I've written before that the site
70s Big entertains me. It's a bunch of barbell-loving, whole-milk drinking, face-stuffing mofos who write in an entertaining manner about lifting weights and eating tons of food.
But a couple of days ago, they pissed me off, and it was as a result of
a post which I'm going to reproduce in almost its entirety. I would have left a comment on their site and left it at that but you have to register with Wordpress. I actually have a Wordpress account, but can't get into it, so I guess I have to rant on my own blog.
Here's the post in question.
“If I tell ya the truth, I’ll tell you a lie, but if you call me false I’ll also tell you a lie…”
Look, I know Doug Young was taking steroids, okay? Do you think I am some kind of moron? Everybody was on steroids in the seventies, and I don’t really care. Steroids are a tool utilized in order to recover — this is how they were used then, and this is how they are used now. I do not, and never have, taken steroids (if I did, I would be a shit-load stronger than I am now). All of my friends don’t take steroids either. And that’s the point.
What, you think a picture of my lousy 230 pound frame is going to inspire Skinny Guy to start lifting? No. I need everyone to epitomize something that is far beyond their reach so that they always have something to strive for...
Just because a guy is on steroids doesn’t make his success any less impressive. And just because most of us don’t take them doesn’t make us any better, or worse, than them. It’s not like Doug Young wasn’t a genetic specimen without them anyway, so grow up and quit worrying about it. If I set the bar high, then I give people something to strive for. So far the quest to being 70’s Big has helped turn many boys into men. Everyone wins.
This may sound a little hypocritical or judgemental coming from me, someone who grew up idolizing steroid-addled pro wrestlers and never competing at a high level in any athletic endeavour (and that was not because I didn't take steroids, it was because I was fat, lazy and unathletic). Still there are a few points I need to address:
"Steroids are a tool utilized in order to recover — this is how they were used then, and this is how they are used now." Bullshit. I realize that there are times when doctors prescribe steroids to patients who need them to recover from a legitimate injury or illness. That's fine. But there are also a ton of people who pump themselves full of the latest designer, test-fooling PEDs to cheat in a competition, to improve their cosmetic appearance, or simply to lift more weight or enhance athletic performance. If you're self-prescribing shit that you buy from a fellow roid-monkey in the locker room and you're doing so because you want to be the alpha dog at your gym, you're not using them in a legitimate way.
"Just because a guy is on steroids doesn’t make his success any less impressive."Um, yes it does, actually.
Because he took a fucking shortcut. Does it mean he didn't work hard? Nope. Does it mean that he didn't accomplish something that very few people would be capable of, regardless of chemical assistance? Nope. But it is less impressive, by definition.
"What, you think a picture of my lousy 230 pound frame is going to inspire Skinny Guy to start lifting? No. I need everyone to epitomize something that is far beyond their reach so that they always have something to strive for." What a crock of shit. There are always going to be presumably roid-free guys who lift a shitload more than even the best lifters at his gym or 99 per cent of the visitors to his site. Now, if he had offered some kind of disclaimer, "I wanted to post a picture of a big motherfucker from the 70s and couldn't find any that likely weren't on steroids," at least he was being honest and not offering up some quasi-steroid apologist bullshit. And frankly, showing a picture of someone who is reasonably-sized lifting a shitload of weight (which, to a novice, is what it would look like) is far more inspirational to far more people. But, even if that weren't the case, is there no one else you can hold up as an example of what you're trying to accomplish?
To be fair, a
Q&A post that appeared on 70s Big a few days earlier seemed to argue against steroids...
Taking steroids and adding fifteen pounds to your squat every workout (instead of ten or five) spells trouble for a novice lifter who is still learning to squat correctly. It also robs you of the opportunity to truly find out what it takes—mentally and physically—to recover from this type of program.
But then in the next paragraph, we get this:
So if you’re going to supplement steroids—and I’m not saying you should—you should wait until you’re nearly at the end of linear progression to do so. And I’m talking about the real dues-have-been-paid end of it
That bit of wink-wink, nudge-nudge was followed by a primer on what the various types of steroids do, and fairly detailed advice for "coming off" them and keeping your gains.
The answer, of course, is to come off properly. This will be covered in detail later, but the simple course of dealing is to
1) address the estrogen issue by reducing androgens and taking a SERM (estrogen inhibitor) as you come off;
2) restart natural testosterone production with HCG (gets the testes fired back up);
3) reset your hormone axis with Clomid;
4) deal with any outstanding Cortisol issues with Clenbuterol; and
5) adjust your diet to deal with your old hormonal patterns.
This is why this site disappointed me. They're supposed to be disciples of Mark "Rip" Rippetoe, and they work out at (and maybe work for) Rip's gym, the Witchita Falls Athletic Club. Now I haven't read as much of Rip's stuff as others have, but his "Starting Strength" book has helped develop my opinions on the reason we are doing what we are doing.
It comes down to this: What are we trying to accomplish with our training? Assuming we're not competitive powerlifters, the answer to that question is that we're using barbells in an effort to get
stronger through hard work and dedication.
Stronger than who? Ourselves. Specifically, the past versions of ourselves. Does it really fucking change the world if I squat 350lbs instead of 315? Will I make more money at my job? Will I live in a bigger house? Will my wife and kids love me more?
Probably not.
It would be pretty cool to be able to say I was the strongest guy in my gym, but I am not willing to stick a needle in my ass to get there. In my case, there ain't enough needles, anyway. If I become the 24th strongest guy at CrossFit Regina, and I did it through training, steak-eating and drinking whole milk, I can live with that just fine.
