after 14 years of natural lifting, i finally made it

[dimassive]

well done bruh

[Mizzoutiger26]

I'd considered jumping on a couple times but the thing that made me thing it over was "why" and the only really good reason I could ever come up with was 1) eat more 2) maybe make money on IG. But then theres a bunch of other kids who are natural and tiny (like maxx chewing) who have a huge following and it's a reminder that how you look is really only a cop out for getting fame on that ****.

My two cents, stay away from the bike my man. The day you hop on is the day your physique will never be pleasing enough, nutrition and consuming enough food becomes an obsession, and you will constantly wonder if you are making the most out of your saucey sauce or if you could be doing more. Hella impressive physique that'll drive bishes wild, you've made it.

[DiamondMaker]

Well guys I decided, to end the diet today. Weighted in 173.5lb today AFTER a carb up, so I must be around 172 flat. 21 weeks was enough. Here is final photos pumped from the prep. Photo below is of my right side, which I don't normally take a photo of because my left side has better delt (but worse arm).

Plan here is to change macros from 225c 260p 30f to 250c 250p 35f and then add about 5% carbs and 2% fat into the diet every week. Cardio will drop slowly over the next 6 weeks until I'm just doing 2 hiit sessions and zero miss. I think I can maintain aesthetics if I don't **** up the reverse and keep my weight under 185.

Thanks bros for all the positive feedback. Helped me the last few days push through the final week.

[Tormoz]

subbed and mirin. Want to extrapolate on your push-pull regime?

[DiamondMaker]

subbed and mirin. Want to extrapolate on your push-pull regime?

Page 5

[CatabolicBrah]

op what do u gain by lying about your natty status?

never got why people would lie about this tbh

[DiamondMaker]

op what do u gain by lying about your natty status?

never got why people would lie about this tbh

I wouldn't gain anything. Especially since I'm not selling products, or vlog or online training or have insta fame etc.
I just made this thread to show people it's possible to have a good look if you're willing to do it for as long and obsessively as I did. This isn't really much to show for 14 years man. I wouldn't even cut it as a natural pro. Still proud though and I'm going to keep pushing

[CatabolicBrah]

I wouldn't gain anything. Especially since I'm not selling products, or vlog or online training or have insta fame etc.
I just made this thread to show people it's possible to have a good look if you're willing to do it for as long and obsessively as I did. This isn't really much to show for 14 years man. I wouldn't even cut it as a natural pro. Still proud though and I'm going to keep pushing

well, while i appreciate u trying to motivate people in a way, training for 14 years vs training
for 7-8 years isn't even that different if you're natty since u stop growing after a point.

anyways i know you aren't natty but not saying u didn't work hard because i know u did
natty or not

[DiamondMaker]

well, while i appreciate u trying to motivate people in a way, training for 14 years vs training
for 7-8 years isn't even that different if you're natty since u stop growing after a point.

anyways i know you aren't natty but not saying u didn't work hard because i know u did
natty or not

Well, I think the 7-8 thing is kinda true but not exactly. For example let me explain my progress in years:

15 years old - 21 years old bro split, minimal progress
22-24 years old found "power/hypertrophy split with higher frequency" made more gains in 2 years then i did in all the bro years
25-26 years old, started getting more into power lifting
27 years old, was dealing with injuries, not a good year
28 years old, hired a powerlifting coach, made big gains in back/legs (and big lifts went up significantly)

So like if you look at it from a muscle perspective, I think by age 23/24 I already had the same amount of muscle in a lot of areas, but my legs and back kept improving due to improvements in powerlifting skill. On page 5 I posted a photo of myself in 2012 at 170lb at the end of my diet. you can see my arms/delts/chest all about the same size - but my legs are much skinnier, my calves almost look bigger.

This has led me to believe maybe this year if I try incorporating something new, like handstand push-ups or other bodyweight stuff I'm thinking, I can maybe make a little bit more progress in my upper body .

[CatabolicBrah]

ya diamond maker, curious to know how long you have been training for?

