Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth - 017: Your Sports Hero is on Anabolic Steroids

Episode Date: February 2, 2015

How prevalent is the use of steroids in sports? Are they as dangerous as they are made out to be? Was Lance Armstrong a cheater or was he just a high profile victim of a political witch hunt? MindPump takes on the controversial topic of steroids in this sure to be debated episode.

If you want to pump your body and expand your mind, there's only one place to go. Mind, hop, mind, hop with your hosts. Salda Stefano, Adam Schaefer, and Justin Andrews. Welcome back to Mind Pump. Before we begin, I want to remind everybody, go to MindPumperadio.com. We got free workouts on there. Actually, it's one of my last workouts workouts one of Adam's last workouts and one of Clyde's Dales last workouts. That's Justin. I'm pretty sure you did you add some shit to that?

Brows, you know, the rule was everyone was supposed to write their last workout I looked at some of his last week, bro I was reading a workout like this What a fucker like you know you guys padded your workout. No way dude, I totally lit you in the morning. One arm curls, one 20. Yeah. No, the numbers that I listed are legit actual numbers. You just can ask me and I'll tell you. Also, for you listeners, if you like fitness information,

we all have Instagram accounts. You can follow Adam at We Love to hate Adam. You can follow Justin at team level up and you can follow me at MAP Santa hate Adam. You can follow Justin at Team Level Up, and you can follow me at Maps and a Ball. I almost forgot my own name. I'm gonna cover a hot subject. This is hot subject that a lot of guys don't talk about. They don't wanna talk about,

because it's like one of those, it's like the third rail in sports. I wanna talk about steroids in sports. This is like steroids in sports Can you imagine being someone like me? So I get a bunch of blood use monkeys I have a bunch of buddies that are still like believers in that it's like you know all these great super athletes that are professional football players But that no, no, that's a natural guy. Yeah, like dude First of all I've used for real. Okay, okay, listen forever. Okay. Yes We have we have advanced in nutrition. Yes, we have advanced in nutrition.

Yes, we've advanced in science, but we can't, from 30 years ago, go from growing humans. Okay, humans don't change from quarterbacks of 5.11, 205 pounds to 6.7, 245 pounds. And right, they're farming. They're farming people now. Do you know that, right?

Like the NFL's over in like Samoa and. Oh yeah, breeding. Oh my God. Yeah, breeding this super athlete with a teacher and then pumping them with growth hormone. No, like five years old. Here's how you block. Well, you know, so just.

You're still a believer you're super athlete is all this. Well, let's talk about that. Cause you know, not that long ago Lance Armstrong, he got in big trouble, right? Cause everybody's like, oh my God, I can't believe he's such a cheater. I'm gonna break it down. And this people are the general public is so ignorant to this fact here. So I'm going to give you a great analogy. So if you were playing football or basketball in the

1950s and you lifted weights, it was considered cheating because nobody else lifted weights. So you were the only one lifting weights and oh my god, he's cheating because he's lifting weights. Nowadays, if you play a professional sport, part of your program is to lift weights nobody doesn't lift weights to play sports anymore Right, well that's what's happened with steroids when steroids first hit the scene There were a few guys that were using it and cheating now if you play professional sports It's part of your fucking program, right? That's just it's just part of it. You work out you got good diet You know supplements your genetic freak and you take steroids If you don't first of all if you take them you're not cheating because everyone's taking them if you don't you're an idiot

Right it's just the way it is so when when people get all mad about land-sarmass strong Everybody fuck at that level. They're all fuck. Oh, yeah, the one the very Bond scene would on do that I'm you know and I'm not even a big berry bonds fan, but it's like dude lay off the dude the guys throwing pitches to him are all jacked on juice to anybody in that home run race I mean it was like so painfully obvious from the year before Everybody's like three times the size you remember when there's mark for rank and his head got bigger like god Do they start cranking mark mark McGuire looks like he ate mark McGuire That was my favorite player all time

Mark McGuire. Oh my god. And in the bass brothers with Kothik and Seiko. Wasn't it Jose Kaseko? They actually took like all those guys down oh yeah, I'll go. Oh, yeah Oh, what a dick. What a dick if you're gonna do some shit with your boys and you know Don't be a dick after all. Yeah, and like he did it. So why I don't know why throw everybody in the bus He needed he needed money when some fame. Oh, you know, oh he made all kinds of money. You want to book on and everything and this talk I mean, that's bullshit. Here's the here's the truth now with certain sports like let's say like professional football of all the things that you do in a Professional football game the least dangerous thing is the steroids that you take that's fucking this is a fact You're getting hit by like you're getting hit like a car is running you over

