Despite this reality check about women’s tastes, you’re probably still curious how some people — like Hollywood superheroes — get huge. Well, some celebrities playing superheroes are or were at some point on steroids, insulin, or HGH — the abuse of which results in health problems. Plus, some have naturally broad frames.
It is otherwise unrealistic to go from average to Thor Size™ in under a year.
A discussion of what is natural to attain should discuss natural bodybuilding competitions. Their contestants are not permitted to use steroids. Here are some.
However, recognize that their muscle mass is accentuated by tans, vascularity, low body fat, and having done push-ups right before walking onto the stage. Also notice how they have thick torsos and broad shoulders — these men have big frames. And they’ve put in years of incredibly hard work.
But here’s the tricky part: “Natural” doesn’t always mean you can’t take other substances like HGH and insulin, which benefit muscle growth.
What exactly do the results of steroids look like? Well, the model below has chest and shoulder muscles that are abnormally large relative to his frame. If your goal is to look like him, you’re unlikely to get there naturally.
Male maximum muscle size
We still haven’t answered the question of how big we can naturally get.
Here’s your answer: Researcher Casey Butt performed a fascinating analysis on the muscle size of the world’s top male bodybuilders (source, study).
He used data from the pre-steroid bodybuilding era, which means it better reflects how muscular males can get naturally. We’ll use his results to approximate the maximum size we can weigh at 10% body fat.