A novelist look a cycle of steroids and wrote an account of what happened. Not sure if it's of any interest, but here it is: http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/health/story/0,,2280111,00.html
Ahhh read that in the Observer yesterday. Ouch! How awful! I can't honestly believe people would put themselves through that. An interesting read though.
the crazy part is that from what he is saying it really was 'as soon as he stopped.' it wasn't like a gradual decrease in musculature like you would expect if you, as a normal non-roider, just stopped working out. it was overnightish. geez man. thats pretty intense. at least he got his testicles back even if they only ever shoot blanks.
I'm guessing a certain bit of artistic licence was applied in the telling of that, but still - eeek! There is a wonderful article I read *somewhere* (possibly bizarre magazine years ago) about a personal trainer taking on a guy who'd collapsed at a body-building meet and was hospitalised with a heart condition due to all the crap in his body. Apparently he was so bad he stank of the dead, and his sweat was tinged green.
Yeah funny enough I almost posted this here after I read it yesterday. What's interesting is that he did what many writers do when researching books/film is that they go the route they're writing about. Granted his takes it to the more extreme end of it all. I don't doubt that all of that stuff and more could happen to him. People hear the word roids so often that they're rather cavalier about it. But in reality anytime you start playing amateur chemist with your bodies hormonal system you're asking for problems and side effects. To be honest... the picture that it showed of him... meh... he could have gotten there without the roids. He looked fit... but it's not like getting that fit takes roids. I know plenty of guys in that kind of shape who haven't hit any substances at all above protein and creatine. What I did find funny was that he also researched the boxing side of it... but theres no sales value in that side... no shock value... no sensationalism... why? Because it's just lots of hard work at the end of the day. Blood, sweat and tears is the currency of the boxing gym. Nothing sensational or shocking about a boxer who works his ass off in the gym - day after day... hour after hour... month after month... to become a decent boxer - and maybe... just maybe if he's really lucky and all the planets align... gets to be someone who's name is remembered by boxing fans. It's got little to no commercial value in that sense... not like a story on the horrors of roids does. I'm sure the article is being lambasted on T-nation and other sites by the meathead crowd who think because they've read a thread or two on steroids and have done a cycle or two they're now have a doctorate. Classic. I suspect we'll get a few members here who jump in to flame roast the article. I'm curious to know how he ties the roids into the boxing in his book. Most of the boxing gyms I've been in... pushing weight is always a pale second to hours spent on learning the craft of boxing... the hours of footwork... sparring and bag/pad work. In fact in most boxing gyms... there are no weights anyhow. So it makes me wonder how he's tied them all together in his book.
I thought the article was a good read. As slip said, his gains weren't astronomical. If my skin tightened up I'd look almost that good. That's with plain old hard training and balanced diet.
Personally i think taking drugs is foolish and atthe end of the day do they feel they deserve any attention when they have cheated? I used to bother with a lad in school, best friends for years, he was quiet and wouldn't bother anybody, he went into bodybuilding and although he said he didn't take roids, i didn't believe him, he became so aggressive with people it was hard to believe, in the end i got fed up with his attitude and his constant trying to start fights with people, i thought it wasn't worth the hassle and haven't spoke to him for a few years but i have been told he has now been diagnosed schizophrenic(spelling?).
I've not got much to say tbh. Anyone can get in decent shape with hard work, dedication and patience, the only reason for taking steroids is if you want to go beyond what you're naturally capable of; this guy wasn't anywhere near that point. He was obviously doing it for the sensationalist publicity, hence all the negative analogies in his descriptions and the book advert at the end.
I agree, taking steroids is almost completely pointless unless you are a world class athlete. I haven't been making gains, I've been losing fat, but I have made the same volume of progress in 6 months without any drugs. He went from 207 to 235. I went from 208 to 173. He could make those gains without the drugs if he disciplined himself.
