"Do You Even Lift Bro?" - Sal Frelick (kinda)

[Matthew Lenz]

Sal got JACKED over the offseason. How will it impact his performance on the field?

[OldSchoolSnapper]

BSOML. Lol. 

I laugh every time I see these. There's no way, none, zero, that a human put on "25 lbs of muscle" in 3.5 months.

[Brock Beauchamp]

3 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I laugh every time I see these. There's no way, none, zero, that a human put on "25 lbs of muscle" in 3.5 months.

[bigred]

50 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

BSOML. Lol. 

I laugh every time I see these. There's no way, none, zero, that a human put on "25 lbs of muscle" in 3.5 months.

Usually not without "help" at least. Do you think it's possible there may be a little jealousy within your opinion, though? Not meant to offend, just asking. All of our bodies react differently to things of this nature. Maybe he put in a boatload of work in the gym? 

[wallus]

Saying stuff like this is begging to be tested Salvatore 

[Brandon Glick]

For everyone saying this is "impossible", it's actually very easy to test.

First, we need a time machine to go back 3.5 months

[OldSchoolSnapper]

1 hour ago, bigred said:

Usually not without "help" at least. Do you think it's possible there may be a little jealousy within your opinion, though? Not meant to offend, just asking. All of our bodies react differently to things of this nature. Maybe he put in a boatload of work in the gym? 

No. I don't think the layman realizes what 25 lbs of muscle actually means. You can certainly gain 25 pounds in 3.5 months, and be a hell of a lot stronger than you were at the outset, but you are going to be putting on a lot of other stuff with that muscle. As has been alluded to, this is assuming you aren't using PEDs - and even then, this would be monumental growth.

You're talking about 7.5 pounds of muscle per month. Almost 2 pounds a week. It's not possible. For someone beginning to take weight training seriously, the gains will be astronomically faster in those initial 4 months or so than at any point after that most likely, but you are talking more like 2 lbs a month and that would be excellent progress.

[kestrel79]

I'm getting Major League 2 vibes with Willie Mayes Hayes here trying to hit dingers now.

[bm1090]

4 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

BSOML. Lol. 

I laugh every time I see these. There's no way, none, zero, that a human put on "25 lbs of muscle" in 3.5 months.

It's possible. I did about 15 lbs in 3-4 months. and I wasn't working nearly as hard as these guys are and was taking 0 supplements and wasn't that focused on my diet. I was pretty thin to start out with so that may have contributed, but it is possible. There are always anomalies.

[Jopal78]

The “best shape of my life” statement is worn out, but I wouldn’t underestimate a young man in his 20s with nothing but time on his hands and cash to burn. If Chris Pratt could get huge for Guardians of the Galaxy, I’m sure a pro ballplayer can with a trainer, cook, and world class training facilities. 
 

 

[Fear The Chorizo]

I think people underestimate how much of a grind a MLB regular season is, particularly for younger players who haven't been through it.  The idea of Frelick being 25lbs heavier now that he was at the end of last season isn't very far-fetched considering he probably dropped weight over the course of the season from where he was entering Spring Training in 2024.

Knowing MMA contestants routinely are able to gain a couple dozen pounds in a few days between weigh ins and the actual fights doesn't make putting on 25 lbs seem that impossible.  Properly hydrating your existing frame compared to it being in a mildly dehydrated or fatigued state is typically good for 10+lbs on a normal frame, too.

[bigred]

1 hour ago, bm1090 said:

It's possible. I did about 15 lbs in 3-4 months. and I wasn't working nearly as hard as these guys are and was taking 0 supplements and wasn't that focused on my diet. I was pretty thin to start out with so that may have contributed, but it is possible. There are always anomalies.

Exactly. Plus, muscle weights more than fat. It's very easy to gain 25 lbs of fat in that amount of time, so it has to at least be possible, to gain 25lbs of muscle. 

[wiguy94]

31 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

I think people underestimate how much of a grind a MLB regular season is, particularly for younger players who haven't been through it.  The idea of Frelick being 25lbs heavier now that he was at the end of last season isn't very far-fetched considering he probably dropped weight over the course of the season from where he was entering Spring Training in 2024.

Knowing MMA contestants routinely are able to gain a couple dozen pounds in a few days between weigh ins and the actual fights doesn't make putting on 25 lbs seem that impossible.  Properly hydrating your existing frame compared to it being in a mildly dehydrated or fatigued state is typically good for 10+lbs on a normal frame, too.

I mean I don't think many are disputing Frelick gained 25 pounds. It's the selling it as Frelick gained 25 pounds of muscle that's complete nonsense. He's 5'8 and 190lbs so he's probably pretty maxed out physically which means it's tougher for him to maintain that weight in season when he's not lifting weights as often as he does in the offseason.

[nate82]

4 minutes ago, bigred said:

Exactly. Plus, muscle weights more than fat. It's very easy to gain 25 lbs of fat in that amount of time, so it has to at least be possible, to gain 25lbs of muscle. 

