I was stupid as a natural for a long time.
I thought that being natural, I needed to lift even heavier weights. I also thought I had to eat more, and I gained true permabulker status. A dude in grad school who competed as a total twink would always say to me: "Dude, dieted down you would be so much bigger than me." My answer was always: "Until I can step on stage at 210+, I'm not doing it." Truth is, I will never be a stage ready 210+ NATURAL.
Thank God I never got injured, but I put myself on the shelf for a couple of weeks at a time.
I have always trained in a HIT fashion, but I now do more like Dorian/Mentzer with warm up sets, sometimes some cool-down (burn) sets, under total control. The set is done when I cannot PROPERLY perform another rep. Yeah, there is room for a cheat rep, but not on the dangerous exercises.
Now, I have taken a major ego check, and I look much better for it. I am in my mid 30s, and people are accusing me of being on.