Is bodybuilding a waste?

[oldtimer1]

I've been around bodybuilding for over 50 years. Weider use to be located blocks from my childhood house. He use to give me free magazines that started this obsession. I started lifting in my early teens and in my sixties the madness continues.  I remember in the late 70's and early 80's when the secret of steroids were completely out of hiding. Seen guys lifting for an entire year look like nothing special then go on on a cycle for 6 week putting on an amazing amount of muscle.  Back then steroids were made by legit pharmaceutical companies in the US and were obtained by a doctor script or driving to a pharmacy in Mexico without one. The gym steroid pushers had legitimate stuff back then. Now from what I hear drugs work or they don't according to where it was counterfeited.  I don't believe any legit anavar, dianabol or Anadrol 50 exists anymore. Drugs that were truly anabolic steroids that have high anabolic properties and lower androgen properties I bet don't exist anymore. One Anadrol 50 a day made amazing and quick changes back in the day. Now I hear guys are taking 5 or 6 and look like bloated shit. It was the same old story repeated time and time again with drugs. A zero went to a hero in nothing flat popping some pills and a weekly syringe shot. 

The crazy part are these "heroes"  actually think they know something about lifting when I knew how they looked before the assist.  Why didn't they give lifting and diet advice before the drugs? I will answer. No one would listen to them.  It got to the point in the late 70's and into the 80's that it almost seemed the whole gym was juicing.  Every gym seemed to have the local drug pusher. The typical stereotype was a guy in the gym that didn't have a job but drove there in a brand new car.  Guys would talk to him in whispered measured speech and meet him in the parking lot where his trunk would open and syringes, vials and pills were passed after getting a handful of cash.  It was known that he could also obtain any recreational drug. too.  He also pushed veterinarian steroids like Winstrol V and Equipose that worked miracles on guys.

What I have seen are guys that got very aggressive, confident and a feeling of well being while on. Guys back then took breaks on cycles often staying completely clean for months. What happened once the drugs left their system is they got nervous, timid and depressed as the drugs left their system.  Sounds like a plan for addiction.

Through the years I have seen ex users that look like they never did a push up in their life but are quick to take out a crumbled up picture of their glory days out of their wallet to show everyone.   How many super stars look like complete crap without the assist?  Too many to mention.  Many will use the rationalization of a guy they know that has been cycling for decades and now never go completely off. It's like saying you know a smoker that started as a teen and is now 80.  Yes, that can happen percentage wise but it doesn't negate the risk to health.  I won't even mention liver, kidney, endocrine and cardio vascular problems. A fool can rationalize that away. You should always put the risk factors you can control in your favor.

Bodybuilding could have been the greatest thing you could do for appearance, health, well being and strength.  Instead it became the sport based on drugs for the insecure. Without drugs the sport wouldn't exist as we know it. No one would be flying to Vegas for the Olympia weekend.  Having said that I wish bodybuilding would revert to what it was in the 50's. It was real. Do yourself a favor. Lift hard and do hard cardio. Eat right. You will look great but you wouldn't be able to stand next to a steroid user on stage.

[OlympiaGym]

Why don’t you do us all a favor and kill yourself?

[AbrahamG]

Why don’t you do us all a favor and kill yourself?

That would be akin to cancel culture. We don't do that in these parts.

[Royalty]

Why don’t you do us all a favor and kill yourself?

Relax schmoe

[oldtimer1]

Why don’t you do us all a favor and kill yourself?

I touched a nerve?

[OlympiaGym]

I touched a nerve?

Trump didn’t deport you Ricardo?

[Dokey111]

people are desperate to feel superior.  they are also stupid and greedy.  bleh.

[The Scott]

Why don’t you do us all a favor and kill yourself?

You should be grateful this isn't the real world.  Oldtimer1 is correct.  I've seen the same things he has witnessed.  Oh and if you want you can tell me to kill myself but I've already been dead, kiddo. 

Nothing to see in the mirror so move along.

[MCWAY]

I've been around bodybuilding for over 50 years. Weider use to be located blocks from my childhood house. He use to give me free magazines that started this obsession. I started lifting in my early teens and in my sixties the madness continues.  I remember in the late 70's and early 80's when the secret of steroids were completely out of hiding. Seen guys lifting for an entire year look like nothing special then go on on a cycle for 6 week putting on an amazing amount of muscle.  Back then steroids were made by legit pharmaceutical companies in the US and were obtained by a doctor script or driving to a pharmacy in Mexico without one. The gym steroid pushers had legitimate stuff back then. Now from what I hear drugs work or they don't according to where it was counterfeited.  I don't believe any legit anavar, dianabol or Anadrol 50 exists anymore. Drugs that were truly anabolic steroids that have high anabolic properties and lower androgen properties I bet don't exist anymore. One Anadrol 50 a day made amazing and quick changes back in the day. Now I hear guys are taking 5 or 6 and look like bloated shit. It was the same old story repeated time and time again with drugs. A zero went to a hero in nothing flat popping some pills and a weekly syringe shot. 

