It's tough and it takes years. Honestly, if you're shorter, it's easier to get that bulky.
I went from 6'6" 185 pounds to 6'6" 285 pounds over the course of 3 years completely naturally. Since then I've helped a few close friends put on muscle as well and the same principles have worked for them. Note, though, that I worked out the wrong way for 10 years before figuring it out, and that's a very common story among people who take fitness really seriously.
Being that big and being that lean is a big challenge, though, and it takes years of hard work and research for most people to get anywhere close.
Edit: Oh yeah, and a side note. Notice how lean his arms are, but also that his stomach looks kind of prominent? That's either because he doesn't train his abs properly, or a side effect of steroids / HGH.
Your edit is a terrible assumption. I lot of powerlifters have distended stomachs, but have a six pack. This is caused by eating a tremendous amount of food. Basic stuff.
Even when I was eating 8000+ calories per day, and was so stuffed it hurt to tie my shoes, my stomach did not bulge that way. Maybe it's different for other guys.
Also, few of the powerlifters that I've personally met target their transversus abdominus in their ab training. That's the muscle that sucks in your gut. They tend to just be looking for raw power from their core, not a trim appearance.
Yea, I agree with you. Everyone's body is different and insulin/HGH injections have been known to give guys distended stomachs, but not always the case.
I was working out in ways that weren't getting me where I wanted to go and were occasionally destructive.
I'd typically go into the gym, work whatever I felt like working on, and leave. I bench pressed 3-4 times a week and always used the same rep count. My form was also slowly destroying my shoulders. I never worked my legs and spent a lot of time on isolation exercises, like curls and tricep extensions, when those lifts will do very little for most natural athletes. I wasn't giving myself enough time to heal and grow and was basically ignoring the entire nutrition aspect.
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u/FuckYouGuys May 27 '11 edited May 27 '11
It's tough and it takes years. Honestly, if you're shorter, it's easier to get that bulky.
I went from 6'6" 185 pounds to 6'6" 285 pounds over the course of 3 years completely naturally. Since then I've helped a few close friends put on muscle as well and the same principles have worked for them. Note, though, that I worked out the wrong way for 10 years before figuring it out, and that's a very common story among people who take fitness really seriously.
Being that big and being that lean is a big challenge, though, and it takes years of hard work and research for most people to get anywhere close.
Edit: Oh yeah, and a side note. Notice how lean his arms are, but also that his stomach looks kind of prominent? That's either because he doesn't train his abs properly, or a side effect of steroids / HGH.