.gif "IP Gear")
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2002
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My counter first. Below that is the article:
**************************
Would they rather have this - someone who used hard drugs (coke), got a DWI, and also owned a major league sports (Texas Rangers) team full of athletes of whom its rumored that 80% have used steroid to aid their performance? George W Bush - the US president!!! Why arent all those athletes in Arnolds days dropping dead like flies if the accusations of health problems are true? None of the alleged risks have been absolutely confirmed as certain dangers!
In addition, Flex Whellers health problems were completely congenital, it can only be speculated that steroid use possibly complicated the issues he had since a child! He fully states this in a recent MDev article. Wonder why the missed that?!
MikeS
*********************************
Schwarzenegger linked to contests with steroids
Questions raised over his campaign against use
Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Wednesday, October 1, 2003
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle
Washington -- Arnold Schwarzenegger, who admits he used then-legal steroids
to help create the mass of muscle that made him a bodybuilding champion,
movie star and candidate for governor, says today's athletes shouldn't use
the same chemicals that aided him.
But Schwarzenegger remains deeply connected to the world of professional
bodybuilding and sponsors an annual pro contest where even his co-promoter
admits competitors use steroids. Schwarzenegger is one of the star
attractions every March at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, where he
appears alongside competitors, many of whom admit they use steroids.
Schwarzenegger's Web site continues to promote the event, promising he'll
attend a VIP event with ticket buyers at the classic in March.
These connections have raised questions about Schwarzenegger's credibility
as an anti-steroid campaigner.
Charles Yesalis, a Penn State University health policy professor who wrote,
"The Steroid Game," and who has long campaigned against athletes' using
steroids, said Schwarzenegger "is not an appropriate role model.
"The message he sends is an inappropriate one," said Yesalis, who describes
himself as a "staunch Republican."
"You have to ask, would Arnold Schwarzenegger be the successful person he is
today without using those drugs?" he said.
Since 1989, Schwarzenegger has sponsored the annual Arnold Classic, where
this year's top prize was $100,000, a $70,000 Hummer and a gold Rolex watch.
Despite his outspoken opposition to steroids, the show features a select
group of heavyweight competitors, many of whom freely admit in muscle
magazines, books and Web sites that they regularly use steroids in their
drive to emulate Schwarzenegger's bodybuilding success.
Competitors at the Arnold Classic, which is now part of a fitness weekend
that includes such diverse activities as gymnastics and yoga, are tested for
steroids and other banned substances, said Schwarzenegger's business
partner, Jim Lorimer.
"Arnold now publicly and repeatedly condemns the use of steroids," said
Schwarzenegger campaign spokesman Rob Stutzman. "If he knew then what we
know now, he wouldn't have done it."
No competitor has been banned from the Arnold Classic for testing positive
for steroids.
The classic is not touted by the North American Natural Bodybuilding
Federation, a group aimed at promoting drug-free bodybuilding that sponsors
so- called clean competitions across the nation.
COMPETITORS USE STEROIDS
Lorimer, whose 28-year business partnership with Schwarzenegger is based on
a handshake, admitted that competitors in the show use steroids and probably
try to cheat the testing.
"I know they use them, but whether they are using them at the time of the
competition, I don't know. . . . The challenge in all sports involving
strength is the testing and of what the tests can detect."
But Yesalis said that explanation amounts to looking the other way. "The
vast majority of humans with IQs above room temperature would look at these
bodybuilders and be very suspicious of steroid use," Yesalis said.
Anti-steroid campaigners warn of the health dangers of using the muscle and
strength enhancers. In men, side effects from prolonged use can include
liver and heart damage, increased blood pressure, such psychological
problems as "roid rage" and depressed testosterone production.
Schwarzenegger, who in interviews has minimized the amount of steroids he
used during his competitive days, is now outspoken in his opposition to the
substances.
