The truth about Cutting....

The truth about cutting for natural bodybuilders. When should you cut? What should your Macros be? Is contest prep worth it?
Interact with me on social media
Instagram @NicksStrengthPower
Facebook @OfficialNickMiller
-Twitter-@Dank_Nick
-Website www.NicksStrengthandPower.com
NEW APP HELPS YOU BUILD MUSCLE FASTER USING AI
With this new bodybuilding app, you get a smart program that levels up automatically with you as you gain muscle. Your program also updates automatically every time you work out with the optimal reps and sets for you so you always build muscle as fast as possible: drmuscleapp.co....
Discount Codes
Body Analyzer 1 Scale Discount Link vpwow.com/NickFit
Use code "NickFit" for 60% off Body Analyzer
-Tare Kitchen Scale vpwow.com/power50
Use code "power50" for 50% off Food Scale
AWESOME Bodybuilding style weight plate necklace www.lupineacce...
Use Code- NICK10 for 10% off the Necklace

[@Fall2YourKneez]

Finally a real natty. Not like all these fake nattys feeding lies to the masses.

[@3317alibaba]

shut the fuck up, this guy doesn't know how to diet and makes a video saying "it's the truth for all naturals" - no, it's not. This guy had no idea what he was doing and then spreads this as some sort of law for all natural bodybuilders, making this entire generation even weaker

[@reflectionAShadow]

3317alibaba shut the fuck up, you clearly don’t know what you’re talking about

[@AliHamza-hw5rs]

@@3317alibaba bro. Calm down, roid rage much?

[@elka7823]

3317alibaba you on something you count

[@ace-sf9ye]

Competing in natural bodybuilding is basically competitive dieting...

[@billytheweasel]

lol, priceless!

[@zeffaesthetics7931]

ace886 lmao

[@jauquearnoldi1059]

Have you competed? Don't assume if you don't have any experience .

[@olivercondron583]

Jauque Arnoldi well it is basically so idk wtf ur on about

[@jamesm1736]

Everyone's an expert! Dick's!

[@misterwhite2029]

Stop telling him his mistakes, he KNOWS thats why he made the fucking video

[@bigsykedaddy999]

IKR, it's like no one listened to the video, they just heard 1000 calories and two hours of cardio a day and saw a picture of him emaciated and freaked the fuck out lmfao.

[@billytheweasel]

People amaze me. No wonder America has made the comedy film "Idiocracy" into a documentary.

[@CharleneOrtizTraining]

Mister White that's exactly what I was thinking

[@saadiraja8960]

Mister White lol😂😂😂😂

[@zuiverbloed7163]

In my cut I never thought I was really lean, but just like you said, when you look back on the pictures, you only then realise how lean you really were. Crazy how the mind fucks you up.

[@DarthVader-eg9jm]

Nick: I'm a physician. I like your honesty and candor. I think that much of what you say has merit. Some of your theories are bit tainted by gym chat but you mean well. I think you're too hard on yourself, mate. You look great in these pictures but you are a victim of the fact that you just can't get ripped for stage like the enhanced boys and keep the mass. Keep going and I think you're a good role model.

[@jauquearnoldi1059]

John W. Yes you're not going to keep all of your lean mass at the highest fat weight. Scale weight really means nothing. It is all about body fat loss. Without monitoring this or strength levels you are destined to fail. Natty's have to rely on understanding Cholesterol and Insulin. Both are the only hormones Naturals can manipulate. You can get ripped and retain a lot more muscle than this guy has.

[@Shreddah]

1000 calories and 2 hours of cardio per day, jesus. How did you even have energy to lift?

[@NicksStrengthandPower]

caffeine brotha

[@TheHappyhorus]

Nick's Strength and Power that your mistake right there dude, caffeine destroys creatien

[@Vihtal]

mike o'neill literally creatine inside caffeine based pre workouts

[@adu1991]

+mike o'neill Wrong. Caffeine doesn't destroy creatine.

[@kennnyd6406]

I just have a question what was your placing at the show i watch so many vids of you but never heard anything about your Placing ?

