How big can you get without Steroids?

Two reoccurring questions I hear from a lot of physique “athletes” is how big can I get and how fast can I get there, which is understandable; getting results in the fastest, most stress- free way is an innate characteristic of human beings.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the entirety of your lifting careers you would have quickly realised that exogenous hormones are widespread amongst the physique “sports”. While of course this is the fastest way to achieve your ideal body if lean mass gain is your goal, the grand majority chose to train unenhanced for moral, ethical, health and legal reasons. It didn’t take me long to realise that the pre workout supplement Ronnie Coleman was chugging down on the inside cover of Flex magazine probably wasn’t what gave him 22″+ arms and only then did it begin to register with me that no matter how hardcore I was with my diet and training, as a natural athlete I would never touch on the sheer size of these pro bodybuilders. So how big can a natural lifter get?..Well as always, it depends.
In the words of Tony Robbins “most people fail in life because they major in minor things”. Consistency is king when it comes to gaining mass at an optimal pace; staying on point with your training, supplementation and diet day in and day out will net your best return on investment as a natural lifter. But what if I am doing all these? While it’s not every day do I come across someone who is unwavering with the aforementioned components (diet, training and supplementation), it’s not uncommon. All other factors aside, genetics from one person to another will extensively vary and we can only look at the “average” person, which by default is a category most of us fall into.

Let’s first look at what has been achieved by the elite in physique sports so we have some sort of benchmark. Current IFBB Mr. Olympia Phil Heath stands at 5’9″ at an outstanding 110kg (240 lbs) in stage condition (sub 5% body fat). While he does not condone or publicly declare his use of PEDs, presumably for legal reasons, it would be naive to think that any of the pros who compete in the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding category are drug- free (the IFBB is a non tested organisation).

In comparison, natural pro bodybuilder Cleveland Thomas, current WNBF* world champion is approximately 1 inch shorter than Phil Heath and a whopping 30kg (65lbs) lighter on stage. While a competition lean 80kg is extremely impressive for the average person, it can be a little disheartening for the gym-goer who wants to be the next Kai Greene, but that’s the name of the game.

Given that Thomas maxes out at 175lbs on stage after having almost two decades of training under his belt, it’s safe to say that you’re not gaining 15lbs of muscle each “winter bulk”.

There are many models which address the rate of optimal muscle gain for the natural lifter but I think Alan Aragon’s thinking has the most merit as it’s based on % increase rather than tangible numbers (obviously a 120lb 5′ 5″ man will gain less muscle than a 220lbs man at 6’4″).
Category Rate of Muscle Gain

Beginner 1–1.5% total body weight per month
Intermediate 0.5–1% total body weight per month
Advanced 0.25–0.5% total body weight per month

It’s quite difficult to say when one would fall into each of these categories, but generally speaking the beginner phase will last about 1 year. Let’s say a 60kg male gains at the beginner rate (0.6–0.9kg/month) and ends up at 70kg, in year 2 his rate of gain will almost drop by 50% and now should aim to gain at (0.5–1% ) of his current weight, now 70kg (so 0.35kg-0.7kg/month). Depending on how consistent and progressive one is with their nutrition and training; the intermediate phase can last for quite some years.
In the advanced stage, which most will never reach, the focus should be not so much on adding weight to your frame but rather weight to the bar. Gaining weight in the hope of attaining new muscle in this stage will often leave you disappointed and discouraged when all is said and done. Holding bodyweight for longer periods of time and focusing on training programming and and progression will be your best bet when it comes to adding quality mass for the advanced trainee.

While of course there are always going to exceptions to the rule, the above guidelines are what the general masses should stick to. Don’t be deluded into thinking that you can gain 1lbs a week of lean mass, I know I have been, but the reality is unless you’re an enhanced lifter (and even this at a stretch), you can’t. So the next time you’re washing down meal six with a Russian Bear 5000 weight gainer, just remember that unless you’ve got elite bodybuilding genetics (which means you’ve already got 17′ arms starting out) you’re not doing yourself any favours by adding unwarranted weight. The threshold for net adipose gain surpasses that of maximum net protein synthesis by a long shot, in simple terms the maximum amount of fat you can gain in a set period of time is more than 10 fold that of the amount of muscle you can gain, after all fat is a form of energy reserves.

So how close are you to your genetic potential? Kouri EM, et. Al (1995) looked at this in dept by comparing the fat-free mass Index within a group of athletes comprising of roughly 50% users of physique enhancing drugs (PEDs) and 50% non-users. In short Kouri EM, et al. concluded that the FFMI limit of a natural lifter was 25. A sample of 20 Mr. America winners from pre steroid times (1939–1959) were also measured for FFMI which averaged out at 25.4, so you can see that the 1995 study was quite accurate. This also proves that what was achievable naturally over 50 years ago remains unchanged, as human genetics have stayed the same. This doesn’t mean that everyone under a FFMI of 25 is natural, of course there are many PEDs that are not designed to enhance the physique in other ways than to simply slab on mass. Nor does it mean that everyone over a FFMI of 25 is enhanced, outliers will probably see peaks of 26–27 (more than this and I’d be sceptical). Of course there are always going to be those who “claim natural” and cheat in tested sports, I won’t argue with that. But if you truly believe that all natural athletes’ who have an impressive physique are cheating, you’ve got a very paranoid view of the world.

You can calculate your FFMI here but try not to grossly underestimate your body fat percentage as so many do Unless you’re seeing cross striations in your quads, you’re probably not 7% body fat. I took the two previous examples of bodybuilders and plugged them into the calculator. Depending on the body fat percentage you chose (I picked 5 for both) Thomas comes in at an adjusted FFMI of 25.1 and Phil Heath 33.5, an outstanding difference. Note to normalize for height discrepancies use the adjusted number as your reference.

In conclusion, reaching the musculature level of elite professional bodybuilders will never be achievable for the natural lifter but don’t be put off. A true FFMI of 25 is extremely impressive and not something you see every day. Having said this, realize that the rate of gain for a natural lifter should not be based on the diets you’ve cherry- picked from the muscle mags and reaching your true genetic potential will take a lifetime.
Next time you think about judging whether someone is natural or not, understand that truly spectacular physiques have been built my natural athletes, then ask yourself does it really matter and why you’re judging them at all?
*WNBF is regarded as one the strictest federations in natural bodybuilding with regards to drug testing.
Kouri EM, et. al.Fat-free mass index in users and nonusers of anabolic-androgenic steroids. Clin J Sport Med. (1995) 5(4):223–8.

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