The good old times are back…is it 2014 again?
Nattyornot.com is bringing you a new review. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?
The bodybuilda that will undergo an inspection today is Charif Saad [charif.sd] – an Instagram sensation popping in everyone’s feeds, including mine.
The first part of this post will be written before investigating his stats. I don’t want to be influenced by them right away. Then, I will analyze them.
The Criteria
The criteria for naturalism haven’t changed, but my detection has improved. I can glimpse at someone and instantly have an opinion that would be accurate enough to bet one of my kidneys on it.
Let’s go.
3D Look?
Charif Saad doesn’t have the 3D look common for trenbolone abusers. His shoulders are round but don’t have the tren “glamour”.
Type “female physique competitors” in duckduckgo.com (as I’ve said before, I don’t use Google anymore for moral reasons, but that’s another story) and click on images.
You will instantly see SMALLER but more “glamourous” shoulders on those women.
In the next photo, you see classic TREN shoulders.
Notice that Saad’s shoulder doesn’t overshadow his upper arm like in the Tren-brother above.
That’s because natural shoulders are not as 3D as those of trenbolone users.
Skin Tightness
Trenbolone is one of the steroids with the harshest side effects. However, unsurprisingly it’s also the steroid that gives you the freakiest look. Hence why it was part of the Zyzz cycle.
One of the reasons for that is that Tren takes the water that sits between the skin and the muscles and shoves it into the muscle tissue.
As a result, the skin gets ultra-thin and wraps around the muscle like a tight glove. The extra water that goes into the muscle increases that effect even further and functionally pushes the envelope.
The result is a hard, animalistic appearance.
Charif Saad DOES NOT have that in the photos that I saw.
So, I can say with great certainty that this dude is not a Trenbolone appreciator.
Water Distribution
One of the classic characteristics of a natural bodybuilder is a constant “water film”. In other words, natties are holding water, and the skin isn’t dry.
That water film is seen on Charif Saad in all the photos that I saw.
The easiest way to analyze the presence or absence of a water film is to look at back shots.
Nattiest have a hard time getting water out of their backs. (Even some professionals like Branch Warren have struggled with that.)
So, in that regard, I conclude that Charif Saad is a natty.
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Absence of Obvious Signs Of Gear Use
The more obvious signs of gear use are gynecomastia, acne (usually on the shoulders and back), and premature aging of the face.
Charif Saad doesn’t have visible gynecomastia in his pics. He also isn’t suffering from acne issues. His face doesn’t look prematurely aged either.
That said, he’s displaying obvious hair loss. Steroids are known to accelerate that problem. But balding has never been a definitive way to determine gear use, unlike obvious gyno.
Some men start to lose their hair in high school. If you’re destined to walk down this path, it will happen with or without gear.
Therefore, I conclude that Charif Saad is not showing obvious external signs of gear use.
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Now, let’s look at the stats. My source are his videos on Instagram.
- Height: 5’7″/170cm
- Weight: 165lbs/75kg
- Visible body fat (that’s debatable) – 10-14%
At those stats, Charif Saad fits the natty criteria (this link takes you to NoN’s old-school guide that many people failed to prove wrong over the years).
A 5’7′ natty bodybuilder would have a hard time stepping on stage heavier than 149lbs (68kg).
Those stats are pretty damn good because a stage condition requires an extremely low body fat level (around 7%) and water dehydration.
Charif Saad is 165lbs, but he is also far from competition-ready. He looks very well in the gym, but bodybuilding requires sick conditioning, and some weight will have to be lost to get there.
When you remove the water that he’s holding, he’ll drop even closer to the natty standard.
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A Sudden Transformation?
Nothing beats steroids when it comes to muscular growth.
Injecting is always KING. In fact, if you just inject and eat enough calories and protein, you will dwarf some natties.
Therefore, big transformations that take place within 6 months or so are a clear indication of steroid abuse, especially when combined with the aforementioned bodily signs.