[@beau5296]

Ya it makes me laugh when people with 1pack abs think they have 10lbs to lose to be shredded.

[@jonlanier_]

I'm 55 now... I started working out in gym's at 14-15 years old. All the way through my mid 30's I could work out as hard and long as the best of them. My best 1x bench was 435... long ago. lol. I never thought the workouts of bodybuilders were all that impressive. But what I couldn't do, and what impressed me about those guys was the diet. I just couldn't do the diet. The discipline is incredible.

[@michaelgennery4351]

1000 calories a day!!! Dude no wonder you lost so much muscle, you could have minimized muscle loss by stretching cutting over a longer period, you ideally don't want to be in a deficit of over 400kcal. Still though, your arms arms looked pretty sick.

[@NicksStrengthandPower]

Yeah bro I know I fucked up. I'm trying to help other people not make the same mistakes I did. But thanks brother

[@themadlad8540]

Michael Gennery and who the fu k are you?

[@fender1000100]

Michael Gennery Exactly going that low is disastrous for holding muscle. Still Nick has Arnold like genetics for arms.

[@ChristopherCarafello]

Michael Gennery guys plan was horrible

[@billytheweasel]

Gawd yes and with 2 hours of natty gainz-eating cardio!!!

[@cellardoor8943]

Your determination and willpower are to be saluted,though

[@NicksStrengthandPower]

Thanks brother

[@bartowsanta6313]

Ironic how at 2:19 he thought he was too fat and there was a McDonald’s commercial on the tv.

[@thomaswithdollars]

Man 1000 calories a day with 2 hours of cardio and 100 grams of protein dont even ask why you lost so much gains you could have kept like 90 % of your size if you started prepping a lot sooner and started lowering your calories every week. non the less you still looked sick man

[@NicksStrengthandPower]

I agree 100% I'm sharing the mistakes I made so other people don't make them

[@kingojugo]

you are brave the discipline to get there in first place. i give you props bro well done

[@exbladex99]

You were RIGHT to do 1000 cals... the cardio for 2 hours was the unnecessary part.

[@mikkelabrahamsen9120]

How much cardio should you do when cutting

[@отпирайте]

The US is back nah 1000 is too little it already takes almost 2000 by average for human body to do the automatic actions like heart digestion etc

[@CryptoAvengerTV]

Your 6 weeks out look was best you looked lean enough but still big naturally 165lbs for you is perfectooo! 👌👏👏👏

[@elcoey]

Seen a couple of your vids now and you've earned a sub, you put zero bullshit, zero disrespect in your vids and still put in good opinions and tips...so refreshing in the current climate of the fitness culture. Respect from Australia

[@NoahDancaster]

You should rename the title to "The truth about losing all your gains and feeling like shit". Jk lol, you cut hard though, holy hell man. May your gains stay loyal from this day on. Best of luck in the future.

[@GOODMORNINGICHIGO4]

how did u stay alive?

[@NicksStrengthandPower]

Caffeine

[@BusyBasaz]

The most natural, natural bodybuilder I've seen on youtube.

[@sullenday]

What I'm wondering is how are you supposed to work your job or go to school with all this crazy dieting/obssessing to get lean. You got to feel awful and always be hungry and tired. I can't imagine you can focus very well or commit to tasks very competently undergoing this stress.

[@pete8234]

FINALLY people realize what a person looks like at 10% BF.

[@MathMan271]

Love that you speak the truth man. I realize you don't know if you want to do it again, but god damn your discipline really paid off; you looked fantastic for show day

[@NicksStrengthandPower]

Thanks brother I really appreciate your comment

[@KongGooksu]

I totally feel you. I'm not a guy who participates in competitions but I do love lifting weights and making shapes and I've done it over 8 years now. After prolonged bulking (a.k.a cheat meals for months lol), I decided to cut off my fat to "visualize" what I have gained. I have a friend that has the In-Body device at this gym that measures skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass and all. The result of my cutting showed that I had lost 12kg of total body weight and 3.7kg of that was my muscle loss. I kept my diet strict to prevent unwanted muscle mass loss but man it was tough to do so. I love your channel btw. The videos are very in depth and informative. Keep it up!!

