Issue #8
Competitive Bodybuilding
Make Sure You Know What You're Getting Into
By Jason Meuller

I love the sport of bodybuilding. I'd better, my life fairly revolves around the sport. My job, my recreation time, my athletic endeavors all center around this great sport of ours. When I first started my quest for the perfect body, I was unaware of the level of commitment it takes to succeed in this sport. I was also naïve to the darker sides of competitive bodybuilding.

Before we continue on, let's all make sure we're on the same page. When I refer to competitive bodybuilding, I don't mean occasional sessions in the gym performing resistance exercises. I mean the kind of athletic endeavors required to step foot on stage, the kind required to emulate the style of physiques displayed in this and other magazines. Resistance exercise is perhaps one of the healthiest forms of training we can possibly perform. However, competitive bodybuilding is not simply about resistance training, it's a Faustian bargain that's struck to achieve a desired cosmetic effect.

I suppose the biggest perpetrator of the myths surrounding competitive bodybuilding is the sports supplement industry. They would have us believe that the athletes they use to sell their products are representative of the ideal of perfect health. Although these athletes may appear to be incredibly healthy, nothing is further from the truth. The brutal workouts, drug abuse, and constant overfeeding guarantees these athletes suffer from a myriad of health problems. If you've ever been around a top-level bodybuilder, you'll know what I'm talking about. The inability to breath, coupled with edema, and obvious high blood pressure makes these guys a physician's nightmare.

Bodybuilding magazines are filled with ads that display ripped, contest-ready bodybuilders extolling the virtues of a myriad of pills, powders, and drinks. It's intended that you, the consumer, will see these ads and buy these products in order to emulate the physique of the athletes paid to endorse said products. Although all supplement companies use this approach, I find it extremely deceptive and insulting. However, it's obviously working, so I also find myself sometimes questioning the intelligence of the average bodybuilder. Let's face it, every major sports company in the world hires athletes to endorse their products. Nike has a full line of products that are endorsed my Michael Jordan. However, Nike doesn't attempt to convince people that Jordan's success is related to the shoes or shorts he wears. Can you see the ad? "Hi everyone, I'm Michael Jordan. Ever since I started wearing these new Air Jordan's, my vertical leap has improved by 10 inches. Thanks Nike for making me the best basketball player in the world!" What if Jordan started doing ads for Wheaties where he claimed that his athletic performance had dramatically improved because of that breakfast cereal? How long do you think it would be before the FTC slapped them with a huge fine? However, advertising like this takes place every day in bodybuilding magazines, it seems all of these ads are poured from the same mold.

What must these magazines be like to the bodybuilding neophyte reading them for the first time? I'm sure all of the complex chemical names and plethora of muscle building supplements is confusing as hell. Seeing page after page of professional bodybuilders extolling the virtues of these products must make them seem like some muscle-building manna from heaven. Now, I've never seen demographics on the market that buys bodybuilding supplements, but I'm betting a very large portion of these individuals are young, impressionable kids that fall easy prey to the marketing lines touted by various supplement manufacturers. If you're serious about competitive bodybuilding you need to know what you're getting into.

All National and Professional Bodybuilders Use Steroids

Now before some natural writes to me complaining loudly that he is drug-free and has the tests to prove it, I'm not talking about natural bodybuilding contests. I have the utmost respect for natural bodybuilders, but it's even more of a fringe sport than "normal" bodybuilding. So if you're natural and compete in a natural federation, good luck, I hope somebody with some money gets behind your sport one day. 'Nuff said.

If it's your desire to compete in the upper echelons of bodybuilding, at some point you will have to take steroids. No one is genetically gifted enough that they are able to stand on stage naturally next to a bunch of juiced bodybuilders. As much as the powers that be in the sport would like you to believe otherwise, the physiques displayed by national and professional bodybuilders are only achieved through the use of steroids and other bodybuilding drugs.

All bodybuilders who ascend to this level are genetically blessed in some fashion. All have an amazing ability to add muscle, much more so than the average person. Most also respond to steroids far better than the average trainer. However, even at these elite levels, there is a huge difference in the amounts of steroid individuals must use to compete successfully in the sport. Some athletes are able to compete using as little as 2 g of steroid per week, while others must use upwards of 6 g in order to pack on the necessary size required at that level. Additionally, the length and types of cycles utilized by these athletes vary widely. While some of them do actually cycle, taking time off from steroids occasionally, other must remain on constantly. Large doses of testosterone seem to form the base of every bodybuilder's drug regimen, although this seems to be the only common theme, with drug choices varying widely according to personal preferences.

Unfortunately, many so-called "natural" bodybuilders are anything but natural. A perfect example of this is our current Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman. Now Coleman is a cop, and has no choice but to claim he is drug-free. However, there are a myriad of athletes claiming to be natural that have gained a large degree of notoriety due to their supposed drug-free status that take large amounts of anabolic steroids. They compete in drug-free organizations and do quite well in their respective federations. Why they do this I have no idea. It's almost like someone with no disabilities and perfect health competing in the Special Olympics.

Competitive Bodybuilders Don't Follow Strict Diets of Chicken and Rice

If you are ever in Venice, California, I urge you to stop by the Firehouse restaurant. It will immediately clear up any misconception as to how competitive bodybuilders eat in the off season. We often see pictures in magazines of a bodybuilder in front of a neatly arranged plate of chicken, rice, and steamed vegetables. We are constantly told how clean these athletes eat, following pristine diets year round. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In order to pack on the enormous amounts of muscle required to compete successfully in the upper echelons of the sport, bodybuilders must consume tremendous amounts of calories. Their massive muscular bodyweights, combined with their drug programs and workout schedules, requires a schedule of constant feeding. Quite frankly, low fat meals do not supply the necessary calories to induce muscular growth. These athletes purposely go out of their way to consume high-fat meals, it's not uncommon to see these athletes eating fast food several times a day just to add much needed calories to their diet.

