All time natural. Not sure if that was the right decision.

[Boricua Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Boricua]

I have been a "bodybuilder" since I have been in high school. I have built a decent body but you know how natural bodybuilders look like. You can tell that we workout but our bodies are not that impressive. Basically we need to be shirtless for our efforts to be seen. If I have to compare my body to a famous one it is similar to Charles Atlas' body. By the time he was famous he was called "the World's most perfecly developed man" but by today's standards that is a common body, certainly not impressive. I know that if I decided to use steroids I would be able to build a really impressive body but when I began doing this I decided that I would be natural. Sometimes I wonder, why not? If tomorrow all of a sudden steroids become legal and they are sold at GNC I would be the first in line. So in reality it is just because I am very stubborn and decided to do this natural, otherwise I would have used it a long time ago. Now I am in my 40's and wonder if that was a wise decision. It is getting late for me to make a decision and join the dark side to achieve the impressive body I've always wanted.

[Dangler Senior Administrator☼ Wizard ☼ White Tiger Award 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Dangler]

Out of curiosity, what are the downside considerations, things you may have to deal with in your later years, from steroid use?

[Dreadsteed Senior Member Member of the Month March 2022 Find all posts View Profile Close Dreadsteed]

I also got into bodybuilding in my last year of high school and have been doing it all natural since then, and have put on over 40 lbs of muscle since. A common issue is handling the Body-Dysmorphia created by comparing your gains and your body to steroid bodies and people with simply crazy genetics for muscle growth. When you look on Instagram or social media sites you are going to come across the top of the list in the world, that’s just how it is. A natural body has soft-limits. You can continue to grow over time with constant work, but it is slow. Steroids push your progress much faster, but they do have downsides. Steroids cause growth even in muscles you didn’t want to make bigger. Bodybuilders using small doses have to be hyper careful to not grow their inter-abdominal muscles very much from the splash over effect. You often see big builders struggling to suck in their gut for ab poses even when they’re shredded to bits, that’s why. It can lead to strain on the heart. And it can cause your own body to stop producing its own hormones as well. The synthetic testosterones are up to hundreds and even thousands of times stronger than natural test, and it can mess up your production. The bodybuilders who used the juice back in the day are almost all on hormone replacement therapy now until they die. Some think it was worth it, I’ve seen others tell anyone they meet not to ever do it. Whether or not it is worth the downsides is something nobody but you can decide. If I had the choice back in high school I’d have probably done it too. The fast gains are tempting as hell, and the people who think it’s worth it usually built their career off of their gains or live their whole life in the decade they were at their prime. But knowing what I do now and having met some people who suffer now from using them earlier, I would say no personally. You can get far with natural building, you just need to differentiate the way a natural body is supposed to look in your head.

[Big Al AdministratorPEGym EditorMale Enhancement Coach Rep.PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Big Al]

I've known many who decided to take the steroid route. For most, it's a short term endeavor that's halted due to the almost inevitable side effects. IMO, you're much better off with a fit, strong body than one dependent on exogenous hormones.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

I have been a "bodybuilder" since I have been in high school. I have built a decent body but you know how natural bodybuilders look like. You can tell that we workout but our bodies are not that impressive. Basically we need to be shirtless for our efforts to be seen. If I have to compare my body to a famous one it is similar to Charles Atlas' body. By the time he was famous he was called "the World's most perfecly developed man" but by today's standards that is a common body, certainly not impressive. I know that if I decided to use steroids I would be able to build a really impressive body but when I began doing this I decided that I would be natural. Sometimes I wonder, why not? If tomorrow all of a sudden steroids become legal and they are sold at GNC I would be the first in line. So in reality it is just because I am very stubborn and decided to do this natural, otherwise I would have used it a long time ago. Now I am in my 40's and wonder if that was a wise decision. It is getting late for me to make a decision and join the dark side to achieve the impressive body I've always wanted.

Impressive compared to whom ? So your body would have been impressive but all the drug cheats have in effect ruined your efforts join the club.
What is worse it is standard for a drug user to swear up and down they are natural.
Given the rate of premature death of bb their contention that it is harmless is long forgitten but I remember how they used to carry on . The truth is it can lower your life expantancy and jave negative side effects .
In any case as it is your accomplishment is your own the drug companies ca not claim it .

[Big Al AdministratorPEGym EditorMale Enhancement Coach Rep.PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Big Al]

The physiques of those from the 70's and before who [compared to today's professional class] didn't abuse steroids, GH, etc. were still huge when compared to the average man, though still possessed symmetry and the look of active power. Bodybuilders from the 50's had excellent size, shape, (usu. functional) strength and (ironically) was still a part of the Physical Culture which viewed bodybuilding as a healthy activity, and not one to pack on indiscriminate size at all costs.

[Boricua Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Boricua]

Impressive compared to whom ?