In this case, Saad has trained for 13-14 years, and his profile doesn’t present a quick transformation.
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Disappearing Into The Shadows When Wearing Clothes
As I’ve said, in this classic post, naturals disappear into the shadow when wearing clothes.
That’s because the overall muscular volume of a natty is low. When you are wearing clothes, the visible difference between a 14-inch and a 16-inch arm is non-existent….unless you choose to wear clothing that’s 1 or 2 sizes smaller for you.
Saad fits the criteria. He appears much smaller in clothing.
FAQ: Charif Saad has small calves. Is that an indicator of naturalism?
No.
Dennis Wolf had small calf muscles and we all know that he was as natural as a shark riding a motorcycle.
Calves are heavily influenced by genetics and have low androgen receptors. Thus, if you have high calves even steroids could be ineffective for triggering growth in the area.
That said, it would be inaccurate to say that high calves can’t grow at all. Michael Lockett, a genetic freak who went into obscurity, had maximally developed high calves.
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Conclusion
Charif Saad appears to be natural on most accounts.
Of course, you can never really know with 100% certainty whether someone is 100% full natty brah, but it’s safe to say that given the data, his physique can be classified as naturally achievable. Given his detailed documentation, I think that’s the case for him too.
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A note on shadow pinning
Shadow pinning is something that one should never forget about.
Shadow pinning refers to the use of minimal doses of synthetic testosterone that would be considered “TRT” by some wannabes. I am talking about 250mg-400mg per week. That amount is still many times over what the natural male body produces, but still not enough to trigger exceptional growth.
Shadow pinners carry 5-10kg of lean body mass (water and muscle) over their natty limit and can easily hide their use.
I am not saying that this guy is a shadow pinner as properly done shadow pinning cannot be proved by an outsider. But one should be aware of its existence in the world when accuracy is the goal.
Overall, this guy has a solid physique, but not everyone can get it, although it’s technically achievable naturally.
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NattyOrNot.com Approved
Until next time, brahs.
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Thank you very much, and very useful article as usual. Congratulations.
P.D. I want to know your opinion about this amazing russian physique and Instagram and Tiktok influencer: @steff.happy Instagram
@steff_happy Tiktok
Natty or not?
Muscle volume wise it’s achievable naturally. He is super shredded, though and maintaining that condition will be hard for most people.
I know a guy in real life that is also super learn. He has what I call “lean genes”. Despite what people tell you, some people are predisposed to being leaner than others. Maintaining 7% body fat is torture for most men.
So, I can’t say this guy isn’t 100% natty, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if his leanness is “supplemented”.
In cases like that, it’s hard to know with great certainty.
Clear! Reach and mantain 7% body fat everytime, is an a torture for most of ours. Thanks on andvance Brother
I missed this type of reviews, thank you truth seeker!
Could you give me a good example of home workout? By the moment, I’m just doing as many push ups as I can and I’m learning to do them with one arm. I also have a pair of dumbbells that I use for bicep curls, hammer curls and rows and squats.
I do the Pacquiao ab routine for abs.
Would you add some other excercises? How would you organize these excercise in a daily routine?
You want to focus on upper body?
Do you have a bench?
Yes, I would like to focus on the Upper body.
I don’t have a bench, although I want to buy one but I’m broke because I’m a student.
I have read that a pair of gymnastic rings is also a good investment.
Then do deficit push-ups for the chest with pause at the top and bottom. For the arms – curls + overhead triceps extensions. For the back, DB rows from a deficit to increase the range of motion.
8 working sets per muscle group divided into 2 workouts a week. Go for higher reps – 8-15.
Thank you man!
Do you tell the student boy to do two days of training with 8 total sets per muscle? Or 8 in one session and another 8 in another?
Definitely a shadow pinner
Shadow pinning is always a possibility.
It’s a certainty
I have proof if you want
He’s been cycling since he was a teen he just took long periods off and then did sarms
Hahaha haha
I know this guy personally
Many sarms cycles
Including rad and mk677
He did real cycles before too
The industry is such a lie. I mean yea he’s natural as far as being on constant hormones but he’s just a bicycle rider.
