Fitness coach Jeff Nippard is taking a closer look at the timeless ‘natty or not’ debate. In a recent YouTube video on August 7, 2025, he discussed steroid use, citing history, common sense, and science to reveal the limits of what’s possible naturally.
“I’m diving straight into the dumpster fire, and I’m taking three tools with me: history, science, and common sense. Using those three tools, I’m going to give my final answer to the question: How big can you get without steroids?”
Nippard is a leading educator in the fitness space, having amassed a huge online following. With over 7.43 million YouTube subscribers, he unveils the science behind training, supplementation, and performance-enhancing drug use.
Natty or Not – Science Explained: Looking at the History of Steroid Use
In the video, Nippard explains the pharmacological differences between testosterone and derivative compounds like Trenbolone.
“Steroids are, for the most part, different flavors of testosterone. Tren is testosterone with this carbon atom removed.
Nandrolone is the same thing, but with a few less double bonds, and test propionate, enanthate, and cypionate are all literally just testosterone with an ester chain added as different lengths, which impacts how quickly it’s released into your system.”
He discovered when steroids first became available to get a clearer picture of their use over decades.
“Testosterone was first isolated in 1935 by a Dutch pharmacologist,” explains Nippard. “He took thousands of bull testicles, mashed them up into a pulp, and squeezed the testosterone out. By the early 1940s, a few psychiatrists started experimenting with that testosterone for what they were calling male menopause, which was basically depression and low sex drive.”
The Science Behind Steroids
Next, Nippard examined the science behind steroids, pointing to a study that suggests even those who took steroids were not always bigger and more jacked than natural athletes.
“Researchers went to local gyms in Los Angeles and Boston and asked people if they were natty or not. They got 74 nattys, and 83 enhanced guys to volunteer for the study,” he shared.
“Steroid users were more jacked on average. No surprises there. But if you look at the individual subjects, you can see going on steroids didn’t actually guarantee that you’d be bigger than every natty.”
Common Sense
Nippard also emphasized how common sense factors into determining whether someone uses steroids or not. He used eight-time Olympia winner Ronnie Coleman as an example of an obviously enhanced athlete.
“Ronnie won the Mr. Olympia contest eight times, eight Sandow trophies, the most in bodybuilding history. Onstage he was 5’11” 290 pounds at five percent body fat,” explains Nippard. “This goes without saying, but Ronnie was way bigger than Julian [Fitzgerald]. Ronnie wasn’t natural at his peak but he did have world-class genetics.”
Before wrapping up, he revealed that diet is possibly the biggest lever someone can pull for maximizing their physique naturally.
“If you’re looking to maximize your own physique naturally, diet is absolutely crucial,” shared Nippard.
Previously, Nippard also addressed how to achieve a physique that makes you look like you’re on steroids. He revealed that growing specific body parts like the biceps and delts can have a significant impact on how someone is perceived.
Nippard never shies away from controversial topics. He believes that detecting whether someone uses steroids is mostly subjective, but emphasizes that there are clues to always keep in mind.
Watch the full video from the Jeff Nippard YouTube channel below:
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