Best Natural Bodybuilder: Is Natty or Juice Better?

Learn about the best natural bodybuilders in the world. Unpack the methods bodybuilders use to gain muscle.

May 13, 2024

7 min read

If you’ve spent any time in online fitness communities, and value an aesthetic workout, you’ve probably heard the “natty or juice” question. Some of the best natural bodybuilders may look pumped up to the point that people think they’re on steroids.

The best natural bodybuilders right now include guys like Jeff Seid, Simeon Panda and Meshack Ochieng. Natural bodybuilding refers to any kind of physique that you can achieve through diet and training alone.

Juice, on the other hand (also known as “roids,” “tren,” “gear,” etc.) can refer to any type of steroids that are used to build muscle.

In this article, we're going to discuss why people believe their physiques are the best. We'll also look at their body types and relative measures of success in the industry.

We’ll understand what “natty vs. juice” really means by exploring how you can tell if someone’s on steroids. Finally, we'll take a look at some tricks and techniques used in natural bodybuilding and help you implement them in your own training. We will suggest some next steps if you want to pursue training like the best natural bodybuilders in the industry today.

Who Are the Best Natural Bodybuilders

These are some of the internet’s favorite natural bodybuilders. All these athletes are reported or speculated to be competing in bodybuilding without the use of anabolic steroids.

Jeff Seid

Jeff got his start as an All-American wrestler and high school football player before turning to the world of competitive bodybuilding.

At 6 ft tall and around 205 lbs, Seid’s impressive physique garnered him attention both on the Mr. Olympia stage where he has competed and on social media, where he is one of the youngest rising stars in natural bodybuilding.

He’s even written a Guide to Aesthetics so others eager to get built naturally can follow his lead.

Meshack Ochieng

He’s called the “natural Ronnie Coleman.” Kenyan-born Meshack Ochieng took the title of Mr. America in 2022.

At 5’3 and 80kg (176 lbs), Ochieng packs on a serious amount of muscle for a shorter guy. Ochieng competes in strict contests regulated by organizations like the INBA (International Natural Bodybuilding Association) who regularly test athletes for performance-enhancing drugs.

Sadik Hadzovic

At 5’11 and 194 pounds, this bodybuilder and fitness model was born in 1987 in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Sadik has insanely broad shoulders and the coveted V-line in men. His body is what many fitness enthusiasts would describe as the peak of aesthetics.

Simeon Panda

This 6’1 230 phenom is one of the best natural bodybuilders competing today. On his Instagram, Simeon Panda claims to be “lifetime natural,” alleging that he has never used steroids to enhance his physique.

Forbes ranked him as one of their top fitness influencers in 2017. With his absolutely shredded and massive physique, the UK-based fitness star is proof that you can achieve great results with your body by training naturally.

Remember, take this list with a grain of salt. All these athletes are speculated to be natural.

That said, we don’t have access to their medical records. There is no way to know for sure if an athlete is natural at a given time, or whether they have always been natural.

What does Natural vs. Steroids Mean in Bodybuilding?

Here, the definitions get somewhat murky.

We can use natural to mean any physique built without the use of anabolic steroids, human growth hormones or other performance-enhancing drugs in competitive bodybuilding.

Some people say “natural” lifters are those who have been natural all their lives and have never tried steroids.

Others consider a natural athlete to be someone who is not currently using steroids. In the bodybuilding world, we call the period where you’re taking steroids a “cycle.” Many people are comfortable using “not currently on a cycle” to define whether someone is natural.

Do steroids permanently change your body even if you stop taking them?

Maybe. In a study on skeletal muscle morphology in power-lifters research indicated that even after stopping their steroid use, powerlifters in the study were shown to have enlarged muscle fibers in the vastus lateralis and trapezius muscles from anabolic steroids that persisted for years after they stopped using.

How Can You Tell if Someone is on Steroids?

You can’t with any reliability.

Unless you have access to a bodybuilder’s blood tests (good luck!), there’s no telling with 100% certainty who is natty and who is juicy.

There are a few tells you may see in steroid users.

These may include:

Acne: Especially on the upper back and chest.

Breast growth in men

Facial hair in women

Receding hairline in men

Quick muscle gain

Overdeveloped upper body: Particularly the deltoids and trapezius muscles (shoulders).

These are not going to be the same for everyone and some people naturally have these conditions without steroids.

Any of the symptoms can occur just based on how your hormones work.

Pros and Cons of Natural Bodybuilding

We’ll go through a few of the techniques you can use for natural bodybuilding in just a few short minutes.

First, here are some reasons why the best natural bodybuilders stick with it. These are a few key benefits of choosing natural bodybuilding over steroids.

