15 pounds of actual lean muscle mass in 2 months is damn near physiologically impossible. MAYBE if you have never lifted a weight and were prone to adding muscle mass. Not saying you are lying, but it is probably more fat and water than you realize.
It just isnt that easy to add muscle, especially for guys that have already been lifting. That said, even if they added 1 or 2 pounds per month (which would be more realistic) they would look significantly bigger when we see them 8 months later for their next fight. So maybe I am being too skeptical. I just tend to think that these guys that are already in great shape probably did a lot of training before, then to suddenly start adding lean mass, it just doesn't match up with what i witness every day. Throughout my life I have known guys that lifted and trained their asses off, and to the man, the guys that seemed extraordinary with their builds- they were all juicing or black.
Right. X just said he gained 15 pounds, not 15 pounds of muscle. But no one is pointing the finger at a guys who just got fatter...
I always chuckle (on the inside) when I hear people worrying about bulking up. It is quite difficult to add muscle mass. My wife thinks if she lifts a 10 pound dumbell she is going to look like Hulk Hogan.
Last edited by MMA_scientist; 02-23-2011 at 04:00 PM.
Kingsbury on TUF:
And 10 months later:
look at the traps on that fucker.
I used to always give the athletes the benifit of the doubt in anysport, I figured most were clean. Ever since that Balco shit dropped, I suspect everyone is doing it now. Those dudes were beating the olympic drug testing, so those bullshit commission tests are probably so easy to beat, some college kid probably already has shit out there for these athletes.
There is too much money at stake in all sports, not just MMA. And these dudes will always look for an edge. It sucks, but using Maia as an example, If he is on something, its probably because he knows everyone else is doing it, and he will fall behind if he doesn't.
I take back what I said about Maia. i thought i remembered him looking a lot bigger.
Old Maia:
New Maia (last fight):
That is a doable change in physique. Kingsbury, Alves, Overeem- not so much. Doesn't mean he (Maia) is clean, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being.
FTR, it is absolutely rampant in sport bjj. They don't test for it, and I am sure 95% of the top guys are using something.
Right. I want to point out a few things, actually:
1. When people say "lean mass" they almost always think that means muscle, but lean mass really just means anything that's not fat: muscle, water, bone, etc. One thing about creatine is that it volumizes the muscles and helps them retain water, which gives them a larger, fuller look. So building actual muscle tissue is only one component of getting bigger and/or more muscular.
2. Most bodybuilders usually shoot for a 2:1 or even 1:1 ratio between muscle and fat when adding size. In fact, you do want to gain SOME fat. Can you imagine gaining 50 pounds of pure muscle while your fat deposits stayed the same? It would push your bodyfat percentage into unhealthy, perhaps even dangerous, levels (provided you were already lean to begin with).
3. A lot of people also fall into the "illusion of big" category. That's where they actually lose weight, but the weight they lose is mostly fat, so they actually appear bigger because there muscles are much more defined.
Take this guy. Would you believe that he is 15 to 20 lbs LIGHTER in the after pictures?
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Honestly, you really don't have to be very strong to be a good wrestler or bjj grappler. Muscle endurance is way more important. But if you are going for power, legs are constantly over looked in the grappling arts, IMO. No one works the glutes, hamstrings... but they help a lot in grappling, especially takedowns. Most grapplers have more than enough upper body strength, because you build it grappling. But the legs are neglected.
I think that a lot of common wisdom on gaining lean mass is incorrect. We have a lot of "bro science" myths that go around without anyone really knowing WHY they're repeating these things.
There are plenty of stories of guys who have put on a lot of weight (and not fat weight) in short periods of time. Perhaps some of them are lying. Certainly some are juicing. But I don't believe all are.
Take this guy for instance. He claims to have gained 34 pounds of muscle in 4 weeks. Maybe he's lying, but he's known through his website (and his book 4 Hour Workweek) for doing these "lifestyle experiments" where he tries random shit to see what kind of results he can get:
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog...le-in-4-weeks/
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Yeah I would think Flexibility would be as important as strength. I guess it depends though. Jacare is strong as hell but Roger Gracie is a skinny looking dude.
I agree with most of what you are saying. With regard to the illusion of size photo, issue with these guys is that they are not just leaning out and looking ripped and bigger. They are still weighing in at the same weight (or in Alves or Overeem's case, more) depsite being dehydrated and shredded. Kinsbury was 205 on TUF, and he is still 205. If he came in all ripped and weight 185, I would just think he dropped fat and exposed his muscles more.
But I agree that there is some definite jumping to conclusions going on. And all the guys I think are dirty probably are not... but I like to speculate anyway.
Yeah, it really depends on your style (or really your style depends on your build). You see wrestlers that are long and lean like Cael Sanderson, then other guys that are short and powerful like Brent Metcalf. Same thing in bjj, Marcelo Garcia is a stocky midget, but Roger is 6'6 and both are at the top of the world.