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San Andreas · Stats Guide

GTA San Andreas Stats: How to Raise Every Skill

📅 Checked on 11 September 2026

Every stat in San Andreas rises by doing the thing it measures: swim underwater for lung capacity, lift weights for muscle, drive for driving skill. Five activities make gains permanent: Paramedic maxes health, Vigilante adds 50 per cent armour, Firefighter makes CJ fireproof, Burglar gives infinite sprint and the 50 oysters max lung capacity. All 12 stats first, then each one in detail.

Stat	What it does	How to raise it	How it drops	Permanent shortcut	PC cheat
Lung capacity	How long CJ holds his breath underwater.	Stay underwater: every 60 seconds below the surface adds 5 per cent.	It never drops.	Collect all 50 oysters: maximum lung capacity.	`MANFROMATLANTIS`
Stamina	How long CJ sprints, swims fast and pumps the pedals.	Run, swim or cycle. 150 seconds of swimming or 300 of running or cycling add 5 per cent; the gym treadmill or bike adds 4 per cent every 14 seconds.	Not through diet.	Burglar: steal $10,000 in total and sprinting becomes infinite.	`ICANGOALLNIGHT`
Muscle	Melee damage, and at 50 per cent a heavier walk.	Lift weights: 0.1 to 0.9 per cent per rep, the bench press more than dumbbells. Running, swimming and cycling add muscle too, more slowly.	Burn all your fat, then stop eating: muscle goes next.	n/a	`BUFFMEUP`
Fat	Too much slows CJ and blocks some activities.	Eat. A meal adds 1, 2 or 3.5 per cent depending on size, a salad nothing, a Sprunk 0.25 per cent.	Run, swim, cycle, or the gym treadmill and bike: 2.5 per cent every 14 seconds.	n/a	`WHOATEALLTHEPIES`
Sex appeal	How women react to CJ, girlfriends included.	Half comes from his look (hair, clothes, accessories, tattoos), half from the last vehicle he used. Lowriders and sports cars give the most.	A damaged car, or walking more than 120 feet away from it.	All 50 oysters: girlfriends date CJ whatever his sex appeal.	`HELLOLADIES`
Respect	How many Grove Street members follow CJ, up to seven.	Take territory (+30 per cent), kill rival gang members (+0.5 per cent each), finish story missions, spray tags, wear green in Grove Street turf.	Lose territory (-3 per cent) or get your own recruits killed (-2 per cent each).	n/a	`WORSHIPME`
Driving skill	Car handling.	Drive cars and trucks. The meter follows the distance driven.	It never drops.	n/a	`NATURALTALENT`
Bike skill	Motorcycles: CJ falls off less.	Ride any motorcycle.	It never drops.	n/a	`NATURALTALENT`
Cycling skill	Bicycles: higher bunny hops, faster pedalling.	Ride any bicycle.	It never drops.	n/a	`NATURALTALENT`
Flying skill	Handling in every aircraft.	Fly.	It never drops.	n/a	`NATURALTALENT`
Max health	The length of the health bar: 100 points at the start, 176 at most.	Exercise. Running and cycling each add a few points.	It never drops.	Paramedic, level 12: maximum health at once.	n/a
Max armour	The length of the armour bar.	Only one way.	It never drops.	Vigilante, level 12: armour capacity up 50 per cent, to 150.	n/a

The Five Rewards That Last

The four side missions start from the vehicle itself: climb into an ambulance, a fire truck or a police car and trigger the mission, or drive the Burglar van at night. The oysters are underwater, all over the map. None of these rewards can be lost afterwards.

Activity	What it takes	Cash earned	Permanent reward
Paramedic	12 levels in an ambulance	$37,500	Maximum health, set to its ceiling immediately
Firefighter	12 levels in a fire truck	$45,900	Fireproof: CJ no longer burns
Vigilante	12 levels in a police vehicle	$32,500	Armour capacity up 50 per cent, to 150 (bugged on some PC versions)
Burglar	$10,000 of stolen goods in total, at night	$10,000	Infinite sprint. The stamina stat itself does not move
Oysters	All 50, collected underwater	$105,000	Maximum lung capacity, and every girlfriend dates CJ whatever his looks

How to Increase Lung Capacity

Stay underwater. Every 60 seconds below the surface adds 5 per cent, so an empty bar fills in about twenty minutes of diving. Dive, stay down until the breath meter is nearly empty, surface, and go again. Swimming also burns fat, so eat between sessions if you want to keep CJ's muscle.

The shortcut is the oysters: collecting all 50 sets lung capacity to maximum for good, and pays $105,000 on the way. Keep at least 5 per cent either way, since below that the game will not let you start the mission Amphibious Assault.

How to Build Muscle, and How to Lose It

Weights build it fastest: each rep adds 0.1 to 0.9 per cent, the heavier the weight the more, and the bench press gives more than the dumbbells at the same level. Running, swimming, cycling and the gym treadmill add muscle too, more slowly. At 50 per cent muscle CJ's walk changes. At 100 per cent some girlfriends refuse him, unless you have collected the 50 oysters.