Exactly. I also cringe at the blaming of creatine at the end when the doctor asked him what he was taking. I wouldn't touch them. Some people use them with good results and relatively few side effects, but they know a bit more about them than this guy and me, and they prefer to cope with some side effects rather than the plethora this chap experienced. His cycle was also pretty poorly designed for someone in his state, hence all the side effects. His gyno right at the start of the cycle was probably down to... well... having gyno already! The steroids just made it worse. I could go on and on about the article, but it serves a purpose in that it should make dumbasses who want to take them think twice. Others who "know better" will continue unabated I'm sure.
i think this story is false ..a cauctionary tail...first of all he writes it with a tone that immediately suggest anti steroids. i have been around a ton of steroid users(pateints and athetes ..ussally they have nothing but praise for them ...until they go way overboard or get caught using and even then its a "dont do drugs kids...in the same whay that carlie sheen would say dont use hookers" now while i would never endorse or perscibe steroids too anyone say hiv patient or similar wasting disease....the side effects of a mild cycle id ussally significantly less than his. in fact on a small first cycle of 250 test most guys get achne and horny (as well as bigger and stronger) thats about it now this guy comes down with every side effect ...no one does that. and the hair loss...steroids dont cause hair lose ..thye only accelerate the process if you are going bald... then he comes down and instantly losses it all...it dont work that way..esspecally for a first cycle in
Interesting read. I suspect he, as mentioned, did the research as an excuse to juice... he is going through what a lot of us older guys go through, we spend a lot of time at the gym, eat right, take all the recommended supps, and don't see the gains we want. Yay, pre-Lyme I could bench about 160. Too bad I didn't look like I could bench 160. Would I go the route of juicing? No. I have minimal interest in the emotional roller coaster (a very well-known side effect), and considering I just got off a bout of antibiotics for Lyme Disease and am still fighting arthritis... no way would I want to wreck my body on that stuff. That's not even counting the fact it's illegal unless prescribed by a physician and I'm not inclined to lose my law license over a bout of vanity. On the other hand, despite all my best efforts, I've never been able to achieve the results I've wanted in the gym thanks to my genetics...Some of us want more than just "decent shape", and are just not predisposed to getting it. Of course I'm sure all the know-it-alls will start telling me what I'm doing wrong, and I'll just nod my head and say "yes dear" to appease you knowing that the advice you've given me, I've probably tried already. Yeah, I can see why he did it. Doesn't mean I'm gonna follow suit, but yeah, I do get it.
Davey, if you want to post up your the training routines you've tried alongside your eating habits and I'm sure someone will come up with some fresh ideas for you that you maybe haven't tried. Having a "been there, done that" attitude before something is actually even discussed is a little closed off and may have something to do with your limited progress. Did you mean 160Kg or 160lbs? If it's 160lbs, then nobody is genetically limited to bench pressing 160 lbs. The fact that you have mentioned that movement hints to me that you haven't concentrated on other more important movements which could be your downfall, but that's just a guess. Genetic limits tend to be when people are at the top of their potential, training/diet can overcome any limits below it.
Uhm, I just spent two years working with a personal trainer in real life on diet and exercize. Why am I going to come to a martial arts forum with people whose credentials I can't check when I've had the benefit of face-to-face training with someone who works with local, collegiate, and professional athletes? Besides, I'm not soliciting advice, I'm making a point. My point in this conversation is that I 100% understand where this guy is coming from. My "been there done that" attitude is the result of having been there and done that. You saw the "before" shots in the article, did the author look like someone who could do dumbbell presses with 80 pound dumbbells in each hand? Not to me he didn't. Just like I didn't look like someone who could do what I did. He had the same issue I, and many others, hit. We may get stronger and "fitter", but that doesn't always translate into the look we want. Genetics do play a role in our progress in terms of body size, and I know I'm predisposed to being thin, and my age is predisposing me to having a gut. *shrug* So guys like me juice to look as fit. EDIT: Here, this part of the article illustrates my point: "I usually peak at 85lb each, or 170lb total. But after 10 repetitions with the 85s I was stunned: it felt like a warm-up! ... I picked up the 90-pounders, which I'd never attempted. They went up easily and I ripped out 10 reps...I went up to 100lb dumbbells - benching roughly my own body weight. I'd been locked at 160-170lb for two years and now, in the course of a single workout, I'd shot up 30lb." 170 pounds doesn't sound like a lot, but he's throwing around 85 pound dumbbells. That's not easy to do. But look at his before shot. Looking at him, I'd never think he could do that. The guy in the first pic does not look like someone who can do a press with 85 pound dumbbells in each hand. The one in the second pic does.
i could never see why anyone would destroy themselves with drug use.. i knew a guy who took D-ball? can't spell it.. slang name...and he was all pimply and losing his hair..not worth it, destroys your life, jusk ask barry bonds..!