Less then 2 years.

More info on my amateur of the week page:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/amat...ed-detail.html

This is before lifting(just bodyweight stuff)less then 2 years ago:

so u had trained for less than 2 years in 2012 and now you've been training for 14 years

can't believe 2010 was 14 years ago

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=149576363

[DiamondMaker]

so u had trained for less than 2 years in 2012 and now you've been training for 14 years

can't believe 2010 was 14 years ago

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=149576363

I started lifting at 15 years old, I only started training correctly in 2010 ^ see above data. In 2009 or 2010 I tried modeling so I intentionally lost muscle, and sort of restarted which is when I found the PHAT split that = most of my initial gains.

[FryDude]

You are sculpted. lol if my goals were that high I'd never be happy in life. Geez

[Linedriver]

op what do u gain by lying about your natty status?

never got why people would lie about this tbh

yo what do you gain by harassing someone for what they're claiming on a bodybuilding website. If you don't like what he's saying then fuk off, simple as that. If you don't agree that he's natty, then say your piece and get on with your life.

Seeing as I'm in it for the long haul myself (planning on training for many years to come), seeing chit like this is motivating to me. I fully believe he's natty based on the timeframe and what appears to be a solid work ethic. I have my opinion, and you have yours.

Honestly, I'm sitting here frustrated with myself for taking the time out of my day to type this up for a ******* like yourself.


OP - great job man. Like I mentioned above, it seems like your work ethic and attention to detail is strong, and I bet that had a lot to do with your success. Good luck with the reversal - I'm sure you'll stay aesthetic.

[CatabolicBrah]

yo what do you gain by harassing someone for what they're claiming on a bodybuilding website. If you don't like what he's saying then fuk off, simple as that. If you don't agree that he's natty, then say your piece and get on with your life.

Seeing as I'm in it for the long haul myself (planning on training for many years to come), seeing chit like this is motivating to me. I fully believe he's natty based on the timeframe and what appears to be a solid work ethic. I have my opinion, and you have yours.

Honestly, I'm sitting here frustrated with myself for taking the time out of my day to type this up for a ******* like yourself.


OP - great job man. Like I mentioned above, it seems like your work ethic and attention to detail is strong, and I bet that had a lot to do with your success. Good luck with the reversal - I'm sure you'll stay aesthetic.

lol you're mad af. even op took my opinion better than you lmao.

do u know what an opinion means?

[goingcia]

Okay here is what I'm currently doing more or less.

Day 1 - heavy push w/chest focus
3x scare crows for 15
3x rear delt raises for 15
3x face pulls for 20
1x heavy flat press @ 90% for 1
3x heavy flat bench pressing @ 90% of 90% for 3
3x heavy flat db pressing , these are max rep sets , they pyramid up as the weeks go by, usually start a block with something I can get 20 for
3x incline single-arm db press for 8-12 reps
E = m c 2

...

This is fuqing depressing, knowing that this is what it takes and that I'd never fuqing do all this chit. What courses did you take to come up with this routine?? Always blows my mind how lifters arrive at their complex arse splits.

Fuark... I can't even put my questions into questions right now.

[DiamondMaker]

This is fuqing depressing, knowing that this is what it takes and that I'd never fuqing do all this chit. What courses did you take to come up with this routine?? Always blows my mind how lifters arrive at their complex arse splits.

Fuark... I can't even put my questions into questions right now.

lol,well...

Basically for a long time I worked each muscle group out once a week (bro split). Each muscle getting like 20-30 sets. That didn't work so well.

Then next phase of my training I did a 5 day Power/hypertrophy split (2 days heavy, 3 days hypertrophy) where I hit all body parts twice a week, each time only with 10-15 sets , but the rep ranges were different. So one day was as low as 3-6 reps and the other was between 8-15. This worked very well and I would say majority of my progress were done in these years.

I began to stall so then I tried increasing the split to 6 days, 3 heavy/3hypertrophy - and over-layed the program with generic powerlifting blocks. So for example, in steady of just doing bench twice a week one heavy, and one high rep - I had actual %'s that I aimed to hit.

