People have heinously unrealistic expectations when it comes to bodybuilding. It’s fucking insanity as to what some legitimately believe is “easily obtainable”
I can’t understand how some are delusional to the point they’ll argue hugh jackman in wolverine is all natty at age 50 (despite looking more jacked/peeled in each subsequent film, having always been skinny/lanky his whole life up until his 40s where he exploded out of nowhere yet he continually sizes down significantly in between films).
I got into an arguement with my uncle about it and he shows me a pic of himself when he was younger… and while he did look decent in perfect lighting he says “see, I looked like that naturally”… sure…
And everyone knows that colleague who talks about gym, training and workout etiquette with other co workers who are into gym… yet this person doesn’t actually go to gym
But mind you brah… when he was 18 he was an absolute unit. 235lbs of solid beef, 4% BF with 69 inch biceps!
I don’t know if its veiled insecurity that created these individuals. But surely they realise how obnoxious they’re being… always need to one up those who are actually going to gym while they eat cheeseburgers for lunch
“Yea brah when I was 18 I squatted (insert high and untrue number… 505lbs)”
“Oh wow! I hit 515lbs at a meet the other day”
“Did I say 505lbs? I meant 1505lbs”.
I don’t know if these WNBF comps conduct random drug testing out of comp
If they don’t, then it’s more/less an IQ test as to who gets popped and who doesn’t.
I’d be willing to believe that Kurt guy is natty… but he’s like 1 in 100,000 in terms of his insertions, conditioning and size for a FULLY natural guy who has never taken anything.
What a beast of a man… Truly inspiring. Impressive neck for a natural guy. I bet he does direct neck work.
While most natties aren’t going to look like this (ever). I’d prefer if guys like this had a following as opposed to the blatant fake natties we see on tIk ToK and instagram selling terrible fitness advice to young and impressionable teens.
This guy looks impressive, but he doesn’t look like peak Schwarzenegger at the age of 19… Better to have legitimately natural guys promoting natural bodybuilding. Even if you won’t look like this, it’s not “so far off from what is achievable that the guy is practically an alien”. The average guy who is 6 foot can probably get to 180 or so shredded after many years of hard work… Putting guys up on a pedestal who are 6 foot and 245lbs lean and marketing that towards kids as natty obtainable… I don’t like that at all
This is a great picture to illustrate the difference in expectations the media has created. Being in good shape, functionally strong and an attainable physique is no longer good enough. Now, it has to be extreme, either size, leanness or a combo of both.
I know this will be unpopular, but it reminds me of the Gaspari days on bodybuilding where we started embarking on who was willing to take more chances with their health. Now, it has moved to the everyday gyms. The supplement, caffeine, drug loads, and extreme workouts I am seeing with the under 40’s is ridiculous. Something has to give, you can’t walk around for years with tortoise shell abs 24x7. It used to be the joints were the limiting factor, I fear we are going to see the internal organs in the future. I am all for training, been doing for 40 years, but there is a huge difference from the 40’s bodybuilders who started it, to this stuff.
Brother I’m not knocking you. You look good for your age. But you threw a wild claim out there that just doesn’t match your IG. I won’t post your own pics here, but you are about double that BF claim of 14%. My avatar is about 15% for what its worth.
If we are talking sub 10% BF, it isn’t easy for most even with gear use that would be considered mild to modest (by people who know a bit about gear use). Quite a bit easier at 5’11.75" compared to even 5’9". I’d say it is about 7-10 lbs per inch of body height to have comparable physiques at different heights.
For reference to what type of physique this is, here is the weight limits for pro IFBB classic physique competitors. They are leaner than 10%, but most of the competitive guys are using a lot of gear.
You look about 12% you have visible abs. Dude I’m no 28% I may have estimated low, but not that low. Lol Doing a 20 week cut, ends in May. ( just for me)I’ll check back in.
Abs can generally be seen mid teens. Depends on genetics and where you carry your fat as well as abdominal muscle development. Eddie Hall has abs even though he is prob closer to 20%.
I hate to be the tough love guy… but yes you are closer to 28% than 14%. Numbers are just numbers, but this is a classic case of what we already discussed. “I used to be 7%” “I used to bench 500lbs” “When I was young…”. Most of these folks also walked up hill both ways to school (in the snow).
@Liftinsince79 this is most likely in the 25%BF range, but you’re always welcome to get a DEXA scan and prove us/me wrong. Wasn’t trying to call you out, just saying that the numbers you posted are VERY impressive, but the picture you posted is not… so something is amiss here.
I’m not posting these pictures to brag, but because I never got my bodyfat tested at the time, I’ve wondered what the general consensus for an estimate of bf percentage shown here would be amongst experienced people.
I think it was 5-7%.
I don’t look anything like this now. And I never will and don’t want to. It was a terrible (but fun) experience.
I think visible lower ab veins is usually an indicator for sub-10%BF.
I’d also say visible separation of biceps and brachialis is an indicator os sub-8%BF.
If you told me you got DEXA scanned at 5-7%, I’d believe you without needing to see the receipt.
I’d imagine at 5%, any individual would have striations in almost all of their muscles. You’ve got most here, but my eyechrometer is not accurate enough to say beyond your estimate of 5-7%.