You're doing some crazy shit to your brain and they're like oh steroids are dangerous actually It's probably the safest thing that those guys are doing It's a fact. Yeah, but what about like as far as your legaments and your joints? Come on like look at all these injuries especially today in like NFL. It's a big room faster It's insane how yeah you grow too fast, you know your legaments I mean some of them like make your tissue dry out, right? So let's say that that's like in a contribute to a tear, like easily, if you just get... The show increase the rate of a tendon rupture with people in

anabolic steroids. Your tendons and ligaments get stronger at a particular rate. And it's supposedly, if you're natural, matches or is in relationship to the strength of your muscles. Yeah. And a ball of 10th of that when you're on the adabababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababababab these, well, we'll talk about pro bodybuilding. Those guys are all natural. Jesus Christ. You know, it's so funny. I see like how many people that be bashing all these guys that are bodybuilders and in Minsk and Zikaathletes, all these guys that are on anabolic

and these haters, everyone's hating on them. And it's like, and they refer back to like Arnold. Like Arnold's like Arnold, because he was natural. Yeah. No. No. No, no. Who's ever said that? Oh, tons of people think that tons of people think that you serious people the golden era of natural body Because what you with the generation now they see the physics that they see now and they think that's what serious Terrorism like Arnold you know took like a little bit of this or that's it

No, the difference is that the guys now take a lot more and they also take things like growth hormone insulin You know insulin like growth factor, you hormone insulin, you know, insulin like growth factor You know exotic, you know peptides and shit. That's the difference now versus back then because you know Arnold now Geez if you hit the stage now at an like an amateur bodybuilding competition. He'd be pretty small He would he wouldn't really do well. He was what he would he compete at like six foot six two and he was what two forty He gets smoked. Yeah back then he was like the tallest one out of the bunch right. He was considered huge. He was the first big boy.

He was the first six foot plus guy to look like that. Yeah, he was considered huge. So it's part of the game. It's kind of part of the game now. Now I'm not saying it's a good thing. It's just is. You're paying an athlete millions of dollars a year to put his risk, his life on the livelihood. It's their livelihood.

You've got all these endorsements. You've got all stuff going on. You know, you're probably going to do it. And if you don't, you're kind of you probably should. It's a part of the game. It's like if you're racing a NASCAR, you're going to do everything you possibly can to win the race within the rules. Well, within what they can catch you. And that's how rules typically work at that level of sports. It's more about that than anything else. It's more about. It's more about. I mean, that's what I see more with athletes is that

they have camps of people and scientists and people around like as far as like periodically when you're gonna get tested and what to do, you know, leading up to that. Well, what happened in mixed martial arts for a second? Now, I have to commend the UFC because I'd say of all Of all organizations down hard they try the hardest. Yeah, but let's be real right a full IOC style like you know, Olympic Drug panel test is like

Wow 20 30 thousand dollars. So it's very expensive. It's very difficult to administer So you have to kind of do them, you know, you can't do them on everybody But the UFC man they busted a lot of people and it's not because more people in the UFC take steroids It's because they actually are taking it seriously and they make it public Yeah, like when people get caught in other sports and we say anything unless it becomes a problem But you have see you they boom everybody knows yeah right away. So I have to commend them That's a really good point. They're probably they're the only sport that I've ever seen that's is So avidly go about oh, yeah, and that's I think that's the part that irritates me more than anything else is is not the it steroids in sports

Is that I'm not pro or for you know, I'm not for it or against it What I can't stand is the the political game that gets played the whole Pretending like we're trying to crack down on it when really we all know that it's all and that's what and then you take somebody like a Barry Bond and you singled him out and you drag their name to the mind Yeah, that's so fucked up. Yeah, when you know when you guys all know the commissioner Everybody you know everybody's fucking doing it too and so like that for you to try and it's just so you can cover Your ass to take somebody who's got a big name and drag their shit to the mud just so you can say that Hey, we're cracking down on this, that's what that's all about.

That's really sad. And then you get all the tips, dude. That's how the games play. But you know what trips me out, too, is there's a lot of myths around analog stories. Now, the three of us for the listeners that don't know this, we've been in the fitness industry for a long time. I mean, that's a, you know, 15 years,

some of us longer. I've been in the industry for probably 18 years, I think, yeah, 18 years. And if you're in the fitness industry long enough, you get exposed to steroids. It's just, it's going to been in the industry for probably 18 years, I think, yeah, 18 years. And if you're in the fitness industry long enough, you get exposed to steroids. It's just it's going to be in the gym. You're going to see a lot of room or, you know, wherever you're going to see it. Now, people will say now we're talking about all these athletes take steroids, but let's be clear. If you are an average Joe and you take steroids, it's not going to make you bury bonds.

