That’s it that’s the post.
Oh, I need to write more?
There’s a lot of bs in the fitness industry, and often that bs is repeated by athletes themselves.
It irks me especially when new gym-goers turn towards the geared buff guys for their advice. You have to understand that the difference between you and these guys is that you’re never gonna reach their level. These guys can go to the gym twice a day every day of the week and make gains like it’s nothing. You’d be lucky to be in condition to go back the next day if you put yourself through an intense workout as a natty.
It’s an assumption that because someone looks strong, they must know what they’re doing. It doesn’t apply to people on gear solely; at my gym people go to the big guys for advice, some of whom are not loading. But the “tiny” guy whom I sometimes work out with has some great science and biomechanics advice to give out, some of which I’ve put into practice myself.
But certainly if they get results they have a good workout plan. Ask them about that first before asking about how much you should eat or how you can maximise your gains if you take creatine. (Although in my experience people are quick to praise their training routine yet never actually want to share it lol)
Though sometimes you see people like V Shred who look muscular but have no idea what they’re talking about, and it does kinda comfort me to know that if it worked for them and their terrible advice, then it can only work for me and my sound advice.
Steroids, hollywood, and social media have basically ruined what peoples idea of what the average person looks like and even what in shape people look like.
These transformations you see of actors putting on muscle in a few months are ALL the work of steroids.
My only gripe with steroids tbh is that influencers (including the celebrities you speak of) don’t openly talk about their usage.
People tell me “who cares what influencers think”, showing a lack of understanding as to how people get their information in the age of social media.
Some however are open about it. Otherwise I don’t judge people who use, and I (personally) don’t want to downplay the effort they put to achieve these body recompositions. An athlete that can squat 250 kilos is still high level and pushing the boundaries of physical strength, gear or no gear.
In a way I feel that while talking about steroid is much more accepted and open these days, there’s still taboo around them where it matters: the side effects. + all the people that are clearly on gear but make a big show out of claiming natural, as if they’re ashamed of using.
I wonder how pervasive performance enhancing drugs etc. are in high level sports especially football. I have read some theories that it is somewhat of an open secret among the people involved in the game but there hasn’t been any exposé of any kind.
It is super common, there’s no way you can play at this level and not be on PEDs when your opponents are. It happens on every elite sport, but they don’t necessarily take steroids to produce hypertrophy like bodybuilders. There’s also stuff you can take that’s borderline legal. Like Human Growth Hormone is not really detectable because it’s present naturally in your body and some people produce more than others.
They keep it under the lid because it would create controversy and sponsors would pull out if it came out. But it’s pretty evident just how widespread it is when you see records being beaten year after year. 100 years ago athletes didn’t look and perform like they do today, and part of that was the advances in training protocols and methods, but that only goes so far. The rest of the way is finding new PEDs and PEDs regimens.
To add to this great summary, there’s also – I’m unsure of the exact name and the process – oxygen doping. Do you know much about that? I’m hazy on the details.
You mean the blood transfusions to get more red blood cells which carry oxygen?
That’s the one.
Yeah so cyclists and other athletes that rely on cardio get blood transfusions done before their event so that they have more red blood cells (before they get reabsorbed by the body). As red blood cells carry oxygen, the idea is that you’ll be able to get more oxygen to your muscles than you normally would. This oxygen is used to break down glucose with a chemical reaction, which fuels your muscle cells. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they also take PEDs to help with sugar retention or breakdown (I know insulin is a big one in the bodybuilding sphere to pop out your veins and help you lose the last few kilos of mass).
It’s not in my area so I don’t know how effective it is, but there’s a lot of research on it and it’s been widely used for decades.
It also ends up “thickening” your blood the more you do it (IIRC the red cells end up not being absorbed as your body gets used to having them around) which can lead to nasty side effects down the line. Not to speak of course of the possibility of getting contaminated through the needle or the blood itself.
Also red blood cells look cute as heck. Like caramel candy.
Yeah it’s the influencers/celebrities who specifically market their bodies as attainable when they are not who are my main gripe. They are ruining the brains of people out there making people think these physiques are normal.
I can respect the dedication as well to sticking to a routine, but that’s something you respect regardless of PEDs. But the reality is that PEDs make it easier to achieve whatever results you’re looking for in the gym. A big squat is a big squat, and having shoulders like Dwight Howard is amazing, but if it is on youtube being sold to people or monetized then it should be stated whether or not it is natural.
Athletic use of PEDs for competition stems from a different source. I honestly don’t have an issue with it as long as it is safe. It’s an open secret, and quite frankly Id love it if I could watch LeBron or Djokovic for the rest of my life.
