I’m sure many have seen this study- only 43 guys and I haven’t seen it repeated so I’d caution against treating it as gospel…but the results of this study suggest that the analogy of steroids being ‘additions’ to an already souped up car is inapt. It’s more like natural lifters are driving a Ford Model T and enhanced lifters are driving a Ferrari: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199607043350101#t=articleResults
ALL the analogies are wrong.
You cannot rely on a severely LIMITED amount of studies to come to a fixed conclusion.
LBM does not only comprise of skeletal muscle tissue. If a drug can put 10lbs of muscle tissue on you in ONE week, or 10lbs within 3 months without any training stimuli when not in a prior diseased state, it belongs in the Marvel Universe.
Guys, this should be common sense. Fucking common sense.
2 Likes
A less exaggerated version of this may happen when someone starts at something like 150lbs, very far away from whatever natural ceiling his genetics afford him. But he would not know balls about training and diet at level anyway so he won’t know how to maximise their potential. He will get that 10-15bs of “lbm” and stall. Probably more if starting a cycle compels him to actually start EATING more. But he will probably gain an undesirable amount of fat in the process since, again, he don’t know balls about training and diet. These will look like MASSIVE GAINZ BRAH since he starts out so small. However, these gainz will all be lost on cessation of these drugs. The fat will remain. Upping the dose will not bring the same rate of returns.
Drugs give you the potential to exceed whatever natural ceiling you have. That’s it. You will not build muscle at a vastly accelerated rate once you have reached that level or near it. The rest are for cosmetic purposes, e.g, fullness, vascularity.
1 Like
And if you don’t know how to drive, how to use a clutch, or fail to put in any petrol, that Model T is still gonna beat the Ferrari around a racetrack.
5 Likes
Awwww. I was hoping I was at least semi getting close.
Muscles built with steroids are much less dense than naturally acquired muscles, so a simple test can tell you if someone is natty. You just need a dip belt and a 45 lb plate. It sometimes helps to drug and restrain the subject first.
Once the subject has the dip belt and plate attached, throw them in the river. If he sinks, he’s natty. If he floats, it’s because of the low density steroid muscles.
#science
8 Likes
Or it could be because he’s a witch.
5 Likes
Rasputin was definitely juicing. After all aren’t strong people “harder to kill”?
“First, Rasputin’s would-be killers gave the monk food and wine laced with cyanide. When he failed to react to the poison, they shot him at close range, leaving him for dead. A short time later, however, Rasputin revived and attempted to escape from the palace grounds, whereupon his assailants shot him again and beat him viciously. Finally, they bound Rasputin, still miraculously alive, and tossed him into a freezing river. His body was discovered several days later and the two main conspirators, Youssupov and Pavlovich were exiled”
1 Like
my favorite part of this thread was the dead serious assertion that Simeon Panda is clearly and definitively not using steroids, made by our resident genius Hugh Gilly.
I lol’ed.
1 Like
I actually don’t really care about the guys with good physiques. We all train hard and put in work. I think there is plenty of common ground. The guys that annoy me are the steroid users that don’t look like they lift. Either barely training or not even training at all.
Those guys are pretty essential to the steroid-using community in that they are living proof that steroids do not do the work, lol.
I have a few friends who also compete in strongman, are on all kinds of stuff, and are still terrible at the sport. And they look like shit to go with it. It’s pretty mind blowing. I know that at least one of the guys trains hard and consistently too.
2 Likes
Im no #scientist, but “natties” dont bench 315 for reps at 180 bodyweight, lean and 18 years old. “natties” even at their full potential are never drastically stronger than another “natty” of similar size, genetics and/or experience. In other words, “naturally” you probably wont ever be head and heels, stronger and more jacked than guys near your size/most gym rats in general. Theres a pretty hard limit and most guys end up with around the same strength to weight ratio,leaness and size after a few years of hard, dedicated training.
Don’t limit my gains, brah!
1 Like
“Russia’s greatest love machine”.
Not natty.
Natties don’t end up like this when asked a simple question about progressive resistance.
Kids, stay away from roids.
4 Likes
I think I’ve come up with a helpful analogy that will clear everything up.
Being natty is like driving a racecar, while being on steroids is like driving a racecar but it has steroids in the gastank.
12 Likes
That makes sense.
Could you can also say, being natural is like pushing yourself on the swing, and steroids is like having someone using steroids thats pushing you on the swing? I wanna make a good analogy
4 Likes
LMAO most accurate analogy I’ve ever seen about the topic.
S
2 Likes
Trick question: people who use steroids don’t have any friends to push on a swing. The internet taught me that.
3 Likes
perhaps they see a possible upper body workout of some sort from this?
OR
The person on the swing in no way, shape, or form knows said steroid person, and is completely horrified at how high this person is pushing them, but doesn’t have the courage to ask them to stop, because steroid person saw a “unique” opportunity to get in some type of upper body workout, they then become friends.
Omg lol.
1 Like