No. You're not going to be, You're not going to become Ronnie Coleman. I got to, I mean, I had a guy who used to work from this just funny now. Back in the day, I owned a gym down in Palm Desert. That's a back, back close to Palm Springs. And I worked with this dude that took like two grams. That's like 2,000 milligrams of anabolic, which is a, that's a pretty fucking hefty dose for, for just an average guy. He didn't compete or anything.

He took a shitload of juice. And if you looked at this guy, he just looked like a regular dude that worked out. Like, he didn't, he wasn't a huge, massive guy. So it, so it, it'll do something, but it's not going to turn you into like a god if you're, if you don't have the jeans for. I know.

That's why when people hate on, that are to me, it's like, do you have, you don't get looking that way from taking juice, you have to put the work in, the nutrition, the consistency. It's everything. And to be honest with you, the juice part is a small factor in comparison to the work and the nutrition piece that's put in because you can take, like you just said, grams of anabolic and if you're not putting the nutrition work in and the consistency in the gym and the iron, you'll never get that way.

But you can put the consistency. It'll get you like size, but you're not gonna look like a Greek God. Well, I know a lot of guys, and I can pick them out half the time, they just look like bloated messes in the gym. They look like shit, and I know natural guys that look like they might be on something,

but I know for a fact that they're, you know, we've got some friends that we worked with 24 I don't know names, but these guys are natural and they're just look like freaks I know for a factor natural. Yeah, and it's not just bodybuilding It's not just looking like a great physique. It's it's also guys that are like Olympic lifts and doing these strength Competitions like that. It's all the way, you know and involved you know because's looking for that edge, everybody's looking for the performance and it does help with strength. You know, recovery, it's like, it's the one thing that actually works, you know, like, let's be honest, if you're gonna take some kind of a supplement. Yeah. What do you, what do you guys think about, like, legality of it?

Because they treat steroids like such a big deal, right? Testosterone, such a big deal. Like, it's a drug, like cocaine or something like that. It's so funny that it falls in that category yet. It's something that for years and years and years has been prescribed. I mean, when my mom had her hysterectomy, she was prescribed hormones.

Yeah. It's, it's, well, birth control hormones. Yeah. It's just not testosterone, but it's hormones. Actually, if you, I think you might be more dangerous taking grams of estrogen than you would with testosterone Absolutely, that'd probably be more dangerous definitely more adverse effects from that for sure That's what I think that people just don't know I mean that you the whole steroids thing the needle and that you know this the whole

Persona that was already like heroin asked there is there exactly There is exactly you know saying because it's something that you inject and you that's almost oh my god It's this bad thing or what I thought it's's just, I think what needs to be done is that more education needs to come up about. I mean, there's not enough information out there. And that's how I feel about with the sports too. I think it should be something that is more regulated, but I don't think you can't ban it.

You can't take it away now. And it's hard because they don't know, like, it's hard to, you can test test for testosterone ratio to epitastastone. You can test for certain antibiotics because they have metabolites that stands you can't really test for growth hormone. It's difficult insulin. You can use that. It's an incredibly antibiotic if you use it right. It's difficult. There's peptides you can take you know and then for example in UFC they were letting some of these guys go on testosterone replacement therapy. So for the unaware, testosterone replacement therapies, when you go to the doctor, you have low testosterone, they put you on a dose of testosterone,

that's just enough to bring you, yeah, to bring you normal levels, right? So then you have these athletes that are on quote unquote testosterone replacement therapy. Well, let me tell you how that gains the system. Here's the problem with going on steroids and then going off of them to get a drug test. So let's say you're on steroids and then you're like, okay, I'm going to do a drug test before my fight and I'm going to get tested. So I need to go off this stuff. Well, what happens when you go off is you experience this dramatic drop in testosterone and you try

to boost it back up through various methods. However, they test for some of those things as well. And so you lose a lot of performance. However, if you're allowed to go on testosterone replacement therapy, you go from going on lots of steroids and you just go back down to normal and you don't get that huge drop. So all of a sudden, everybody's on testosterone replacement therapy. So you hear all these fighters going on, you know, oh, I'm not, I don't do anything. I'm just on TRT.

