If any branch of bodybuilding should go the drug-free route... it should be female bodybuilding.
In the early '80s female bodybuilding was a burgeoning social phenomenon: a pro-feminist; "empowering" (whatever that means) quasi-sport that attracted athletic women in droves and gave licence to red-blooded males of all ages to oogle fantastic female physiques with impunity.
In fact it went further than that... whereas a predilection to frequent strip clubs could end a political career in the early '80s; men who attended the Ms Olympia could bask in a social prestige akin to that afforded patrons of the arts.
Steroids are where it all went wrong... remove the T3; clenbuterol; androgens; anabolics and somatropins from female bodybuilding (regular, quality off-season blood testing could easily accomplish this) and pretty soon the girls would all look like ballerinas.
Simple guidelines on acceptable bodyfat levels (~10% bf), if enforced strictly would allow the girls to compete with a hint of abs and fleshy rears and breasts without (seemingly) mandatory breast implants or having to compromise their health or fertility.
So the girls would look something akin to Playboy centrefolds (without the spindly arms): tight, firm hind quarters and meaty tapering thighs and calves.... think Madonna at her best: hitting a double biceps shot in the surf for the video of the song "Cherish".
...that would make female bodybuilding go mainstream.
...off for a cold shower.
The Luke