The biggest limiting factor of success in bodybuilding (other than genetic ability) is the inability to eat. More athletes fail to realize their potential because of this than all of the reasons combined. Although some may view the dietary practices of these athletes as shear laziness, there is nothing pleasant about eating 7-8 meals a day, regardless of what kind of food is being consumed. In the off season, these athletes are thoroughly bloated, not only from the sodium retention caused by drug use, but by all of the food that is consumed throughout the day. Successful competitive bodybuilders seem to have an ability above and beyond that of normal people to consume food.

The massive amounts of bodybuilding drugs these athletes consume help them stay relatively lean throughout the year, regardless of the kind of foods being ingested. Although these athletes tend to become very bloated in the off season, they would only be considered fat by bodybuilding standards. Both testosterone and growth hormone have very powerful lipotropic properties, keeping body fat levels low no matter how many calories are consumed. Not only does a juiced bodybuilder have the advantage of more muscle over a natural competitor, he has the ability to diet off fat more quickly and with less catabolism than his natural counterpart.

Champion Bodybuilders Are Not a Result of Steroid Use

Confused? You should be, I'm checking to make sure you're paying attention. First I tell you that all national and professional bodybuilders use steroids, not I'm telling you that steroids do not make champions. Bear with me. I'm going to throw a few commonly heard gym sayings at you, you tell me how many you've heard (or even said!):

Sayings big guys often hear

1. "I've got a brother (or father, uncle, nephew, 3rd cousin twice-removed) about your size."
2. "Do you take steroids?"
3. "Hey man, what are you taking to get so damn big?"

Things often said about big guys

1. "Look at the size of that guy! He must be on a ton of shit."
2. "I'd be that big too if I took as many steroids as he did."

Do you see the common thread here? Most people, including bodybuilders, associate extreme muscular size with steroid use. I myself stated earlier that all national and professional level bodybuilders take steroids. So doesn't it stand to reason that steroids build champion bodybuilders? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!

Bodybuilding is purported to be unlike many other sports in that we are all led to believe that if we take enough supplements, train hard enough, and ultimately take enough drugs, we are all going to be champions one day. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee, in reality bodybuilding is just like every other sport. The athletes (and they are most assuredly athletes in every sense of the word) at the top are genetically gifted beyond our wildest dreams. It's funny, you don't see basketball coaches telling kids with no obvious talent that they'll be playing in the NBA one day, you don't see the local high school coach telling the third-string quarterback to start prepping for a career in the NFL. Yet, we are all led to believe that success in bodybuilding is related only to desire, drive, and commitment. Let me be the first one to burst your bubble, you probably don't have what it takes to compete successfully in the upper ranks of the sport.

Success in competitive bodybuilding is based around genetics. If you're not genetically gifted, no amount of drugs in the world is going to make a bit of difference. I've seen hundreds, probably thousands of athletes take steroids. With very few exceptions, most of these athletes will never develop a physique that will allow them to win a national qualifier, much less compete nationally or in the pro ranks. I've seen bodybuilders with absolutely no genetic potential convince themselves that their lack of progress is related solely to insufficient drug use. Athletes like this will believe their physical transformation is only a cycle away, or that the lack of one drug in their cycle is the reason why they've yet to achieve their goals.

In reality, top bodybuilders are the genetic elite of the sport. Having said that, I've seen quite a few genetically gifted bodybuilders fail because they refuse to believe that success in the sport is related to anything but drug use. Steroids level the playing field. Steroids are a tool. If an athlete has the necessary genetics, he must eat properly or he will fail. If an athlete has the necessary genetics and can eat properly, he must then train or he will fail. If an athlete has the necessary genetics, and is eating and training properly, taking steroids may allow him to reach the upper echelons of competition. However steroids are always the last causative factor in a bodybuilders success or lack of it, not the first.

It's disturbing to see how much emphasis is placed on steroids in the overall scheme of bodybuilding, however, it's also a reflection of the attitudes prevalent in society today. People want that magic pill or drug that is going to change them overnight. People don't want to hear that they can't do something, and what can't be achieved through hard work is definitely obtainable through modern chemistry, right? Wrong. Ultimately success in bodybuilding is what you get out of it. If you're going to measure yourself only by your competitive successes, you're probably going to be disappointed. However, if your goal is to maximize your genetic potential, bodybuilding will always be an exciting and satisfying sport. For most of you, maximizing your genetic potential, either naturally or with bodybuilding drugs, will not lead to competitive success. For some it may. However, your goal should always be to improve yourself, and to reap the benefits that follow.

I think the time is ripe in bodybuilding for the truth to be told. This and other publications like it are the first step for that to happen. Maybe we'll see a printed bodybuilding magazine that can tell the truth and still be financially viable. I certainly hope so.

I've often been accused of being anti-supplements. Nothing could be further from the truth. I think there are many bodybuilding supplements that are incredibly effective. What I object to is not the supplements themselves, but the fashion in which they are marketed. If someone had the balls to tell the truth and break out of the Bill Phillips mold of marketing, we might see that bodybuilders are more intelligent than we give them credit.

Bodybuilding is a wonderful sport. Competitive bodybuilding can be just as satisfying if you're aware of what you're getting yourself into. Like almost any other professional sport, bodybuilding does have its darker side. The laws and ethics surrounding steroid use requires that competitive bodybuilders occasionally cross that line, some more than others. Beyond genetics, knowledge is ultimately the first key to success in any athletic endeavor. Good luck.

Copyright 2000 Jason Meuller and Anabolic Extreme. This material may not be copied, reproduced, or transmitted without the express written permission of the copyright owners.

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