Which, oh, I'm not, I don't do anything. I'm just on TRT, which oh really? Yeah, which I think that's I think that's the new, the new claim to natural. So I think like when you see like an even especially in my field with the men's men's physique, these guys that, you know, go out there and, you know, I'm all natural with that. Well, I think you say you're all natural because you're on a hormone therapy replacement then because, you know, and you're taking, I like late 20s, because you have a prescription for it. So you're legal, you know, saying so you have a prescription for it, so you're legal,

so then you claim to be all natural because you're not using something illegal, right? So that's there. Well, what's funny is before they banned Clambuteral, Clambuteral was an out, it's not a steroid, but it is a asthma drug, but it does build some muscle and burn some body fat. Before it became banned in America, the Olympic Committee allowed it because it was prescription, right?

You had people used it for asthma. Well, fuck, like 70% of the athletes had a prescription for Climb Udorol, you know? Once it leaks and people find out, you know that there's a way that they can... That's a stubborn over-the-counter substance and then turn it into... Do you guys ever see steroids in the locker room and stuff? Oh, yeah. Especially the old stuff. A lot of old guys, and I was gonna bring up the point that if people haven't noticed how many old guys are still in sports that probably shouldn't still be doing sports. Like you're trying to tell me that they're not on something to get them youthful.

And I mean, there's a point where you're aging and you have diminishing returns from what you've been doing. I remember seeing I would be in the gym and I'd see I remember seeing I don't know why this sticks in my head, but there's a dude fucking massive. And I'm an impress and impressionable 16 year old working out in the gym. And I'm working out with an older buddy of mine mine and he goes, dude, look at his shorts. Look at his shorts And so I look and there's a fucking blood spot right in the butt right in the butt cheek And he's like he just took some droops and droids like no way, you know, you know at 16 years old I'm like no, he's natural because I wanted to believe that I could get yeah, yeah massive like this dude naturally

Fuck broke my heart. Oh, I know. Remember when you found out about Arnold? It was so bad to say that. Oh, everything, everybody's let me down. That my heroes, you know, growing up and, well, I think that's why it's you got. I think that's why too.

I think what we're saying by all is too is, I don't think we're hating on it whatsoever. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm not at all because we just have come to the understanding of the different personality. You grow up and I think the perspective is changed. You found out Santa Claus is not real. Right, that's it.

Well, yeah, it's most things. Like you analyze it more and you understand now why people do things that they do. No, I'll say this all day long. I think everybody should have a right to do whatever they want to their bodies. I think they could, if you want to eat glass, then you're dumb, but go ahead and eat glass if you want to shoot a parallel one. As long as you don't hurt anybody by yourself, I think you should be allowed to.

And steroids is right up there. If you want to take them, go for it. And I'm not going to judge you. If you're an asshole, I won't like you. I don't care if you're natural, if you take steroids, I don't care if you're whatever. If you're a cool person, then you're cool to me, and you don't hurt other people, I don't care, take all the roads you want,

I'm not gonna, I don't care. I'm all agree with you to that point, but then I also see the reason for the rules in the kit for as far as impressionable kids. And especially with youth sports, I think for me looking back like I know a couple guys like as I was growing up that I found out later on that were juicing when I was playing, you know, sports and I got pissed off. I was cool. Yeah. Oh wow. Super pissed. Yeah, I don't know. They must have made it straight out to Mexican. It's crazy. You know, border and grab some illegal steroids, but yeah, it just changed my hope, like,

view of like them and like what they, you know, contributed to the team and what they were doing, because, you know, I have no respect for that. Like, later on, like, I understand, like, you know, once the pressure is on everybody's in that sort of, you know, you know, high school football, nobody's in that level, you know, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you everybody's in that sort of, you know, high school football, nobody's in that level. You know, you're just, you're just, you're just, you know, you're just trying to make up for your shitty athleticism. Yeah, right. Let's be honest. Well, and more than likely, those guys didn't go anywhere at the professional level, right? And we talked earlier, like, like, Sal said, I think, Sal said it best. If you're, if you're

a pro and you're not taking it, I mean, and I have a couple of buddies actually that are professional football players that have got five plus years in the lead and actually are all natural. And Kudos to them, man. Unfortunately, they're- They're the minority, I'm sure. Yeah, oh yeah, very, and you know,

I will probably get some of them on the- They carry that chip on their shoulder, I'm sure too. Oh yeah, yeah, I know that's the- You know, you gotta be pretty proud of it. Yeah, if you're in a professional league like that and you're keeping yourself all natural I mean you're a very very small percentage, but these kids now that are it is starting to do it in high school That's where it's I mean you're not even fully developed as a man either. That's another thing. That's the problem Yeah, you're testosterone. You're still you're you haven't even leveled out yet like you're still growing

