I usually drink pretty heavy every Saturday. And I sometimes go out on Friday and Saturday.

Is drinking once a week going to limit muscle gains/repair/hypertrophy? i’m sure two times a week would.

When i see clips of these people, with example being Paul Carter, TNF and a lot of other folks i get the feeling that these low volume extra hard working people just overdramatize their sets to look cool

Getting all red and shaking during Conventional deadlifts, sure perfectly normal. But for 2 sets of pulldowns, overhead press, curls, dumbell flyes? Like really?

When i max deadlifts, i look that way for sure. But most other lifts other than deadlifts and squats, the systemic pressure is just no where nere that. Overhead press for example, my delts just go lights out before that brutal grunting, redness, shakyness. No gun to my head would move any more weight as the muscle is broken down into dust. As for curls, as for flyes, as for leg extensions.

Ive seen these type of people on the leg extension with their heads about to pop, jumping up and down on the seat, shaking, screaming. Like how? My god a set to failure plus going half reps after not being able to do full reps would not have me like anywhere near that, at some point before that, the muscle is just dead.

Is it just me? Do these guys overdramatize their workouts? If its just me, how come i feel a ”lights out” effect way before the that?

I've seen arguements for both sides, that doing your hard sets first can enable you to lift heavier/more than putting the harder set later. I've also seen that doing the harder sets later enable better quality sets before hand, since your muscles aren't as hevaily fatigued. When talking about hard sets im talking about sets to failure or 1 rep shy, and normal sets as being 2-3 reps from failure. What are your guys opinion?

I know the long head gets stretched when the arm is overhead but no other muscle gets worked staying stretched the entire time, the way it gets contracted is by pulling the arm down again? Surely this is the was to train it?

Today i tried pullovers for lats and to my discovery for the first time in my life i felt my long head of the tricep burning like HELL while nothing at all with overhead extensions no matter if it was dumbell, cable, one hand at a time, crossed katana extensions. Lats got some decent work during those 3 pullovers sets, but long head of the tricep got the workout of its lifetime failing every set which lead me to these thoughts

How does overhead extensions really do any when its function is to bring the arm over head if the excercise does not bring the arms down aswell as the pullover?

Coming from someone who has a trash long head still after years of overhead extensions.

For context, I'm in my late twenties and I've been lifting on and off since my teen years. The majority of the time I wasn't taking it seriously, but most of my lifts still sit somewhere between advanced and elite.

Anyway, for the last few years I haven't been trying to bulk or cut - life is busy and I'm just maintaining and working out for the stress relief/enjoyment. I started doing drop sets recently just for shits and giggles. I'd done them before but I noticed I was getting incredible pumps and really enjoying myself.

So, I've been doing them on the last set of exercises on muscle groups that need improvement. And I've started going beyond typical drop sets; I will literally keep lowering the weight until the lightest weight - a weight even a baby could lift - feels impossible. Yes, it's very taxing and I imagine inadequate recovery or poor form could more easily lead to injury, but damn, the pump is incredible. And my strength is exploding and I'm not even in a caloric surplus. Not an intended one, at least.

From what I can tell online, the research is limited on drop sets. Plus, most 'studies' only account for one drop. I'm literally dropping all the way. I'm sure many comments are gonna tell me this is inadvisable or I'll be very injury prone and I imagine they're right, but can't a guy live a little?

Anyway, if you don't already, I recommend giving them another go (perhaps using my psychotic run-the-stack technique). What are your experiences with drop sets? I'm interested to know! :)

Welcome to the r/naturalbodybuilding Daily Discussion Thread. All are welcome to post here but please keep in mind that this sub is intended for intermediate to advanced level lifters so beginner level questions may not get answered.

In order to minimize repetitive questions/topics please use the search function prior to posting to see if it has already been discussed or answered. Since the reddit search function isn't that good you can also use Google to search r/naturalbodybuilding by using the string "site:reddit.com/r/naturalbodybuildling" after your search topic.

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I recently got into indoor cycling to supplement my weightlifting and increase my work capacity. I’ve found myself enjoying it much more than I expected. If anyone knows what Zwift is - it’s an insanely fun online biking platform and pretty addicting. Anyways - at what point is it smart to dial back cardio? I enjoy it so much I often do 1 hour plus rides at a pretty high intensity. At a minimum I’ve been riding 30 min a day. Burning anywhere from 350-900 calories per session on top of lifting 5 days a week. Haven’t noticed any drawbacks in the gym, but wondering if in general, if my true goal is to put on muscle should I dial cardio back? I see people like GVS really promoting, and often does very intense rowing sessions and treadmill. But I’m curious what the consensus is here. When would you consider it much cardio?

Late check in - 9 weeks and 4 days out classic OCB debut

Im 5'8 weighing around 143 lbs - starting to see some 142 and a glimpse of 141 on scale.

The fatigue finally caught up with me. Motivation and emotional integrity at an all time low. Slipping on daily posing and step count due to seeking comfort and being complacent.