To lose muscle, burn the fat first. Muscle only drops once fat is at zero, so run, swim or use the gym bike until the fat bar is empty, then stop eating. One in-game hour lasts one real minute: after 48 in-game hours without a meal, 48 real minutes, CJ starts burning 2.5 per cent fat every hour, and once that is gone the muscle goes with it. The cheat LEANANDMEAN sets both fat and muscle to their minimum at once.

Going the other way, twelve meals inside three in-game hours makes CJ throw up, lose the fat he just gained, and restaurants refuse to serve him for eleven hours.

How to Increase Sex Appeal

Half of sex appeal is CJ's look: hairstyle, clothes, accessories and tattoos, with expensive items worth more. The other half is the last vehicle he used, which keeps counting while he stays within 120 feet of it. Lowriders and sports cars give the biggest boost, and every dent reduces it. The cheat HELLOLADIES maxes it.

One point is uncertain. One, which documents the half-and-half split, says fat and muscle play no part in the stat itself; the other counts muscle. Both agree that girlfriends react to CJ's build separately, whatever the meter says, and that the 50 oysters remove every requirement.

How to Recruit More Gang Members

Respect decides how many Grove Street members follow CJ, up to seven. Taking a territory in a gang war is worth 30 per cent on its own, by far the fastest way up; each rival gang member killed adds 0.5 per cent. Losing a territory costs 3 per cent and every recruit who dies costs 2. Wearing green in Grove Street turf helps, and not wearing it there hurts.

Respect above	Recruits
1%	2
10%	3
20%	4
40%	5
60%	6
80%	7

Driving, Bike, Cycling and Flying Skill

Four separate meters, one per kind of vehicle, and each rises only with use. Driving skill follows the distance covered in cars and trucks and improves handling. Bike skill, for motorcycles, makes CJ fall off less. Cycling skill, for bicycles, gives higher bunny hops and faster pedalling. Flying skill steadies every aircraft. None of them ever drops, and the cheat NATURALTALENT maxes all four.

Weapon Skill

Each firearm has its own meter, raised by hitting people or vehicles with that weapon, from Poor to Gangster to Hitman. The Tec-9 and the Micro SMG share one skill, and melee, thrown and heavy weapons have none. What each level changes, dual wielding included, is on the San Andreas weapons tier list.

Or Skip the Grind

A cheat exists for almost every stat: BUFFMEUP for muscle, WHOATEALLTHEPIES for fat, ICANGOALLNIGHT for stamina, MANFROMATLANTIS for infinite lung capacity, WORSHIPME for respect, HELLOLADIES for sex appeal, NATURALTALENT for the vehicle skills and PROFESSIONALKILLER for weapons. The Definitive Edition uses different strings for some of them; every version, with the console button combos, is on the San Andreas cheat codes page.

The rates on this page, per minute underwater or per rep, are fan measurements. A second reference confirms which activity raises which stat, but does not publish rates.

More San Andreas on GTAside

The fastest cars in San Andreas, where a lowrider or a sports car doubles as a sex appeal boost, the easter eggs, the secret areas and the game page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you increase lung capacity in GTA San Andreas?

Swim underwater. Every 60 seconds spent below the surface adds 5 per cent, so a full bar takes about twenty minutes of diving. Collecting all 50 oysters sets lung capacity to maximum at once. Below 5 per cent the game will not let you start the mission Amphibious Assault.

How do you lose muscle in GTA San Andreas?

Burn your fat first, then stop eating. Muscle only starts to drop once fat is at zero, so run, swim or use the gym treadmill and bike until the fat bar is empty, then skip meals. The cheat LEANANDMEAN, KVGYZQK on the definitive version, sets both fat and muscle to their minimum instantly.

How do you increase sex appeal in GTA San Andreas?

Half of it is CJ's look, the other half is the last vehicle he used. Buy expensive clothes, a haircut and tattoos, and drive a lowrider or a sports car, which give the biggest boost. The car only counts while CJ stays within 120 feet of it, and damage reduces what it gives. The cheat HELLOLADIES sets sex appeal to maximum.

How many gang members can you recruit in San Andreas?

Seven at most, and the number depends on respect: 2 above 1 per cent, 3 above 10, 4 above 20, 5 above 40, 6 above 60 and all 7 above 80. Taking a territory is worth 30 per cent of respect on its own, the fastest way up.

How do you increase driving skill in GTA San Andreas?

Drive. The skill follows the distance covered in cars and trucks, so long runs on the freeway raise it fastest. Motorcycles, bicycles and aircraft each have their own separate skill. The cheat NATURALTALENT maxes all four.

How do you get max health in GTA San Andreas?

Finish level 12 of the Paramedic side mission: it raises CJ's maximum health to its ceiling, 176 points against 100 at the start. Exercise raises it too, a few points at a time. HESOYAM refills health and armour but does not lengthen the bar.

How do you get infinite stamina in GTA San Andreas?

Steal $10,000 worth of goods in the Burglar side mission. CJ then sprints, swims and cycles without tiring, although the stamina stat in the menu stays where it was. The cheat ICANGOALLNIGHT, VKYPQCF on the definitive version, maxes the stat itself.