[@kdmfinn]

I've gone through several preps and the dieting and amount of cardio I did was one most difficult things ever. I can admit to be irritable and even at times, almost breaking into tears while doing cardio. But I did it to challenge myself. One scary aspect of it is that after a while I started to not wanting to eat. I did eat, but it was like my mind didn't want to. It was scary.

[@cloutiec]

I've recently lost 35 pounds on my goal toward losing around 70. This video, along with others you've done, is really helping me to shape my expectations about the kind of physique I really want, and what it will cost to maintain. It's so useful to hear the specifics of your prep plan - looking that shredded is such a sacrifice, so I know to aim for a higher body fat percentage - happy, well fed, and strong.

[@MBHerbig]

i am getting severe urges to binge when i cut by 1000calories.... you doubled that easily with the cardio. holy shit, that's madness

[@ironmantooltime]

MBHerbig that's why I'm so fat, cant restrict my calories to anything like 1000 a day. my bf% is 16-17

[@MBHerbig]

just go on a slight deficit and you'll be fine. everybody can do 250kcal / day. and you lose 1 kg every month. 12kg a year

[@MrJohannson]

Goddamn, I'd love to live on just a 1000 calories a day, I fucking hate eating, and I must bulk. 5'8 and 166

[@thegreatest9173]

Synth Maelstrom lmao

[@horseliver338]

too slow, eat 1500-1600kcal a day, and lose 1kg a week, thats progress

[@tylerhair9067]

You looked awesome in the refeed pictures! It's funny how most guys look better AFTER the show.

[@abc456f]

Tyler Hair A lot look better two to three weeks before also. But it's so much harder to maintain that fullness as a natty while still trying to cut. That's really how you know someone is natty or not. If you keep the fullness while still cutting you're probably on gear. Nattys always seem to end up looking stringy when they cut down.

[@hope121107]

You did a great job with it. That kind of stuff makes you crazy in the head and gives a person thoughts that later you can’t believe how it ever happened.

[@sandro9152]

great channel. great videos💪💪💪

[@NicksStrengthandPower]

thanks man!

[@gregorp8406]

Nick don't you have any doubts man you're gonna nail it, just don't be too hard on your body, give it up some space and you'll get there.. I've been there myself ending up a veiny bag of bones basically.. And since i took my time, and stopped being as extreme, while it took me a couple of years, the results were there! You have the honesty and guts to make it happen, imho with better overall strategy you'll get there with much less unneeded strees/fatigue.

[@adoncapcom5767]

This is my problem with people who say steroids still requires hard work. Yes there is some truth to that but think about what that entails? You get at least 3 times stronger with 10 x faster recovery over natural lifters. While at the same time keeping your mass during off days and deficit days. Imagine fewer injuries, a more ripped look, while doing a quarter of the work of natural lifters. That’s amazing right? You will become more motivated to lift. Fewer sucky days of lifting. Recovery will be a breeze. As a natural lifters it is hard to listen to someone complementing a steroid user while they cannot tell the difference why we cannot achieve that level. They think and believe we are not working as hard as roid users which is not true. As to why I don’t just quit the excuses and join the steroid crowd? Lots of reasons. Well it’s a big choice to go roiding. For one Your natural testosterone production stops. You don’t know from whom to buy. You don’t know what formula to use. This is your body. You can’t just experiments things like this on it. Not many of us live in a country where this shit is legal or done under doctor supervision. So I’m not taking a risk on something which I consider a hobby and to maintain my health and to look good. I hope I’m not being critical but that is my opinion. It is their personal choice but I believe natural body builders have it harder than roid users.

[@chrismortimer9207]

Well done man, I've trained over 25 years, gear and not on gear. Any punk can train and get gains on juice. Your doing good, ur strength and muscle will come back it just take a month or two and up calories slightly from normal. If you have built real muscle, then even in starvation mode you won't really loose the actual sinew, just the calorie and fat storage inside the muscle, you have to starve and no training for a long while before your body really starts to cannibalise muscle. Once your diet is back to normal your muscles will start to fill back up with carbs/glycogen and fats giving you back your strength and muscle size!!! Keep training Bro!!!