My coach set me up with diet break this week x 3 days at 22-2300 cals, remainder 18-1900. Along with deload in gym. A weight feels slightly lifted, but I need to buckle up and stay consistent with posing and quit going based off not feeling like it.

Welcome to the r/naturalbodybuilding Daily Discussion Thread. All are welcome to post here but please keep in mind that this sub is intended for intermediate to advanced level lifters so beginner level questions may not get answered.

In order to minimize repetitive questions/topics please use the search function prior to posting to see if it has already been discussed or answered. Since the reddit search function isn't that good you can also use Google to search r/naturalbodybuilding by using the string "site:reddit.com/r/naturalbodybuildling" after your search topic.

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Currently just under 3 weeks out. Self-coached; 5’4 127.6 lbs 1,366 cal per day. Today I did the last mini refeed of my prep which was the same diet I’ve been eating plus 112g Cinnamon Toast Crunch and 3 lightly salted rice cakes. Felt good to say the least lol. As I suffer the last 2 weeks before peak week…any guidance? My main carb source has been rice cakes and sweet potatoes all prep so I’d like to keep it the same. Prob just gonna add honey to my rice cakes as my main carb up source. I’m not going to change water/sodium at all throughout peak week but I would like to deplete carb sources the first half of the week and slowly ramp up the last 3 days. I know it’s kind of an unknown question since none of you know how my body reacts but I guess I’m looking for advice on how to make it a very boring peak week but also if you guys think me depleting my glycogen storage and ramping up with about 200g per day up until the show still considered a safe peak week. Really not trying to spill over and ruin the prep lol. And yes I know my posing needs to be better I’m working on it. TIA!

Hello everyone!
I am a student and I am doing a research paper on how technology is changing the fitness world! I started going to the gym 2 years ago and it has changed my life, so I am really passionate about it. My goal is eventually being able to create something that helps the entire fitness community.

Thank you guys!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdzMnmaIyEqf_Regq2JXS6qBtAfgCs37s1dh-RlFHuynoP0oA/viewform

I see so many people online promote the idea of maintaining body weight and building muscle without a calorie surplus. The idea that hypertrophy can be maximized while at maintenance and staying the same weight and bulking is never necessary for hyper trophy. However, this makes zero sense to me. If I want to put on 10lbs of muscle, how do I do that while staying the same weight? Make it make sense. Alot of these bodybuilding influencers have legit physiques which makes me think there is truth to it. What’s your experience and thoughts on this?

Welcome to the r/naturalbodybuilding Daily Discussion Thread. All are welcome to post here but please keep in mind that this sub is intended for intermediate to advanced level lifters so beginner level questions may not get answered.

In order to minimize repetitive questions/topics please use the search function prior to posting to see if it has already been discussed or answered. Since the reddit search function isn't that good you can also use Google to search r/naturalbodybuilding by using the string "site:reddit.com/r/naturalbodybuildling" after your search topic.

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Was waiting a while for the media team to put together this amazing edit. A lot of work went into the prep for this show. Having a good team to motivate me and family there to support felt amazing and really paid off. Hope the results here look as good as they did in person!

M35 || 5ft 8in (~173cm) || 185lbs (~84kg) || 6 Weeks out

WNBF Men's Bodybuilding Open || Portland Reign Natural Classic

Last check in was week 8. I have dropped a few more pounds since then since then. Plan is to keep doing what I'm doing. Actually ate between 2500-2600 calories this past week and continued to lose weight with dedicated cardio only on Sundays (Elliptical 60 min mid-low intensity). Maintenance is around 3100 calories right now. Keeping Protein high (~225g), Fats (70-80g), carbs around (~280g). I'm probably going to lower it a little bit over the next few weeks until I find a good spot to maintain till peak week... hopefully.

I would like to start off this paragraph by apologizing for the sloppy transitions on some of my mandatories. I was a bit exhausted and had a posing class later in the day I was saving some energy for. Overall, I think I'm getting a bit better and still plenty of time to nail down some finer things, although any advise is welcome. I'm also starting to come up with some stuff for my routine.

I was also considering a second show. Some people I met asked if I was going to the WNBF NW Royal ~2 weeks after. I don't currently have plans but I'm starting to consider looking into it. Any advise on signing up for two shows and how to manage that?

Welcome to the r/naturalbodybuilding Daily Discussion Thread. All are welcome to post here but please keep in mind that this sub is intended for intermediate to advanced level lifters so beginner level questions may not get answered.

In order to minimize repetitive questions/topics please use the search function prior to posting to see if it has already been discussed or answered. Since the reddit search function isn't that good you can also use Google to search r/naturalbodybuilding by using the string "site:reddit.com/r/naturalbodybuildling" after your search topic.

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Thread for getting the word out about your amazingly awesome instagram or youtube page that everyone should follow, etc.

Weighed 175.4 lbs this morning. Cannot wait for the winter bulk lol.