The crazy part are these "heroes"  actually think they know something about lifting when I knew how they looked before the assist.  Why didn't they give lifting and diet advice before the drugs? I will answer. No one would listen to them.  It got to the point in the late 70's and into the 80's that it almost seemed the whole gym was juicing.  Every gym seemed to have the local drug pusher. The typical stereotype was a guy in the gym that didn't have a job but drove there in a brand new car.  Guys would talk to him in whispered measured speech and meet him in the parking lot where his trunk would open and syringes, vials and pills were passed after getting a handful of cash.  It was known that he could also obtain any recreational drug. too.  He also pushed veterinarian steroids like Winstrol V and Equipose that worked miracles on guys.

What I have seen are guys that got very aggressive, confident and a feeling of well being while on. Guys back then took breaks on cycles often staying completely clean for months. What happened once the drugs left their system is they got nervous, timid and depressed as the drugs left their system.  Sounds like a plan for addiction.

Through the years I have seen ex users that look like they never did a push up in their life but are quick to take out a crumbled up picture of their glory days out of their wallet to show everyone.   How many super stars look like complete crap without the assist?  Too many to mention.  Many will use the rationalization of a guy they know that has been cycling for decades and now never go completely off. It's like saying you know a smoker that started as a teen and is now 80.  Yes, that can happen percentage wise but it doesn't negate the risk to health.  I won't even mention liver, kidney, endocrine and cardio vascular problems. A fool can rationalize that away. You should always put the risk factors you can control in your favor.

Bodybuilding could have been the greatest thing you could do for appearance, health, well being and strength.  Instead it became the sport based on drugs for the insecure. Without drugs the sport wouldn't exist as we know it. No one would be flying to Vegas for the Olympia weekend.  Having said that I wish bodybuilding would revert to what it was in the 50's. It was real. Do yourself a favor. Lift hard and do hard cardio. Eat right. You will look great but you wouldn't be able to stand next to a steroid user on stage.

Do you support the so-called natural federations or merely lament about how it used to be before anabolics came into the picture?

Maybe the look like crap because they no longer eat or train with any decency once they stop using performance-enhancing drugs.  There are plenty of old former pros who still look great, even if they no longer have the size and strength they once did in their prime.

Isn't it usually the case that the very first time someone uses steroids, they blow up like weeds? I experienced something similar when I first loaded with creatine. I thought it was the second coming, after putting on 12 pounds in a little over two weeks. I've yet to replicate that feat in the 20+ years since I've used creatine.

Those who love bodybuilding still stick with it, long after they retire and it shows. Those whose passion for it only exists as long it bring them attention/fame or fortune usually become the guys of which you speak. It's that whole wheat and chaff thing.

[Dave D]

Oldtimer1 do you like bodybuilding? If yes it’s not a waste of time for you. Who cares about steroids. You know a lot about them for being drug free. Why concern yourself with them and who uses, you’re not 15. Life is not fair, we all don’t live by the same code. Enjoy what you do and what you’ve accomplished.

[ThisisOverload]

True story.

BBing is about drugs and has been since the 60's.

Even your old heroes that you thought only took 10mg of Dbol and 200mg of Deca only 4-5 weeks before a show. They were juiced to the tits.

Natural bodybuilding is completely different and irrelevant. You can blame the creepy Weiders for that.

The only natural competitions are Olympic Weightlifting, and that's a stretch. They just know how to time their drugs.

Just be happy with your health man, have fun in what you like.

Humans will always cheat if given the opportunity. There is no honor anymore.

[Hypertrophy]

Bodybuilding is no different than Hollywood productions or the music industry - a facade made up of smoke and mirrors. But we've all  known that for years. It's all entertainment- a fantasy to keep people amused.


 I used to race bicycles around the US and got pretty good at it, but never a world beater. I eventually reached my natural  level and couldn't go any faster-like a weight lifter who puts on 20 pounds of muscle and then it stops, no matter what you do (naturally).


 In comparison,my current neighbor up the street, who raced nearly the same time I did, became a world class cyclist and could run circles around me because he was so good.  He raced in the Olympics, Tour de France, World Cycling Championships, etc. He was the US national cycling champion multiple times.  Everybody held him up as a god when he was competing. I figured he was genetically gifted and I wasn't. Such is life.


