Some lifters downplay the role of muscle drugs so much that ignorant people start wondering if a baby Aspirin is not as effective as steroids. Many delusional permabulkers believe that they can break the powerlifting records naturally as long as they eat ”enough calories to recover and grow”. Simply put, those barbell nerds are trying to out-eat the effect of steroids.
The results?
Pancakes, XXL clothes and ”My gut is not too big, right?” looks in the mirror.
Recently, I received an article explaining that the difference between drug-free and steroid lifters is only about 10%. This means that if your best squat is 400lbs/180kg, your squat on a decent anabolic cocktail would be about 440lbs/200kg. As it often happens with permabulking logic, this idea is complete nonsense.
Here’s how things happen in the real world.
What is a world class raw (no cranes used) powerlifting squat?
Around 3 times your bodyweight.
A lifter who is 200lbs/90kg would be considered a powerlifting squat monster when he has a 600lbs/272kg squat or more.
If we apply the logic, or should I say wishful thinking, that steroids give you only 10% on top of your squat, this means that the same guy should be able to squat 540lbs/245kg without the help of drugs.
However, there is a big difference between a 200lbs lifter on steroids and a 200lbs lifter built with mom’s cake. The first version has a higher concentration of muscle mass – much higher. The second version is nothing but a collector of lard. As anyone can see, muscle mass is more important for strength than fat.
Here’s the most likely scenario. Mr. Mom’s Cake will not reach a 540lbs squat because he doesn’t have the muscle mass or strength to lift this weight. The only way to make this goal a reality would be to get even fatter – 300lbs/136kg sounds about right. However, when Mr. Mom’s Coke weighs 300lbs, a 540lbs squat is no longer world class. It is pretty good and even amazing in this world of potatoes, but it’s not going to win you anything. Moreover, you will not be considered strong in the world of pro powerlifting.
Baby, you better believe it – steroids give you a double boost. First, they manufacture a ton of muscle mass for you. Second, they give you strength. Thanks to steroids the midget bodybuilders and powerlifters who would weigh about 135lbs/61kg without the drugs can now be over 200lbs/90kg of muscle. They are ripped and shredded. Bitches with fake tits want them.
A powerlifter who is 5’6”/168cm tall would have a hard time breaking 150lbs/68kg without transforming into a notoriously big fatso. I will assume that at 150lbs our guy is not ripped, but not an advanced lard transporter either. He will have to squat at least 450lbs/205kg to win an elite powerlifting dick measuring contest.
I spent 2 years in a powerlifting gym when I first started training. Most powerlifters there were doping H-A-R-D with both – steroids and their mom’s spaghetti. I didn’t see a single natural squat 450lbs, let alone someone who only weighs 150lbs. Nevertheless, I have to assume that I was in the wrong gym and somewhere this natural monster exists. After all, I want people to sleep well tonight instead of coming up with ways to kill me.
On the planet where I live (the Earth), an average guy who is 150lbs would probably never squat 400lbs naturally in his lifetime. But even if he does, the raw record is much higher – over 550lbs. There is about 25% difference between 400lbs and 550lbs. Sorry. It ain’t happening even if you add olive oil to those pancakes.
In conclusion
People will continue to treat steroids like baby milk, but that won’t change reality. Muscle cocktails are the backbone of muscle&strength sports.
If you take growth hormone and steroids away, you will see bodybuilders like Ronnie Coleman shrunk down to 180lbs/81kg. The same will happen to the lifting records. Hundreds of pounds will disappear into the nothingness.
P.S. The post revealing the natty potential has been updated.
The whole world and the idiots living on it appear to be be on some kind of illusion about “tested” athletic competitions.
Olympics included.
Olympic Weightlifters?
I do like this blog and site but i’ve known quite a few lifters that cycle, and honestly you make them out like they don’t train, they just inject and blow up. The guys i’ve known were the most disciplined gym guys ever. Meal planning, lifting, cardio, proper rest were all at 110%. Did they get bigger than a guy who was natty? Yeah of course. Because it improved their ability to retain, create, or maintain mass better than the other guy. The guys who are all natty will allow a doctor who’s getting vacations, and kickbacks to feed some painkillers, or mood altering drugs, to them from Phizer and it’s like “oh it’s a doctor so it’s cool”…. I get your stance and I respect it, but steroids just increases your “potential”. It doesn’t do shit if you’re not 100% dedicated to all the other bodybuilding facets.
Steroids are extremely powerful and are actually far more effective for gaining strength and muscle mass than any amount of training.
You can theoretically do nothing and take steroids and still make great progress, compared to true lifetime naturals.
Your perspective on this is completely backwards, you shouldn’t view steroids as just an assistance while training and diet do all the work. The reality is that proper diet is required for optimal results from steroids, and training just guides and enhances how well steroids work.