[@tametheruckus]

Just wanted to say thank you for sharing this. I definitely learned from your mistakes, and it's very humble and selfless of you to share this

[@arthurtran_]

Hey man, size aside, you have some mad self discipline :)

[@scottkonijn]

probably the best videos i saw on youtube!! young guys have to know that the natural way is very slow but that it's the only safe way...

[@zachleonard258]

How quickly are you gaining strength back on your lifts?

[@samrowland5208]

I did a cut last year and lost about 20% off my log press, squat and deadlift. Never again. I'm training to compete in strongman, but I would always advise people to do a recomp rather than a hard cut if they can avoid it. Clearly in natural bodybuilding you need to diet though! Great video :)

[@Scorptice]

Thank God for muscle memory. Also props for that insane perseverance even though you weren't happy with the results, you made that valuable video!

[@johnsnowfreedomnorulers4830]

anyone who cuts regardless of size gets my respect , arms and delts look good to go bro , work at pulling apart them lats , good on ya brother i been working out 24 years and been too pussy to cut , although lately pushing now 50 , i may just do such , keep smashing them weights man , respect and peace out

[@ssgaming7602]

you might've cutt alittle wrong bro

[@westfieldartworks8188]

Nice, your honesty with yourself really helps a lot of us guys out here. You give real height an weight numbers for a real natural bodybuilder. So much youtube stuff is misleading...but your video is spot on right, and totally honest. I was thinking that I need to be about 165 -170 lbs. to be stage ready at 5, 11'. Maybe even less. This video confirms my thoughts...

[@jakedamuss99]

Great video, thanks for bringing up the cons of over cutting. I have finally finished my weight loss journey and achieved six pack abs. During final 3 months of eating clean and cutting the final % bodyfat i did notice also muscle loss and size drops much more rapidly. Just wanted to point out that your refeed pix look awsome.

[@thedrummernator3892]

Again thanks for an honest and expectation-shattering video about the reality of natural physique manipulation.. I too dropped to about 6%, not for a show, just for the desire of being as lean as I could possibly get. Looking back, I had to sacrifice too much strength and size to be able to get there, and the only way it was maintainable was with careful dieting and consistent cardio.. I think the sweet-spot for natural lifters where they can feel lean enough but big and full enough at the same time and still make improvements in their lifts is about 10-11% bf. The natural body seems to just hold more muscle at that bf as opposed to 7-8%. Case in point, at a little over 5`11", I can hold 87kg at 10%, but only 81kg at 6%.. also staying that low makes other bodily mechanisms suffer.. namely your hormonal profile.. for example, in my case, libido plummeted severely which isn't really the nicest feeling. ^^

[@kmick5618]

It's like the bigorexia thing bro. But with being lean. I used to weigh 120 soaking wet now I'm 205. I started using gear and I still feel just as small and not happy with the way I look lol I have to look back at pics throughout the years and I'm like wow I deff got wayy fuckin better

[@yakkyjoe1]

The opposite of bigorexia is anorexia.

[@jmsantiago1]

@Prakash Rout steroids aren't magical, you need a good nutrition plan and put on some real dedication to really maximize the results. Some people are just never satisfied with the way they look, it doesn't matter if they're natural or not. I have friends that look awesome and are Natties and they're always complaining about a certain body part that they just feel they can't achieve the look they want.

[@jmsantiago1]

Btw, thanks for the "brutal" honesty. Not everyone is open and say or admit they're on gear.

[@LordHadesCerberus]

Don't feel small dude. I'm smaller than you and I feel like a God. Ironically, people in real life treat me in the way that I feel about myself. Maybe that alpha bullshit has some truth to it, lol who knows.