Mental Strength

Bodybuilding naturally vs. taking steroids requires a bit more patience. You may not see your muscles grow as quickly. It will require a bit more time and effort to put on size.

You need to be patient, disciplined and mentally strong to be the best natural bodybuilder you can be.

Stronger Immune System

Eating clean and focusing on a lean bulk to gain muscle can help you reduce your risk of illness. Healthier food like leafy greens, complex carbohydrates and lean protein can all help to bolster your immune system.

This creates a healthier ecosystem in your body and reduces your risk of getting sick.

To learn more about different strategies you can use to bulk like a bodybuilder, read these articles:

Less Hormonal Disruption

A lot of popular steroids in bodybuilding like trenbolone or oxymetholon influence hormones in your body like testosterone or androgens.

As we see in side effects like acne or excessive hair growth, all of these side effects are hormonally linked.

If you want to maintain your body’s natural hormone balance and not risk hair loss or breast tissue growth, staying natural may be a better fit for you.

Not everyone will see these side effects (or care), but if it’s an important factor for you, you should consider the hormonal complications before taking anabolic steroids.

Is Natural or Steroid Bodybuilding Better?

We recognize bodybuilders for their capacity to go beyond the bounds of typical human athletic capabilities to put on muscle mass.

These athletes can get seriously big.

Muscle building has a few similar steps that anyone can apply if they want to become a bit more buff. These include:

High Protein Diet

To pack on the muscles as a natural bodybuilder, you need to be consuming adequate protein.

In the fitness and bodybuilding community, it’s often recommended to take in 1g of protein per pound of body weight to build muscle.

This is a good guideline for many people to follow, but it’s not the be-all and end-all solution for everyone. Your protein needs will vary depending on dietary restrictions and how much you train.

Hypertrophy Training

Hypertrophy means to gain muscle. Typically, you achieve hypertrophy through strength training to increase the volume of your muscles.

This is a sweet spot the best natural bodybuilders have mastered. Training for pure strength usually requires heavy weights at low reps (e.g. 3 sets of 5 reps with heavy weight), while endurance training requires light weight with more reps per set (3 sets X 15-20 reps with light weight).

Hypertrophy exercises typically fall in between these guidelines.

Hypothetically, a set-rep scheme of 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps at medium-heavy weight is good for many hypertrophy exercises.

Getting enough overall training volume is the key to making your muscles grow using weights.

Effective Splits

Bodybuilders can follow a variety of weekly splits during the week to develop their muscles.

One common bodybuilder split is the bro split. It’s a 5-day workout split where you train one major muscle group per day.

Bro splits are used by amateur and professional bodybuilders or even just a lot of the strong guys you see in your local Planet Fitness.

Unique Set-Rep Styles

This is where things get interesting in training mode. Bodybuilders use many different adjustments to their sets and reps to optimize their training.

These may feel unfamiliar if you’re a newbie, and a lot of these techniques won’t help you if you’re trying to get your first “newbie gains” (the initial muscle you build when you first start going to the gym).

Bodybuilding training techniques may include:

- Drop sets: This refers to a method where you lower your weight each set.
- Partial reps: Here a lifter works with a limited range of motion on a given exercise, usually emphasizing either the concentric (where the muscle contracts) or eccentric (where the muscle lengthens).

Super sets: This technique refers to a strategy where one exercise is worked into another with no break. Usually, these focus on separate muscle groups, sometimes using opposing muscles. For example, you could work a superset with 10 bicep curl reps into 10 tricep extensions with no break. After this full superset of 20 reps, you would take a break (2-5 minutes) before your next superset.

Steroid Bodybuilding

As a bodybuilder who uses steroids or supplements to gain size, you would use all the same techniques as a natural muscle to increase your potential gains.

The difference here is that you get a little boost.

Summary

The best natural bodybuilders like Meshack Ochieng, Simeon Panda and Jeff Seid all (reportedly) compete without the use of anabolic steroids.

Whether you’re thinking of hopping on a cycle or doing it naturally, remember to train smart and safely. It’s important to consume enough protein, get adequate rest and stay hydrated.

It is illegal to use anabolic steroids without a prescription.

Bulk up your workout tracking naturally. The Flex App progresses as you do with plate tracking capabilities and auto progression.

References

Biondi NL, Varacallo M. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Vastus Lateralis Muscle. [Updated 2023 Aug 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532309/

Eriksson, A., Kadi, F., Malm, C., & Thornell, L. E. (2005). Skeletal muscle morphology in power-lifters with and without anabolic steroids. Histochemistry and cell biology, 124(2), 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-005-0029-5

Kadi, F., Eriksson, A., Holmner, S., & Thornell, L. E. (1999). Effects of anabolic steroids on the muscle cells of strength-trained athletes. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 31(11), 1528–1534. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-199911000-00006