an additive effect with testosterone. Since we could expect him to gain about 1lb or maybe 1.5lb/month naturally, we could expect him to gain 2 to 4lb/month with steroids, assuming his training/diet is ideal. Keep in mind that testosterone at supraphysiological levels predisposes the user to retain water, and lots of it. This is exacerbated because people taking steroids eat more period, which means more water retention and so on. If he had cut prior to cycling, he might have depleted glycogen stores as well. I've had 10lb jumps on the scale immediately after starting a bulk, and this would increase with more muscle. Also, he obviously gained some fat, because this will happen on pretty much any bulk. Not a lot, but you notice this less due to the increase in muscle; more muscle means more fat distributed over it. So, my estimate for his 10 month gain breakdown is: - 30 lb muscle at 3lb/month - 12lb fat; this would take him from about 9% at his starting weight to about 12% at his final weight; not a huge difference, but it must account for some of the weight. - 13lb water/glycogen. If this is true, this would affirm something I've thought for a while: steroid use during short bulks (3 months or less) does not provide a dramatic effect, but steroid use during long bulks (8 months or more) provides a dramatic effect. Last edited by Arch0wl; 05-13-2015 at 11:55 PM..

09-2-2015, 01:12 PM	#2
Arch0wl Banned Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: fb.com/a.macdonald.iv Age: 35 Posts: 6,344	Re: What kind of gains do steroid users actually make? UPDATE: really good article on this http://www.strengtheory.com/steroids...#axzz3kZyQiVal

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