I’ve had many breaks from training due to low motivation. The first major episode took place when I got sick of the squat or die mentality installed deep into my brain. However, a few months passed and the accumulation of barbell nostalgia made me want to train again.
Yet when I set my foot on gym territory, I wanted to go back home right away. My head starting producing all kinds of excuses to run and never return. The dopey and brainless smile of the manager didn’t help either. The man was one of those let-me-tell-you-how-the-world-works-while-I-smoke kinda guys. He was also one greedy son of a bitch who wasn’t even lifting.
The light in his eyes turned on when he saw my wallet open. He was the reason why I didn’t buy a one-month membership and paid for one workout only. I wasn’t sure whether seeing this idiot multiple times a week was healthy.
Anyway, I paid and went to the locker room to put on my battle suit and get ready to rejoin the pointless war against gravity. There was a big surprise waiting for me there.
I opened the door and saw something that can never be unseen. There was one of those permabulkers supposedly breaking the natural limits while completely ignoring the difference between 5% and 50% body fat. The guy had some decent muscle on him but was so fat that it didn’t really matter. By the looks of it, the fat pig was flexing and admiring himself in front of the mirror after a shower.
He didn’t notice my disgust because he was too busy making passionate love to his mirror self. The guy was definitely narcisexual like most people. Then he took his phone and started banging the screen with his fat fingers.
I guess he was about to boast about his 19-inch “all natural” arms on some stupid training forum. I don’t know why, but even this was not enough to make me go back. The fact that I had already paid had something to do with it.
After a few minutes, I was finally in the gym. There were two morons doing squats and lunges with 120 pounds. One of them was really big and apparently schooling the other guy. Still, they both lifted the same weights.
I immediately asked myself: “How is it possible to be so big and yet lift weights lighter than barbie’s suitcase?”
Thereupon they proceeded to leg pressing and used something epic – 200 pounds. This was another strike in my book. I knew something fishy was going on. Why so light, bro?
At one point, the big guy asked the other pinhead:
“Are you using anything else besides Winstrol?”
“I am currently clean, bro. What about you?”
“I’ve been taking a couple of things,” said the big dude while tucking his pants in order to flex his massive quads in front of the gym mirror.
This convo quickly explained to me why the big guy was lifting light weights despite having enormous legs. He was doping. Ironically, he could pass for a true natural in the eyes of most people, especially those living online.
This led me to the logical question – have steroids completely replaced hard work in the gym?
Currently, there’s an army of lazy cowards who don’t bother lifting over 150lbs on any exercise while playing darts with steroid needles using each other’s glutes as targets. Those models could definitely reduce their drug use by improving their training and nutrition. Most of them are spending way too much time walking naked in public and sponsoring McDonald’s anyway.
However, many steroid users follow horrific nutritional and training plans and still look a million times better than true naturals who weigh their food and feel depressed when mommy hides the protein powder. That’s how powerful doping is.
As I have said many times, if professional bodybuilders had to give up one of the big three (training, nutrition, steroids), they would first say goodbye to training because it affects their muscular development the least.
Of course, they will never admit this to you. Honest discussion is not allowed. Those guys are forced by the system to talk about irrelevant stuff like carb cycling, bench press grips and protein absorption. The lunacy observed in bodybuilding is plenty and shouldn’t surprise us anymore. It was there since the beginning.
To make this discussion complete, I have to admit the truth – taking so many drugs is actually hard work. I am serious. At the end of the day, training is not as complicated as combining toxic muscle elixirs without killing yourself.
However, since the topic is hard work in the gym and not in the pin room, the answer to the original question is – yes, steroids have replaced hard work in the gym to a very large degree.
