guardianactual
MuscleChemistry Registered Member
Yes, that’ not a typo. I said 13 grams of gear per week. Does this type of abuse really take place? If so, what kind of man would take such a dose? Surely, a BB’r like this must be shattering our preconceived limits of muscular development. If not, then at least we have another Big Ramy on our hands, right? I wish this were the case, but unfortunately the truth is a bit less impressive. Let me put it this way. He is in his early 20’s, looks like he has been training his legs for about 6 months, and if I am not mistaken, competes on a state or possibly regional level.
</br>
</br> Before I get accused of misrepresentation, in fairness I should also state that he is using insulin, GH, IGF-1, a small pharmacy worth of ancillaries, and good ole’ synthol to top things off. Ohhh…and to his credit, he has built a decent upper-body, which is comparable to other BB’rs at the state level. Lest you think I might be betraying this man’s confidence, let me assure you that he has taken every opportunity to publically proclaim his drug use from rooftops, so there is nothing being said here that others haven’t heard 1000 times over.
</br>
</br> As disturbing as some may find this to be, it is not the habits of one man I want to talk about. Rather, spectacles such as this serve to bring awareness of just how far this generation has fallen when it comes to the proper place of drugs in BB’ing. Over the last decade and especially the last few years our community has experienced a shift in consciousness, in which many have come to believe that drugs are the be-all and end-all to BB’ing success. The more is better philosophy and has now become the more is necessary philosophy.
</br>
</br> Being that we currently know more than ever about performance enhancing drugs and their effects on the body, how did we ever arrive at this juncture? Doesn’t it seem a little ass-backwards that the BB’rs from the 70’s and 80’s, despite possessing inferior overall knowledge in nearly every aspect of this sport, had a more accurate understanding of the role PEDs play in BB’ing than most BB’rs do today? They understood full well that drugs were only one part of the greater whole; a compliment to one’s hard work in the gym and dedication at the dinner table, while BB’rs today seem to think that drugs are 90% responsible for building a great physique. Somehow, our community’s knowledge in this area has regressed over the last decade. Make no mistake about it, drugs are absolutely essential for success in this sport on the pro-level. Drug use is mandatory…and using a few d-bol here and there isn’t going to cut it. Unless you are one of the rare genetic freaks, you will need to use plenty of drugs. Most pros today use a combination of AAS, GH, and insulin, among others. So, while we can all agree that large dosages are usually necessary, not everyone holds the same opinion as to what constitutes a “large” dose and this is where the conflict lies.
</br>
</br> What is a “large dose”? It wasn’t long ago that 2 grams of total steroids per week was considered a massive dose of AAS A fully grown adult male will produce roughly 50-100 mg of testosterone per week. A 2 gram per week AAS cycle provides a BB’r with roughly 20-40X the amount of steroids that his body would produce naturally, yet many of today’s younger generation have been brainwashed into thinking that this dose of drugs is insufficient for building pro-level muscle mass…and many believe one can’t even make it to a national stage without using at least this amount of gear or more. The truth is that the human body can build and support a massive amount of muscle tissue with 2 grams of AAS per week…and many pros have built their body on that dose or less, but more on that in a minute. Just a single 200 mg injection of testosterone cypionate has been shown to increase protein synthesis by over 200%! Although 200 mg is now considered nothing more than a TRT dose, it will still double the rate of muscle growth in the average person. Now think about what 5-10X that dose is capable of doing?
</br>
</br> In my opinion, the #1 reason for the massive influx of ignorance into our sport is due to the internet. Today, anyone with a computer and an internet connection has a world-wide platform from which they can spout off any amount of nonsense they wish without consequence. I estimate that of all the people we see regularly frequenting BB’ing boards and other social media, maybe 1% of them have any real-world connection to the BB’ing industry or the BB’rs that define it. Very few of these people know the truth through personal experience. Nearly all of their knowledge is obtained from reading and hearing what other people have to say, most of whom are simply repeating what they have heard from other ignorant people…and the pattern repeats itself. So, when we hear people say what “all” the pros are using (which is a completely ignorant statement in itself), we can be rest assured that in nearly every case, this information did not come from the pros themselves, nor anyone who knows them. It is all speculation and guesswork with these people…and they are usually wrong. You may be wondering how many times I am going to type the word “ignorant”…and the answer is as many times as it takes to convince you that there is very little reliable information posted by those who communicate via social media. Even worse, when accurate information is provided, it is almost always laughed off as being bullshit…or the individual providing the information is called a liar. It seems that if anyone claims to have built their physique on anything other than absolutely monstrous amounts of drugs, the automatic assumption is one of disbelief. This has caused most pros to forgo any type of honest discussion about their PED use, as they don’t want to be subjected to the same type of abuse and ridicule so often encountered by those pros that do.
