I only work out 2 or 3 days a week. I have gone from 165 at the beginning of summer to about 180 now. I haven't taken my body fat percentage, but just judging from looks, I'd say it's about the same. I don't know if tha'ts good or bad but I guess you could say I've been putting on about 5lbs of muscle a month. Not looking to be a body builder or anything, just want to be in good shape and have good form. People have been noticing and I can feel my tshirts getting more snug.
Oh and I'm using one of the workouts suggestion in the sticky in this forum although I usually add one more set to each excercise than they recommend. Working out 7 days a week is ridiculous. People like that don't realize that getting bulk comes from the the repair, not from the workout itself. Once you've broken the muscle down to a certain point, it's not necessary to push it any further. Now it's time to get some protein and relax it for a few days and let it repair. Your friend seems to be way overdoing it.