Finally, after those avenues were maxed out, I hired a powerlifting coach, to do the programing for the big lifts, and then added additional hypertrophy on-top of their programing. This resulted in big gain in back/legs but almost no gains in chest/arms/shoulders.

Now my plan is to stay on a 6-day powerlifting/hypertrophy programing but incorporate more bodyweight movements that utilizes shoulder work . I can't do handstand push-ups so I figure if I start doing those every day I'll gain some size somewhere in my upper body. I've considered olympic lifting but I don't believe that is going to do anything in terms of muscle gains.

What I have also learned is now that I have the size I don't need to do as much work with my legs (like loads of machines) as long as I'm squating/deadlifting regularly. That's why you'll notice I just throw those in before my back days rather then have it as a traditional push/pull/leg/rest split .
Also I have found that db pull-overs could maybe be the "big 4th" lift I'm looking for since I get really good lat pumps/soreness which I can not replicate with pull downs or rows.

[Comstarr]

Chad as fukkk, great work man. Honestly one of the best transformations I've ever seen, this is why I misc. SRS

You look phenomenal.
Repped.

[axiom15]

Gjdm

[Dirtylocks]

Chad as fukkk, great work man. Honestly one of the best transformations I've ever seen, this is why I misc. SRS

You look phenomenal.
Repped.

Good sum up of my feels ITT

[goingcia]

lol,well...

Basically for a long time I worked each muscle group out once a week (bro split). Each muscle getting like 20-30 sets. That didn't work so well.

Then next phase of my training I did a 5 day Power/hypertrophy split (2 days heavy, 3 days hypertrophy) where I hit all body parts twice a week, each time only with 10-15 sets , but the rep ranges were different. So one day was as low as 3-6 reps and the other was between 8-15. This worked very well and I would say majority of my progress were done in these years.

I began to stall so then I tried increasing the split to 6 days, 3 heavy/3hypertrophy - and over-layed the program with generic powerlifting blocks. So for example, in steady of just doing bench twice a week one heavy, and one high rep - I had actual %'s that I aimed to hit.

Finally, after those avenues were maxed out, I hired a powerlifting coach, to do the programing for the big lifts, and then added additional hypertrophy on-top of their programing. This resulted in big gain in back/legs but almost no gains in chest/arms/shoulders.

Now my plan is to stay on a 6-day powerlifting/hypertrophy programing but incorporate more bodyweight movements that utilizes shoulder work . I can't do handstand push-ups so I figure if I start doing those every day I'll gain some size somewhere in my upper body. I've considered olympic lifting but I don't believe that is going to do anything in terms of muscle gains.

What I have also learned is now that I have the size I don't need to do as much work with my legs (like loads of machines) as long as I'm squating/deadlifting regularly. That's why you'll notice I just throw those in before my back days rather then have it as a traditional push/pull/leg/rest split .
Also I have found that db pull-overs could maybe be the "big 4th" lift I'm looking for since I get really good lat pumps/soreness which I can not replicate with pull downs or rows.

Thanks for detailed response. Have you tried combining heavy and high rep into each workout? As in a bro split but where you do something like 3 reps heavy and 2 reps high rep for each exercise twice a week. What do you think about this?

Other random tips you think really helped you? Rest time, lift time, sups?

[Shortstop36]

any before pics of you bulked up pre cut? of did you just slowly get bigger

[Cheeched]

what's the point of working out for over a decade if ppl will just assume you're on roids... life of a natty

[DiamondMaker]

Chad as fukkk, great work man. Honestly one of the best transformations I've ever seen, this is why I misc. SRS

You look phenomenal.
Repped.

this made me lul, thanks man - looking huge in your profile pic

Thanks for detailed response. Have you tried combining heavy and high rep into each workout? As in a bro split but where you do something like 3 reps heavy and 2 reps high rep for each exercise twice a week. What do you think about this?