I agree Truth Speaker…well said. When you feed your body with steroids you are putting over 100 times the level of testosterone that the normal man’s body produces. I know from experience. In the past the times I elected to take steroids, I could work out a lot less and produce some unbelievable stellar results. With steroids you did not necessarily have to watch your diet, I was able to add insane amount of muscle while losing weight at the same time. It is one of the most effective drugs on the planet. I am not advocating the use of steroids…but for people to act like muscle gains when taking steroids are only made from working out hard is absurd. I have long since become a natural bodybuilder and now have to work hard just to keep my muscularly balanced physique. However I will never again be able to reach the incredible height again without the aid of steroids. I have long since become a natural bodybuilder, mainly work on symmetry since muscle size is capped. On a side note, my bodybuilding acquaintance who was once naturally muscular at 155 pounds for most of his young adult life is now a ripped 255 pounds (after steroids and PED’s) at age 40. That is a net gain of 100 pounds of muscle. This has led to him placing third numerous times at the Mr. Olympia. Incidentally he worked just as vigorous before steroids just with a lot less weights. People cannot downplay the effects of steroids whether you work hard or sit on your ass.
Thanks for your honesty, it’s rare to have such a comment.
yet the bring a lot of side effects . they did to me without getting me that mucg stronger
I’d say steroids give you about x2.5 strength.
If you’ve been training your ass off your whole life and get to like a 250 natural bench press when lean, it’s safe to say you’d bench press 600+ and ripped af.
Without hard work and roids I’d probably say you’d get to like a 350 bench press. Keep in mind this is 100 lbs over the natural who worked his ass off.
@ Truth Speaker,
You say steroids increase strength about 2.5 times.
But Hermann Goerner has deadlifted around 800 Lbs in 1920’s according to internet.
I have seen his pictures and he was one of the strongest guys in the world in 1920’s and 1930’s and he look really big. Around 6 Ft 1″ 250 Lbs and not fat. His abs can be seen.
Anabolic steroids were not available at the time, so how could this guy managed to deadlift around 800 Lb ?
But, in some sources I’ve read that, natural testostorone levels are decreasing. 100 years ago males had around 4-5 times more testostorone in their blood according to some sources. ( They say the testostorone level was around 2000 Ng / Dl max )
In this case, I think this is true. Today average young male has around 600-700 Ng / Dl, and some guys even has 300-400 Ng / Dl.
In order to reach 2000 Ng / Dl levels, today a person has to cycle with 500 Mg or 750 Mg anabolic steroids.
What do you think about this ? If this guy lived today and used 4000 Mg / Week anabolic steroids, he would be much stronger than Andy Bolton, or any other strong dude, and he can deadlift 1500 Lbs ?
Or this 800 Lb claim is fake ?
I will look into in the future. Sorry for the late response.
http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/IGH/IGH0904/IGH0904d.pdf
Regrettably, according to the article which is linked, no reliable sources nor reports of Goerner’s strength and lifting records, including of his purported 793-lb deadlift, have been found.
PDF pages 8 and 9 (which contains what were pages 28 and 29 in the journal from which the PDF came) discusses Goerner’s deadlift claims in the section, “The Deadlift Records”. The best case that can be made is, “if he did deadlift that much, no official record of it exists.”
But, for the sake of discussion, grant that Goerner did deadlift 793 lbs. Genetic rarities do exist. But the likelihood of such a rarity existing is so statistically small that it’s next to insanity for anyone to think, “It could be ME.” Rationality is thinking, “It’s NOT going to me.”
Therefore, based upon statistics and rationality, it’s logical to conclude that it can only be by using significant amounts of steroids that a 200 lb man will be able to squat three times or more his bodyweight — and logical to assume that anyone who squats 600 lbs or more at 200 lb bodyweight is using steroids.
I guess at my peak I could squat about three times my body weight (140 squatting about 400). I’m 5’4. I have never taken steroids, though I’ve always been intrigued and have nothing against them. In a way pro atheltes on steroids made the ultimate sacrifice to win: their long term health. im not a body builder nor care to be one. Now I’m 41 years old and today leg pressed a set of 920. Funny thing is Eddie Hall who I’m sure has taken his share of steroids leg pressed 6 times his weight. I just did 6.5 times my weight. I’m stronger pound for pound than most of the world’s strongest men…that being said, the little Olympian power lifters would blow my doors off and I’m sure Eddie halls gets a lot more love from woman than I do. lol. i trained for football ..and to get faster and I got pretty fast. ( I was timed at a 4.61 at age 39).
