Steroids vs Natural: 100 Day Transformation

Steroids versus naturals. Does a natty lifter really stand a chance? To find out, I've set up an experiment. Brandon will train naturally using my science back strategies, while Todd is hopping on steroids. Over the next 100 days, we'll track their progress to see who comes up on top.

Holy shit, dude.

First, we need starting points to get the best data possible. We're not only using DEXA scans to measure overall fat and muscle mass, but we're also getting ultrasounds across all major muscle groups to know exactly where each person experiences the most growth. So on day one, Todd is coming in at 183 pounds and 19% body fat, while Brandon weighs only 148 pounds but scores a lean 13.6% body fat. Now, compared to Todd, we actually have two major advantages. First off, Brandon is lean, which means we can focus on gaining weight to maximize growth. Whereas Todd, an aspiring bodybuilder, will soon begin dieting down for his competition. Second, while Brandon isn't a complete beginner, he's not as serious of a lifter as Todd. In normal circumstances, this means Todd would build muscle about three times slower than Brandon. But these aren't normal circumstances and I'll need to use every science based tool I know to help Brandon supercharge his training.

Okay, so the main thing I'm seeing instead of your forearms keeping in like this and keep them out 90 degree.

Angle controlling the way down into that stretch. Because I'm seeing so many new lifters immediately hop on gear. I want to prove you don't need steroids. To make amazing progress and to help Brandon maximize his growth with his training, I'm going to be choosing exercises that challenge his muscles most in the stretch. For example, back in 2022, researchers compared normal pushdowns to overhead tricep extensions which provide a deeper stretch. The result, overhead extensions grew the triceps 1.4 times faster. So with Brandon, we're choosing exercises that maximize the challenge in this stretch position across all his major muscle groups.

You've gone control all the way down, full stretch. Todd should be scared, but that's not.

Going to be enough. We need to combine these exercises with my second science based principle.

Let's go. What was that?

Teaching Brandon how to actually train to failure.

Every single rep closer to failure on average, it leads to more growth.

Right.

So if you're stopping once, you can't get up here and you're racking it like you have so much more, I want you to keep going as far as you can, even if it's just half reps, and then I want you to shrug your mid traps together. One more shrug, one more shrug, and Todd's done. Let's go. That is a good set.

Training with Jeremy is extremely hard, like five times as painful. So I'm doing like five, six reps more than I would usually do. And like all the exercises he gave me was hardest in the stretch position, which is the most painful as well.

What are your optimism levels about competing now?

More optimistic. I've seen Todd before and he's already like a big guy and trains really hard. But Jeremy being there, pushing me and telling me to do, like, partials at the end, definitely more optimistic now.

There you go.

Good.

How'd that feel? It does not feel good. Feels great.

But while I was pushing Brandon with his workouts, Todd's chemically enhanced body was now performing at a completely different level than it used to.

How long would you say, like, a.

Workout is for you? Generally one. One, One and a half into two hours. Two hours.

Two hours?

Yeah. Wow. Was that like that before as well.

Or before is only one. So once steroids make their way into your muscle's cells, they bind to a powerful androgen receptor. Once bound, they alter your muscle's genetics to dramatically increase the rates of protein synthesis and recovery. So although it pushed Brandon's workout volume and intensity to his natural limits.

Go up.

It's feeling kind of heavy today.

Not only does every workout tod now lead to more muscle growth, but he can also train longer and harder than Brandon, yet still be able to recover from it. But how much of a difference will this all make after 100 days? Well, based on prior research, beginner natural lifters can expect to put on about 3.7 pounds of muscle after 100 days of hard training. Enhanced lifters, however, gain muscle about three times faster, resulting in over 13 pounds of muscle gain within a similar time period.

After just 30 days, I was already.

Witnessing just how powerful steroids really are.

Holy.

Todd had already added 2 cm to his shoulders.

As for Brandon, both the same 116.

But despite all the progress Todd was seeing, there was still one person who wasn't satisfied with his results. I feel like I'm a skinny bitch. I'm small, fat, and skinny. That's what I am. I don't have, like, I don't. I don't look big. I don't. I'm not sure. Maybe just body dysmorphia or something like that. So you're not enough? Never enough.

So Jeremy recommended that I eat around 3,000 calories a day. I generally have a pretty hard time putting on size, so I'm hoping this new nutrition plan really helps.