Fuck me! The dude looks huge. Reminds me well of my genetic shortcomings when it comes to muscle building 😀 It’s crazy how he seems so big although he is actually quite small in height / weight. But yeah, just when I was thinking about posting a couple of shirtless pictures of my natty body in the Non-forum. After seeing this review, there’s no way in hell 😀 I used to have a colleague who had a somewhat similar type of a physique that Charif. And of us two, I was the one who was actually doing some training. He was a bit fat but he had massive arms and delts. And every time I got him to come to the gym with me, he always lifted a lot more than me. Talking about genetics.
Don’t be gullible bro
The guy was juicing since his early teenage years. He just cycled on and off.
This dude is right on the border i’d say. If you look at his pics he posted no pump no lighting, he just looks like he has good muscle bellies in some muscles (one of the few things that is genetic and not effected by roids) and not ripped at all. We all know someone like that.
But, he does get the pin look in other pictures 100%. If he’s pinning, which is totally possible, my guess it just pure test, low dosage, and long cycles off.
One of the few cases i’ve seen on here that could go either way.
No it’s sarms
I know because I run it with him
Sorry, but you are mistaken regarding the guy’s 10-14% bodyfat. It’s much much lower than that. I don’t have his back development, but my bodyfat percentage is around 7.5-8% while I am active 47 old male, my height is 174 cm (5’8″) and waist is 75 cm (29.5″). There is a definitive correlation between waist and bodyfat in relation to the height of a person. There are some quick tools available online (like here https://www.freedieting.com/body-fat-calculator), but I use a slightly different formula. And my own bodyfat percentage has been proven by DEXA, body monitors, various calipers, etc.
You are 100% right this guy is much lower bf
BTW he had garbage genes before he started juicing
Unfortunately nattyornot author is not familiar with sarms which give you that half natty look without the other sides from injections which is what this guy runs
Hey, I am French, but I have been following this site and your work for more than 10 years. I’ve read three of your books, even if you don’t believe it. I just wanted to say thank you because you’ve changed my view on the world a lot, and your articles about breakups helped me a lot when my wife broke up with me. I am in a happy place now and a better man. Thank you, truth seeker.
Hello, Franck.
Thank you for 10 years of supporting me. I am happy that you find the books helpful.
“I am in a happy place now and a better man. Thank you, truth seeker.” – Thank you for that line. Comments like this keep me going (not just the site but in life too).
🙂
A little bit off-topic but something I don’t understand: why do women inject?
Of coarse there are actreses who play superheroes. But other than that?
There are women who want to win a contest. A little bit weird but just like men, injecting it’s the only way.
But what with women who don’t compete or playing superheroes?
Men inject to impress women, but why want women be muscular? Or at least a certain group… Do they think different than ‘normal’ women? Is it a lifestyle? Or something psychological? …
It depends about the category.
Professional female bodybuilders may have some sort of mental disorder and a desire to overcompensate. I haven’t done an analysis, but I wouldn’t be surprised if many of those women suffer from the lack of a masculine figure in their life and they cope by becoming one themselves.
Physique models = they simply want to look better and drugs help with that. Women have a harder time building muscle and getting shredded. Some do it for the money too.
Ok, thanks.
The fitness industry is a strange world sometimes.
hi truthseeker. do you think there s any chance whatsoever this guy is natural? he says he s tested and all
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filippo_pici/?hl=it
As natural as a shark in a bottle. Hope that answers your question.
Voy a subirme a ese puto avión, me han quitado el Uroboros, matad a Evans.
Truth seeker, what do you suggest as a snack for a student. I spend all Day in college and all the food a viable is high in carbs, gluten and sugar. I once read You are not a fan of protein bars neither.
100 grams of quality nuts are a good snack. If money is tight, peanuts are another option.
Thanks!
He’s a fake natty