If you are a natural lifter you need to hear this. When it comes to building sizeable muscle and significant amounts of muscle mass you have likely been told that you would no longer be able to stay natty. Today, we discuss the natural limit and whether or not its possible to look great without indulging in PED’s or steroids.

To start, whether you are a man over 40 trying to build muscle or a young kid, I want to take you back to a time when I first started lifting weights to build muscle. I was a skinny teenager training at USA Gym. There were two types of people in the gym; those that were competitive bodybuilders or at least competing in local bodybuilding shows and those that were recreational lifters.

My guess was, if you were not competing that only 5 percent of the recreational lifters were using steriods or any type of PED.

Today, that number is estimated to have grown to upwards of 50 percent or more. Included in this group of people using are those that are taking TRT or testosterone replacement therapy as well.

The number of people within the group of competitive bodybuilders, athletes, actors etc that were using years ago that are using today has probably remained somewhat the same. Better drug testing practices have been implemented to perhaps decrease the number of professional athletes who use but that has likely been offset by the increased use in actors who use them to prepare for their roles.

Either way, the most significant increase in use can be attributed to the introduction of vast amounts of fitness influencers on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, etc who likely use steroids themselves. The worst part however is that these influencers cast an unrealistic expectation upon their followers of what a “natural” lifter is supposed to look like.

This causes those young kids who are just starting to lift to set goals and aspirations of looking like their favorite fitness influencer under the idea that they are achieving their physique naturally. Is this ok? I don’t believe so. The biggest disservice is that this sets young lifters down a path to potential health ruin as they indulge in substances without care for the potential ramifications down the road.

The other side of this is that, in the pursuit of instant gratification, many young gym goers never even give themselves the opportunity to experience success in achieving body transformation. When one is able to put in effort and see the results for their hard work, the lessons are lifechanging and far reaching beyond just what you can do in the gym.

People that experience the power of being able to transform their body learn the reward system of trading effort for accomplishment. This has a profound effect on what happens in other areas of their personal and professional lives.

Now, we also have to focus on the older guys in the group who fall into one of three categories. Either you are the old gym veteran who has always been in great shape but have felt disheartened by your age related declines in muscle strength and size. Or maybe you are someone who not only wants to replace what has been lost but augment your natural testosterone stores by adding in supraphysiological doses and pass it off under the guise of TRT.

The final group is those that are just starting out on their fitness journey in their 40’s. Getting into shape and lifting weights was never really part of their lifestyle before and they fear that they don’t have the 30 years or so necessary to put in the work to realize their gains.

In any of the above cases, I break down the argument for why you still need to consider an alternative to PED’s or testosterone first before immediately opting to go down this latter path.

The bottom line is, whether you are over 40 lifting weights or are a young kid hitting the gym for the very first time this week, you need to be aware of the temptations that surround you at every corner these days.

For complete workout programs and supplements that can help you to build muscle naturally, be sure to head to athleanx.com and use the program selector tool to find the right plan for you.

For more videos on how you can’t build muscle over 40 naturally or how limited you are in building muscle over 40, be sure to subscribe to our channel.

Build Muscle Naturally - [ Ссылка ]
Subscribe to this channel here - [ Ссылка ]

Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS served as both the head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets. Jeff earned his Masters of Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s of Physioneurobiology from the College of Health Sciences University of Connecticut Storrs. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

свернуть