The training was a little weird, they did squat and bench only three times per week for 4 sets of 6 with varying intensity week to week and weights were increased at week 5. It wasn’t the greatest training program but it turns out to kind of not matter. Muscle size was measured by MRI and strength was tested directly for 1 repetition maximum. This went on for 10 weeks. Here are the results.
Group |
LBM |
Squat |
Bench Press |
|
Placebo |
No change |
No change |
No change |
|
Exercise Only |
+4.4 lbs |
+21% |
+11% |
|
Testosterone Only |
+6.6 lbs |
+19% |
+10% |
<-- No Weight Training! |
Testosterone+Exercise |
+13 lbs |
+38% |
+22% |
|
No shock, the placebo group had no change in anything. Training alone got the guys four and a half pounds LBM in 10 weeks. But steroids alone worked better: 6.6 pounds LBM in the same 10 weeks. With just one shot in the butt every week. Clearly training and exercise was synergistic and the third group gained close to what you’d predict from adding steroids and training alone together. But steroids alone built more muscle than training alone and just as much strength.
And the amazing thing is that, despite the title of the paper, only 600mg/week of testosterone was given. Certainly this is supraphysiological relatively but it’s also a baby dose in a time when the occasional steroid expert had recommended a gram per day. And even that small dose put more muscle on without training than training alone did. Not only do anabolics build muscle without training, they build more muscle than training (and they make training work that much better).