Gaining muscle as a Natural after 30, as impossible as everyone says?

[Army of One]

Discuss.

[CoolDuck]

Discuss.

Yesterday, at 39 years old, I set a personal record in flat bench 1rm. Admittedly, it was only 300 pounds, and that is of course a big moderating factor: how well trained one were in ones younger years. For a bodybuilder it may be harder than for me. However, I have trained on and off since I was a teenager.

CD

[El Diablo Blanco]

That's the lazy man's answer.  part of having trouble gaining muscle when your thirty is by then most men have settled down with a wife and kids, are busy with work and can't put in 5 or 6 days a week at the gym balls to the wall and eat every 2 hours and then do cardio twice a day.

If you have time for that you can still gain muscle up until you're 40 and you can do this all naturally.

[Danimal77]

Discuss.

Nothing's impossible. Think for yourself. Question authority.

[gh15]

it has nothing to do with wife kids or anything of the such ,, most guys now days dont even marry till they are 34-35 if at all,,girls have nothing to do with it,,
this is where the truth is everything above this post is rubbish,,
at age 26 most true naturals start askin around in the gym and looking for the goodies,,it happens everywhere in america and everywhere around the world,,age 25-27 is when they srat asking questions,,the real naturals that ofcourse never compete,,thats when they start thinking about using at age 26 because they feel they are maxed and they are maxed with gains naturally ,,

age 26-27 and on from there is when there will be no more natural gains as in new muscle coming on you naturally! yuo may be able to take your skinny 162 and bring it back to your skinny 186lb you used to be back when you were 23...but you wont gain no new muscle what so ever unless you turn into hormones,,

so the number is 26 ,,this is age where everyone start kissing ass in the gym to who ever they need to kiss ass to,,

with competetive and todays nothigness generation that are ALL ON HORMONES it starts at 16-20 ,,today most fellas that are seeirous into lifting use hormones before their 21th birthday and i aint talking about no winners here,,those fellas will never step on a pro stage ,,they may compete but even that not always,,

but then again all the true natural worriers and the late bllomers come into the hormones at ages 26-28 after fighting with the demon inside them since age 25 usually takes 2 years debating with yourself and humiliation from the big boys at your local gym as in mental abuse in a way (especially early 2000s) so after the 2 years debating and tired of not growing to the 220lb -260lb where the big beef is...those naturals go on hormones and usually blow up or if really decide to compete try to maintain natural status by working smart with the hormones

you can have will and muscle brain connection and even your granma feeding you german food ..it wont help ...past 26 you start going down and going down into flabby land fast! unless you jump on hormones

[Bast000]

After 22 I wasn't able to gain any significant muscle. lol

[SquatsRule]

it has nothing to do with wife kids or anything of the such ,, most guys now days dont even marry till they are 34-35 if at all,,girls have nothing to do with it,,
this is where the truth is everything above this post is rubbish,,
at age 26 most true naturals start askin around in the gym and looking for the goodies,,it happens everywhere in america and everywhere around the world,,age 25-27 is when they srat asking questions,,the real naturals that ofcourse never compete,,thats when they start thinking about using at age 26 because they feel they are maxed and they are maxed with gains naturally ,,

age 26-27 and on from there is when there will be no more natural gains as in new muscle coming on you naturally! yuo may be able to take your skinny 162 and bring it back to your skinny 186lb you used to be back when you were 23...but you wont gain no new muscle what so ever unless you turn into hormones,,

so the number is 26 ,,this is age where everyone start kissing ass in the gym to who ever they need to kiss ass to,,

with competetive and todays nothigness generation that are ALL ON HORMONES it starts at 16-20 ,,today most fellas that are seeirous into lifting use hormones before their 21th birthday and i aint talking about no winners here,,those fellas will never step on a pro stage ,,they may compete but even that not always,,

but then again all the true natural worriers and the late bllomers come into the hormones at ages 26-28 after fighting with the demon inside them since age 25 usually takes 2 years debating with yourself and humiliation from the big boys at your local gym as in mental abuse in a way (especially early 2000s) so after the 2 years debating and tired of not growing to the 220lb -260lb where the big beef is...those naturals go on hormones and usually blow up or if really decide to compete try to maintain natural status by working smart with the hormones

you can have will and muscle brain connection and even your granma feeding you german food ..it wont help ...past 26 you start going down and going down into flabby land fast! unless you jump on hormones

I beg to differ. I just turned 30. Been training for 6 months after a three year layoff. Trained for 5 years before that. My back is thicker and wider now than it was at my max 3 years ago. I haven't taken anything this time around. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing though. It comes back vey quickly.