[@skaterforlife2]

Your vids are excellent Nick. You cut out all the B.S and give it to everyone straight. I, along with many of your followers have learned a lot from this vid

[@Nigruto7]

You inspire me to stay natty

[@jean-baptistehartmann5879]

Hey Nick, i find a lot of what you say apply to what i did. I think that cutting natty is even more worthy of respect than on gear. The mental required not to loose it when you see yourself melt like this. Respect bro.

[@NicksStrengthandPower]

Thanks brother, I appreciate your comment

[@CultivateAwareness]

I respect the dedication. You knew the cost of the burst cut yet you went with it anyway because you said you're gonna do it. Not your optimal form, but definitely a valuable lesson.

[@joshbrown7327]

You are an invaluable resource. Thank you for sharing your journey! Most people never get it right until they get it wrong

[@malutki5200]

Apart from the things that ppl have already pointed out in the comments, You did amazing job, the effort You've put in was incredible and proves that it is impossible to be a natty and keep this look year round. Thanks for the vid.

[@donragnar8430]

I don’t know man. You look in good shape and are a credit to natural lifting 🤜🤛

[@wyldshot666]

Love your honesty. Mistakes make you better.

[@WarriorSidMentzer]

Great channel. It seems like the naturals (as said by John Heart) stay about 10-15 pounds away from contest shape and take more time to cut those pounds. You kind of did a Mentzer 500 calorie a day, up the activity level for the 1980 Olympia cut minus the drugs. Anyhow, keep up the good work.

[@mynintendo]

Not gonna watch your vid but the real truth if you are natty: - if skinnyfat, cut to 10% - at that range, lean bulk forever

[@Yairsuperlolattack]

thanks for the honesty, bro. the lowest I ever dieted down my first year cutting was 1500 calories, and that was an extreme. 1000 calories PLUS 2 hour cardio?? bro, you burned off a TON of your muscles, because of that. You really starved yourself. Thanks for being honest with all of us. We live, and learn from our mistakes, and get better. It's a life style, overall! I say just learn from this, and come back better with your fitness journeys.

[@theorpig4925]

WOW MAN!! Your back poses before and after were really telling. How long did it take you to get back your muscles though? You gained a lot back in the re-feed. You definitely lost a lot of muscle. What a shame. You must have felt weak too. You did great though man. You sure cut.

[@xxlucasxx30]

2:19 the TV was trying to corrupt you

[@王子威-i5n]

Thank you for sharing this man, I'm gonna get on stage on July 5th this year and like you I'm now cutting way too low on my calories. Next week I'm gonna eat more. :)

[@axlkurt]

THANKS for your honesty!!!

[@odom2142]

I thought you looked best in the first photos. I was shocked when you said you had only started to cut! Either way you looked great. Good job dude

[@sprucehouse9]

Great video. It takes courage to admit your mistakes and wisdom to learn from them. Have you taken a look at Clarence Bass' books on exercise and nutrition? That guy is in his 70s, still ripped, and he never starves himself. One of my fitness lifestyle heroes for sure.

[@spockomemes2610]

Like most of re comments all respect to you you are so honest and it's the only videos on youtube worth watching

[@RCmaxxUK]

really appreciate and enjoyed these truth about vids mate. very informative and entertaining. nice1 and a def thumbs up!

[@mwerner584]

I like your channel, and appreciate your honest assessment of your past experiences

[@kingstair4654]

This what i call power ! Clear and clean without steroids or other shit

[@chrissvetlichny5673]

first time watching your channel. thanks for sharing your experience, talking about mistakes is important. subscribed

[@KindOldRaven]

Subbed. You seem like such an honest guy and your videos are informative as hell. Good stuff man keep it up and tbh a few weeks out you looked amazing!

[@jackcapell8471]

Your an inspiration my dude you are real and to the point. Great vid

[@SeverinoSE]

I personally never took steroids. Natural bodybuilding sucks but the side-effects of steroids are much worse, in my honest opinion.

[@davidbailey6517]

Spirituality1980 I humbly ask you then. if you have never taken steriods, how do you KNOW they are worse?

