The one and only website NattyOrNot.com came to this world 2 years ago, but the events that led to its creation go back a whole decade. A decade full of mad stories, sick obsession, retardism, delusions, frustration, endless hours in forums, starvation, bulking, culking, cutting, screams, grunting, sweat, mockery, and emotional pain. Believe it or […]
It was about 8 in the morning when I woke up. I was hungry as hell. There was nothing in the fridge except a few Pop-tarts. I ate all of them, but then I felt guilty. Was I sabotaging the growth of my muscles by eating junk food full of bad sugars? I started the […]
More muscle mass equals more strength? Physical strength is the ability to exert a sufficient amount of force against resistance through dynamic or static muscular contractions in order to move or stabilize an object in a voluntary manner. Therefore, bigger muscles cannot possibly interfere with that task unless the range of motion is affected negatively […]
Conventional bodybuilding wisdom a.k.a. the special kind of stupidity found in muscle magazines says that 60-90 seconds rest periods are optimal for “hypertrophy training”. As always, the ghost writers “forget” to tell you that steroids are the actual driving engine behind modern growth. Honestly, the rest periods between sets make no difference whatsoever. Besides, resting only 1-2 minutes […]
What is Western periodization? Western periodization is a linear progression from high to low reps. Every week the lifter is adding weight to the bar while reducing the number of reps per set. Over the course of 8-12 weeks, the lifter builds up to a single. This is one of the most generic forms of […]
The so-called “noob gains” represent the 5-10lbs of muscle gained during the first 6-12 months of serious training. Those will be easiest and fastest gains that you will acquire as a lifter. Past that point, the progress will slow down tremendously. Noob gains differ from person to person. If you are really skinny, I mean […]
The popularity of the low bar squat has reached epic proportions. In many commercial gyms, Starting Strength zealots occupy the squat rack for 45 minutes in order to do weird bar bends with the back almost horizontal to the ground. I am very familiar with similar training because once upon a time, I was one […]
Many indicate the late 1890s as the beginning of bodybuilding since this was the time when Eugen Sandow started his muscle flexing shows. I am not going to focus on that era exclusively, but a small historical flashback is necessary to understand the modern state of the industry. Eugen Sandow, born Friedrich Wilhelm Müller, was a […]
Acquiring more and more possessions rarely makes you truly happy. At the end of the day, you can’t drink from more than one glass. The mainstream world, however, is based on consumption and has silently installed a micro chip in our subconscious minds. That chip is constantly convincing us that we need to purchase stuff […]
Aziz Shavershian, better known as Zyzz, is a modern day legend of the muscle world. His fitness journey left a deep trace in the hearts of many “brahs” trying to make sense of this world by building thick muscle fibers. Zyzz’s life which at first glance appears full of never ending pursuit of personal happiness made him famous […]
Shortly after joining the world of muscle construction, many people develop a muscle evaluation OCD. We start judging the physical development of the people we meet. Most of the victims that go under the scanner do not even lift, but we evaluate their muscles regardless. Thoughts such as: “The delivery guy has nice arms but weak calves.”, “Good arms […]
So, why aren’t you gaining muscle mass? Well, it’s really simple. You are not taking the right supplements and doing the perfect rep range. To build huge and scary muscles you have to take {this}, {this} and {that} while working the muscles with a proper rep scheme. No! I am kidding. Let’s get serious now. […]