Dysmorphia

[steve_d]

NO youi do not have to "bulk" to gain muscle. Thats a myth. You can stay lean and still make gains. The fact is the more you "bulk" the more muscle you have to diet off to get rid fo the fat anyways. You dotn really win that way. If you would like to know more PM me.

I agree with this 100%. IMO, for some people if you are really lean (contest ready) then it is near impossible to gain muscle. For others, it might be hard to gain muscle once under say 10%. But for the majority of people who are competitive, you can easily gain muscle and still be within say 6-8 weeks of being show ready.

There are also so many other factors such as diet, how far away from your genetic potential, "supplements", and so on...but I think its a huge misconception for men to gain 80 pounds in the off-season. I think part of it has to do with the thought that they've actually gained 40 pounds of muscle during that time, when most of it is just fat and water. Same goes for women...I see some female bodybuilders gain 60 pounds in the off-season, and look the same year after year, whereas other look basically contest shape year round and get better each and every year.

Besides, if everything above I said is incorrect, then personally it wouldn't matter. This is a lifestyle - why feel like crap 48 weeks out of the year to have an extra 1 pound of muscle on show day? Kinda like a catch 22 - In the end, feeling awesome about yourself year round is enough to motivate myself to work harder and gain that 1 pound that way.