[Moosejay]

If you remain active and all other factors such as diet and training are pristine...you will not start exp mnuscle attrition until your 60's...so you can improve up till then

Moosejay approived
s

[Moosejay]

you are very wrong here...your statements breed weakness and laziness...you can't be American with statements like this...likely socialist

[Marty Champions]

im 27 and know it is all an illusion of how an ideal body is suppossed to look

be smart, be small be atleast 25 pounds from ripped be 6ft6

[Army of One]

it has nothing to do with wife kids or anything of the such ,, most guys now days dont even marry till they are 34-35 if at all,,girls have nothing to do with it,,
this is where the truth is everything above this post is rubbish,,
at age 26 most true naturals start askin around in the gym and looking for the goodies,,it happens everywhere in america and everywhere around the world,,age 25-27 is when they srat asking questions,,the real naturals that ofcourse never compete,,thats when they start thinking about using at age 26 because they feel they are maxed and they are maxed with gains naturally ,,

age 26-27 and on from there is when there will be no more natural gains as in new muscle coming on you naturally! yuo may be able to take your skinny 162 and bring it back to your skinny 186lb you used to be back when you were 23...but you wont gain no new muscle what so ever unless you turn into hormones,,

so the number is 26 ,,this is age where everyone start kissing ass in the gym to who ever they need to kiss ass to,,

with competetive and todays nothigness generation that are ALL ON HORMONES it starts at 16-20 ,,today most fellas that are seeirous into lifting use hormones before their 21th birthday and i aint talking about no winners here,,those fellas will never step on a pro stage ,,they may compete but even that not always,,

but then again all the true natural worriers and the late bllomers come into the hormones at ages 26-28 after fighting with the demon inside them since age 25 usually takes 2 years debating with yourself and humiliation from the big boys at your local gym as in mental abuse in a way (especially early 2000s) so after the 2 years debating and tired of not growing to the 220lb -260lb where the big beef is...those naturals go on hormones and usually blow up or if really decide to compete try to maintain natural status by working smart with the hormones

you can have will and muscle brain connection and even your granma feeding you german food ..it wont help ...past 26 you start going down and going down into flabby land fast! unless you jump on hormones

What about the 30 year old guy who never lifted in his life and weighs 150 pounds at 5'11?

[Marty Champions]

What about the 30 year old guy who never lifted in his life and weighs 150 pounds at 5'11?

thats a good weight

i know people at that weight and size that are ripped and vascular who do not lift but are probably moderate activity or not caucasion

[gh15]

I beg to differ. I just turned 30. Been training for 6 months after a three year layoff. Trained for 5 years before that. My back is thicker and wider now than it was at my max 3 years ago. I haven't taken anything this time around. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing though. It comes back vey quickly.

bodybuilding is a job,,you dont just quit for 3 years or a year,,most of those guys who do it are not bodybuilders,,they just work out for fun and for them the moment they go cold turky they lose so much muscle and size that when they come into it again after 2 years or even a year they think they gain better but they gain exactly the same into the same max ,,especially guys over 26,,diet down to competition weight and you will see that nothing has changed from your old pictures,,i know its de motivationg but thats the tule of nature and rule of human body,,

there is a rebound and muscle memory effects going on but they only bring you to what you were at your best NATURALLy,,unless youre 20-21-22-23 those ages when you can still fight for number poundages of lean muscle mass ,,thats why i tell all the 17-18 20 -21 year old guys TO NEVER GIVE UP FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT AND GAIN THAT MUSCLE BECAUSE IT WILL BE THERE TO STAY,,DO MISTAKES IT DOESNT MATTER BUT PUT THAT MUSCLE ON YOU IN THOSE AGES ,,DONT JUST QUIT THE GYM AFTER 1 YEAR OF WORKING OUT ,,GO ON AND CONTINUE WITH IT AND YOU WILL SEE THAT WHEN YOU ARE 30 YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GET TO THE BIG NUMBERS WITH THE USE OF HORMONES A LOT EASIER

[swilkins1984]

Definitely. If 100 yr olds can run marathons anything is possible.

[Meltdown]

HRTs Baby Livin the dream just ask Chick.

