Interesting video. In my experience you can still get ~pretty good ab definition without going into diet survival mode. But he has a point:
These two videos each have a very good message. But I have to admit that I had to switch on subtitles to be able to follow the story line. The guy was speaking too fast and unclear for me to understand him.
Many people don't pronounce / articulate clearly. Some speakers for Netflix Audio Description don't even have a clear voice.
This is kinda bullshit. When natural bodybuilders compete, they have to have a body fat level that is far outside normal range. Having a "six pack" isn't even comparable. They need to have deep quad separation/striation and even glute definition, i.e. minimal ass fat. You can have a goal of single digit body fat without getting anywhere near that extreme. To a pro, "shredded" is a very different thing than to what regular people will call "shredded". Also, with cyclic dieting, there are ways around the hormonal adaptations to fat loss that ramp up when you start getting ripped. SHBG binding affinity, T4 to T3 conversion, free test, leptin, ghrelin, etc. are all adaptive and getting lean will increase your sensitivity to all these hormones and many more that aren't even fully understood by modern science. Leptin sensitivity is highly correlated to insulin sensitivity, for example. Generally speaking, people tend to underestimate their true body fat percentage, so having an ambitious goal for leanness can be a good thing. I do agree that all the social media stuff, photo shopping, filters, and other bullshit is dangerous and highly misleading to the uninformed.
Agreed, I have pretty clear six pack at ~10% bodyfat, while the pro (male) bodybuilders push it to completely different level to somewhere <5% and while it's "only" 5% difference, it gets exponentially harder to get there.. and your testosterone levels drop, etc. I have never been <5% but close and it gets tough. Started myself cutting again for summer out of that accumulated winter fat
I've seen pictures of so-called "natural" bodybuilders online, and I doubt that many of them actually are. Just so that we're on the same page, could you post a pic of a natural bodybuilding champion? In any event, and as the video guy noted, that level of leanness is not sustainable year round even by the genetically gifted and devoted. And as he said, even less extreme but notable levels of leanness cannot be maintained indefinitely without consequences. As an aside, I think glute definition is the height of crazy. Could you please elaborate on that?
Here's the kind of "natural" influencer that the video guy was referring to: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-nAbH0MKm_I Consider the last couple of photos at the end of the video short.
https://www.youtube.com/@l_eel_em This guy dieted for over 50 weeks for his show. Not really a champion, but he placed in an amatuer competition. Cyclic Ketogenic Diet, Ultimate Diet 2.0, Calorie Cycling, Carb Cycling, Competition Dieting, Recomposition Protocols. Basically, you can alternate between calorie surplus and deficit rapidly. Two or three days carbing up and surplus/maintenance calories, then four or five days deficit calories. This dieting style allows you a great deal of flexibility. You can use recomp diets for any goal - bulk, cut, or maintenence and conditioning.
Truth be told, I'm not convinced he's a true natural. Just my opinion. Some elements of his physique when he was posing reminded my of Freddy Ortiz, who was a notable but not natural bodybuilder. I'm not saying I'd bet my life that he's not natural, but I'd bet my lunch money. That's a bit more finessed than what I'm familiar with. But I am familiar with going into calorie deficit for a few days followed by the occasional calorie surplus day in order to try and prevent the slowing down of the metabolism which can sabotage an effort to lean out. I just never bought into the ketogenic diet.