I was a very lean 150 pounds when I started lifting in my early 20's, at a height of 5'9". About 5 years later I weighed 185 give or take and was about the same leanness. That's kind where it all tapered off and any weight I put on since then was fat.

The routine I settled on after trying all the whacky stuff was doing 3 sets of 8-10 reps and adding weight every so often, doing that twice a week for a particular exercise. Every so often I'd take a week off because i was tired, then I'd restart.

All the research I have done on natural weight lifters shows I was in the midrange for muscle growth. I still think adding 30+ pounds of muscle from weight training was pretty amazing, and I got a lot stronger to boot. But these chemical monsters we see on bodybuilding pages are so far outside the realm of natural that it is just a chemical freak show- and i watch them for the freak show thrill, haha.

I started at a low BF 155lbs and am now a lean 200lb onstage same BF % after 40 years training

If I was natural and the same BF % with training I would probably weigh 185
If I stopped training and maintaned the same BF% I would likely be 155 again.

We all end up back where we started eventually

Even pros end up back where they started if the stop training and taking hormones.

Imagine Cormier at 5% BF now untrained.

I was a very lean 150 pounds when I started lifting in my early 20's, at a height of 5'9". About 5 years later I weighed 185 give or take and was about the same leanness. That's kind where it all tapered off and any weight I put on since then was fat.

The routine I settled on after trying all the whacky stuff was doing 3 sets of 8-10 reps and adding weight every so often, doing that twice a week for a particular exercise. Every so often I'd take a week off because i was tired, then I'd restart.

All the research I have done on natural weight lifters shows I was in the midrange for muscle growth. I still think adding 30+ pounds of muscle from weight training was pretty amazing, and I got a lot stronger to boot. But these chemical monsters we see on bodybuilding pages are so far outside the realm of natural that it is just a chemical freak show- and i watch them for the freak show thrill, haha.

they just build bigger verisons of thier same look

ie. as the arms, legs, back etc grow so does the waist

looks shit

keep the waist at 30 inches while adding 20-40 pounds then we can talk

I was a very lean 150 pounds when I started lifting in my early 20's, at a height of 5'9". About 5 years later I weighed 185 give or take and was about the same leanness. That's kind where it all tapered off and any weight I put on since then was fat.

The routine I settled on after trying all the whacky stuff was doing 3 sets of 8-10 reps and adding weight every so often, doing that twice a week for a particular exercise. Every so often I'd take a week off because i was tired, then I'd restart.

All the research I have done on natural weight lifters shows I was in the midrange for muscle growth. I still think adding 30+ pounds of muscle from weight training was pretty amazing, and I got a lot stronger to boot. But these chemical monsters we see on bodybuilding pages are so far outside the realm of natural that it is just a chemical freak show- and i watch them for the freak show thrill, haha.

What exactly defines "classic" surely it can't just be bodyweight, everyone is put together differently.

they use weight classes in classic to try and keep it within a classic size as its really the only objective way to do it.

Classic is really about balance and proportions as opposed to weight

Muscles dont grow in the sense they get new tissue
All that happens is the muscles you have expand and get bigger (Hypertrophy)
You dont get new tissue (hyperplasia)

All the "you break down tissue and it grows back bigger" is a myth

Genetics dictates how big muscles get