How Much Muscle Did I Gain In 365 Days? (Scientific Experiment)

Summary by Krater

An experienced lifter and his completely untrained brother undergo a one-year body transformation experiment, tracking every workout, calorie, and night of sleep to see how much muscle can be gained naturally.

From the video

Answers: How much muscle can a natural lifter gain in a year compared to a beginner?

• muscle hypertrophy
• natural muscle building limits
• bulking and cutting phases
• body recomposition
• tracking calories with macrofactor
• DXA body composition scans
• ultrasound muscle thickness measurements
• isokinetic strength testing

Exercises

• chest press · machine
• lat pulldown · cable machine
• incline bench press · barbell
• barbell row · barbell
• pull-up · bodyweight
• lateral raise · cable machine
• squat · barbell
• leg press · machine
• bulgarian split squat · dumbbells
• bicep curl · machine

What it concludes

• An untrained beginner can gain over 10 pounds of lean mass in their first six months of optimized training.
• An advanced lifter close to their natural limit can still make measurable muscle gains with strict optimization, though at a much slower rate.
• Sleep regularity is a strong predictor of health outcomes and longevity alongside total sleep duration.
• Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) can be significantly less accurate than DXA scans for tracking body composition changes.
• Pushing sets closer to failure and tracking progressive overload are key drivers of hypertrophy for both beginners and advanced lifters.