Other random tips you think really helped you? Rest time, lift time, sups?

I don't think that will work as well because when you go really heavy your CNS fatigues and the whole idea of the hypertrophy days is to not achieve CNS fatigue and instead experience muscular fatigue.

Rest time, I usually give things about 2-3 minutes. I guess on the strictly hypertrophy days I do try to keep the rest down more, that's actually something I'm trying to work at being better about since I'm sort of lax and just let the time go by slow.

Supplements I would say:
Creatine 5g - all year round
beta alanine 3g - before a workout , I took this out for a while and I think I notice an improvement with or without
hmb 3g - I take this every morning during diet phase, idk if it really doesn't anything
fish oil - try to take this all year round, a necessity in dieting phase
multivitamin - try to take all year round, a necessity in dieting phase
vitamin D - I tend to show low on regular physicals so I started taking 5,000 a day

Only other tricks I have are:
300mg caffeine pre-workout
Sometimes I use smelling salts before big lifts in the offseason
Back when I drank I use to do 2 shots of whiskey before deadlifts, but that may or may not have caused a hamstring injury lol

any before pics of you bulked up pre cut? of did you just slowly get bigger

I've done many bulking/dieting phases. My successful diets were summer 2012, summer 2013, Winter 2015 and now summer 2017.

Page 2 is photo of me bulk up in 2014, my last bulk i had injury so I got even fatter than that - but that would normally be about the BF I stop bulking at.

what's the point of working out for over a decade if ppl will just assume you're on roids... life of a natty

No one in person thinks I use roids. And truth is I just really love working out.

[tightteeshirt]

im 6'0 172 and lol I sure don't look like that :/

[Lawlstud]

Holy fuk took your entire life mainly to end up like that.

Good thing I rely on making girls laugh to get laid fuk

[Curlbrahhh]

Holy fuk took your entire life mainly to end up like that.

Good thing I rely on making girls laugh to get laid fuk

Are you reallly going to criticize OPs progress?

[4everalone]

Natty or not OP looks great.

Admitting to taking chit would get you banned so I dont see why people keep bringing that subject up...

[Norwood8]

Excellent physique. Well done, brother.

[Realityy]

Well guys I decided, to end the diet today. Weighted in 173.5lb today AFTER a carb up, so I must be around 172 flat. 21 weeks was enough. Here is final photos pumped from the prep. Photo below is of my right side, which I don't normally take a photo of because my left side has better delt (but worse arm).

Plan here is to change macros from 225c 260p 30f to 250c 250p 35f and then add about 5% carbs and 2% fat into the diet every week. Cardio will drop slowly over the next 6 weeks until I'm just doing 2 hiit sessions and zero miss. I think I can maintain aesthetics if I don't **** up the reverse and keep my weight under 185.

Thanks bros for all the positive feedback. Helped me the last few days push through the final week.

what size are your arms?

[Kuzon]

This is fuqing depressing, knowing that this is what it takes and that I'd never fuqing do all this chit. What courses did you take to come up with this routine?? Always blows my mind how lifters arrive at their complex arse splits.

Fuark... I can't even put my questions into questions right now.

it really isn't that complex. a good natty routine just has to include:
1. a bit of volume in the lower rep, higher intensity range (above 85%)
2. majority of volume in the higher rep ranges
3. high as phuck volume
4. do your heavy compound lifts at the start of the workout
5. progressively overload all lifts with a focus on increasing overall VOLUME from week to week










????????









profit






the only thing OP does that is slightly different is add blood flow restriction at the end of his workouts, which is smart because it's super light training (30% 1rm). it doesn't add to total volume which is the main driver of hypertrophy but still contributes through other mechanisms like metabolic stress

brah you can get jacked too, and in less than 14 years for sure. not taking away from OP's progress, it's srsly impressive but you don't need 14 years to get jacked natty. if you train smart you can get jacked a lot faster, as i'm sure OP will admit




Also OP how are you so light? your arms are bigger than mine and i'm 97kg at 6'2, also you look bigger than me in general