r/naturalbodybuilding

My love for bodybuilding has grown exponentially this past year. But with that, so has my precision and obsession with being as perfect and meticulous with my diet and routine as possible. While being so precise and working with a coach has gotten me some awesome results, I want to find some more balance. I want to be able to enjoy the occasional night of drinking without guilt, or enjoy nights out eating whatever I want without thinking I’m ruining my gains. I want to be able to eat a bowl of ice cream without feeling bad for going “off plan” I want to be able to enjoy a weekend away without worrying about not hitting the gym, but at the same time I love my routine and love being dialed and hate going off track with training/diet. I hate missing gym sessions and always feel a bit of guilt when I eat something that isn’t “optimal” - The gym is so necessary for me, but at the same time I think I take it a bit too seriously at times, especially since I don’t even compete. I just care so much about being as optimal as possible and care so much about achieving my physique goals, that I want to milk out ever last possible % of progress I can even if it’s fractional differences. Anyways, has anyone found success in dialing back their obsession and how did you approach it?

Hello, I typically drink hot coffee (2 espresso shots and milk) before lifting. But I’ve been having issues with GERD. Are there any other pre-workout options that may be better? I need one with caffeine (I know it’s not good for GERD, but the non-stim ones don’t seem to work for me…).

Specifically, at what point did you first fail to progressively overload? That is, fail to add either weight or reps to the same routine from week to week?

For context, I'm going on ~18 months of consistent (3-4x/wk) weightlifting. I feel as though I have been stuck on the same weight and reps (8 reps at 85 lbs total) on EZ bar preacher curl for essentially 4 months at this point.

I average 7hrs 15min of sleep/night (track with Whoop), and am consistently hitting my protein goal (>0.7g/lb) at least 5 days/wk.

My question to all of you: When did you first start to experience a plateau in weekly strength gains? How long did that Plateau last? How did you overcome it? is stalling for 3-4 months at the same weight/reps common after ~18 months of lifting?

Hey everyone, quick question for those who’ve competed or judged before.

When you’re on stage, is it okay to smile without showing your teeth? Like more of a relaxed or closed-mouth smile instead of a full-on grin?

I’ve seen some competitors look more serious or just do a slight smirk, and others go all-in with a big smile, so I’m not sure what judges actually prefer.

Does it depend on the category (like men’s physique vs bikini), or is it just about looking confident either way?

Would appreciate any advice or personal experiences 🙏

Hypothetically if you had 173 days until a men’s physique competition, how would you structure it?

Right now I’m 5’11 190lbs about 17% bf. I’m cutting right now for 8 weeks to try to get down to 12-15% bf and then maintain for a few weeks then start a 13 week prep once I get off a 2 month cruise (Maritime academy).

Do you think this is a good idea? Or should I structure it differently?

All help is appreciated!!

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.

Please include relevant details in your question like training age, weight etc...

Hi everyone,

I need a reality check from you guys. I’ve been working out consistently four times a week for three years now (f31). Up until now, I was the kind of person who just showed up - no ifs, ands, or buts, regardless of how motivated I felt. Last year, there were maybe three weeks in total when I didn’t go to the gym. Working out was just part of my routine, and I enjoyed it.

Last summer, I had an injury in my lower back. During rehab, I did a lot of functional training and realized: It really got to me mentally. It showed me what I was actually missing in traditional, "monotonous" strength training. I originally started working out for the looks. Now I’ve reached a point where I can say: I’m really happy with my body, I’ve built good muscle tone, and I don’t actually want “more” anymore.

Now that the visual incentive and the urge to constantly push myself have faded, I often find traditional training extremely monotonous. I recently took a two-week break; I came back stronger, but by the second exercise in my first workout, I thought: "I'm sick of this. It's so boring. I want to go home."

I don’t want to give up strength training entirely. I immediately miss working out and the social interaction at the gym when I don’t go. Unfortunately, a deload hasn’t made any difference mentally.

I feel like I need a new "reason" that has nothing to do with muscle hypertrophy or just looking good. The functional training part during rehab was great, but how do I incorporate it without feeling like I'm losing my hard-earned foundation or just working out aimlessly?

Do you know that phase where you’ve physically “reached your goal” and working out suddenly loses its purpose? How did you adjust your workout routine to make it fun again once the visual aspect was no longer a motivator?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts :)

Is there a known protocol or approach for aggressive cuts? For background, I got myself from 98kg to 68kg on a prolonged very slow cut (gained muscle) last year and now find myself at around 81kg a lot stronger but with a bit of fluff I want to remove.

My protocol so far is below:

TD 2400 300C 60F 165P

NTD 2200 205C 80F 165P

Steps: 8k

No cardio

If I was to aggressive cut for only 4 weeks, what should I consider changing and by how much?

Two years ago I have been on a weight loss journey and maintained the same weight for a year now. I worked really hard to train my body to intuitively eat. It is very important for me.

For the past few weeks I have been struggling with appetite, it is not even low appetite, it is really NO appetite. It’s the first time in my life that it is happening and I don’t know how to handle it ? At first I could force myself to eat like I usually do but now it’s becoming more difficult because I am literally force feeding myself. I resorted to eating small amounts of unhealthy calorie dense foods to fuel up for work/gym but it ended up being repulsive and it is impacting my gym performance . I am looking for easy to eat food options that are nutrient dense. I don’t necessarily want to stimulate appetite with supplements because I don’t want to mess up with my natural hunger cues.

Ps: female , petite and active

after each session, my knees and wrists are worse even when I stretch everytime, I recently did leg press of 300 kg (660 lbs) and my knee is so bad right now

idk what im doing wrong, my wrist is also pretty small

any idea what should I do

How do you guys deal with luteal phase cravings? Every other day I eat in control and my appetite is normal but I am ravenous about a week before my period til the point I would become irritated and shaky if I don't eat asap. I would eat a large meal and still feel hungry shortly after, and I have massive cravings for salt, fats, sugar, and carbs, aka junk food lol. I have been lifting for 3 years, 4x a week, including cardio, and I'm currently on a cut.

I would appreciate any advice on this matter!

Maintenance phase for 3/4 weeks. Protein will be high and carbs and fats will be tracked too to make sure they aren’t low, I get enough sleep etc, everything outside the gym is on point, but if I don’t actually go to the gym even though I’m at maintenance calories, will it impact existing muscle mass?

I'm at 6'5½ 170lbs will 3200 calories be enough for a lean bulk I struggle to get more than that daily

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.

Please include relevant details in your question like training age, weight etc...

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