Steroids. My opinion has changed.

[Ghoul]

One of the things I used to use as an analogy to people who asked me about steroids and their use/abuse was:
If you could take 10 strokes off your golf game by taking a single pill a day, would you? The answer was ALWAYS a resounding "YES!".

"If you could improve your guitar playing substantially overnight...?"

More closely to my interests are when I was racing motorcycles. "Would you take a pill if it helped you drop two second, HELL, ONE second off your lap times?" The answer was some form of "FUCK YES I WOULD!" I always followed up with "What if the cost was xxxx?" related to health or even cutting years off of lifespan. Most, if not all were cool with paying some cost.

My discussion and analogies helped change many opinions of steroids for the average persons, of which they already had a pretty negative and incorrect view on, based on the stupidity of the masses being fed hyperbole or in the least, misinformation by the media and the U.S. government.
If I heard them say that "steroids are cheating", then I would ask if that meant ALL of them? Because a pitcher needing a corticoid injection to pull off a double header doesn't exactly make him "natty". Don't get me started on birth control hormones and their mass proliferation.

But as I have gotten older, or perhaps because of the incredible rise in abuse due to social media hype, my position has changed. No longer is it the serious athlete trying to improve their already incredible game/skill/accomplishments. It is now the person who joins a gym and has been led to believe that one simply does not gym without gear. They aren't trying to improve from their already establish accomplishments, taking it to the next level. They are starting out at zero level and expecting to be something they are leagues away from to begin with. Some of these guys are also using incredibly high dosages right out of the gate. It simply blows my mind!

I think my opinion has changed significantly. I know that people who improve in whatever they are working at, at a pace that is appropriate and sustainable, they seem to have a better sense of self-esteem doing so. They know the work and the cost of making those improvements, respect it them in themselves and others, and understand fully what it took to get there.

We live in a microwave society. We want everything NOW! America is really, really bad with this. Look at the popularity of fast food. But I digress...

Social media has convinced everyone now that everything is attainable to everyone. I am all for hopes and dreams and working hard toward those. I applaud anyone who works toward their goals feverishly, even if they might be slightly delusional. But not everyone is meant to do everything. I was never very good at golf, but I had a good time playing it. I am a shit guitar player, but it gives me a warm feeling every time I pick it up, plug it in and hit some sweet tones.
I was pretty good bodybuilder in my 20s, but nowhere near genetically gifted enough to be a great bodybuilder. I still dug it though. All of it! I was not great in my 50s, but I was still a national level guy. Something I would have never been in my 20s. Now I am 60, and I think I have a very competitive physique in this age group.

Just as we have seen a wave of what I consider gross steroid abuse in the last few years, I hope we see a wave of realistic expectations and conservative use in the future.

Generally I find people who say "America is really bad with..." have a passport filled with blank pages.

I'm no naive, flag waving patriot, but I'm also not blind to the legions of ignorant Americans who bask in the self loathing they've been indoctrinated into believing represents some kind of enlightenment.

Chemicals and the science that led to their development are another technology, like the car you use to travel ("Cheaters!" scream horse and buggy users) or the electronic device you use to communicate on this board ("Lazy bastards always taking shortcuts!" shout the telegraph operators).

Take your judgement about steroids, GLPs, peptides, dishwashers, air conditioning, microwaves, electricity, and shove it up your ass.

It's your boring, meaningless, low accomplishment life that's led you to seek some platform upon which to feel superior to others that's the problem.

 

[CaptainTren]

Are you ok with people doing botox? Plastic surgery? Recreational drug usage? Consuming plenty of alcohol?

We live in a society of hypocrites. Steroids are cheating, but plastic surgery is ok for the actors/actress. Drug usage is ok for the musician, it helps with their art. Alcohol is ok. But noooooo steroids are cheating. It's abusing.

It's far more likely a teenager will die from drugs/alcohol than steroids. I fucking hate hypocrisy. A is bad, but B is ok. No they are both bad, you are just a fucking hypocrite (not you op, society)

As long a person is of age he should be free to do whatever he deems ok for his risk to reward ratio.

Don't get me wrong, at 18 it's retarded to abuse steroids, but so is doing coke, drinking copious amounts of alcohol and eating fast food. Do I have a say on it? No, unless they ask my opinion and it's still an opinion.

Live and let live people. It's liberating.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Well said.

Always funny too when people say steroids are cheating yet a black guy can eat whatever he wants and be bigger than someone with inferior genetics with perfect diet. Yet people think not using steroids ensures only talent and hardwork wins? It's a stupid argument . But then again we are living in a clown world. Just a few days ago we seen Germany agree to give up a Russian killer for a USA journalist that was given plenty of warnings to leave Russia but went anyways .