[@billytheweasel]

agree 100%

[@JT-qc4zq]

You haven’t tried SARMS then

[@jakesmith2984]

Nyasha Foya Dangerous in large stupid ass amounts combined with several c9mpounds at once. Test itself is no problem.Go read will ya.

[@lukaerikss97]

I've tried steroids and personally never noticed any side effects, though I did get dizzy after hitting a vein with the needle so it put me off hahaha

[@robfrtrobson1543]

Very good information Nick. Thanks again!!!

[@noortawalbeh644]

Thanks Man, finaly someone real. Please keep it up

[@hibiru6868]

Just watched this after your truth about natty video. Yeah, you just over did it. It was your first time, live and learn. This is real shit - glad that you shared this with people since they can learn from your mistake.

[@fitnesswithsteve]

Thanks so much for this video! I have had a hard time finding much information about cutting and show prep. I think you should be proud of how shredded you got, but I understand what you mean how you see things different in the moment. Can you make a video going into detail about show prep? I honestly know nothing about the process other than what you've mentioned and I have been thinking of getting into competing. Thanks bro!

[@billytheweasel]

Excellent self-critique here. Very helpful. Genetics aside, yes - the supps make a difference. Trying again with the supps this time???... to prove it once and for all.

[@EmperorAdrian]

Dang that was an extreme diet. While you overdid it, I've got to respect the huge amount of discipline you amassed to push through! Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@dayngerkat6760]

Thanks for sharing your honest experience. Subbed

[@JimitriG]

I keep getting your videos in the recommended videos and they're actually interesting so fuck it I'm gonna subscribe!

[@darkvctry7482]

Nick is very open and honest with his work. What strikes me is the effort he put just to look this ripped, but somehow Jeff Cavalier remains shredded and stage ready all year around....anybody know why that is ? He says he is natty but how the hell does he maintain that fullness.

[@proudtobeautistic]

The best way to preserve muscle mass while cutting is to carb cycle. Carb cycling allows you to maintain almost all of your gains while burning excess body fat. I know this for a fact because my cousin is a natural bodybuilder and he does this several weeks out prior to a competition, and he's lost very little of his gains over the years.

[@conandoyle1740]

explain

[@kharratrodrigo5099]

Woaw i'm shocked ! honeslty i always tought muscle loss was just bullshit. Sharing ur experience make me realise it's real, and you can loose muscle you'v been working so long to get them really FAST, that's really scary. At least now we know we should avoid at all cost huge caloric restriction + massive amount of cardio ^^

[@jankolovcanin4252]

i went through the same shit dieting for a fight.. lost lots of muscle and strength... that point you made about getting a couch is spot on man. ... dorian yates talks a bit about this problem he had.....

[@zola7406]

That's fucking crazy man bet you've learnt from that though. Thanks for your honesty bro.

[@LucasSilva-kv3km]

Keep on truckin' bud

[@TheShowCrafters]

sooo much respect dude, holy fuck. maybe u can do videos on preffered routines for naturals when bulking or cutting? and fullbody versus splits?

[@martinirving3824]

Nick, I think you should try another experiment starting at 175 lbs. Do intermittent fasting (time restricted feeding) for 3 to 6 months and assess body composition at those intervals (I like the InBody biolelectrical impedance machine as it gives a comprehensive breakdown). I can almost guarantee you'd maintain overall body weight, but exchange fat with muscle. Even a subtle recomposition has significant improvement in body fat percentage. For example... For a man, 155 lbs, with 75 lbs of skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and 21.4 lbs of fat, this comes to around 13.7% BF. The same man, 156 lbs, with 78.7 lbs of SMM, and 17 lbs of fat, comes to just under 11 %BF. In other words, exchange about 4 lbs of fat with 4 lbs of muscle, and body composition can improve significantly at that weight range. This is what happened to me, but it was over the course of a year. I'm a skinny fuck ectomorph, BTW, at just over 6 ft. I do intermittent fasting as I'm interested in health, longevity, and keto-adaptation. What's astonishing to me is how little you can eat and maintain weight. Apparently I don't look as "skinny" as I am.