Now, while Todd definitely had us beat the first month, he's now spending the rest of his time dieting for his show, which may slow down his muscle growth just enough for Brandon and I to close the gap. Luckily, since Brandon's less experienced in the gym, his muscles are more sensitive to growth, which means we can bump up his calories much higher than normal while having those extra calories go towards building muscle rather than fat. But this wasn't easy. Brandon is extremely active, playing several hours of competitive tennis per week. So Even after eating 3,000 calories a day, Brandon was still struggling to put on weight, which meant we had to increase his calories even more. As for supplements, although Todd has his special juice assisting him, we've got a natural supplement we'll be taking full advantage of and one that could give us as much as a 1 to 2 pound boost of muscle. Creatine doesn't sound like much, but considering Brad is a natural and has some experience in the gym, we mainly gain just two to three pounds of muscle in the next hundred days, so Even just a £1 boost would be huge. And with Brandon finally starting to make some good progress on the scale, I couldn't wait for our next check in with Todd.

Bad news, guys. I just got a call from Todd and apparently he's moving out of the city. He's still down to take part in the experiment, but he's not coming in the gym anymore for check ins, which means Brandon and I are going to have no idea how Todd is doing until the final day. And it just means that Brandon and I got to really start training hard and really push for that final result. All right, so we're going to put this between your back and the bench. This way you're able to open up your chest way more, get a deeper stretch. Nice. And all we're going to do back. You feel that stretch right here? Exactly. It's going to be harder, it's going to be more painful, but we got to do whatever it takes to be Todd, right?

All right.

Hit the head, hit the head, hit the head. Hit the head. Two more times. Come on, Brandon. Come on. Nice. There we go. Get that chest up. String here. I'm pulling you. Good.

Nice.

I feel like my strength has been really progressing well. So I think at the beginning of the challenge I was dumbbell pressing around like 50, 55 pounds and now I can do three sets of 10 with 75. So I think that's a pretty good improvement. I've also been noticing that a lot of my T shirts are fitting a little bit too small these days. So I'm really hoping that Jeremy, after this video is done, can buy me a new wardrobe.

Look at this, man. So how do you think you're going.

To do the end of the week?

I'm a little bit nervous. Cause I know there's a lot of pressure riding on this. I don't want people to watch this and then see that. Okay, maybe they should be taking steroids instead of staying natural. But, yeah, I'd be happy with, like, a 2% body fat increase and then 2 to 3 pounds of muscle gain.

I haven't seen you in two months. Hey, you look good, though, man. He's quiet. He's just getting mentally ready for this.

Pretty nervous right now. Yeah. I don't know what's gonna happen with the video and with Jeremy's rep, Hopefully it overruns his day. In the past three months of his.

Time, your feet can be down towards a lean.

But while Brandon was completing his scan, I was finding out just how hard.

Todd had been working since we last spoke.

Cardio is like 65 minutes per day and still have to train. So, yeah, tire. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I'm honestly in disbelief. So results are in. Brandon, your starting body fat was 13.6%. Today it's at 13.5%, which means your body fat pretty much stayed the same. Your starting weight was 149 pounds. Today is 154 pounds, which means you gained five pounds. Pure muscle. Lean muscle. Let's go. But Todd, on the other hand, you started at 19% body fat. Today you're at 7% body fat, which means you lost over 10 pounds in weight, but you gained over 13 pounds of muscle, which is insane. That's crazy. Holy. I'm gonna be honest. I knew there would be a difference, and Todd had a big advantage, but I didn't think it was gonna be like this. That's crazy. 19 to 7% while gaining 13 pounds of lean muscle mass.

Todd's transformation is an incredible feat, even with the help of steroids. But although Brandon built just one third as much muscle as Todd, he still gained significantly more muscle than the average natural lifter without spending every waking moment in the gym. As for the ultrasound results, while Todd did have a speed in most muscle groups, Brandon actually saw more growth in his delts biceps as well as one leg muscle, likely due to the special exercises we incorporated. So while I respect Todd's choice to hop on gear, in my opinion, unless you're as dedicated to competing as Todd or need testosterone for health reasons, the risks simply aren't worth it. Brandon is proof that with the right approach, us Nadias can still make incredible progress without putting our health at risk. And if you want more guidance and are looking for a step by step program that shows you exactly what workouts to do and what to eat every week to naturally get in the best shape of your life, just head over to builtwithscience.com and take our quiz to find the best plan for you and your body. And if you're curious about the training techniques I use to help Brandon build muscle faster, you can give this video a watch. Next.

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I'll see you next time.