Weight Lifting, Weight Training, Bench Press & Bodybuilding
August 12, 2020
Ok...Lets Talk Using Steroids
By Will Brink

This article is not for the easily offended or "PC" minded. It is an in-your-face, and hopefully humorous, look at the topic of steroids and how out of touch the medical/scientific community and the general public can be in regards to the facts about steroids. I don't use steroids (I think my pic on the web page will confirm that!) nor do I recommend them to most people these days. Why? Because they are too expensive, illegal, and fake 90% of the time, moral and ethical issues not withstanding.


We have all heard the expression "walking the walk and talking the talk" as it applies to various situations where there is an appreciable gap between theory and reality. There are many places we can find disagreement between the people who "walk the walk" and those who "talk the talk." If you were to ask me, I would tell you that bodybuilding is the quintessential place to find such individuals. Those who "walk the walk" constantly bickering with those who "talk the talk." Now the best we can hope for, of course, is a person who is capable of both walking the walk and talking the talk! That is, a person who has plenty of hands-on real-life experience, half a brain, and an applicable educational background. However, these people are rare as you (the reader) well know.


Ground Breaking Steroid Studies......Not!


"Athletes often take androgenic steroids in an attempt to increase their strength. The efficacy of these substances for this purpose is unsubstantiated, (emphasis mine) however." Unsubstantiated? Are they for real? Here is another statement from the study.

"...but whether supraphysiological doses of testosterone or other anabolic-androgenic steroids augment muscle mass and strength in normal men is unknown."



We don't know? Well I sure as hell do! Hear that sound? That's the palm of my hand hitting my forehead in disbelief. Could the scientific community possibly be this clueless when it comes to steroids? You bet. So where do I sign up for the next study that proves mixing high doses of steroids build more muscle? Should I bring my own turkey baster or will they supply it? Is it any wonder why bodybuilders don't listen to a thing doctors have to say? Now I am not some disgruntled trainer/bodybuilder who is resentful of science and scientists because he does not have the educational background to understand scientific materials. I have several years of organic and biochemistry, molecular physiology, biology, nutrition, yada, yada, yada, and I still find the average bodybuilder to know more about steroids than 99% of all the scientists and doctors I speak with! This is a sad state of affairs which could be rectified by some of these scientists and doctors coming out of the lab and hanging out at the average gym for a few days. I can just see it now , "here doc, swallow these little pink things and squat 'till you puke!" Now I love science, and many of my friends are scientists, but man this type of stuff boils my blood.......If you couldn't tell.

On the other hand, the study did have some particularly interesting findings that really blow a hole in the "steroids will kill you" and "all you need is hard work to look like a pro bodybuilder" brigade. The study found that the men who got the testosterone but did not workout gained more muscle than the guys who trained with weights but did not get the testosterone! That's right, the couch potatoes on steroids gained more muscle than the natural guys training with weights (poor bastards!). Also, the guys who trained with weights but did not get the testosterone, had a big drop in HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) while the guys on steroids had no drop in HDL! Like the song says "how do ya like me nowwwww!"

In conclusion, the study found 600mg of testosterone enanthate did not change lipid profiles, did not raise prostate-specific antigens, or increase aggression. So what does this study tell us? It tells us what even the dumbest bodybuilder has known for years; that moderate doses of steroids builds muscle and has little if any negative impact on your health. Now before you people out there who use steroids start dancing in the street chanting "I told you so, I told you so," don't forget that steroids do have potential side effects and when abused they do have risks, so use a little common sense. If you get thrown in jail, don't come whining to me when your cell mate says "hey Bob, yer lookin mighty fine in them jeans boy." Yikes!



Space travel? "Space shuttle to mission control, I can't fit into my space suit anymore, can you send me up an extra-extra large?" So what's the secret message you ask? The pharmaceutical industry and political/medical complex have finally realized that anabolic steroids for use in diseases such as AIDS, cancer, and others, is a huge untapped market for them. Now that we have a population that's getting older, there will be a mountain of money to be made from testosterone replacement therapy and steroids can reverse many of the ailments we associate with aging, such as loss of muscle, stamina, and sex drive. What? Gramps can't get a stiffy anymore?

Give em a shot of Cypionate once a month! "Here pop's, go shave your nads and put these little patches on." By the time this article comes out, the above study will already have been plastered all over the news and in the news papers. Over the next year or two you will start seeing additional research (funded by large pharmaceutical companies) showing steroids to have all sorts of medical uses (which they do) and that steroids are not the evil liver trashing, ax murderer producing, scourge they have been made out to be. Will the legal status change?

It really depends on how much money there is to be made and how much pressure the drug companies can bring to bear on law makers as they wave there shiny new studies showing steroids are not so bad after all. As usual, bodybuilders and other athletes are left to "walk the walk" while the medical community, politicians, and researchers "talk the talk, " as the two sides still can't see eye to eye. Yes, things are improving in this department, but it will be quite some time before the experience of athletes, trainers, and pain in the ass wise guy writers like me, converge with the conservative medical and scientific communities.

More Words of Wisdom........Not!

"Athletes don't need more protein than sedentary people," "we get all the vitamins we need from our food," "Just eat more carbohydrates and avoid all fat in your diet if you want to lose weight," "all steroids in any dosage will make your liver fall out and turn you into a hypo gonadal ax murderer," and finally, "going below parallel when you squat will ruin your knees" are typical statements made by researchers and doctors who continue to ignore research to the contrary and clearly have no real life experience working with athletes. I am sure you could come up with a few more of these stupid statements that make us all foam at the mouth with irritation. Though slowly but surly changing, it is unfortunate that the majority of doctors, researchers, and nutritionists still believe the above statement(s). Although there are cutting edge scientists and others in the field who would totally disagree with the above statements, they are, unfortunately, in the minority.

For example, Dr. Lemon, a leading researcher on protein requirements for athletes, disagrees with the idea that endurance and strength athletes don't need more protein than Mr. Potato Head, errr... I mean Mr. couch potato . Linus Pauling, considered one of the greatest scientific minds who ever lived, spent most of his career trying to convince the world we would benefit from far higher intakes of many vitamins (especially vitamin C) than could ever be found in our food. Dr. Udo Erasmus, the guy who "wrote the book" on fats, would most definitely disagree with the concept of trying to avoid fats in our diet for losing weight and improving health. We all know Dr. Mauro DiPasquale, one of the few doctors with real world knowledge of steroids, would laugh at the common belief that all steroids lead to health problems.


Don't Be Anti-science just 'cause I'm In a Bad Mood!

Of course the reader of this mean spirited sarcastic little piece should not be inclined to become anti-science or anti-research. Good research done by quality scientists is essential to furthering our understanding of human physiology, biochemistry, nutrition, or what ever is relevant to bodybuilding, health, or life itself. However, you have to ask the right questions to get the right answers, no? Asking the question "does anabolic steroids increase muscle in humans?" in 1996 is proof positive that the gap between those that "walk the walk" and those who "talk the talk" is still wider than the average American's butt!

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