In addition to the testing at his show, his supporters say that when he used
steroids in the late 1960s and 1970s, he did so legally, probably with a
doctor's prescription. Only in 1991, with enactment of the Anabolic Steroid
Control Act, has possession, import or sale of steroids without a
prescription become a federal felony.
Others also credit Schwarzenegger for his turnaround since his bodybuilding
career ended.
Rick Collins, a former competitive bodybuilder who is now a lawyer in New
York specializing in steroid cases, said the atmosphere was different when
Schwarzenegger used steroids, because athletes could get the drugs legally
from doctors.
"When he used them, it was prior to the 1991 act. It was a decision made
with a doctor and it was an issue of personal responsibility and personal
freedoms," Collins said.
Collins said the 1991 law has backfired because it has driven those who want
to buy steroids into a dangerous underground market.
Public health officials say the illegal substances are used by more and more
teens and by athletes in strength sports other than bodybuilding.
"As somebody who is in a position to influence young people, I want to make
my position very clear. I am absolutely against the use of these dangerous
and illegal substances," Schwarzenegger wrote in his "New Encyclopedia of
Modern Bodybuilding."
Schwarzenegger wrote that he wished the International Federation of Body
Building, the group that oversees pro bodybuilding, would test all its
competitors at all shows for steroids and other banned drugs. Some pros
abuse diuretics, which bodybuilders use just before a competition to get rid
of water as a way of making their muscles stand out even more. Some also
inject insulin to build muscle mass.
"Personally speaking, I have been trying for more than 10 years to convince
the IFBB to use the latest state-of-the-art technology to test both amateurs
and professionals for any and all anabolic/ androgenic agents,"
Schwarzenegger wrote.
But four-time Arnold Classic winner, Kenny "Flex" Wheeler, admits in his new
autobiography that he was a heavy steroid user for 18 years, including when
he won the show. Wheeler, who says he has suffered serious health problems
related to steroids and other drugs used for bodybuilding, adds that steroid
use among his fellow competitors is endemic.
VITAL ROLE
In his book, Wheeler is frank about the vital role that steroids play in pro
bodybuilding, and about how everyone involved knows that heavy use is going
on.
"Steroids are simply part of the game in the bodybuilding world, as common
as barbells and a high protein diet," Wheeler wrote.
In his few public comments on his steroid use, Schwarzenegger has minimized
how much of the injectable drugs he used.
"You'd do it for three months, once a year before contests," he said in an
interview in the 1990s. "If you take 15 milligrams of let's say, anabolic
steroids for three months, it's one thing. But if you take 200 milligrams a
day for a whole year, that's something else."
Dr. Linn Goldberg, a professor at the Oregon Health and Science University
who has designed programs to keep high school students off steroids, said,
"If you sponsor a show where people are knowingly using steroids, that's
hypocritical."
SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND STARS
But Goldberg said that before condemning Schwarzenegger, he would have to
know the timing, strictness and sophistication of the Arnold Classic's
testing.
He said his high school programs avoid using star athletes who are former
steroid users as spokesmen because they send a mixed message.
"We
Schwarzenegger linked to contests with steroids
Questions raised over his campaign against use
Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Wednesday, October 1, 2003
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle
Washington -- Arnold Schwarzenegger, who admits he used then-legal steroids
to help create the mass of muscle that made him a bodybuilding champion,
movie star and candidate for governor, says today's athletes shouldn't use
the same chemicals that aided him.
But Schwarzenegger remains deeply connected to the world of professional
bodybuilding and sponsors an annual pro contest where even his co-promoter
admits competitors use steroids. Schwarzenegger is one of the star
attractions every March at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, where he
appears alongside competitors, many of whom admit they use steroids.
Schwarzenegger's Web site continues to promote the event, promising he'll
attend a VIP event with ticket buyers at the classic in March.
These connections have raised questions about Schwarzenegger's credibility
as an anti-steroid campaigner.
Charles Yesalis, a Penn State University health policy professor who wrote,
"The Steroid Game," and who has long campaigned against athletes' using
steroids, said Schwarzenegger "is not an appropriate role model.
