Who Can You Trust? – Steroids and Drugs Make it Tough to Know
I was having a recent discussion with someone about building muscle and the limits to this process. As usual they were shocked and a bit taken back when I said that muscle growth is very strictly limited.
This is Just Hard Work in the Gym...yeah right!
I’m not suggesting that muscle growth through weight training isn’t possible. I’m suggesting that it is more limited than we are lead to believe.
To add to that I am also suggesting that 2-3 pounds of actual muscle growth looks very big and it’s not realistic or necessary to set a goal of building 20 or 30 pounds of muscle.
It would seem that athletes, bodybuilders, celebrities and fitness models are the images and ideals’ many guys look at for their image of the body they want to build.
So is this a realistic image to have?
Lets do a quick inventory of public figures we know have been caught or suspected of using steroids,GH, or some other banned performance enhancing drugs:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sylvester Stallone
Hulk Hogan (and probably 90% of all wrestlers)
All professional or national level bodybuilders (this includes the women)
99% of all amateur bodybuilders
Most fitness models
Mark McGwire
Jose Canseco
Alex Rodriguez
Jason Giambi
Ken Caminiti
Rafael Palmeiro
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Bill Romanowski
Shawne Merriman
So if the size and look of any of these guys is something that you were using as your ideal (but you don’t want to use drugs) then you’ll have to find another ideal…a much smaller one.
And if you are using any other guy who is of a similar size to these guys, it’s a good bet they are also using drugs…once again, you gotta find a different model.
My point is this:
If it looks like a duck, and it walks like a duck…it’s probably a duck.
If a guy looks as big as Arnold or McGwire or Canseco, they probably did the same things to get there (that means they did steroids)
If this is how big you want to be, then you have to use drugs to get there.
I’m not making a moral statement, I couldn’t care less if you choose to use drugs or not. In fact I have many good friends who use copious amounts of steroids and they’re perfectly happy to use them and they don’t hide it. They’re just happy being really really big.
Just be honest with yourself.
If your goal is massive hulking muscle size, then the only way to do it is with steroids.
If your goal is a classy looking muscular physique, then you can most certainly do that naturally.
John
6 Responses to “Who Can You Trust? – Steroids and Drugs Make it Tough to Know”
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January 29th, 2010 at 11:56 am
John,
Don’t you think your friends are putting their long term health at risk? Are the risks of steroids overstated?
January 29th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
TJ,
It’s tough to say. I will say that each persons body and ‘health’ is theirs do to as they please with. There is very limited evidence for the long term effects of heavy steroid use (it simply is not well studied at this point).
My guess is that long term use of multiple drugs may have some lasting consequences, but what they might be is very difficult to determine. Also the effects may be completely reversible once use is stopped. There is no way of knowing if there are longer term effects that are related to the length of use either. In other words, if you use steroids for 10 years, did you create 10 years of long term effects? or is 1 year of use the same as 10?
We’re still not sure if there are any long term effects at all. (at least serious ones that might shorten life span or spur on the occurrence of a disease/disorder)
The bottom line is that it’s a personal choice. If they are happy with what they’re doing now, nobody has a right to tell them how to live their lives (as long as their choices do not put anyone else around them in harms way)
Your body is the only real property you have, and you should be absolutely free to do whatever you want to it.
JB
January 29th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Thanks for the quick reply.
I completely agree about personal choice. I was just interest in the effects.
January 29th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
What happened to hard work? I agree with your post completely J, but just to make fun talk, if it were logical to ‘OmGGz pack on 30 pounds of lean mass!’ I would rather do it naturally, and work for it. I currently got to college, to study, to work hard, to learn, so I can apply in the real world (although a lot of college is a joke) Screw drugs and save your muscle cheat codes! The best things in life, are worth fighting for. I rather work hard to put the muscle on, then ‘take the magical pill’.
We have evolved into a nation of convenience and desiring ease. It’s too bad, yet so sad.
January 29th, 2010 at 11:01 pm
I’m glad you keep reposting these “realities”. If I hadn’t read a few of these articles more than once I would probably still be on the bandwagon of chasing unrealistic goals. Now after reading this and brad pilons websites its easier to be happy with what I have already achieved and accept that a small build just isn’t going to be able to put on slabs of muscle.
Keep up the good work and thanks for all the information.
January 30th, 2010 at 12:13 am
This makes me feel better for the simple fact that I’m naturally small in build. I never set my goals to be big and bulky, I just don’t want to have coat hanger shoulders. I want to fill my clothes out and wear them well.