macka
08-06-2009, 02:51 PM
Found this on Tmag... discuss
Myth: Steroids make all the difference.
Mythbuster: Clay Hyght
As a TMUSCLE reader, you're savvy enough to know that many elite athletes in a variety of sports use ergogenic aids like steroids and growth hormones. However, I'm willing to bet you don't know how big of a role these aids really play. It's far less than you may expect.
Remember the first time you took creatine, and your weight and strength went up quicker than ever? Multiply that by two or three, and you get a rough idea of what you could expect by taking steroids. It's an advantage, sure, but it's not the kind of boost you hear about in locker rooms and Internet forums worldwide.
First, an analogy.
Let's say you and I go to the dog track and we decide to play a friendly game where we bet on a dog without seeing him first. All we know is that Dog One has been taking stanozolol (Winstrol) for two years and clenbuterol for a few months, all while training and eating perfectly. Dog Two has also been training and eating perfectly, but hasn't taken any ergogenic aids at all.
Which dog would you put your money on? Dog One, right? It's a no-brainer.
But what if Dog One is a Chihuahua, while Dog Two is a greyhound? Knowing this, would you still bet on the first dog? Not unless you're a fool eager to be parted from his money.
You can extend that analogy in any direction. Just as no amount of drugs would give that Chihuahua a chance in hell against a dog bred specifically for speed, he'd get his ass handed to him in a fight against a drug-free pit bull, or in a sled-pulling contest against a husky with clean urine samples. Genetic advantages rule.
The point I'm trying to make is that those who are at the upper echelons in any sport are the greyhounds, pit bulls, and huskies of the human species. It doesn't matter if we're talking about bodybuilding, track and field, football, or any other sport in which size, strength, and power are the primary tools required. The top athletes in those sports have that big-dog potential with or without steroids.
You think Ronnie Coleman won eight Mr. Olympias because he took more drugs, or better drugs, than everyone else? Hell no! In fact, he won his first bodybuilding titles when he was still drug-free.
He never misses a workout, trains as if his life depends on it, and eats every scheduled meal every single day. It was his hard work and dedication that allowed him to capture eight Olympia trophies. Sure, steroids played a role, but if it hadn't been for his freaky genetics, hard work, and consistent focus, the pharmacology wouldn't have mattered.
A guy with average genetics and a mediocre work ethic could take all the steroids in Bulgaria and still not win the novice division at a local bodybuilding show. But give me a drug-free guy with good genetics who's willing to work hard and eat right, let me put him up against a lazy juicer, and I guarantee my guy will win.
If I told you the steroid protocol of some of the top pros, you'd be amazed at how little they take. The best and most consistent pros typically take less gear than most wannabe bodybuilders. That's because they (or their coaches) are smart enough to know that more is not necessarily better. If you can't grow on 600 milligrams of Testosterone a week, then you're not going to grow by adding any more drugs. It's your diet and training that's the problem.
Just like over-the-counter supplements, ergogenic aids help by enhancing protein synthesis, encouraging lipolysis (aka fat burning), increasing energy, and/or helping you recover from workouts faster and more completely. And those are all tremendous benefits, all else being equal. Give me two greyhounds from the same litter, train them both to race, and I'd put my money on the one that's using drugs over the one that isn't.
That said, I believe ergogenic aids, as often as not, are a crutch. I've seen users who won't diet properly or do cardio without taking clenbuterol. As if you can't burn fat without it! Want to know how to lose fat just as quickly but without drugs? Do 10% more cardio.
Meanwhile, a lot of non-users attribute everything to steroids as a way to excuse their failure to get bigger, leaner, faster, or more competitive in their chosen sport. If you've been training diligently for years and you're at the top edge of your genetic potential, okay, maybe the guys ahead of you got there with steroids. But if you haven't trained hard enough to max out, attributing your failures or someone else's success to steroids is just an excuse.
Me, I don't care if you use ergogenic aids or not. It's your choice. As long as you work hard, you've got my respect either way. Just don't convince yourself that drugs are a replacement for that hard work. Willpower doesn't come in a pill or syringe, my friend.