"The message he sends is an inappropriate one," said Yesalis, who describes
himself as a "staunch Republican."
"You have to ask, would Arnold Schwarzenegger be the successful person he is
today without using those drugs?" he said.
Since 1989, Schwarzenegger has sponsored the annual Arnold Classic, where
this year's top prize was $100,000, a $70,000 Hummer and a gold Rolex watch.
Despite his outspoken opposition to steroids, the show features a select
group of heavyweight competitors, many of whom freely admit in muscle
magazines, books and Web sites that they regularly use steroids in their
drive to emulate Schwarzenegger's bodybuilding success.
Competitors at the Arnold Classic, which is now part of a fitness weekend
that includes such diverse activities as gymnastics and yoga, are tested for
steroids and other banned substances, said Schwarzenegger's business
partner, Jim Lorimer.
"Arnold now publicly and repeatedly condemns the use of steroids," said
Schwarzenegger campaign spokesman Rob Stutzman. "If he knew then what we
know now, he wouldn't have done it."
No competitor has been banned from the Arnold Classic for testing positive
for steroids.
The classic is not touted by the North American Natural Bodybuilding
Federation, a group aimed at promoting drug-free bodybuilding that sponsors
so- called clean competitions across the nation.
COMPETITORS USE STEROIDS
Lorimer, whose 28-year business partnership with Schwarzenegger is based on
a handshake, admitted that competitors in the show use steroids and probably
try to cheat the testing.
"I know they use them, but whether they are using them at the time of the
competition, I don't know. . . . The challenge in all sports involving
strength is the testing and of what the tests can detect."
But Yesalis said that explanation amounts to looking the other way. "The
vast majority of humans with IQs above room temperature would look at these
bodybuilders and be very suspicious of steroid use," Yesalis said.
Anti-steroid campaigners warn of the health dangers of using the muscle and
strength enhancers. In men, side effects from prolonged use can include
liver and heart damage, increased blood pressure, such psychological
problems as "roid rage" and depressed testosterone production.
Schwarzenegger, who in interviews has minimized the amount of steroids he
used during his competitive days, is now outspoken in his opposition to the
substances.
In addition to the testing at his show, his supporters say that when he used
steroids in the late 1960s and 1970s, he did so legally, probably with a
doctor's prescription. Only in 1991, with enactment of the Anabolic Steroid
Control Act, has possession, import or sale of steroids without a
prescription become a federal felony.
Others also credit Schwarzenegger for his turnaround since his bodybuilding
career ended.
Rick Collins, a former competitive bodybuilder who is now a lawyer in New
York specializing in steroid cases, said the atmosphere was different when
Schwarzenegger used steroids, because athletes could get the drugs legally
from doctors.
"When he used them, it was prior to the 1991 act. It was a decision made
with a doctor and it was an issue of personal responsibility and personal
freedoms," Collins said.
Collins said the 1991 law has backfired because it has driven those who want
to buy steroids into a dangerous underground market.
Public health officials say the illegal substances are used by more and more
teens and by athletes in strength sports other than bodybuilding.
"As somebody who is in a position to influence young people, I want to make
my position very clear. I am absolutely against the use of these dangerous
and illegal substances," Schwarzenegger wrote in his "New Encyclopedia of
Modern Bodybuilding."
Schwarzenegger wrote that he wished the International Federation of Body
Building, the group that oversees pro bodybuilding, would test all its
competitors at all shows for steroids and other banned drugs. Some pros
abuse diuretics, which bodybuilders use just before a competition to get rid
of water as a way of making their muscles stand out even more. Some also
inject insulin to build muscle mass.
"Personally speaking, I have been trying for more than 10 years to convince
the IFBB to use the latest state-of-the-art technology to test both amateurs
and professionals for any and all anabolic/ androgenic agents,"
Schwarzenegger wrote.
