In the 8 week cycle thread Stevesmi made a point, following a post of FellaFinns, on Homeostasis. I also did a post on this in my tips thread.
In very simple terms your body wants to stay as it is when you try to force changes. We know that we can eat too much and get fat but it's not something that happens super quickly. The same is true of adding muscle. I don't always agree with my fellow mods (nor should I - it'd be boring) but I'm 100% behind Stevesmi when it comes to adding muscle slowly. That you're a LOT better adding 3-5lbs a cycle than you are 10lbs (based on an average Joe).
What we an awful lot on steroid forums, inc ours, is members asking how they can add 10-15lbs and sometimes more. They want to do it in ONE cycle. What they fail to understand is that while a handful can gain that much (and it's is a few) almost none keep it post cycle.
I'll use myself as an example. Now it's best worth stating up front I'm not a lean bodybuilder type. I have the odd vein here and there but my stomach is more of a power belly. When I stand next to an average gym goer I'm the tall heavy one with traps. But in terms of keeping my gains let's use my 2014 injury which put me out of the gym for 16 weeks. I lost 10lbs according to the scales. So I went from 280-284 down to 274lbs at my height of 6'3". Note scale weight not muscle or fat specific.
I've also written of how the gains stacked up over the years. Off cycle it was 3lb PER YEAR. On cycle it went up to six PER YEAR. I started lifting in 1980 (weighing 175lb in 1983) and hit 280lbs and stayed there for a few years around 2007. 95lbs in 27 years. My last cycle was May/June 2018. Recently I have gained weight again. Gains aren't linear and that is, as per the title, cos you're fighting homeostasis .
Often not mentioned, is that we all ignore what would happen to us if we didn't lift, eat our protein and or take AAS/PED's. Would I still be 175lbs as I was when I was 18? I doubt it. I'd have probably maxed out around age 30 and started to loose weight or gotten fat like most middle aged guys. One issue is that the vast majority of forum members aren't even in the game (training and on gear) close to long enough.
Part of the why we use AAS is to force the gains - as it were to force homeostasis. But little by little works better than bigger.
In very simple terms your body wants to stay as it is when you try to force changes. We know that we can eat too much and get fat but it's not something that happens super quickly. The same is true of adding muscle. I don't always agree with my fellow mods (nor should I - it'd be boring) but I'm 100% behind Stevesmi when it comes to adding muscle slowly. That you're a LOT better adding 3-5lbs a cycle than you are 10lbs (based on an average Joe).
What we an awful lot on steroid forums, inc ours, is members asking how they can add 10-15lbs and sometimes more. They want to do it in ONE cycle. What they fail to understand is that while a handful can gain that much (and it's is a few) almost none keep it post cycle.
I'll use myself as an example. Now it's best worth stating up front I'm not a lean bodybuilder type. I have the odd vein here and there but my stomach is more of a power belly. When I stand next to an average gym goer I'm the tall heavy one with traps. But in terms of keeping my gains let's use my 2014 injury which put me out of the gym for 16 weeks. I lost 10lbs according to the scales. So I went from 280-284 down to 274lbs at my height of 6'3". Note scale weight not muscle or fat specific.
I've also written of how the gains stacked up over the years. Off cycle it was 3lb PER YEAR. On cycle it went up to six PER YEAR. I started lifting in 1980 (weighing 175lb in 1983) and hit 280lbs and stayed there for a few years around 2007. 95lbs in 27 years. My last cycle was May/June 2018. Recently I have gained weight again. Gains aren't linear and that is, as per the title, cos you're fighting homeostasis .
Often not mentioned, is that we all ignore what would happen to us if we didn't lift, eat our protein and or take AAS/PED's. Would I still be 175lbs as I was when I was 18? I doubt it. I'd have probably maxed out around age 30 and started to loose weight or gotten fat like most middle aged guys. One issue is that the vast majority of forum members aren't even in the game (training and on gear) close to long enough.
Part of the why we use AAS is to force the gains - as it were to force homeostasis. But little by little works better than bigger.