We love unrealistic body standards.
Absolutely. I’ve seen bodybuilder level guys at my gym do things which made me wonder how they never permanently injured themselves.
I also want to add that being the biggest guy around doesn’t automatically make you the strongest as well. I work out to get stronger and I sometimes talk to people who want to do the same. They feel like because they don’t look like Arnold despite making progress in strength makes them weaker than the bodybuilder next to them, even if they can do heavier lifts. Focus on your own lifts and progress instead of constantly comparing yourself to the buff guys if that makes you feel bad. The strongest guy I know was my boss back when I was a carpenter. He looks like Danny DeVito yet would lift 150kg wooden bars on his shoulder on the regular.
Inside you there are two wolves. One wants to be strong and smash PRs, and the other wants to be buff.
Then there’s the 20 year old athletes who market themselves as gurus. You can look like them if you just follow the advice. That may be true, but let’s see how they do in fifteen years, looking after three kids, working 45 hours a week at a desk (55 hours with the commute, and there’s no fridge at work), and not enough money for gym membership.
I’m not hating, btw; let the young be youthful and energetic. I’m highlighting what seems to be an industry assumption that everyone has as much free time and resources as they need, and the ‘problem’ is the way that out-of-shape people spend their time and resources.
This seems related to your observation, as the 20-year old who always played sport is going to look athletic with a moderately healthy diet, plenty of water, and a reasonable maintenance regime. Not quite as big as the guy on PEDs, but their fitness is not necessarily proof that they know what they’re doing. And it’s a bit different when other responsibilities pile up, but these tend to get framed as ‘excuses’ by people who haven’t lived with them yet. Some people do obviously manage to juggle everything, but it’s incredibly difficult.
Well, to each their own. There’s this one huge guy who always does front squats and my friend and I never did them before. He taught us proper form as well as tips on how to maximize efficiency of exercise. I don’t expect to look exactly like him within 3 years or anything but over time I can definitely gain body mass and gain weight in a healthy way.
Yes, the geared people that actually understand there’s a difference between a natty and a non-natty (I guess that’s a word?) and can help you out are great. But they also make their gains on a level that is simply unattainable for naturals. Even studies show that taking steroids and remaining sedentary in your lifestyle will make you put on several pounds of muscle. They could literally do anything they want that’s mildly physical and grow (no I’m not jealous 😭)
To be honest this post came to my mind because I remember overhearing a new guy at the gym ask the obviously geared dude how to become big like him, and one of the tips was “you gotta eat eat eat”. Though he also did point out the importance of proper sleep.
I agree with that 100%, you absolutely DO need to eat more than you ever usually do pretty often. If it wasn’t for my love of rice and Corned Beef Hash which are cheap and filling, I would’ve gone broke with how much I would spend on food for gains
Studies have found you need a 250-400 caloric surplus compared to your TDEE for maximum efficiency. People on steroids could likely eat until they’re ready to burst because of what the steroids do to their metabolism, their diet is not transferable to a natural bodybuilder and many hobbyist who use steroids don’t actually realise that.
There’s a lot of bs in the fitness industry and this one is pervasive haha. It’s not wrong per se, but it needs proper framing.
After that threshold, you won’t really improve fat-free mass gain and instead will put on more fatty mass. Which also helps with performance, but then you might have to lose it depending how much you put on. Also in regards to the guy in question, eating like a tank won’t ever make one look jacked like him.
That’s of course only in a bulking setting, which is something steroid users don’t have to worry about as much. Because of their metabolic changes, they will enter a caloric deficit pretty easily and so can stay eating at a surplus for the most part (at least while on a cycle).
The other thing I hate is people saying you need to use all these different machines and do a ton of different lifts every day. Like, there’s less then 10 compound lifts that will work out almost all muscle groups. 5 of those will work out 80% or more of the muscle groups. A barbell and rack will do the work of a half dozen or more machines and cost you next to nothing in comparison. I spent a few hundred bucks on my rack and barbell. Made all my weight plates for next to nothing. Working out and getting fit doesn’t have to be a huge out of pocket expense or monthly subscription if you don’t want it to be. It also doesn’t have to be an all day, every day thing that eats up your time.
I forget who on here said this, but prisoners can get jacked without any fancy equipment, usually just with a barbell and body weight exercises alone. There’s this reddit tendency to take every hobby an unecessary and unhealthy level… especially when it comes to buying pointlessly expensive gucci gear that probably does a worse job than the simple one.
I’ve gotten to where I’d like to be with a pair of adjustable hand barbells and nothing else.
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