</br>
</br> Consider the following. Back in the 80’s, during the days of Lee Haney, growth hormone usage was basically non-existent, as was insulin. Even if someone did want to use GH, the price was astronomical and availability was so low it was next to impossible to obtain. For this reason GH was not a significant part of pro BB’ing scene in the 1980’s. While insulin was available (only Humulin R) at that time, it was not yet regarded as the potent muscle building drug it is today. Most BB’r didn’t give a second thought to this drug. Hell, most BB’rs did not even realize insulin was anabolic in nature. Most simply viewed it as a medication designed to help diabetics manage their disease. It would be several more years before Dan Duchaine brought the hormone to the forefront of BB’ing drug culture.
</br>
</br> The point here is that the pros of the 80’s, in almost every case, built their physiques on steroids and steroids alone. There was no insulin, no GH, and certainly no IGF-1 or myostatin inhibitors available to this generation of great competitors. Despite these limitations, we saw BB’rs like Lee Haney, Rich Gaspari, Mike Christian, Lee Labrada, Jeff King, Matt Mendenhall and others build extremely impressive physiques. Some might say “OK, but they still used a ton of steroids to reach that level of development”…and to that I will say, how do you know how much they used? In reality, the amounts used by the pros of that era were as diverse as they are today. Some used more and some used less, but by and large the dosage employed by the average pro back then were a mere fraction of what they are today.
</br>
</br> For one, testosterone wasn’t nearly as popular then as it is today. Many BB’rs used no testosterone at all and if they did, it was more often small dosages of 200-300 mg/week. Sure, there was a small contingent of BB’rs who relied more heavily on testosterone than the rest of their peers, but this segment of the population did not reflect the majority. The typical Deca & D-bol stack ruled the day when it came to off-season mass-building. It was nearly unheard of for a BB’r to use a gram of Deca and 100 mg of D-bol in the same cycle, like we see today. Your typical dosages were around 500-600 mg of Deca per week combined with 40-50 mg of D-bol per day…and this was for pro BB’rs. Of course, as a contest approached, many BB’s would begin leaning more heavily on drugs such as Winstrol, Anavar, and Primo, but in many cases drugs like Deca & D-bol remained part of the cycle right up until competition day.
</br>
</br> If I BB’r really wanted to get crazy he might combine 2 injectables and maybe 2 orals (most BB’rs in that day used only one oral at a time)…and the total dosage might reach 1,500 mg weekly. However, this was not the norm and was considered excessive by most. I am sure at least a few people reading article this will call bullshit because they know of someone who used more, but like I said, there have always been guys who have pushed the dosing envelope in their generation. However, these men do not adequately represent the average BB’r of their era. They are the exception, not the rule.
</br>
</br> Before I get accused of misrepresentation, in fairness I should also state that he is using insulin, GH, IGF-1, a small pharmacy worth of ancillaries, and good ole’ synthol to top things off. Ohhh…and to his credit, he has built a decent upper-body, which is comparable to other BB’rs at the state level. Lest you think I might be betraying this man’s confidence, let me assure you that he has taken every opportunity to publically proclaim his drug use from rooftops, so there is nothing being said here that others haven’t heard 1000 times over.
</br>
</br> As disturbing as some may find this to be, it is not the habits of one man I want to talk about. Rather, spectacles such as this serve to bring awareness of just how far this generation has fallen when it comes to the proper place of drugs in BB’ing. Over the last decade and especially the last few years our community has experienced a shift in consciousness, in which many have come to believe that drugs are the be-all and end-all to BB’ing success. The more is better philosophy and has now become the more is necessary philosophy.
</br>
</br> Being that we currently know more than ever about performance enhancing drugs and their effects on the body, how did we ever arrive at this juncture? Doesn’t it seem a little ass-backwards that the BB’rs from the 70’s and 80’s, despite possessing inferior overall knowledge in nearly every aspect of this sport, had a more accurate understanding of the role PEDs play in BB’ing than most BB’rs do today? They understood full well that drugs were only one part of the greater whole; a compliment to one’s hard work in the gym and dedication at the dinner table, while BB’rs today seem to think that drugs are 90% responsible for building a great physique. Somehow, our community’s knowledge in this area has regressed over the last decade. Make no mistake about it, drugs are absolutely essential for success in this sport on the pro-level. Drug use is mandatory…and using a few d-bol here and there isn’t going to cut it. Unless you are one of the rare genetic freaks, you will need to use plenty of drugs. Most pros today use a combination of AAS, GH, and insulin, among others. So, while we can all agree that large dosages are usually necessary, not everyone holds the same opinion as to what constitutes a “large” dose and this is where the conflict lies.