It is physically not possible to gain 25lbs of muscle in the time frame that is being talked about.  At most you are going to gain about 2-3lbs of muscle a month.  You will gain more when you start and then you will start to flatten out as it gets harder and harder to add more muscles. 

Frelick may have gained 25lbs but it wasn't all in muscle.  He probably gained about 8lbs in muscle and about 17lbs in fat.  Even if Frelick was on the best roids known to man he wouldn't gain 25lbs of muscle in about 4 months.  If we take the average of 3lbs a month that would be about 12lbs of muscle.  Most professional body builders can't even hit that.  Realistically he probably only gained about 4lbs of muscle. 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

2 hours ago, bm1090 said:

It's possible. I did about 15 lbs in 3-4 months. and I wasn't working nearly as hard as these guys are and was taking 0 supplements and wasn't that focused on my diet. I was pretty thin to start out with so that may have contributed, but it is possible. There are always anomalies.

No it isn't. I have been weight training for 23 years and I was a college athlete on a strength program designed by a professional for 5 years. 

You're not putting on "muscle" You are gaining weight and some of it is muscle. Usually, they will try to do this while minimizing or eliminating the loss of speed/quickness, but even if the goal were to gain 25 lbs, if it was in one offseason, they would concede that a lot of that is fat.

But this is just a laughable thing to say, that someone gained 2lbs of muscle a week for 3.5 months, which is what it says. I know that he probably isn't claiming that, but it's when the fans and layman take that and run with it and keep repeating it. 

It is not physically possible, and it would be as believable to me if he said he gained 6 inches in height. It's that silly.

It just speaks to the ignorance of the general public as to what 2 lbs of actual muscle is and how hard it would be pack that on.

Also, the fact that he is a professional athlete and I presume already works out, makes it harder to put on, not easier. If you haven't run for 10 years and then run for 3 months you can probably shave 2 minutes off your mile in 3 months. Lifting is very much the same. You will skyrocket at the jump, and plateau as you go with the gains becoming harder and harder to achieve.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

2 hours ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

I think people underestimate how much of a grind a MLB regular season is, particularly for younger players who haven't been through it.  The idea of Frelick being 25lbs heavier now that he was at the end of last season isn't very far-fetched considering he probably dropped weight over the course of the season from where he was entering Spring Training in 2024.

Knowing MMA contestants routinely are able to gain a couple dozen pounds in a few days between weigh ins and the actual fights doesn't make putting on 25 lbs seem that impossible.  Properly hydrating your existing frame compared to it being in a mildly dehydrated or fatigued state is typically good for 10+lbs on a normal frame, too.

Apples and oranges. I could lose 8-9 pounds in a single practice in college. That's not losing muscle. I could also "gain" 25 pounds in a literal week from the last weigh-in to the following weekend. That's not "gaining muscle." MMA/wrestling/boxing are regularly dehydrating themselves - that is what's causing those wild fluctuations. A workout + sauna + dehydrating for 2 days can do 15 lbs.

I am not at all saying it's impossible for Frelick to be 25 pounds heavier than end of season. I am saying it is not physically possible that he "gained 25 pounds of muscle."

If he was a warrior this winter, and is 25 pounds heavier, he probably weighed himself dry (not sweating) after a meal, has been resting and bulking and gained 5-8 muscle at the most.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

2 hours ago, Jopal78 said:

The “best shape of my life” statement is worn out, but I wouldn’t underestimate a young man in his 20s with nothing but time on his hands and cash to burn. If Chris Pratt could get huge for Guardians of the Galaxy, I’m sure a pro ballplayer can with a trainer, cook, and world class training facilities. 
 

 

Movie star getting ripped in 6 months is a world apart from this - that is working out and shedding fat so you can see muscles that are already there. He lost 50 pounds for Guardians. There is a huge difference between getting lean and "gaining 25 pounds of muscle." This would be like Romeo Doubs reporting at 230 next season with the same body composition. It just doesn't happen.

[LouisEly]

The first semester of my sophomore year of undergrad I went from 175 in August to 200 by Christmas.  Was the first time I really weight trained.  I'm sure it wasn't all muscle, but it was a pretty lean, ripped 200 and I didn't need to get bigger pants.  I remember looking in the mirror at a Christmas or New Years party I went to and said, "holy crap". 

Let's not get caught up in the 25 lbs of muscle thing.  I'm sure he didn't have it measured.