[@-TheMoreYouKnow-]

When you said "poverty level of macros" hahahaha

[@dabfe]

although like you said you might have lost some size , BUT on the bright side man you came in some real good shape for a natural body builder ive seen some guys juiced to the eye lids that are not as ripped as you were so props to you on the man !

[@NicksStrengthandPower]

Thanks brother

[@SavvasTheLegend]

Very informing video man.Subbed!

[@NicksStrengthandPower]

Thanks bro, I appreciate it!

[@Mannylol86]

I started my cut Nov. 10th, 2016 weighing around 189-193 lbs. I'm consuming roughly about 1500-1600 Calories a day. The meals I eat daily, starting with Breakfast is > 200g of Egg whites, 4 turkey bacon strips and a protein shake with 2 scoops and 12 oz. of almond milk (This is post-workout). Lunch> protein shake " ", 200g of chicken breast, 150g of broccoli florets. Dinner> 150g of Chicken breast, 200g of broccoli florets. Snacks > protein bar. I always prioritize protein. So in a day total, my macros are > 220g of protein, 79g of carbs, 32g of fat. It's now Feb 12th, 2017 and I'm sitting at 155-160 lbs. My height is 5'6. Am I drastically cutting calories? When I was consuming 2000-2200 I felt really fat.

[@darcykillashaw9289]

Christ, this reminds me of when an actor tries to lose an extreme amount of weight for a movie roll haha

[@jasonmiller7]

Very informative, thank you.

[@NoGymNeeded]

U got shredded bro, good job

[@rockinoldfart]

Love what you're trying to do...good channel and info. Thanks. Go for it in 2018. You don't have to be the leanest just look the best you can... just remember it's about aesthetics... who cares if you don't win... on another note, Arnold was the greatest of all time, the perfect mix of size, definition and symmetry....

[@seacaptain2431]

After show pics are sick ! looking enhanced brotha

[@norbertherterich4750]

Have you ever tried fasting to lose weight. I heard eating nothing (as opposed to eating little) was not burning muscle (or only very little). You certainly cant build muscle fasting but you can lean down, according to Dr Jason Fung. Is fasting a thing in bodybuilding?

[@panagiotistsampanis1276]

You would still burn muscle. Your body can get energy from either fats or proteins if it doesn't get enough nutrition, so it will burn muscle, just to keep you alive.

[@mz_emmet]

I give up on natural... i just wanna shoot some steroids... i'm just too scared of hair loss and titties idk what to do

[@blackbirdxx727]

Def do another show look great man !!

[@NicksStrengthandPower]

Thanks brother!

[@mgtow-balance3409]

hey nick if you don't mind since you made this video to help people, i'd like to return the favor your shape has great potential for upper body shots. you will look greater with increased pectoral development, especially upper your back looks cool, but is missing the massive back hump that can only be gotten by heavy deadlifts. you should make it your go-to lift during your bulking phase and keep it during your cutting phase working it kinda heavy = 6 reps. heavy reps during cutting = more muscle mass retained and even though your calves are not showing, yours quads have good shape. doing heavy squats for mass and high rep squats to get them cut will make them look hot. also do a lot of leg presses and make sure that you go all the way down until your knees touch the padding of the back rest. do heavy stiff-legged deadlifts to puff out those hammies, plus high rep leg curls for getting them cut i think this will increase your muscle mass while making you more symmetrical. hope this helps!

[@tphogarth1729]

You doing well for a natural Nick great job

[@kevzzz1186]

I do miss being young. Im not knocking you down but at 49 I do not miss it being how I look and instead it is more about how I feel.

[@Andresmoomoo]

u lost a lot of size but still look like a good example of a natty bb. the main problem here is that natty bb contests are ridiculous lol u look way healthier and better at your starting weight. only way being contest lean looks good is with the aid of anabolics. either way thanks for the upload.

[@healthguy79]

Dude, even 5 weeks out you looked awesome. If you did not compete for a show, you'd look better than most oaks that don't work out. You'd get laid easier than everyone else that are not fit!