4 pounds a month - unsustainable?

Since December I have been on Test Cyp for TRT at 200mg/week. My diet has improved greatly, and my workouts have gone from light (testing a back injury) to heavy and intense.

My gains in the beginning were impressive and are tapering. But, in the last month I have put on four pounds of muscle which I am happy with. My question is: this cannot be sustainable, right? Otherwise in a year I would put on 48 pounds, which seems impossible even if I constantly up my calories.

How much muscle can someone expect to put on with a decent diet, hard training and a higher than normal Test levels (not sure what mine are yet)?

This isn't meant to be a TRT question, so any feedback on how guys are doing naturally or on cycle would be great too.

Naturally i would say 5lbs of lbm a year assuming your not underweight to begin with.

I think I have benefitted from muscle memory as I lost muscle being out of the gym for five years with my spinal injury. It sounds like I am still getting the benefits of muscle memory (lost muscle being out of the gym for five years with spinal injury) and higher Test levels. I assumed it would level off around month four, but I don't remember what I read that would make me think that.

Anyone else have some feedback on what is considered "normal" for either natural, or on-cycle growth in a month? I feel like my TRT puts me somewhere in the middle.

I will bump once hoping for a little feedback on realistic expectations.

these are your stats right now?
Height 5' 10"
Weight 214lb
Body Fat % High 20s?
Age 42

Yup, I weigh 118 now.

Not sure about my body fat. I am lean everywhere but my torso. I plan on getting a caliper check done soon.

My body has changed a lot, but my weight has remained pretty consistent. I weighed 210 in December, but have lost significant fat while putting on a lot of muscle. People that haven't seen me in a few months freak out.

Mostly I want to set a goal for my gains, or at least have some sort of measuring stick to know if I am doing well. When I was younger I could eat pizza and ice cream, miss some of my workouts and still grow. It hasn't been like that for a long time, so I want something to focus on.

Believe it or not. I was anorexic six years ago and went from a fat 235 to a soft 160 by overtraining and starving. I have worked my way back from that. I like to have goals because I tend to overdo things when I don't set strict parameters.

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Originally Posted by JohnnyVegas

Yup, I weigh 118 now.:wg:

Not sure about my body fat. I am lean everywhere but my torso. I plan on getting a caliper check done soon.

My body has changed a lot, but my weight has remained pretty consistent. I weighed 210 in December, but have lost significant fat while putting on a lot of muscle. People that haven't seen me in a few months freak out.

Mostly I want to set a goal for my gains, or at least have some sort of measuring stick to know if I am doing well. When I was younger I could eat pizza and ice cream, miss some of my workouts and still grow. It hasn't been like that for a long time, so I want something to focus on.

Believe it or not. I was anorexic six years ago :wg:and went from a fat 235 to a soft 160 by overtraining and starving. I have worked my way back from that. I like to have goals because I tend to overdo things when I don't set strict parameters.

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I think you are still anorexic if you weight 118 :scratch:

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Originally Posted by VegasRenegade

I think you are still anorexic if you weight 118 :scratch:

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Oops. Obviously 218. :)

It took me 3.5 years to go from 270-300 and I consider myself a pretty easy gainer. Thats about 8.5 lbs a year.

So, it sounds like I am still getting a boost from the Test injections. I figured the gains would have tapered off at the four month mark. I used to be a bit bigger than this, so I figure muscle memory shouldn't be much of a factor any more either.

Thanks for the input guys. Now I won't freak out when the gains slow down. I will count on being back to gaining a few pounds a year, which is more than fine with me. I have to admit though, the last few months have been awesome.