Myth: Steroids make all the difference.
Mythbuster: Clay Hyght
As a TMUSCLE reader, you're savvy enough to know that many elite athletes in a variety of sports use ergogenic aids like steroids and growth hormones. However, I'm willing to bet you don't know how big of a role these aids really play. It's far less than you may expect.
Remember the first time you took creatine, and your weight and strength went up quicker than ever? Multiply that by two or three, and you get a rough idea of what you could expect by taking steroids. It's an advantage, sure, but it's not the kind of boost you hear about in locker rooms and Internet forums worldwide.
First, an analogy.
Let's say you and I go to the dog track and we decide to play a friendly game where we bet on a dog without seeing him first. All we know is that Dog One has been taking stanozolol (Winstrol) for two years and clenbuterol for a few months, all while training and eating perfectly. Dog Two has also been training and eating perfectly, but hasn't taken any ergogenic aids at all.
Which dog would you put your money on? Dog One, right? It's a no-brainer.
But what if Dog One is a Chihuahua, while Dog Two is a greyhound? Knowing this, would you still bet on the first dog? Not unless you're a fool eager to be parted from his money.
You can extend that analogy in any direction. Just as no amount of drugs would give that Chihuahua a chance in hell against a dog bred specifically for speed, he'd get his ass handed to him in a fight against a drug-free pit bull, or in a sled-pulling contest against a husky with clean urine samples. Genetic advantages rule.
The point I'm trying to make is that those who are at the upper echelons in any sport are the greyhounds, pit bulls, and huskies of the human species. It doesn't matter if we're talking about bodybuilding, track and field, football, or any other sport in which size, strength, and power are the primary tools required. The top athletes in those sports have that big-dog potential with or without steroids.
You think Ronnie Coleman won eight Mr. Olympias because he took more drugs, or better drugs, than everyone else? Hell no! In fact, he won his first bodybuilding titles when he was still drug-free.
He never misses a workout, trains as if his life depends on it, and eats every scheduled meal every single day. It was his hard work and dedication that allowed him to capture eight Olympia trophies. Sure, steroids played a role, but if it hadn't been for his freaky genetics, hard work, and consistent focus, the pharmacology wouldn't have mattered.
A guy with average genetics and a mediocre work ethic could take all the steroids in Bulgaria and still not win the novice division at a local bodybuilding show. But give me a drug-free guy with good genetics who's willing to work hard and eat right, let me put him up against a lazy juicer, and I guarantee my guy will win.
If I told you the steroid protocol of some of the top pros, you'd be amazed at how little they take. The best and most consistent pros typically take less gear than most wannabe bodybuilders. That's because they (or their coaches) are smart enough to know that more is not necessarily better. If you can't grow on 600 milligrams of Testosterone a week, then you're not going to grow by adding any more drugs. It's your diet and training that's the problem.
Just like over-the-counter supplements, ergogenic aids help by enhancing protein synthesis, encouraging lipolysis (aka fat burning), increasing energy, and/or helping you recover from workouts faster and more completely. And those are all tremendous benefits, all else being equal. Give me two greyhounds from the same litter, train them both to race, and I'd put my money on the one that's using drugs over the one that isn't.
That said, I believe ergogenic aids, as often as not, are a crutch. I've seen users who won't diet properly or do cardio without taking clenbuterol. As if you can't burn fat without it! Want to know how to lose fat just as quickly but without drugs? Do 10% more cardio.
Meanwhile, a lot of non-users attribute everything to steroids as a way to excuse their failure to get bigger, leaner, faster, or more competitive in their chosen sport. If you've been training diligently for years and you're at the top edge of your genetic potential, okay, maybe the guys ahead of you got there with steroids. But if you haven't trained hard enough to max out, attributing your failures or someone else's success to steroids is just an excuse.
Me, I don't care if you use ergogenic aids or not. It's your choice. As long as you work hard, you've got my respect either way. Just don't convince yourself that drugs are a replacement for that hard work. Willpower doesn't come in a pill or syringe, my friend.