Many who are on the path of their fitness journeys often end up faltering by not pushing their limits. Being natural is often cited as an excuse by many gymgoers as a hindrance to not being able to train till failure. Recently, IFBB Pro coach Greg Doucette made a video touching upon the same and shared how the basic principles are the same for both natty and non-natty bodybuilders.

Doucette started the video using a tone of mockery and said, “Oh, I’m natural; that’s why I don’t look good. If I were taking st*****s, I’d look way better than you. I’m natural. I can’t train to failure. I can’t recover. I’m natty. I have to eat more food, i have to bulk up, i can’t maingain. I need to bulk and cut because I’m natural.” According to Doucette, these excuses were “BS.”

The IFBB Pro highlighted that it did not matter if you were natty or enhanced, you needed to follow the same cycle. Eat, train, sleep, and repeat. Along with this, he wanted people to be careful while lifting, maintain a proper form, and avoid ego lifting. Doucette shed light on the fact that regardless of your gender, genetics, age, and natural status, the principles of muscle growth remained the same for everyone. 

“Please stop using the excuse that you’re natural to not do the things that you need to do to make gains,” the 48-year-old emphasized. Doucette did not stop there. He also addressed the myth about having to eat more if you’re a natural athlete. Doucette explained that when someone is on juice, the nutrient partitioning starts its effect, converting your calories to muscles. 

Doucette added, “If you’re natural, you don’t need to eat more. Many people think you need to eat more food to make up for it because you’re natural, you need to go on bulk, and so on. It’s not true.” Continuing further, he explained that the difference between a natural and enhanced bodybuilder was about 500 calories. Continuing, he further debunked the bodybuilding myth that required fitness enthusiasts to maintain single-digit body fat as a natural athlete.

The ideal fat percentage for natural bodybuilders

The 48-year-old pro coach highlighted that many people hire him and want to attain a single-digit body fat percentage while staying natural. Doucette mentioned, “I’m like you’re natural; you expect to put on all this muscle and drop body fat all at the same time and be natural. Why, just because you’re eating healthy and just because you’re on a good training program, it doesn’t work like that.” 

He highlighted that depending on one’s genetics there would be a specific fat percentage they’d have, allowing them to build muscles effectively. The IFBB Pro mentioned, “For most people, probably 99% of the population, somewhere between 12 and 15% body fat that is going to be the best that you can hope for to maintain year-round.”

The 48-year-old coach emphasizes that regardless of whether you are a natty or enhanced bodybuilder, everyone must adhere to the same basic principle. What are your views on the topic and the facts shared by the pro coach? Let us know in the comments.