LG John

My mate has just started to go to the gym again after months of doing nothing. He is going nearly every night and he's not doing massive split sets. He will happily nail his bi's or tri's or chest 3-4 times a week sometimes with really heavy weights others with lighter weights over many reps. He has no real pattern, drinks quite a lot (esp weekends) and doesn't give much/any thought to his eating - he just goes to the gym and works himself to death.

Everything I've ever been told or read tells me he is overtraining and that his gym/food/rest cycle isn't good enough for him to make gains. However, he does!! He's got an amazing body (I mean that in a totally un-gay way) with large muscles and he always packs it on when he starts up at the gym again. How can he go that often and make gains? Is all this talk of overtraining just scaremongering?? I'm usually hitting one set of muscles hard about once a week - what would happen if I did chest and tris on a monday and then again on wed and then again on sat with other parts on the other days?

milo

he's getting newbie gains again, and having the benefit of muscle memory.

you said it yourself "My mate has just started to go to the gym again after months of doing nothing". he will soon hit a plateau once he gets back to what he was lifting before... and will not be able to move on further due to overtraining.

there are some exceptions (e.g. if he is able to do this continually) - he COULD be juicing. this will allow him to treat his body like crap and still make SOME gains (tho he will lose them post-cycle doing what he's doing, guaranteed). it would also allow him to overtrain but still allow his body to recouperate. he could be genetically gifted of course... this is highly unlikely. i guess its possible he could be a pure mesomorph tho.

Tiggs

i ran a gym where an instructor was like this- he had no idea how to train (i didnt employee him ) and would eat rubbish and train like a loon......but was huge and looked like he knew exactly what he was doing!

T

ps- he was scared of asprin so no juice

LG John

He's not a newbie though. He's not been for a while so he will recoup some gains but he started going to the gym when he was 15 (fake id to get in ) because he was called 'skinny' at school and has been on/off for 10 years. He always had the same training (i.e. chucking a lot of weight around without much more thought that that) and yet now he's a muscly guy (nearly everyone comments on his arms when they meet him). How on earth did he do it on such a programme. I've concluded it must be genetic because he seems to be flying in the face of 'good lifting' practise.

I'm 99% sure he's not juicing - he's not the type to **** around with stuff like that.

Alec

Sorry for butting in but whats juicing?

Tiggs

maybe hes just got the right bod for it.

teach a clever bloke french badly he will master it quicker than a thick bloke with good teaching.

your mate has clever bod!

T

ps- never train with clever bod ppl because they are a pain.

TelBoy

Steroids

Tiggs

not at all juicy and dont come from fruit so an odd one.

WRBlue-STi7-Prodrive

Telboy got it in one!!!!

super_si

its hard breaking over 16" arms without using gear. Remember that too

Si

TelBoy

**** off is it!! Had that done by the time i was 23, after two years training. Don't forget Si, you're doing powerlifting movements, not bodybuilding.

super_si

Even BB perspective i was told that actually.

Suppose its genetics

Si

milo

i would put money on that he is (or has been) juicing. not sure what u mean by "**** around with stuff like that" - its not like they're recreational drugs

the fact that he's been training in some respects for the best part of 10 years helps a lot - muscle memory.

10 years is a LONG time tho. take a look at the difference in arnie between age 15 and age 25... its IMMENSE. your friend would have got MUCH better gains if he'd have spent the 10 years training productively. fact is he probably doesnt have a fraction of the gains he could have done.

milo

not at all... very easy to get 16in arms bb'ing unless you're very short.

although how good they look depends on your frame.

16in arms on a lean 5'6 guy look VERY different to 16in arms on a 6' guy who's quite bulky.

or are u talking about forearms?

milo

oddly enough, most of my arm gains came when i dropped the bb'ing movements like preacher curls and based my training more on pl'ing... deadlifts especially made my arms explode. i figure i was overtraining them before with isolation movements after compound.

definite believer in "leave them alone and they'll grow" for arms

LG John

Very fair point

I didn't mean to put a 'downer' on steroids but to me and my mate (joe soaps) we associate steroids with 'don't do...ever' - nieve (sp?) as that might be.

super_si

i want 20" + lol

I dont train bi's . Usually all Tri work for growth. Gains are pretty minimal just strength

Si

Tiggs

i had 16 inch arms when i was 18 after a few chins!

milo

VERY true and good point.. as triceps make up 2/3 of the arm, your time is MUCH better spent on weighted dips and close-grip bench

milo

a lot of people who appear "anti roids" are actually on.

it wasnt THAT along ago that practically all bb'ers claimed to be natural.

scoobydooooo

lol at TIGGS , !! i had 19 inch arms after reading about doing some curls so there !!

Tiggs

while the number on is higher than non users would think the number is still low....if saxo's mate says he's not then chances are he's not.

super_si

I do close Grip board press Milo. Aids lock outs. Do Dips + Pull ups

Si