Jim Cordova is blessed with a great muscle shape and structure for bodybuilding. He displays a fair amount of muscle size coupled with a shredded midsection, wide lats, and 3D deltoids. Cordova claims to be a natural bodybuilder, but it seems a little too good to be true. Let’s investigate.

via: bodybuilding.com

1. Jim Cordova has the Photoshop look

Cordova is not heavy. He only weighs 170lbs. However, don’t let the weight mislead you. Steroid usage does not always equal a heavy bodyweight. It’s the quality that counts. As you can see in the photos of Cordova, he looks composed in Photoshop. He is big, full, dry and lean – the total package.

In contest condition, natural bodybuilders don’t look like that. They are depleted and fragile.

2. Exception to the rule

Natties like Jim Cordova claim that their physique is the result of training, eating, and supplements. Yet there are thousands of people who put a lot of effort without acquiring results even close to that. Is there more to the story?

3. Too heavy

Jim Cordova is 5’7” tall and weighs 170lbs. This number may seem light to the unaware person, but it’s not when you are 5’7” and shredded beyond belief.

Frank Zane won Mr. Olympia three times weighing “only” 185lbs at 5’9”. The muscle to height ratio displayed by Cordova is similar. When Zane competed steroids were legal and easy to get. All bodybuilders used them.

How are natural bodybuilders reaching the stats of former Mr. Olympia? Whey and creatine? Seems a little too good to be true.

4. Drug tests in natural bodybuilding are a joke

Technically, drug testing in natural bodybuilding exists, but it’s largely ineffective. The tests are easy to manipulate with a little underground knowledge. If the measures tighten, there would be no competitors left.

5. Competition

100% lifetime natural bodybuilders cannot compete against enhanced lifters. A natty looks like a representative of a different species next to a full-blown steroid brah. This pressures people into using drugs to remain competitive.

To summarize: The size and conditioning of Jim Cordova are close to unreachable for natural bodybuilders.