You're on natural steroids at that age Jesus Christ. Yeah, you remember what it was like going through puberty What the fuck is that all about you go from having the testosterone levels of a you know a 14 year old girl Basically because you're a child to having the highest testosterone levels you'll ever have in your entire life Yeah, right you walk around with a boner. That's the last time you want to experiment with that Oh, man, wait till you're like 40 or yeah, you know when you got nothing in the tank See that's where I'm I'm a big advocate when it comes that I actually tell all my clients to go get the to go get Their hormones checked because I think it's something that if you can afford it and you're in your 40s and stuff like that and you You could possibly need it. I'm all it's crazy because I feel like there's more health benefits

You know there's a lot of you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, if you have low levels You'll you'll get better health by bringing them up to normal levels. Absolutely, that's right. And even high levels are fine. Really the dangers of things like testosterone, they happen at really high levels. You know, you start taking like pro bodybuilder doses

and then you start to get issues. It's like anything else. So if you abuse anything, I mean, if you abuse anything, anything can be bad Yeah, you eat too many twinkies right? Yeah, exactly. I mean, it's just like anything else It's the it's the abuse of it and that's where I go back to the whole we need more education on it We need more people to enlighten and even at the young age because it is it's getting the point where these kids are Are picking it up and getting it and actually doing this in high school

It's like man if you only knew what you setting yourself up for in the next 10 years like you're gonna be 25 years old and I'd be able to get a heart on because you don't know about You don't know about what you need to do afterwards And then by viagra from then on out. Yeah, you have no idea what you're doing. You're just you know, and who and nowadays It's kind of so crazy man where I mean now the big thing is back in the days It used to be you had to get it shipped from Mexico or overseas from China now like as a No, it's local now. It's people are mixing it in their own bathtub. Yeah, bathtub and label it and it's and then you inject it Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's crazy

Yeah, it's it's not very scientific It's right dude. It's it's It's kind of like breaking bad or something. And the people don't realize that they don't know that, you know. So I think just more information out there needs to be done. I think that I think we need to be aware of it, understand it, be educated about it, and then it be regulated. Well, the thing, you know, the thing that we don't, that people don't really touch upon is the consumer, right?

Like these professional sports are in business because of the consumer, people who watch and pay to watch and pay to go to the games and buy the jersey and this and that. It's actually in the best interest of these massive organizations to not really crack down on the right. I mean, could you imagine this is free? If I had, this is imagine I had a magic wand

and I could wave it right now and tomorrow, everybody in the NFL was natural. Like people would be like, this imagine I had a magic wand and I could wave it right now and tomorrow Everybody in the NFL was natural like people would be like this game sucks You know, it's not nearly it, you know, it's what happened at baseball. Yeah, let's be honest It's exactly what I mean, that's why it became so popular was cuz that whole home run chase Oh, yeah, you see these boys cracking out 70 home written I mean for 30 years straight you never saw anyone get close to Roger Marist records I was up before or after the the lockout do you remember it was after lock after the lockout that's what that's where they're yeah so after the lockout big push they was there yeah I watched a good old ESPN

special on us a long time ago and they were showing the stands baseball stands like half empty Oh yeah remember it was like a ghost town oh it was crazy and then all of a sudden here comes the the three co Sammy Sosa and Barry bonds and Mark wire chasing after battling it just just losing all I mean everybody even if you were in a baseball fan you were tuned into watching this this these guys going back to love best yeah all said you went for 30 years nobody even comes close to touching this record to three guys break it in the same season like yeah

yeah yeah they all must be a massive watch dude even comes close to touching this record to three guys break it in the same season. Yeah. They all must be a massive ball. Watch. Dude, they're always loving it. They're all in the MAP's Annabelle program. Bro, MAP's an awesome. You know what? I've had people write me and say that it's like taking low doses of Annabelle. I'm trying to find some, it's like to quote in my fucking program, which is like, wow,

you were okay. That is the best, that is the best point I've ever had on it. And ever. I'm hooked. I have. I have. MAP's Annab ever. I'm hooked. I got me. That's how the ball it gives you boners. Yes.

Thank you for listening to Mind Pump. For more information about this show and to get valuable free resources from Sal, Adam, and Justin, visit us at www.mindpumpradio.com. Until next time, this is Mind Pump. Until next time, this is MindPump.