You’ve been training hard and consistently for years. The "newbie gains" are a distant memory, and your progress has slowed to a frustrating crawl. You’re not a beginner anymore, but you feel like you're spinning your wheels. Welcome to what natural bodybuilding expert Jeremy Ethier calls "intermediate purgatory"—the stage where most lifters get stuck.
To help natural lifters break through this common plateau, Dr. Mike Israetel sat down with Ethier to discuss the biggest mistakes intermediates make and the strategic shifts required to unlock the next phase of muscle growth. The key, they agree, is moving from just "training hard" to "training smart."
TL;DR: The Keys to Intermediate Gains
- Intermediate natural lifters often get stuck because the strategies that worked as a beginner (just showing up and lifting heavy) are no longer sufficient.
- Strategic Volume: Stop spreading your training volume evenly. Ethier recommends prioritizing lagging body parts with higher volume (10-20 sets/week) while putting strong points on maintenance.
- Higher Frequency: Training each muscle at least twice per week is "low-hanging fruit." For prioritized muscles, 3-4 times per week is even better to manage volume and improve stimulus.
- Personalized Exercise Selection: Stop copying the exact routines of pro bodybuilders. You must find the exercises and variations that best fit your individual anatomy and target the intended muscle.
- Non-Negotiable Recovery: As a natural, you cannot afford to neglect nutrition (a small, consistent surplus), sleep (7-9 hours), and stress management, as they are critical for growth.
The Intermediate Plateau: From Training Hard to Training Smart
According to Ethier, the journey of a lifter has distinct phases. Beginners just need consistency. Novices need to learn progressive overload. But the intermediate phase, typically occurring after a few years of training, is different. "You got here by training hard, being consistent," Ethier explains, "But now it's not just about training hard. You have to train smart."
The biggest mistake at this stage is getting frustrated with the naturally slower rate of progress and forcing progression by sacrificing form. Adding weight to the bar while reducing your range of motion isn't real progress; it's a step backward.
4 Keys to Unlocking New Gains as a Natural Intermediate
Dr. Mike and Jeremy Ethier identified four key areas where intermediate lifters can make strategic adjustments to break through plateaus.
1. Be Strategic With Your Training Volume
As an intermediate, you might only be able to gain one to three pounds of muscle per year. If that growth is spread thinly across your entire body, it will be barely noticeable. Ethier's solution is specialization. "Imagine if those two pounds [of muscle] were literally just put on your side delts," he says. "That could make an incredible change." Instead of giving every muscle 10-12 sets per week, consider reducing volume for your genetically gifted body parts and reallocating that recovery budget to bring up your weak points with higher volume (15-20+ sets/week).
2. Increase Your Training Frequency
If you're still training each muscle only once a week, you're leaving gains on the table. Ethier notes that the research shows a significant jump in growth (around 30%) when moving from a once-per-week to a twice-per-week frequency. For prioritized muscles getting high volume, it's even better to split that work across three or four sessions to ensure every set is high-quality.
3. Personalize Your Exercise Selection
One of the biggest mistakes intermediates make is copying the exact exercises of their favorite pro, expecting the same results. Ethier and Dr. Mike agree this is a flawed approach. Exercise effectiveness is highly individual due to differences in limb lengths, proportions, and genetics. Ethier gives a personal example: barbell squats were primarily a back and glute exercise for him, and it wasn't until he switched to heel-elevated and hack squats that his quads started to grow. You must experiment to find the movements that best target the intended muscle *for you*.
4. Master Your Recovery
For natural lifters, recovery is not optional. Ethier points out two common nutrition mistakes: continuing to "dreamer bulk" with a massive surplus, which leads to excessive fat gain, or being so afraid of gaining fat that you never enter a surplus at all ("main-gaining"), which prevents muscle growth. The solution is a small, consistent surplus of about 250 calories per day. Furthermore, getting less than seven hours of sleep or being under high life stress will cap your muscle growth potential, even if your training is perfect.
Conclusion: Stop the Comparison Game
In his final message to natural lifters, Ethier's advice is simple: "You gotta stop the comparison game." Social media makes it easy to compare your progress to genetic elites and enhanced athletes, which is a recipe for frustration. The only comparison that truly matters is you against your former self. Embrace the slow and steady nature of natural bodybuilding, apply these smart training principles, and focus on your own journey.
