2 DC posts...reality check

[gyno]

I'm going to come back and read this everytime I think about doing something stupid once I hop on the "gravy train"

I think one of the toughest things in this sport for individuals is when they come to a point in the road of reality.
We have been programmed to believe that hard work will allow you to achieve.
School-hard work = good grades
Career-hard work = good job/good pay
Sports-hard work/practice = usually means you become pretty darn good at it
Bodybuilders alot of them are extremely hard workers.

Yet alot of them live in this pipe dream where if they dont accomplish what that guy over there accomplishes............ its first these factors
1) I am not training right (this usually takes many years of going back and forth)
2) My diets off, Im not eating right
3) When that individual feels that his diet and training is spot on he then gets spiteful and blames everything on drugs those guys are using if they themselves are natural......or that guy uses so much juice and GH its unbelievable, if they themselves are also using sauce (this right here is usually the pre self realization phase)
4) Then that individual over time starts flirting with large dosages and insulin, gh, etc and quickly realizes in a short amount of time before he puts his health in danger that......"oh man it wasnt this stuff.......I just dont freaking have it.....I just dont have the freaking genetics like those other guys do....it wasnt another 750 mg or gh or insulin that was the difference......they are just genetically better than I am"

And that right there is one of the hardest things to come to grips with. Nobody likes to think of themselves less than someone else but in bodybuilding its a fact......you cant make Woody Allen into Michael Clarke Duncan. Alot of people will go for years and years (and maybe never hit reality) thinking there is something magic they arent doing, alot of it is ego related why they refuse to see the big picture.
Do you really think it was easy for Skip to say that when he got to the JR Nationals how much he realized structure and genetics were king? I remember when the reality hit me. I trained so hard, ate 6-7 meals a day, a spartan like consistency with everything I did bodybuilding wise for well over a decade and there I was at 6'1" standing behind Paul Dillett at 6'1" in the audiotorium at (I think it was the LA Championships) and he was in a different realm than I was.....just 10levels up, and there was nothing, no magical training routine, no magical diet, no absurd abuse of myself.....that would ever allow me to approach his level.....it was a very stark point of reality for me. My genetic blueprint for bodybuilding paled in comparison to his....it cannot be changed, it is what it is.

Sometimes reality hurts your feelings and ego. Nothing sucks than knowing you lift heavier, harder and with more intensity than that guy over there but he is able to build 20 inch arms with bullshit halfass training and you are doing your best to get out of the 17's still.

The problem is bodybuilding for alot of people supports their ego as a person........a track athlete that trains his ass off cant get near Usain Bolt's speed ....yet he can kind of live with "I did my best"......a basketball player who plays from 6 years old till 26 every day honing his skills, jumping ability, and his shot..... falls far short of Michael Jordan and he can live with "well I made myself the best ballplayer I could become"

You tell a bodybuilder that he just doesnt have it? That he will never even get close to Jay Cutler or Ronnie Coleman? That he wont be getting a pro card anytime soon? That his genetics arent going to allow him his dream?

Get ready for some bigtime anger because you just destroyed what his ego is based upon

 

[gyno]

What bodybuilder really would only be doing 250mg a week of test (which is basically HRT) and think thats what everyone does? If someone is good enough they will know very quickly no matter what they do and I highly doubt they are going to allow the difference from them succeeding to be 1000mg a week of test to 250mg a week of test.

The difference is this....Ive trained alot of people now---alot----I have had past trainees tell me they abused themselves to bigtime degrees that even shocked me and those guys cant even win their local show. I know of middleweights/lightheavies doing 3 grams of test along with gh peptides and large amounts of other steroids who are outweighed by 70 pounds by pro's who are only doing 300-400mg of test, gh, and fertility meds in the offseason (because they are trying to get their wife pregnant).........this sport is ruled by genetics. You want to see the most abusive steroid and gh abusers in this country? Go to any large show and look out.......into the audience, not onstage....the onstage guys have the genetics to get to that level.....but their will be members in the audience so red, so bloated, so uncomfortable looking, breathing and sweating hard just watching a show.....that are abusing themselves because they are chasing a dream yet dont have the physique to get over 3rd place in the local national qualifier.

I could tell you some names of people that I have come to know in the past 20 years that have abused testosterone in mg amounts in shocking degree's but most of them you would read the name and not know who the heck they are.

(thats got to tell you something).......(that they didnt get anywhere in the sport)

Dont you think if it was as easy as everyone loading up huge mg amounts and getting a pro card that you would see alot of guys on all these bodybuilding boards doing just that? These guys want it so bad....so bad. And lets not fool anyone.....alot of them have hit mg amounts that are scary (but wont tell people because hey thats embarrassing to hit that much stuff and go nowhere)
__________________

 

[Pharm_Fed]

Good points, and I think some of it also has to do with setting unrealistic goals. I remember when I was about 13, playing basketball in several leagues. I was good, no Michael Jordan, but a good player. I remember wanting to play in the NBA so bad, but eventually I realized that was not an attainable goal for me. Same goes for BBing. Not everyone is designed to be 260 and lean. That's not what it should be about anyway.