[Van_Bilderass]

In my humble opinion, if you start out training as an adult with a good coach or with a good idea of how to train and eat effectively, you will make 98% of your potential natural gains in the first 2-3 years. Sure you can "improve" a little over the years but most of the muscle will be put on in the first couple of years. If by then you don't look anything like you'd want to look as far as muscle size - forget about it. It's hilarious to hear pros talk about patience and how many many years of hard training it takes to start looking like a bodybuilder while they blew up almost overnight and everyone was encouraging them to compete within a few weeks or months of starting training.

[GetItOnNY]

I just drink Whey protein shakes, because Van Bilderass, says they will make me anabolic, lol.So if you are going to enter any drug tested shows, be very careful ,because drinking whey protein may make you fail the test, lol

On a serious note, most bodybuilders dont hit there to peak until they hit around 32-37.
The muscles get more dense as they get more mature.I know alot of natural bodybuilders, and they looked there best in there mid 30's.I even know some that in the early 40's they look good.They been training for over 20 years, so there muscles are dense and refined.As you age, your muscles may not get bigger, but  just like a sword, the more you sharpen it, the sharper it will get.So your arm size may not go up, but the shape of the arm, and stridations in the muscles will be more definate

[candidizzle]

I just drink Whey protein shakes, because Van Bilderass, says they will make me anabolic, lol.So if you are going to enter any drug tested shows, be very careful ,because drinking whey protein may make you fail the test, lol

you must be retarded

[Van_Bilderass]

I just drink Whey protein shakes, because Van Bilderass, says they will make me anabolic, lol.So if you are going to enter any drug tested shows, be very careful ,because drinking whey protein may make you fail the test, lol

What does this comment have to do with the topic of this thread? You lost the debate on the other thread regarding whey being "anabolic". You had no response at all. 

[Livewire]

gayer than sharing a fruit salad with another man.

[GetItOnNY]

The who secret about making gains in your 30's is simple.Eat 1.5 -2 plus grams per body lb per day from protein.Eat red meat atleast once a day, from Sirloin, or Ny steak.
Make sure you sleep atleast 8 hours a night, rest is crucial.DONT OVER TRAIN.
Most natural guys over train!!!!.Dont spend more then 45 minutes  a day training if your natural.If you over train your body releases cortisil, which, beaks down muscle tissue.
I would also use about 30-40 grams of L-Glutamine, and about 10-15 grams of BCAAS, per day to maximize recovery.
If you train naturally listen to your body, if your sick, tired, or very sore, stay home and rest.One day of not training wont kill you

[JOCKTHEGLIDE]

I beg to differ. I just turned 30. Been training for 6 months after a three year layoff. Trained for 5 years before that. My back is thicker and wider now than it was at my max 3 years ago. I haven't taken anything this time around. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing though. It comes back vey quickly.

could be fat gains also if your naturally lean so the fat makes it look like you gained muscled....

[GetItOnNY]

To answer a PM

I see guys in the gym year after year, look the same.Its depressing.
Those are the people, who you see at the gym for 2 hours.When I walk in to train, they are already training, when I leave, they are are still training.
Now that I am clean my training sessions, are 30-45 minutes.
For example I only do 9-11 sets total for my chest, 10-12 sets for my back, and only 6-7 sets for triceps and biceps.I dont really count sets or reps, I go by feel.If I feel like I came to accomplish at 9 sets for chest I leave.But lets say I was doing 3 sets of bench press, the first set would be 9-12 reps, second set 6-8 reps, the last set 4-6 reps.
When training naturally dont be afraid to go heavy, bigweights= big muscle.


I train every set to complete failure.I train each set like a 100 yard dash, all out!!!

[JOCKTHEGLIDE]

When training naturally dont be afraid to go heavy, bigweights= big muscle.


I train every set to complete failure.I train each set like a 100 yard dash, all out!!!

scott mendelson benches like over 700lbs raw and his chest aint big as ronnie coleman who cant do 700lbs so NOOOOOOO bigweights does not always = big muscle. I rather look like I bench 405lbs than actually do it....thats the diff between bodybuilding and power lifting.

[GetItOnNY]

Look at Johnny Jackson, a perfect example.Anybody I know who has a big chest usually is a heavy bencher.My chest was one of my strong points, because my mentor Tony Atlas told me to life heavy.Tony could bench well over 600 lbs, and had a barrel chest.
Ronnie Coleman trained heavy, and in my opinion, was the biggest, and best Mr O ever, in his peak.
There are some people who dont respond to training heavy, there is always an exception to the rule.
But anybody I know who is big, 250lbs + trains heavy