[jesusoftheapes]

They said this about Turang last season and I saw the same guy only with a more professional swing for his bat speed . He looked the same size to me when I saw him last spring. This spring Sal is supposed to be the body change.   They guy who took the muscle building class in the offseason and absolutely stayed away from the PED.  They say 25lbs of build he may have added and yet when I see him in truth he is a lot like the Sal who jacked that tanker against the Mets playoff time last season.       I think the Brewers have that media in pocket so much that when they want something in the news like "we expect Sal to hit more homeruns now" they have them make up a story that supports that realization.       So we are expected to believe Sal put on 25 pounds in one offseason which would be incredible for human body development and probably a detrimental amount of weight for a guy his size to carry into a season after not having this size before.   Adding 25 lbs to a human frame is enough to really change a person.    If it is fat 25 lbs of fat can make a skinny guy looks really portly .   If it is muscle It is enough to change a person's speed negatively but it is also enough weight to make a guy who could pick up  200lbs flat off the ground into someone who can lift 400 off the ground.     In muscle in the case of Sal the difference in adding 25 lbs of jacked man meat should prove to give him many more MPH on his swing and his contact should carry massive increases in power .        But 25 lbs of weight added seems near impossible for a frame like Sal to add in any offseason and when I see Sal I do not see that weight on him so I do not know where this reported bump in size is coming from in truth.   

If Sal hits 10 or more Home runs everything being reported now will make sense.  However if the Brewers expect him to step up and hit more Homers in 2025 and that is really what they want the public at large to be thinking about when it comes to Sal( like they were doing from the TV booth at the end of 2024 when they said Sal would soon be hitting more of them) they should just say that and not make up reasons for people to thing this .     If they are green lighting Sal (which is what had been holding his homerun numbers back not ability to hit them) and allowing him to swing for points and not for working pitch counts that would be just as interesting as a made up story about him adding a insane amount of weight he never actually added.    

Matt Owner Boy (proof the Packers are the only team in sports who got it right) told us how much he cares about winning so everything is a negative today and everyday after because as long as he is the big man there is no effort to make winning World Series in play here.     So why do I care?  He literally ruined baseball AND IT WAS NOT A MISQUOTED STATEMENT! He meant that exact thing and there is no amount of cover or shade to throw to make it not have been said.  Owner Boy just ruined baseball for anyone who is sick of losing.  That should be the mass majority of us BTW.       But at least he can clear $900 million in his own personal value by the end of 2025.   His $200 million dollar profit is projected to come off Our paying for Brewers tickets, gear, and watching baseball on TV so he gets paid more money and his kids kids can make good in their own generation.   The rest of us can just keep paying for losing and like it.     

 

[jesusoftheapes]

On 2/19/2025 at 10:37 AM, OldSchoolSnapper said:

BSOML. Lol. 

I laugh every time I see these. There's no way, none, zero, that a human put on "25 lbs of muscle" in 3.5 months.

I do not think it is something he started 3 months ago . Sal was already getting bigger at the end of 2024 and had already added about 10lbs through 2024 in season.  So the idea of him adding 14 lbs offseason is not too far fetched.    Where he added the weight however is lost on me because he looks no different and 25 lbs of added weight would show up in truth.   

If you remember last year they all told us Brice Turang added 15 lbs of muscle before last season.  Yet in truth he looked about the same as 2023 Brice Turang.  He just had changed his swing and was poised to put more homers on the tally ticket.   When he ended up not hitting a bunch of homers the story of him adding size went out the window and no one brought it up after the first week of Spring.      

This year Sal has the greenlight to hit homers by management .  That would be a much more believable story but the Brewers do not roll that way and do not want to be seen as the reason these players we want to hit more dingers are not hitting them .    Most of the lack of Sal (unlike Turang) hitting strong balls is the Brewers purposely using him to work the pitchers into long counts and getting himself on base .    They will never admit this fact but it is by design at least in Sal's case so far.    

[LouisEly]

53 minutes ago, jesusoftheapes said:

They said this about Turang last season and I saw the same guy only with a more professional swing for his bat speed .

Oh no, I could definitely tell that Turang put on some weight.  Most of it was in his lower half.  His legs were definitely thicker than the prior year.

[brewcrewdue80]

If he actually says I dunno about BSoL, then his body has previously had 25lbs added on his frame. If that's true he could add muscle at a higher rate than normal.  He refilled his former muscle mass.  25lbs is still not all muscle. It's a body frame gain.

[jesusoftheapes]

1 hour ago, LouisEly said:

Oh no, I could definitely tell that Turang put on some weight.  Most of it was in his lower half.  His legs were definitely thicker than the prior year.

Yet is was reported last season he put the weight on his upper body.  So I never trust anyone who reports size =output before a season.  They are all pro athletes so they all look like big guys to me.   Even Caleb Durbin at 5'6'' looks like a tank.      So I can never tell.     

[jesusoftheapes]

1 hour ago, brewcrewdue80 said:

If he actually says I dunno about BSoL, then his body has previously had 25lbs added on his frame. If that's true he could add muscle at a higher rate than normal.  He refilled his former muscle mass.  25lbs is still not all muscle. It's a body frame gain.

He is a pro athlete so anything is actually possible because they are starting from a place of great fitness from the jump.  So they are better at adding muscle than the average John Q Public.    

[torts]

On 2/19/2025 at 1:34 PM, kestrel79 said:

I'm getting Major League 2 vibes with Willie Mayes Hayes here trying to hit dingers now.

I'd rather he turn into cerrano