But his story changed a few years ago when it came out that he doped to get where he was. His entire career was based on EPO- without it, he'd have been slightly better than average. I laughed when I found out because he seemed to be too good to be true- and was. Was I pissed that he doped to win and I didn't? Nah- I just don't take drugs unless I am on the operating table. It's a personal choice, period. To each his own.


I got my high from cycling and training by just doing it- and  even now, because I love the rush of a good workout. It just makes me feel so damn good. That's the reward and that's the reason I continue to do it.

[SOMEPARTS]

Weider sold people and boy did they stay sold, haha. Fifty years to figure out the con that is commercial bodybuilding. 

[ThisisOverload]

Bodybuilding is no different than Hollywood productions or the music industry - a facade made up of smoke and mirrors. But we've all  known that for years. It's all entertainment- a fantasy to keep people amused.


 I used to race bicycles around the US and got pretty good at it, but never a world beater. I eventually reached my natural  level and couldn't go any faster-like a weight lifter who puts on 20 pounds of muscle and then it stops, no matter what you do (naturally).


 In comparison,my current neighbor up the street, who raced nearly the same time I did, became a world class cyclist and could run circles around me because he was so good.  He raced in the Olympics, Tour de France, World Cycling Championships, etc. He was the US national cycling champion multiple times.  Everybody held him up as a god when he was competing. I figured he was genetically gifted and I wasn't. Such is life.


But his story changed a few years ago when it came out that he doped to get where he was. His entire career was based on EPO- without it, he'd have been slightly better than average. I laughed when I found out because he seemed to be too good to be true- and was. Was I pissed that he doped to win and I didn't? Nah- I just don't take drugs unless I am on the operating table. It's a personal choice, period. To each his own.


I got my high from cycling and training by just doing it- and  even now, because I love the rush of a good workout. It just makes me feel so damn good. That's the reward and that's the reason I continue to do it.

The ESPN Lance Armstrong documentary was interesting. It's amazing what a little EPO can do.

[Hypertrophy]

The ESPN Lance Armstrong documentary was interesting. It's amazing what a little EPO can do.

It's like magic! My neighbor was Lance's right hand man. The stories I've heard, lol.

[MAXX]

Ofcourse its all drugs. These primadonnas just get butthurt when you mention it. Truth is they are all nothing more than drug addicts. And they all pay for it later in life. Some even sooner(mcgarver and Sandoe case in point).

Atleast with youtube there is transperancy about it. Narcisist bullshitters and liars gets called out on their shit. Thats the good part about it lately.

[MCWAY]

Here's a guy for whom bodybuilding is hardly a waste of time.

Former IFBB pro, WBF superstar,  and 2020 AAU Masters Mr. Universe, Tony "The Jetman" Pearson.

[_bruce_]

I've been around bodybuilding for over 50 years. Weider use to be located blocks from my childhood house. He use to give me free magazines that started this obsession. I started lifting in my early teens and in my sixties the madness continues.  I remember in the late 70's and early 80's when the secret of steroids were completely out of hiding. Seen guys lifting for an entire year look like nothing special then go on on a cycle for 6 week putting on an amazing amount of muscle.  Back then steroids were made by legit pharmaceutical companies in the US and were obtained by a doctor script or driving to a pharmacy in Mexico without one. The gym steroid pushers had legitimate stuff back then. Now from what I hear drugs work or they don't according to where it was counterfeited.  I don't believe any legit anavar, dianabol or Anadrol 50 exists anymore. Drugs that were truly anabolic steroids that have high anabolic properties and lower androgen properties I bet don't exist anymore. One Anadrol 50 a day made amazing and quick changes back in the day. Now I hear guys are taking 5 or 6 and look like bloated shit. It was the same old story repeated time and time again with drugs. A zero went to a hero in nothing flat popping some pills and a weekly syringe shot. 

The crazy part are these "heroes"  actually think they know something about lifting when I knew how they looked before the assist.  Why didn't they give lifting and diet advice before the drugs? I will answer. No one would listen to them.  It got to the point in the late 70's and into the 80's that it almost seemed the whole gym was juicing.  Every gym seemed to have the local drug pusher. The typical stereotype was a guy in the gym that didn't have a job but drove there in a brand new car.  Guys would talk to him in whispered measured speech and meet him in the parking lot where his trunk would open and syringes, vials and pills were passed after getting a handful of cash.  It was known that he could also obtain any recreational drug. too.  He also pushed veterinarian steroids like Winstrol V and Equipose that worked miracles on guys.

What I have seen are guys that got very aggressive, confident and a feeling of well being while on. Guys back then took breaks on cycles often staying completely clean for months. What happened once the drugs left their system is they got nervous, timid and depressed as the drugs left their system.  Sounds like a plan for addiction.

