I have a different perspective.:lightbulb:
I'm 30 years old now, and I've trained naturally for over 12 years now. I began lifting at age 17, and through my years of arduous progress, I've learned a LOT. I've learned the ins and outs of what works for my body... with regards to meals, supplements, sleep, training, etc.
When you're natural, no gains come easily... and it is normal to get frustrated. I often looked at the huge guys in my gym, and wondered how I could get to be their size (I was ignorant about steroids for a long time.) However, this caused me to passionately pursue every natural avenue that I had available to me.
I've studied nutrition books, and tried to come up with healthy meal plans that would add lean mass. I've studied supplements, and tried to buy all the best ones that I thought might have a slight positive effect. I've spent countless hours studying training methods, and learning the ins and outs of every exercise, and thinking about how to optimize my workout routines.
These are the only tools available to a natural bodybuilder, so he has to spend time learning about them. I've been very ignorant about steroids until recently. I view them as the "final tool" to learn about, and master.
I'm very well in-tune with my body now, to the point that i know that if I miss a meal, or get a few less hours of sleep, my workout will suffer by X%. I know that if I get lazy and skip a meal here or there, my weight will start to go down.... or if I get lazy and eat a cheat meal, I will look a little worse in the mirror.
I know the right amount of sets to do in the gym in order to make progress, and I know how much I can do before I start to over train.
Here's the thing: When you're natural, your body forces you to do everything OPTIMALLY to keep making gains. You might look at this negatively, but I actually think it's a positive. When you're forced to do everything optimally, and gains still come slow, it forces you to appreciate discipline and correctness.
These things are only learned through experience, and in my opinion, the lessons are better taught if you're natural.
You need to learn to EAT optimally. You need to eat every 2-3 hours, with high protein, healthy, balanced, nutritious meals. You cannot eat junk, and you cannot skip meals.
You need to learn to train optimally. Every little thing you do in the gym matters. Your form matters, your intensity matters, your volume and frequency matter, and the exercises you select matter. You need to try to master all the basic exercises, and put together a training plan to maximize your gains.
You need to learn to rest optimally.
You need to learn to use supplements optimally. I fully believe in the value of supplements. It kind of surprises me that so many guys here eschew supplements, or think they are worthless. In my experience, they have helped alot. If you're natural, and at a sticking point, and you suddenly add a useful supplement, you will quickly realize its benefit.
My favorites are:
-Creapure Creatine
-BCAA powder
-L-Leucine powder with meals
-Fish Oil
-High quality protein and carb powders post-workout
I've gone from 6 feet 140lbs, to 6 feet 275lbs from age 18 to 30. Now, I'm not the "Incredible Hulk", but I'm a well balanced lifter with developed muscle groups.
I'm 6 ft, 275lbs now, and I'm at the point where nothing I do will really make me any bigger or stronger.... without adding a lot of flab. At this point, I truly believe adding steroids would make sense.
I believe I'd be much lazier, and I wouldn't have half the knowledge if I had just started juicing immediately at 18.
Here's an example. I was surprised recently, when I was watching a Jay Cutler training video. It surprised me, when a seasoned professional like Jay Cutler, only recently figured out that barbell squatting was a better way to train legs than squatting in a Smith Machine. He talked about this at length in a recent video. But the thing is.... for a guy like him who started juicing heavily on day 1... he never had to learn lessons like that. His legs ALWAYS grew from anything he did. He probably never had to really struggle to make progress on his legs. Only now, that he is at the peak of his career, is he struggling to find ways to make new leg gains. (I figured out a long time ago that barbell squatting was much better for leg growth than Smith squats.)
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