I think the true nature of the sport gets lost on a lot of people. To me, it's about diligence, hard work, determination, sacrifice, pride, health and fellowship. Some of my best friends are the ones I share BBing with as a common interest. We help each other set and achieve goals, improve our physique, but also improve out health. What good does it do to be a monster if you can't go on a hike with your family without getting so winded it isn't fun?

I know I will never be a pro BBer and don't have the genetics to be a serious contender in the sport at all, and that's fine with me. To be honest, I have no desire to do that anyway. I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far, and look forward to what I can accomplish in the future. Putting undue pressure on myself to try and achieve something that is just not possible is silly, and stressful for no reason.

That's my 2cc.

 

[betito]

In last olympics people always screamed steroids!!! at usain bolt... my questions to that people is:
do you think there is a "usain bolt substance" that only he takes?
don´t you think if that substance existed they would give it to the rest of the team and they would sell it to make a ton of money?
do you think asafa powell does anything different knowing that they have the exact same trainers?
so... don´t you think that guy has "something" others don´t have and that makes him a ton better than his competition even when training and drugs are the same? That "something" is called genetics

 

[Diesel City]

Great post gyno!

 

[declan]

A great read indeed.

 

[Creation]

yup good post, sometimes reality is a bitch.

 

[TooPowerful4u]

FUCK. So you are saying i should back down my doses and quit?

 

[arnoldismyhero]

So i cant take 13grams a week? but it got me to 175 lbs!

Genetics are def. the deciding factor. IDK though, I had 18 inch arms at 17. now i cant get back there....i guess thats what 65hours of manual labor do to you. :

 

[abbot138]

Bump.....

This is a great post. I have just recently come to terms with this reality and it has been very very hard for me. I have been a perfectionist my whole life and as you mentioned, hard work will get you very far with just about anything you do in life.....But for most people, when it comes to body building, hard work will only take you so far. No amount of hard work, discipline, dedication, drugs, peptides, supplements, nutrition, etc....can alter your genetic make-up. I KNOW that I train as hard or harder than anyone in my gym and I am 1000% positive that I work harder in the kitchen than ANYONE I know. It just isn't gonna happen, and I'm ok with that, because I have come a LONG LONG way and I still love the way I look. A big part of it for me was learning to compete against myself and myself only, I had to stop comparing myself to other people. Or coming onto boards and seeing how much bigger everyone was than me. I know that when I go out into the real world I have a better physique than 99.9% of the people i come across and that will just have to be good enough for me

 

[donkeydon]

ill never be a coleman but i will always love the game.its just my life

 

[BillHilton]

I love soccer. But I will never be a pro. But I still play, ref, coach. I want to be the best I can at something I like. I will never be a pro bodybuilder, but when my wife says I make her damp when I cut the lawn with my shirt off.. Or when one the other girls in our Saturday night get togethers says to her you are so lucky that you get to have that...
On and on ... Isn't this really all about being in the best possible condition we can be in, in and of itself?

 

[The Scientist]

Great post Gyno...

Here is my 2 cents...

I ve seen guys with less than average genetics, working their asses of...eat 500g protein and stick mostly to 1 brand of Testosterone with a anabolic and made huge improvements.

Now these oaks did go on and competed at Worlds and got placed respective 7 and 9 in their weight classes. Will they ever go on and win a pro show...no never because of their not so great structure and limit of genetics to their disposal.
Believe it or not these oaks always work the hardest and came in the most ripped in their line ups...

Did they went overboard with their gear...no they just kept using the basics and up their mg (not to the gram, but in mg) every now and then.

lm at 2 thoughts here...1) you need to have some kind of genetics like Gyno said but 2) you need to work your ass off to develop those genetics...if we recall those early pics of Dorian Yates sitting with his friends...never looked a bit like a future Mr Olympia...and what is Dorian known for till today...his hard work ethic and applying balls to the wall intensity with scientifically working things out to see what will take him to the next point.

Thats my 2 cents...

 

[atomone]

great read

 

[IAMLEGEND]

WOW crazy

 

[chemicalwarrior]

Good points, and I think some of it also has to do with setting unrealistic goals. I remember when I was about 13, playing basketball in several leagues. I was good, no Michael Jordan, but a good player. I remember wanting to play in the NBA so bad, but eventually I realized that was not an attainable goal for me. Same goes for BBing. Not everyone is designed to be 260 and lean. That's not what it should be about anyway.

