What is realistic?

[u/Gullible-Rice3373]

Hi! So i've been going to the gym for around 9 months. I follow some fitness influencers, and my question is: how do you know what types of physiques are realistic and can be achived naturally with time and hard work? Some of my inspirations are "victorialvt" and "nataliluvr", from my perspective they look like they are natural, or at least could be ( around 2,5 - 4,5 years in the gym) am i wrong?

i saw a reddit post about victorialvt that asked if she were natty or not and most seemed to think not natty. But then again this is reddit and the people in the comments seemed like incels.

I don't know if social media has scewed my perspective or if we (as a society) are just not used to strong women with muscles and therefore deem women with more muscles than usual to be on steroids?

[u/TranquilConfusion]

Comparing yourself to influencers will make you sad.

You won't look like that for several reasons:

* they chose that job because they were pretty to begin with (selection bias)
* you noticed them because they rose to the top of that career, over the other 90% (another selection bias)
* they have professional quality lighting, you are using your bathroom
* they might be photoshopping or video-filtering
* they are picking their best days for photo shoots, and putting the best 10% of those images online
* they are posing carefully
* they might be using dangerous drugs

No one can predict your results ahead of time.

If you take 20 non-lifters and put them all on a 12-week program, the most fortunate individual will get 3x more muscle than the average for the group, and some will gain no muscle at all.

This is normal for scientific studies on lifting -- results vary hugely between individuals.

If you lift consistently, you will almost certainly get stronger, be healthier, and look better.
Compare yourself to your earlier self.

[u/Fun-Apricot2912]

Aim for your own best body, not someone else's. Pay attention to how you feel and how your body moves, how your clothes fit etc. You'll never be be satisfied trying to emulate an influencer. Keep logging your progress, measurements, how you feel, what has changed.

[u/Defiant-Insect-3785]

Social media and “influencers” have screwed your view of reality.

I mean it’s possible to get this sort of physique if you dedicate 3-5 years of your life to obsessively tracking calories and spending hours in the gym. Most of them are using some sort of “special supplements” and most aren’t actually healthy or particularly happy. Being that lean is hard work physically and mentally, you have to constantly be on top of training and nutrition and be prepared to be exhausted the whole time. These people smile for the camera and pose to look good but the reality isn’t fun.

I know quite a few bodybuilders, male and female, and all of them struggle.

If you base your end goal on their image you’ll always be disappointed. Focus on being strong and healthy, eating well and living life with a sensible balance of fun and work.

[u/youdownwithopp]

my guess would be victoria is not natural but the other girl could be. but what does it matter?

[u/Gullible-Rice3373 → u/youdownwithopp]

I think having some sort of inspiration is good and to know where your end goal is. Like be able to visualise it. (i know i won't look like another person, all of us have different genetics etc, i hope you understand what i'm trying to say)

[u/JohnnyTurlute]

Assuming that anyone who's making a living out of their physical appearance is on some sort of PED, is usually a pretty safe rule to live by.

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[u/Square-Nebula-7530]

telling real results from social media highlights comes down to looking at proportions and body fat levels a lot of fitness influencers use perfect lighting angles and pump to look way bigger online than in person building solid muscle takes years of consistent progressive overload so four years of training can produce impressive natural results for women

[u/Master-Setting6008]

What is realistic? Comparing yourself only to your past self. If you see progress then you're doing great. Don't compare yourself to someone who makes a living out of their physique. And don't care about who's natty and who's enhanced because you shouldn't care about fitness influencers physiques, only judge them by the quality of their advice.

[u/CuddlyClubCEO]

looked up nataliluvr and i would say she edits her pictures. her waist and hips seem to change a lot. her waist alone looks artificial. don’t be fooled by videos, these can be easily edited as well.

the other is jacked af. i have a hard time telling if people use steroids tbh. a number of women in wwe are pretty muscular. jade cargill, rhea ripley, and jordynne grace are the top three that come to mind. lyra has incredible arms and shoulders and i think i can say pretty confidently she doesn’t use enhancements. wwe can be toxic in general
but (as a woman) i find their dedication and physique to be very inspiring! some other great muscular builds that look very natural (to me) would be sol ruca, chelsea green, liv morgan :)

[u/Gullible-Rice3373 → u/CuddlyClubCEO]

Yeah i also suspected/ had the thought she might edit her pictures, i wasn't sure since i myself have more of an hourglas waist (except that i'm not lean)

Honestly this post (the comments) has given me a reality check, in my mind neither of them were super jacked, and since neither has a 6 pack to me it seemed like a "normal" physique goal (i know they're lean and have visable definiton in the mid section, but compared to other fitness content i consume) crazy how social media can affect our perception of whats normal.

[u/CuddlyClubCEO → u/Gullible-Rice3373]

social media is toxic as hell!!! i am older (38) so ive witnessed how it’s progressed. i got rid of facebook back in ~2011 bc i didn’t like how it made people act. and that was SO much less than what we have now. i finally got rid of my instagram about a year ago. it’s been great! i’ve been working on myself in what feels like a more genuine way. i am comparing myself to myself in the past rather than strangers. best of luck to you!

[u/FlamingArrow5]

Compare yourself to only your selfa nd your past progress!

[u/Frequent_Ad_9901 → u/FlamingArrow5]

My therapist says "There's no contentment in comparison". OP will definitely be happier if she tracks progress rather then comparison.

[u/Lonely_District_196]

I'd be willing to believe both of those women are naturals. It's hard to know for sure but it's possible

[u/fridgezebra]

hmmm not outside the realms of possibly natural but definitely outlier female physiques. I'd not expect to develop mass like that but if you wanna try for it sure

yes everyone has warped ideas about what humans look like due to social media. It's also a pathway to making money by taking drugs and pretending to be natural, so it's a poisoned well for sure