Why Do Bodybuilders Have Killer Bodies w/ Faces Aged 20 Years Beyond?

I have a really hard time guess the age of Pro Bodybuilders looking at them in the face. Why is it the body responds so well to T and AAS abuse but the face ages so much? Is it all the ugly faces and grunting from pushing past failure that is doing it?

I’ve wondered the same but didn’t have the time to dive in yet.

A good example of that is Markus Rühl, his face obviously doesn’t know he’s not even 50. The guy is great personality wise and BB wise but his face didn’t take the steroid abuse well.

He’s 49… Doesn’t look that much older than a the avg sun damaged 49 year old bogan back a day smoker (a dying breed mind you). I mention this as Markus Ruhl was purportedly a heavy smoker too.

Is this a recent photograph of Markus Ruhl? I wasn’t aware he was still so large.

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I didn’t really notice it much until the last couple years when so many Pro’s were dying and they would post pictures of the guys with his story. They might say something like he was just 34 but in the face he look 45 to me. This one, Dallas, is really sad. Only 26 he looks 38 to me.

A recent exemple I had in mind is Derek from More Plates More Dates, I watched some of his older vis (3 years ago) when he was on Tren and other heavy duty shit, whereas now he’s on TRT and he looked like a zombie

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No clue, but if you check out Vigorous Steve YouTube channel, he went off his TRT+ protocol and 8 weeks later looks 10 years younger. He’s posted pics side by side and it’s crazy.

Edit: I say TRT+ cos it was test plus GH plus low dose Primo. It is technically a cycle

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Yeah seen that as well… Some have a theory that muscle is distributed relatively homogenously on the body and some will go on the face… Also the gear taxes the body for sure

Maybe it’s just like hyper-aging? I mean going thru puberty changes men’s facial structure, voice, hair, etc. so running higher doses of AAS could just continue this process?

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I think some of this has to do with thinning of the skin, reduction of fat in the face, poor skin care habits and genetics. Even outside of bodybuilding and obvious P.E.D. use some people age like fine wine, others age like milk. Have you seen Michael Phelps lately? :flushed:

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He had a generic predisposition for cardiac abnormalities, coronary artery disease and whatnot yet abused the fuck out of anabolics.

It’s sad that he died in the same vein it’s sad when any other individual consisting of good character dies. On the other hand, he was diagnosed with severe concentric left ventricular hypertrophy around a year prior to his death when he presented to the hospital (ER I think) complaining of chest pain and (I think) cardiac arrhythmia; afterwards he kept competing. His death certainly wasn’t unforseen or shocking considering his medical history.

The face does contain skeletal muscle. There is def an effect regarding the aesthetic structure of one’s jawline and androgens (both positive and negative depending on how much water one is retaining). I was looking at pictures of me prior to TRT/whatever, the difference in weight is around 35lbs and my face looks sharper/has taken on a “square”, angular shape as opposed to a rounded, softer look.

It’s interesting you mention this. I’ve only ever run one flat out, PROPER cycle. JUST as the cycle came to a conclusion I went overseas and received constant commentary as to how I looked about seven to ten years older than I actually was. Looking at photos back then I did in fact look quite a bit older than I was (and looked older than I look currently) I attribute this however due to how “thick” I was at the time relative to my frame.

During the time before I left to go overseas there were numerous circumstances wherein people would pull members of my immediate family aside to state “I think unreal24278 is taking hormones”. My neck was something ridiculous like nineteen or twenty inches in circumference and I’d put on around 10-15 lbs in 6 weeks.

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Pretty sure that guy had a few cosmetic surgeries as well.

Yep, my experience is the same. I was 24 and getting ID’d for 16+ concerts and festivals, I looked like a kid still. At 26 I did my first cycle & friends commented how “grown up” I finally looked. It was a good thing then, but if you’re 30 and looking 45 I can see how it could be worrisome.

I should hop on gear then because I’m almost 31 and most people can’t believe it, they think I’m 25 at most :joy: (doesn’t help that i’m completely hairless and literally zero beard hair on my cheeks)

He is still huge. Got a German YouTube channel. You can check it out, his face does look significantly older than in this picture. His skin looks 65.

mTor is downstream of AAS which as a pathway gets a lot of credit for aging people.

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Wow that is really interesting. I am so behind the times. I had to google mTor.

The hot drugs I thought everyone was doing are HGH and insulin. Thanks for the info I really enjoy researching mTor. It looks like HGH and insulin plays a role.

GOOGLE: What triggers mTOR?

Multiple factors and pathways affect mTORC1 activity to regulate skeletal muscle mass. mTORC1 is activated by IGF-I/insulin, mechanical stimulation and amino acids (blue lines) and inhibited by glucocorticoids and myostatin (red lines). Activated mTORC1 increases protein synthesis in skeletal muscle.Oct 17, 2017 /quote

The amino leucine also seems to be connected to activating mTor.

Yes, mTOR gets activated by proteinkinase B which is a kinase that gets activated through a myriad of ways. Nearly everything that is known to trigger muscle growth activates it.

Yes, leucin is also known to increase insulin. But I highly doubt the worth of supplementing pure Leucin for these reasons.

What about Metformin and mTor inhibition?

Reckon increased glucose uptake within skeletal muscle/increased glycaemic control and whatnot would offset the any negative effect Metformin might have on skeletal muscle mediated through mTor inhibition?

What about stootins (I call statins stootins) and effects on gainz? Is it significant enough to make a perceptible difference in the mirror?

Surely not #longevityvsgains #gainzwin #synthol #amputatedlimbs

It such a bummer to read about metformin’s negative effects on bodybuilding.

I recently was put on 500mg/day because I can’t keep my blood glucose under 99(last 4 years 106-125) and my A1C runs between 5.7-6.1 I was told with these numbers I am prediabetic and have some insulin resistance. The metformin is support to help me with both.

Thing is I don’t eat or drink any processed sugar.
I make one fresh organic fruit with pea protein smoothy post workout drink.