</br>
</br> What is a “large dose”? It wasn’t long ago that 2 grams of total steroids per week was considered a massive dose of AAS A fully grown adult male will produce roughly 50-100 mg of testosterone per week. A 2 gram per week AAS cycle provides a BB’r with roughly 20-40X the amount of steroids that his body would produce naturally, yet many of today’s younger generation have been brainwashed into thinking that this dose of drugs is insufficient for building pro-level muscle mass…and many believe one can’t even make it to a national stage without using at least this amount of gear or more. The truth is that the human body can build and support a massive amount of muscle tissue with 2 grams of AAS per week…and many pros have built their body on that dose or less, but more on that in a minute. Just a single 200 mg injection of testosterone cypionate has been shown to increase protein synthesis by over 200%! Although 200 mg is now considered nothing more than a TRT dose, it will still double the rate of muscle growth in the average person. Now think about what 5-10X that dose is capable of doing?
</br>
</br> In my opinion, the #1 reason for the massive influx of ignorance into our sport is due to the internet. Today, anyone with a computer and an internet connection has a world-wide platform from which they can spout off any amount of nonsense they wish without consequence. I estimate that of all the people we see regularly frequenting BB’ing boards and other social media, maybe 1% of them have any real-world connection to the BB’ing industry or the BB’rs that define it. Very few of these people know the truth through personal experience. Nearly all of their knowledge is obtained from reading and hearing what other people have to say, most of whom are simply repeating what they have heard from other ignorant people…and the pattern repeats itself. So, when we hear people say what “all” the pros are using (which is a completely ignorant statement in itself), we can be rest assured that in nearly every case, this information did not come from the pros themselves, nor anyone who knows them. It is all speculation and guesswork with these people…and they are usually wrong. You may be wondering how many times I am going to type the word “ignorant”…and the answer is as many times as it takes to convince you that there is very little reliable information posted by those who communicate via social media. Even worse, when accurate information is provided, it is almost always laughed off as being bullshit…or the individual providing the information is called a liar. It seems that if anyone claims to have built their physique on anything other than absolutely monstrous amounts of drugs, the automatic assumption is one of disbelief. This has caused most pros to forgo any type of honest discussion about their PED use, as they don’t want to be subjected to the same type of abuse and ridicule so often encountered by those pros that do.
</br>
</br> Consider the following. Back in the 80’s, during the days of Lee Haney, growth hormone usage was basically non-existent, as was insulin. Even if someone did want to use GH, the price was astronomical and availability was so low it was next to impossible to obtain. For this reason GH was not a significant part of pro BB’ing scene in the 1980’s. While insulin was available (only Humulin R) at that time, it was not yet regarded as the potent muscle building drug it is today. Most BB’r didn’t give a second thought to this drug. Hell, most BB’rs did not even realize insulin was anabolic in nature. Most simply viewed it as a medication designed to help diabetics manage their disease. It would be several more years before Dan Duchaine brought the hormone to the forefront of BB’ing drug culture.
</br>
</br> The point here is that the pros of the 80’s, in almost every case, built their physiques on steroids and steroids alone. There was no insulin, no GH, and certainly no IGF-1 or myostatin inhibitors available to this generation of great competitors. Despite these limitations, we saw BB’rs like Lee Haney, Rich Gaspari, Mike Christian, Lee Labrada, Jeff King, Matt Mendenhall and others build extremely impressive physiques. Some might say “OK, but they still used a ton of steroids to reach that level of development”…and to that I will say, how do you know how much they used? In reality, the amounts used by the pros of that era were as diverse as they are today. Some used more and some used less, but by and large the dosage employed by the average pro back then were a mere fraction of what they are today.
</br>
</br> For one, testosterone wasn’t nearly as popular then as it is today. Many BB’rs used no testosterone at all and if they did, it was more often small dosages of 200-300 mg/week. Sure, there was a small contingent of BB’rs who relied more heavily on testosterone than the rest of their peers, but this segment of the population did not reflect the majority. The typical Deca & D-bol stack ruled the day when it came to off-season mass-building. It was nearly unheard of for a BB’r to use a gram of Deca and 100 mg of D-bol in the same cycle, like we see today. Your typical dosages were around 500-600 mg of Deca per week combined with 40-50 mg of D-bol per day…and this was for pro BB’rs. Of course, as a contest approached, many BB’s would begin leaning more heavily on drugs such as Winstrol, Anavar, and Primo, but in many cases drugs like Deca & D-bol remained part of the cycle right up until competition day.
</br>
</br> If I BB’r really wanted to get crazy he might combine 2 injectables and maybe 2 orals (most BB’rs in that day used only one oral at a time)…and the total dosage might reach 1,500 mg weekly. However, this was not the norm and was considered excessive by most. I am sure at least a few people reading article this will call bullshit because they know of someone who used more, but like I said, there have always been guys who have pushed the dosing envelope in their generation. However, these men do not adequately represent the average BB’r of their era. They are the exception, not the rule.