Clown world.jpeg

 

[Avies48]

There are a good amount of people out there who hate masculinity. Not sure if they're afraid of it or what, but they demonize it every chance they get. They're the same kind of people who say obesity is a genetic problem that the person can't do anything about, celebrate obese models, give junkies free housing, food, and help them shoot up, etc. I don't fully get what's up with these people but they seem to like supporting people being sick and incapacitated. Maybe that's why seeing a strong capable man pisses them off.

This is because 90% of these “masculine “ guys and straight up a$$holes and think they are the way a man needs to be… which is only carried truth by perhaps a measly 5% with little tiny weiners and hughhhggg muscles… ill be an a$$hole to go along with this steroided bodie..

Thats what gives “masculinity “ a bad name…

 

[Ghoul]

Couldn't have said it better myself. Well said.

Always funny too when people say steroids are cheating yet a black guy can eat whatever he wants and be bigger than someone with inferior genetics with perfect diet. Yet people think not using steroids ensures only talent and hardwork wins? It's a stupid argument . But then again we are living in a clown world. Just a few days ago we seen Germany agree to give up a Russian killer for a USA journalist that was given plenty of warnings to leave Russia but went anyways .


Clown world.jpeg

A Russian killer of a Chechen terrorist who murdered dozens of civilians. Notice the news leaves out info on the "innocent" victim of the Russian "killer". Russia presented the required evidence to Interpol for an arrest warrant, Germany refused to enforce it, and though they told the Chechen to get out, knowing he was a murderer, they didn't do anything to enforce that order, allowing him to hide in Germany.

Not any different than the terrorists the US has taken out in third party countries in recent years, or Israel in recent days.

 

[marsupial]

This is because 90% of these “masculine “ guys and straight up a$$holes and think they are the way a man needs to be… which is only carried truth by perhaps a measly 5% with little tiny weiners and hughhhggg muscles… ill be an a$$hole to go along with this steroided bodie..

Thats what gives “masculinity “ a bad name…

Complains about others’ ideas of masculinity
Says “tiny weiner”

just fucking lol

 

[marsupial]

They have everything to do with whether someone has been training for a consistent amount of time in the gym and knows what they are doing. Opinionated Idiot.

Bullshit. You also mention the two big lifts that are by far the easiest to cheat on for 1 rep maxes. Fuck 1 rep maxes. Working sets matter more. Working sets are what you’re actually gonna be doing on a blast. Not wasting valuable time with one rep max nonsense.

Also just saying, at every bodybuilding (ie not powerlifting) gym I’ve been to, no one who appears to be a decent bodyfat level is even doing working sets of over 315 squats without a belt. 90% of guys with big legs are mainly doing leg press, for better or worse…as they’ll fuck up their posterior chain imbalance. I guarantee if you went up to anyone even in a serious bodybuilding gym and told them “do working sets of unbelted squats with more than 3 plates”, they’d pretty much all struggle even if their physique is good

Opinionated idiot hurr durr

 

[narta]

They have everything to do with whether someone has been training for a consistent amount of time in the gym and knows what they are doing. Opinionated Idiot.

So a 17 year old that can do those number should go on a cycle?

 

[egruberman]

This is more or less idle bitching. Folks that attempt to blast their way to a decent physique without putting in the necessary work is a self-correcting problem. Kids on tren? Well, shame on their parents.

There are no arbitrary metrics by which anyone can determine who should or shouldn't be on gear. Individual response and desired outcomes will vary by necessity which should influence a person's well-informed decision.

People point to that Sulek kid as an example of someone ruining their health. His diet ain't the best, and that's about all anyone knows about him except for the fact that he trains his fucking face off every time he goes to the gym. Nobody knows what kind of doses he's running, ancillaries, if he has BP issues, or problems with lipids. He probably also does more cardio than most of you fuckers.

 

[bigboy420]

Its a 2024 roid pandemic. We can expect alot of dead idiots in the upcomming years.
If you dont think its real, you are delusional.

 

[DECLAN]

In the end of the day, we’re all addicted to these drugs, no matter how much we justify our drug abuse by pointing fingers at other people on why they shouldn’t be on peds because they’re young or how their drug use will kill them because it’s too much and ours wouldn’t because we’re doing harm reduction and such.

We’re all hypocrites who are not supposed to be blasting if we really want longevity, pure trt if doctor prescribed is warranted but anything from that glps and peptides included for reasons than it’s prescribed use is abuse, no way around it.

Hence, we could spin it all we want, in the end it is the poison we chose; for others its alcohol, some hard drugs, others it’s cheesecake, doritos or ice cream.

At least Sam Sulek is killing himself but earning tons of money and fame in return while others are eating themselves to 300lbs while hoping those glps, dnp and clen could help their food noise; or slowly destroying your organs to get a local bodybuilding trophy.