What’s interesting for me is that my little body can’t put on much muscle…but the muscle it does put on is strong. I do wonder if my strength is due to me lifting legs three times per week during high school. I don’t know. in football there are no weight classes ..it doesn’t help me to be the smallest guy on the field even if I’m strong. speed helps…but it would also be nice if I had a little more weight for momentum or at least would have helped me convincing some dumb coaches to give me a shot. At this age, I’m done w football. I am curious about how speed can improve at all with steroids now past age 40…and about how much more it would be a risk to ones tendons and ligaments. and why did Barry Bonds get slower when he got bigger while Jose Conseco was fast? Was age a factor? Did he just not run?
proper diet is not needed when using steroids = fact! Proper training is not even needed. A man using steroids has all the advantages – except his dick doesn’t work and he has no balls. Plus, weightlifters who use steroids are usually in abominable cardiac condition – not just poor “wind” – but headed fast & hard down heart-attack alley. Steroids increase the heart-attack & stroke risk by over 30x the non-user. Of course all the steroid junkies will dig up some short-term, finite, limited study on NCBI website saying that there is little risk, then clutch that study tight to their breasts. Steroids are absolutely deadly, even though the media has lied about how deadly, still, this does not alter the facts! Most steroid users are insecure, psychologically crushed fake tough-guys as well, who spend more time making sexy poses to themselves in their mirrors than supermodels. That entire “bodybuilding” thing is totally homo-erotica.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199607043350101#t=article
I’ve linked to a 1996 scientific study titled, “The Effects of Supraphysiologic Doses of Testosterone on Muscle Size and Strength in Normal Men.”
In that study, for the ten weeks, the men were divided into four groups. One group did zero training and received zero testosterone dose. A second group trained but received zero testosterone. A third group did zero training but received 600 mg of testosterone enanthate each week. A fourth group trained and received 600 mg of test each week.
At the end of the ten weeks, the men who received no testosterone but trained had increased their strength in the squat about 20% and in the bench press about 10% — but, the men who’d received 600 mg of testosterone per week yet done zero training had ALSO increased their squat and their bench by approximately the same percentages. That’s correct: the men dosed with 600 mg of T gained as much strength merely sitting on their couches as the men busting ass for ten weeks in the gym did.
And, the fourth group which trained AND were dosed with 600 mg of T per week ? That group increased their squat by 38% and their bench by 20% — meaning, they gained DOUBLE the strength of the group that trained without dosing with T.
By the way…as far as gains in muscle mass? here’s the real eye-opener: the guys dosed with 600 mg of T who did zero training actually gained slightly MORE muscle in those ten weeks than the guys who trained but received no dose of T. In otherwords, the guys taking T gained more muscle just sitting on their asses than did the guys not given T who were busting their asses in the gym. (And, the group that dosed with T and trained gained about twice the muscle of the other groups.)
I’m 60 years old, been lifelong PED-free since I began at age 16 in 1972. I’m not at all anti-steroid — if an adult chooses to gear, I believe that should be an adult’s right to do. But, I am against the dishonesty used to peddle supplements to uninformed people, especially to kids; and against the naivety that steroids merely enable a “small difference”. In the doses typically run by powerlifters and bodybuilders — doses higher than even that 600 mg per week used in that 1996 study — the difference steroids make is far from “small”.
So true. I was an aging natural who got his low bar squat to over 400 lbs and touch and go bench up to 270. I hopped on gear after I turned 40 and now I blast and cruise. On my first blast, my high bar squat climbed from under 315 to over 400 for reps. I gained 20 lbs and benched 315 for the first time. On my second blast now and I’m blowing up again. Just four weeks in (ten to go) and I’m already up 20 lbs from where I was on my cruise dose. I hope to my high bar squat up to 500 finally and rep 315 on the bench.
I have the worst genetics for strength and have been a really skinny ectomorph most of my life. When I first got up over 180 lbs, it was with a little gut. Now on blast I can get to over 200 lbs and be lean. I look very different, too. Delts and traps blow up. I have naturally wide shoulders, but on blast I look a bit freakish.
Oh, I forget that I’ve posted here, @Truth Seeker,
But I think Herman Goernerr’s deadlift is FAKE. I dont believe anyone can deadlift 800 Lbs without steroids.
Because, after I asked you that question, I found something interesting.
I have found that, retired Ronnie Coleman can only do 80 Lbs dumbell benchpress.
But Prime Ronnie Coleman could benchpress with 200 Lbs dumbells. (10-15 years ago )
There is really 2.5 times difference.
Because he was using huge amounts of roids, now he does not. I think he is still using roids but at low dosage.
Even 600 Mg steroids per week increased strength around %38, so I think 2000-3000 Mg steroids per week should increase 2.5 times. ( More than %100 )
Most IFBB Pro bodybuilders and Top Powerlifters use high dose of roids. Not 600 Mg. I have even read that some people use 7000 Mg per week.
Could you write an article about the strenght of monsters like Louis Cyr and Paul Anderson?
problrm is those drugs have all kinds of side effects. they are downright fangerous from agression to acne. and no they didnt give me such a boost as you mention
Interesting you never say a natty 450 squat in a powerlifting gym. At mine most lads were squatting that as a minimum, and the couple lads that were on the juice were hitting in the high 500s.
Our coach wont let anyone under 25 juice, and we`ve one 20 year old competing at 183 squatting 451 for his opener.
This article is just ignorant rubbish.