I think the true nature of the sport gets lost on a lot of people. To me, it's about diligence, hard work, determination, sacrifice, pride, health and fellowship. Some of my best friends are the ones I share BBing with as a common interest. We help each other set and achieve goals, improve our physique, but also improve out health. What good does it do to be a monster if you can't go on a hike with your family without getting so winded it isn't fun?

I know I will never be a pro BBer and don't have the genetics to be a serious contender in the sport at all, and that's fine with me. To be honest, I have no desire to do that anyway. I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far, and look forward to what I can accomplish in the future. Putting undue pressure on myself to try and achieve something that is just not possible is silly, and stressful for no reason.

That's my 2cc.

First of all, I agree with your post. But, I just wanted to point out something you said- in bold above. That's the funny part because there are lots of guys who are or can get to 260 and lean and still don't have what it takes to be a top amatuer or pro because of their structure/genetics. I think of Stan Efferding when it comes to this. The guy is a monster, amazingly strong etc. But, he'll never win a top show, maybe not even a smaller pro show. I mean, he's good and he won the master's nats, no small feat. But, just doesn't have the shape and "look" (at the moment), as big as he is, to win shows.

He kind of reminds me of a bigger version of me (much bigger!). I'm 6'2" and around 235-240 lbs in off-season shape (a little bit of abs showing, not sloppy fat). I've got broad shoulders (24" across) and a decent chest/lats (52" chest cold). But, my arms only measure about 17.5" cold. At my height and structure this makes them look tiny. I go to the gym and look a lot better than the beginners and am as big as a lot of seasoned guys. But, once in awhile there will be a genetic anomaly that will walk in. He may or may not seem to know what he's doing training wise. Either way I can take one look and know that I'll never have their thickness, arm size etc etc. That's life. And, yes, I know that in order to be successful competing even at the local level I'll need to be in the 220s and ripped to shreds on stage, at least. The level of competition is getting ridiculous!

I've settled into being happy just making the most of what I've got. Most of us can do some pretty amazing things, bodybuilding-wise, if we take advantage of what gifts we have. For example, though I'll always be looking for ways to make my arms better I'll still train my freaky shoulders and traps just as hard. Why not? Would anyone know who Tom Platz was if he never trained thighs? Just my take on it.

 

[ajdos]

What bodybuilder really would only be doing 250mg a week of test (which is basically HRT) and think thats what everyone does? If someone is good enough they will know very quickly no matter what they do and I highly doubt they are going to allow the difference from them succeeding to be 1000mg a week of test to 250mg a week of test.

The difference is this....Ive trained alot of people now---alot----I have had past trainees tell me they abused themselves to bigtime degrees that even shocked me and those guys cant even win their local show. I know of middleweights/lightheavies doing 3 grams of test along with gh peptides and large amounts of other steroids who are outweighed by 70 pounds by pro's who are only doing 300-400mg of test, gh, and fertility meds in the offseason (because they are trying to get their wife pregnant).........this sport is ruled by genetics. You want to see the most abusive steroid and gh abusers in this country? Go to any large show and look out.......into the audience, not onstage....the onstage guys have the genetics to get to that level.....but their will be members in the audience so red, so bloated, so uncomfortable looking, breathing and sweating hard just watching a show.....that are abusing themselves because they are chasing a dream yet dont have the physique to get over 3rd place in the local national qualifier.

I could tell you some names of people that I have come to know in the past 20 years that have abused testosterone in mg amounts in shocking degree's but most of them you would read the name and not know who the heck they are.

(thats got to tell you something).......(that they didnt get anywhere in the sport)

Dont you think if it was as easy as everyone loading up huge mg amounts and getting a pro card that you would see alot of guys on all these bodybuilding boards doing just that? These guys want it so bad....so bad. And lets not fool anyone.....alot of them have hit mg amounts that are scary (but wont tell people because hey thats embarrassing to hit that much stuff and go nowhere)
__________________

Awesome post...that sums up alot of what you see nowadays.
Sad, some people think they can drug themselves to death, and when the current abusive overload of their current regimen gets them no results they just bump it up some more, looking for that magic number.
Great post.

 

[lineman]

In later years of training, it amazed me how much science was involved in training. This is to include ALL sports. I look back in the day when I played football and the coach made us do ballet moves. Man, I thought what the hell. Then I realized how agile I had become along with being strong. Great post.

 

[NotaDoctor]

If I have 20 inch arms, does that mean I have Good Genetics not Good Steroids..

Good post....

 

[NeverSoft]

Great Post.

Good thing you don't have to get to Ronnie's or Jay's Level to get your card. Shit 90% of Pros aren't at that level...

You don't need to be ANYWHERE near that level to get your card.

But if you've been busting your ass for years and can't even take an Overall at a National Qualifier - That should definitely tell you something.