What is worse it is standard for a drug user to swear up and down they are natural.

By impressive I mean a body like Andrei Deiu.

Yep, for example Mike O'Hearn is completely natural. Obviously he built his body using only Centrum, creatine and protein shakes.

[Boricua Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Boricua]

I know there are side effects but, of those I know that use steroids, there is only one side effect that seems to affect them, baldness. I haven't asked them so maybe they have other issues that I don't know.
There is another reason I have never used steroids and it is because I know that I can't use them forever. I don't want to see my body shrinking. It should be hard to have a great body and see it dissappear after quitting steroids.
The thing is that at this age the weights are feeling heavier and my joints are not the same.

[Dreadsteed Senior Member Member of the Month March 2022 Find all posts View Profile Close Dreadsteed]

By impressive I mean a body like Andrei Deiu.

Yep, for example Mike O'Hearn is completely natural. Obviously he built his body using only Centrum, creatine and protein shakes.

Mike O'Hearn is one of my favorites to follow. He has amazing powerbodybuilding advice and tips as well as a mind-blowing physique for being 100% natural. And I do think he is natural, because he has had very Slow progression over many many years. But he is also a great example of having some of the best genetics in the world, and of someone who just never ever stopped building themselves. Look at his early days, he was bodybuilding and winning contests before he was even out of high school at 17. He is by no means an average bodybuilder anyone should be comparing to, natural or not.

[Boricua Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Boricua]

Mike O'Hearn is one of my favorites to follow. He has amazing powerbodybuilding advice and tips as well as a mind-blowing physique for being 100% natural. And I do think he is natural, because he has had very Slow progression over many many years. But he is also a great example of having some of the best genetics in the world, and of someone who just never ever stopped building themselves. Look at his early days, he was bodybuilding and winning contests before he was even out of high school at 17. He is by no means an average bodybuilder anyone should be comparing to, natural or not.

Hmmm. I was trying to be sarcastic. There's no way he can be natural.

[Dreadsteed Senior Member Member of the Month March 2022 Find all posts View Profile Close Dreadsteed]

Hmmm. I was trying to be sarcastic. There's no way he can be natural.

I know you were trying to be sarcastic, but he is actually the biggest natural bodybuilder that I know of. That you picked him out of all people was just a surprising fluke haha. I've followed him since high school and his gains have been slow. He's also talked a couple times about how hard it is sometimes to be natural in the industry, and how to build foundations that set you up to grow muscle consistently that have more density to maintain the most size during cutting seasons. Really good motivator imo. I got most of my nutrition info from Steve Cook, another natural bb. And my lifting style is mostly from O'hearn's "powerbodybuilding" he helped develop.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

I know you were trying to be sarcastic, but he is actually the biggest natural bodybuilder that I know of. That you picked him out of all people was just a surprising fluke haha. I've followed him since high school and his gains have been slow. He's also talked a couple times about how hard it is sometimes to be natural in the industry, and how to build foundations that set you up to grow muscle consistently that have more density to maintain the most size during cutting seasons. Really good motivator imo. I got most of my nutrition info from Steve Cook, another natural bb. And my lifting style is mostly from O'hearn's "powerbodybuilding" he helped develop.

And I thought I was guible .

[Dreadsteed Senior Member Member of the Month March 2022 Find all posts View Profile Close Dreadsteed]

And I thought I was guible .

Hey I could be wrong, I’ve just followed his gains for a long time and they have been real slow - which is not usual for steroid use even on a small scale use. Usually they have noticeable jumps in size in an off season. But whether you believe me or not or even if I’m wrong and they have used steroids or not is kind of besides the point. My point is comparing yourself to these well beyond-average people is only going to exasperate any body dysmorphia you may have.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

Hey I could be wrong, I’ve just followed his gains for a long time and they have been real slow - which is not usual for steroid use even on a small scale use. Usually they have noticeable jumps in size in an off season. But whether you believe me or not or even if I’m wrong and they have used steroids or not is kind of besides the point. My point is comparing yourself to these well beyond-average people is only going to exasperate any body dysmorphia you may have.

My point is very simple false naturals ( which is pretty standard ) are a particular issue.
Being around gyms as long as I have I have come to realise drug use is endemic not only amongst bb and athletes but run of the mill gym junjies . In regard to bb you should just assume they are all useing ( regardless they call themselves natural or not ) . There may be one out there somewhere you do an injustice to but it would to so rare as to be irrevelant .

[akaTrex Senior Member Member of the Month Jan 2016 Find all posts View Profile Close akaTrex]

Out of curiosity, what are the downside considerations, things you may have to deal with in your later years, from steroid use?

I have a friend that Won the Mr. America Short Heavyweight class some time ago. Now in his late 50's he is a total wreck!.
Suffered a Torn Bicep before a show, later a Quad that tore the attachment from the bone.
And yes he did Steroids! He is a shell of his former self!