Is it possible to gain 80 pounds of shredded muscle without Steroids? Yes, but very difficult. A realistic goal for packing on muscle would be 7lbs/year....yes, 7lbs/year-without steroids. Arnold in his day (late 70's early 80's) weight around 240lbs ripped up at a height of 6'2". So if you weight 190lbs for example and you are around the same height, it could take you up to 7-8 years to get in that kind of shape.
However if you are shorter, say around 5'8"-5'10" you can actually "look" just as big with less muscle gains. A guy who's 5'9" 215lbs looks every bit as big as a guy who's 6'2" 240 in terms of muscle bulk. So the taller you are the more time it is going to take. The good thing is when you do it without steroids the muscle you gain is really your, so you keep most of it when and if you stop lifting. Another cool thing is you will get a lot stronger and harder before you really start growing. So you will FEEL great before you actually LOOK great.
One other factor, it also depends on a person's body type. There are 3 basic ones:
Endomorph: naturally bulky frame, usually with a lot of both body fat and muscle. These guys usually can put on both muscle AND fat at a rate that is faster than 7lbs/year.
Ectomorph: naturally thin. Low body fat, Also known as "Hard gainers??? Without steroids, to put on 7lbs of muscle in a year is really good. On a positive note, because hard gainers usually will have naturally low body fat, any shred of muscle they gain will show. So ectomorphs can "look" as though they weight a lot more.
Finally, Mesomorphs: These guys are the gifted one when it comes to gaining muscle. Usually they are naturally muscular with low body fat. If you are an endomorph or have some endo in your genetic pool, you can definitely pack on more than 7lbs of muscle per year....as long as you are keeping up on your nutrition which is another story.
Note: It is rare that a person is 100% of any of these body types. There is usually a mix with one type being dominate
Joel Mosley CPFT & LICENSED PRO BOXER
http://www.buildingmorethanbodies.com/
joel@buildingmorethanbodies.com