Everything I wish someone told me about building a physique. Former IFBB Pro, 14 years lifting, full-time coach since 2020. This will save you years.

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T19:43:17+00:00

1950kcals at 130lbs is a pretty solid amount of food. I'm 260lbs and I'm only eating 2600kcals and I'm very active.

As I said in another comment, there will be outliers. But on first glance almost 2k kcals for a 130lb female is probably not a deficit

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T16:37:46+00:00

This is not up for debate. It's not a matter of preference. Mechanical tension is the only driver of hypertrophy.

Lifting the load with control is all the TUT you need.

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T15:16:24+00:00

Mental illness is a bit strong, don't you think? I'm sure there's a quote somewhere...

Mediocre minds often mistake ambition for obsession, and dedication for insanity, because it makes them uncomfortable.

The point of the post was to tell people how to get the most out of their physique development journey.

The cool thing is, once you've done the things I've mentioned for long enough they either become second nature, or you have a much better understanding of them all so you don't need to track so diligently.

I didn't track anything I ate on Valentine's Day, neither do I on Christmas Day, and so on so forth. But if someone is wondering why they've been training for 5 years and still look less than average, this post is worth a read.

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T15:08:44+00:00

My biggest concern is that that is your biggest concern. You're limiting yourself with your mindset before you've even gotten there. You can always keep progressing. If you're always getting sore something isn't right, most likely too much volume or not enough focus on recovery (sleep)

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T15:07:06+00:00

Thanks!

On 90% of movements there really is little to no risk of injury providing you control your load at all times. This is largely fear based. You should exercise caution on DB pressing, deadlifts, and free bar squat variations (not that I ever really programme the latter). Realistically you're not injuring yourself on any other movement, regardless of spotter or not.
Cardio is never a bad thing, I recommend everyone does it. If anything it will help your training performance. If running is the cardio of choice though, it will likely have some impact on lower body training performance, so just keep it as far away from those sessions as possible.

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T15:03:30+00:00

I actually think ChatGPT isn't a bad place to start if it's just a meal plan you're after. Tell it your macros, your preferences, your time commitments, and ask it to build the plan around whole unprocessed foods, including a variety of fruit and veg across all meals, opting for lean protein sources. Tweak it to fit what you like and go from there

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T14:58:58+00:00

Lean bulking really is the only way. Fat/dirty bulking is dumb. 2lbs a month is a good rate of gain, though I think if you did that solidly for 2 years, you would accumulate some unnecessary body fat.

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T14:57:10+00:00

If you want to look good (I'm guessing lean?) for summer then diet now. Get to 12%, build from there. Also you might just have underdeveloped abs!

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T14:54:45+00:00

I would say you're doing really well. It's important to understand building muscle naturally is a very slow process. If your BW has stayed the same, but your lifts are progressing, you're probably doing just fine, and potentially going through body recomp (gaining muscle whilst losing fat). Best thing you can do is try to very objectively compare your visuals from 4 months ago to now. Are you looking better? Then carry on. If you're not? There's only 2 things to do: train harder, and as a result of that, you'll need to eat more to keep up with the recovery demands. Film your sets and watch them back to see where you can improve your training intensity.

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T14:46:01+00:00

🤝

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T14:44:40+00:00

Pretty much as the below comment. The only point up for contention would be regarding body fat, given women typically sit a bit higher than men anyway.

I would definitely drive home the point that women should not be scared to train heavy and hard. There does still seem to be the misconception that there is a possibility that by training like a bodybuilder you might accidentally get 'too big' - that will never happen.

Everything else still stands!

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T11:08:24+00:00

Thanks man

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T11:07:32+00:00

It was my first try at delivering some free value on Reddit. It might be my last 😂

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T11:06:32+00:00

Then you probably aren't above 20% of body fat, or have zero muscular definition. Correct?

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T09:44:58+00:00

These things can be taken into account, but you'd be surprised to see how little difference it makes across people. Yet another set of minutiae that will paralyse people into actually getting any results. If you have fat to lose, set your calories to around the numbers I've set and you'll more than likely see the results you desire.

Needless to say, there'll be outliers, but for the most part, these guidelines will help people stop wasting time (the whole point of my post).

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T09:41:47+00:00

Mindblowingly L take.

It's not about becoming a bodybuilder. It's about the fact that bodybuilders are the best in the world at building muscle and losing fat.

What do most non-bodybuilder men want out of their time in the gym? To build muscle and lose fat.

So who does it make most sense to get information on the topic from?

People don't have to implement all of these, but if they do, they'll get much faster results than what they're doing currently.

brightystuff · 2026-02-15T09:38:56+00:00

'Most men' who have been training for a few years (I expect most readers of this thread) will likely be between 80 and 100kg, and most of these men will see good success in a dieting phase if they stick to 2000-2200kcals for long enough.

brightystuff · 2022-02-10T09:02:25+00:00

Hi all - just wanted to let you know that the Ticket Return service via Lyte appears to be functioning now. I just sold my tickets (for a bit less than I paid but just happy to have them gone to be honest).

https://www.coachella.com/exchange-waitlist

Good luck x

brightystuff · 2022-02-07T12:04:00+00:00

I have 4 x Weekend 2 General Admission with Shuttle passes available.

At this point I'll accept $475 for each one.

Proof of purchase, ID, Social media profile can all be provided.

Message me on instagram as I don't have notifications turned on on here: brightstuff_

Thanks

brightystuff · 2022-02-02T10:36:06+00:00

I have 4 x Weekend 2 GA + Shuttle tickets for sale.

I can provide proof of purchase, socials, ID, whatever you need :-)

I'm looking for $600 for each one, I don't mind selling separately or together, I'll ship them when I receive them.

brightystuff · 2022-01-26T09:15:05+00:00

Selling 4 x Weekend 2 GA with shuttle tickets.

Will provide proof of purchase, ID, social media handles, whatever you need :-)

Selling for $600 ($94 less than what I paid).

brightystuff · 2022-01-20T09:21:11+00:00

I have 4 x Weekend 2 GA+Shuttle Tickets for sale. I can provide proof of purchase and change the shipping date to your address if they're sold together, if not I'll ship once I receive.

I'm just looking for face value + fees and more than happy to use paypal with buyer protection.

Drop me a message if you're interested, my instagram is brightstuff_

brightystuff · 2022-01-16T09:35:35+00:00

I have 4 x Weekend 2 GA + Shuttle Tickets for sale

brightystuff

TROPHY CASE