Better Pay Attention Here, Will is a Little
Grumpy Today... Walking the Walk & Talking The
Talk
Readers Note: 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.
If you have an uncle who will write you scripts and you want
to use steroids than that's your business. What ever price
there is to pay for using them, it will be you and you alone
who pays it. I just call em like I see em. Emotions can never
alter facts, but facts can alter emotions. Never let your
perceptions or your emotions alter your view of the facts. The
article is intended as 80% humor and 20% education as it
relates to steroids. If you lack a sense of humor, this article
is not for you.
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.
Given a choice between the two however, I would rather be
able to walk the walk, than talk the talk. In this article I
want to discuss a few examples of how this concept plays itself
out in bodybuilding, science, nutrition, or what ever suits our
purpose to get the idea across that, yes, there is a difference
between "walking the walk" and "talking the talk!" This
difference is one of several reasons we have so much confusion
regarding anything to do with bodybuilding (e.g., nutrition,
drugs, training, etc.) . It is certainly not the only reason,
but is a major contributor to the plethora of different
opinions we find in the world of bodybuilding, sports
nutrition, or other fields relating to performance and
health.
Ground Breaking Steroid Studies......Not!
Now what ultimately set me off to write this article,
besides the fact that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed,
was a study published recently in The New England Journal of
Medicine (NEJM). NEJM is considered one of the most prestigious
medical and scientific journals in the world. People tend to
hold this journal up as the holy scripture of medical journals.
The study was called "The Effects Of Supraphysiologic Doses Of
Testosterone On Muscle Size And Strength In Normal Men
(vol.336, July, 96)." This was a fairly strait forward study,
so we don't need to go into great depths about it and bore you
to sleep with all the details. In a nut shell, there were four
groups of men studied. One group received 600 milligrams of
testosterone enanthate and trained with weight three days per
week. The other three groups were just combinations of training
with weights and getting no testosterone (placebo), getting the
testosterone and not training with weights (couch potato on
test!), and so on. So what was so wrong with this study that
prompted me to write this article? Well it was not so much the
conclusion of the study-which we will get to in a minute-but
some of the statements within the study that caught my
attention. For example, the researchers state:
- "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."
Unknown? Unknown? Unknown to who? The next time you sit in
the front row of a bodybuilding show or see some 280 pound
androgen freak squatting the equivalent of a small family
sedan, feel free to yell "hey fella(s), did you know that all
those steroids you are taking have not been proven to build
muscle!" Gee whiz, guess that forty pounds little Johnny put on
in twelve weeks to make the high school football team was a
placebo effect of the five Anadrol a day he was taking! As far
as The Group For The Use Of Common Sense In Science (GFUCSS) is
concerned, regardless of the research, if there is still a
single doctor in the entire world who continues to doubt
steroids have an effect on muscle mass, he should have his
license revoked and should be dope slapped in a public forum!
Oh ya, in case your wondering, I am the national president and
only member of GFUCSS. Have any of these researchers ever
stepped outside of the lab to see what is going on out there in
the real world? It's 1996 for God sake. How about this
statement from the same study:
- "We do not know whether still higher doses of
testosterone or the simultaneous administration of several
steroids would have more pronounced
effects."
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!
So after all these years of biased-poorly done-goofy-steroid
research, why does this new study pop up in NEJM and show the
reality of moderate steroid use without all the scare tactics?
The answer can be found in the final paragraph, which
states:
- "Our findings do, however, raise the possibility
that short term administration of androgens may have
beneficial effects in immobilized patients, during space
travel, and in patients with cancer-related cachexia,
disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),
or other chronic wasting disorders."
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.
Finally, Canadian Olympic coach Charles Poliquin has written
several times that squatting far bellow parallel is not
detrimental to your knees, provided your form is good and you
are fully warmed up. However, these people, including yours
truly, are still fighting an up-hill battle and are in the
minority. The truth can never be suppressed, it can only be
delayed.
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!
The author of
this article and Bodybuilding Revealed -- Will Brink
About the Author - William D.
Brink
Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected
author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness,
bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively
published.Will graduated from Harvard University with a
concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to
major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications
such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International,
The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate,
Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen,
Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For
Doctors.
Will was a former high level trainer with a rep for getting
Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness stars into shape and
has gained a reputation for being a no "BS" industry insider
who's not afraid to reveal the lies and hype found in the fat
loss , muscle building & supplement industry.
He has been co author of several studies relating to sports
nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals,
as well as having commentary published in JAMA. William has
been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training and
nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and
Canada, and has appeared on numerous radio and television
programs.
He is the author, of Body Building Revealed
which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass drug free.
This e-book come with access to his private forums and
numerous tools to aid you in your endevour.
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