Through the years I have seen ex users that look like they never did a push up in their life but are quick to take out a crumbled up picture of their glory days out of their wallet to show everyone.   How many super stars look like complete crap without the assist?  Too many to mention.  Many will use the rationalization of a guy they know that has been cycling for decades and now never go completely off. It's like saying you know a smoker that started as a teen and is now 80.  Yes, that can happen percentage wise but it doesn't negate the risk to health.  I won't even mention liver, kidney, endocrine and cardio vascular problems. A fool can rationalize that away. You should always put the risk factors you can control in your favor.

Bodybuilding could have been the greatest thing you could do for appearance, health, well being and strength.  Instead it became the sport based on drugs for the insecure. Without drugs the sport wouldn't exist as we know it. No one would be flying to Vegas for the Olympia weekend.  Having said that I wish bodybuilding would revert to what it was in the 50's. It was real. Do yourself a favor. Lift hard and do hard cardio. Eat right. You will look great but you wouldn't be able to stand next to a steroid user on stage.

Very interesting and good points.

[Humble Narcissist]

Natural training is one of the best things you can do for yourself.  We are all addicted to the iron for life and I don't see that as a bad thing.  The fact that we have to temper our expectations sucks but on the positive side training to our genetic limitation isn't very hard to do.  After you hit your peak, just maintain.  Never compete as a natural because you lose all your muscle to dieting.

[funk51]

Bodybuilding is no different than Hollywood productions or the music industry - a facade made up of smoke and mirrors. But we've all  known that for years. It's all entertainment- a fantasy to keep people amused.


 I used to race bicycles around the US and got pretty good at it, but never a world beater. I eventually reached my natural  level and couldn't go any faster-like a weight lifter who puts on 20 pounds of muscle and then it stops, no matter what you do (naturally).


 In comparison,my current neighbor up the street, who raced nearly the same time I did, became a world class cyclist and could run circles around me because he was so good.  He raced in the Olympics, Tour de France, World Cycling Championships, etc. He was the US national cycling champion multiple times.  Everybody held him up as a god when he was competing. I figured he was genetically gifted and I wasn't. Such is life.


But his story changed a few years ago when it came out that he doped to get where he was. His entire career was based on EPO- without it, he'd have been slightly better than average. I laughed when I found out because he seemed to be too good to be true- and was. Was I pissed that he doped to win and I didn't? Nah- I just don't take drugs unless I am on the operating table. It's a personal choice, period. To each his own.


I got my high from cycling and training by just doing it- and  even now, because I love the rush of a good workout. It just makes me feel so damn good. That's the reward and that's the reason I continue to do it.

             Quality post reported.

[falco]

    It's a matter of choice training with or without steroids. Some say there is not bodybuilding without steroids and it is true to some extent.
    For the non genetically gifted, what's the point of lifting for years to build a muscular body, if it doesn't happen ever? Hell, i have seen guys on the sauce who looked like they didn't lift at all.
    At least on  hormones they achieve their dream.

[MAXX]

    It's a matter of choice training with or without steroids. Some say there is not bodybuilding without steroids and it is true to some extent.
    For the non genetically gifted, what's the point of lifting for years to build a muscular body, if it doesn't happen ever? Hell, i have seen guys on the sauce who looked like they didn't lift at all.
    At least on  hormones they achieve their dream.

Yes, natural bodybuilding is silly. And Imo the same goes for any strength sport.

Not because it cant be good type of competition. But because the mere existence of steroids reduces it to completely pointless. Because you will be forever compared to people on steroids. And people pretending not to be on.
That and you will probably look only slightly better than some track and field athletes(but probably worse since they are top ones are top 0.001% tier genetics).

[Johnholmes]

Natural training is one of the best things you can do for yourself.  We are all addicted to the iron for life and I don't see that as a bad thing.  The fact that we have to temper our expectations sucks but on the positive side training to our genetic limitation isn't very hard to do.  After you hit your peak, just maintain.  Never compete as a natural because you lose all your muscle to dieting.

I am addicted to jerking off. when i wake up i have to take things in hand.

[oldtimer1]

Here's a guy for whom bodybuilding is hardly a waste of time.

Former IFBB pro, WBF superstar,  and 2020 AAU Masters Mr. Universe, Tony "The Jetman" Pearson.

He looks great with his 165lbs to 170lbs body at around 5'8". I doubt he is juicing year round now.

[Johnholmes]

He looks great with his 165lbs to 170lbs body at around 5'8". I doubt he is juicing year round now.

Do you like looking at his ripped body?