r/naturalbodybuilding rules, stats, and what to post

This is a community for people who believe proper diet and intense training are enough to build a great physique, and who care about doing it naturally. The description covers drug tested competition federations like NANBF, IPE, INBF, WNBF, OCB, ABA, INBA, PNBA, and IFPA, plus noncompetitive bodybuilding, diets for natural lifters, and exercise routines. The audience is stated clearly. The sub is intended for intermediate to advanced lifters, and beginners are asked to use the weekly and daily discussion threads instead. One practical detail matters before anything else. User flair is required to post, so set your flair before you submit anything.

The first rule that decides whether a marketing post lives is “No Self Promotion”. Your own links only go in the Sunday Self-promotion thread, with one honest exception the rule itself spells out. If you are making a high quality post about your own journey, you can usually include your instagram or similar without getting removed. The second rule is “No Beginner Posts or Simple Questions”. A standalone post that reads like an easy question will be sent to the daily discussion thread, so whatever you post has to bring real depth. Third is “No Routine Critiques or questions about your own workout plan”, which kills any post built around asking people to review a plan. Fourth is “Picture Post Requirements”, because only competition prep, results, or detailed transformation posts count as standalone picture posts, and physique critiques are limited to people who will actually compete. Finally, “All Posts are Subject to Moderator Approval” reminds you that even a rule compliant post can be removed if it misses the spirit of the sub.

A good post here for a founder looks like a contribution first and a mention last, if you mention anything at all. Detailed content wins here, like a write up of a training block or diet approach with the numbers, the reasoning, and the results, and the rule on picture posts even asks for training, diet, age, and competition plans in that context. If you have genuinely gone through a prep or a long transformation, a detailed transformation post with full detail fits the rules. If you have a product question, keep it specific and non beginner, and ask it in the daily discussion thread rather than as a standalone post. Save any self promotion for the Sunday thread, and save physique photos for the Selfie Saturday thread when you do not meet the standalone criteria. Get your flair set first, because it is required.

Never comment an accusation that a bodybuilder is fake natty. Rule 1 says reporting is fine but commenting will get you banned, and only drug testing or self admission counts as proof. Do not post medical or injury questions, because rule 6 sends those to a qualified professional. Do not make jokes about steroids, since rule 9 says that earns a ban. Do not post jokes or immature humor either, rule 10 allows temporary or permanent bans depending on severity. Never message individual mods about mod issues, because rule 8 says those messages are ignored and you should use the message the mods button instead. And remember the umbrella rule that all posts are subject to moderator approval.

Rule 1 genuinely surprised me, because a casual comment questioning whether someone is truly natural gets you banned here, not just a removed post. That tells me this community is serious about protecting trust in the drug tested side of the sport. There are no observed top posts for this one, so I would treat my first submission as a quiet test and let the daily thread teach me the room before I try a standalone post.