But four-time Arnold Classic winner, Kenny "Flex" Wheeler, admits in his new
autobiography that he was a heavy steroid user for 18 years, including when
he won the show. Wheeler, who says he has suffered serious health problems
related to steroids and other drugs used for bodybuilding, adds that steroid
use among his fellow competitors is endemic.
VITAL ROLE
In his book, Wheeler is frank about the vital role that steroids play in pro
bodybuilding, and about how everyone involved knows that heavy use is going
on.
"Steroids are simply part of the game in the bodybuilding world, as common
as barbells and a high protein diet," Wheeler wrote.
In his few public comments on his steroid use, Schwarzenegger has minimized
how much of the injectable drugs he used.
"You'd do it for three months, once a year before contests," he said in an
interview in the 1990s. "If you take 15 milligrams of let's say, anabolic
steroids for three months, it's one thing. But if you take 200 milligrams a
day for a whole year, that's something else."
Dr. Linn Goldberg, a professor at the Oregon Health and Science University
who has designed programs to keep high school students off steroids, said,
"If you sponsor a show where people are knowingly using steroids, that's
hypocritical."
SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND STARS
But Goldberg said that before condemning Schwarzenegger, he would have to
know the timing, strictness and sophistication of the Arnold Classic's
testing.
He said his high school programs avoid using star athletes who are former
steroid users as spokesmen because they send a mixed message.
We don't use ex-user pro athletes because they say, 'Look I got these Super
Bowl rings,' " and then warn against the dangers of steroids," Goldberg
said.
Stutzman said the fact that the Arnold Classic is drug tested at all shows
Schwarzenegger is serious. "You're describing an issue that confronts the
entire sports world. Arnold is a leader of the bodybuilding sport and is a
supporter of the sport."
Lorimer, who supports his friend's bid for governor, said Schwarzenegger
became suspicious in the early 1970s that steroids could cause health
problems,
and stopped using them. "He retired from bodybuilding, in part, he told me,
because he felt they were not healthy."
***************************
**************************
Would they rather have this - someone who used hard drugs (coke), got a DWI, and also owned a major league sports (Texas Rangers) team full of athletes of whom its rumored that 80% have used steroid to aid their performance? George W Bush - the US president!!! Why arent all those athletes in Arnolds days dropping dead like flies if the accusations of health problems are true? None of the alleged risks have been absolutely confirmed as certain dangers!
In addition, Flex Whellers health problems were completely congenital, it can only be speculated that steroid use possibly complicated the issues he had since a child! He fully states this in a recent MDev article. Wonder why the missed that?!
MikeS
*********************************
Schwarzenegger linked to contests with steroids
Questions raised over his campaign against use
Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Wednesday, October 1, 2003
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle
Washington -- Arnold Schwarzenegger, who admits he used then-legal steroids
to help create the mass of muscle that made him a bodybuilding champion,
movie star and candidate for governor, says today's athletes shouldn't use
the same chemicals that aided him.
But Schwarzenegger remains deeply connected to the world of professional
bodybuilding and sponsors an annual pro contest where even his co-promoter
admits competitors use steroids. Schwarzenegger is one of the star
attractions every March at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, where he
appears alongside competitors, many of whom admit they use steroids.
Schwarzenegger's Web site continues to promote the event, promising he'll
attend a VIP event with ticket buyers at the classic in March.
These connections have raised questions about Schwarzenegger's credibility
as an anti-steroid campaigner.
Charles Yesalis, a Penn State University health policy professor who wrote,
"The Steroid Game," and who has long campaigned against athletes' using
steroids, said Schwarzenegger "is not an appropriate role model.
"The message he sends is an inappropriate one," said Yesalis, who describes
himself as a "staunch Republican."
"You have to ask, would Arnold Schwarzenegger be the successful person he is
today without using those drugs?" he said.
Since 1989, Schwarzenegger has sponsored the annual Arnold Classic, where
this year's top prize was $100,000, a $70,000 Hummer and a gold Rolex watch.
Despite his outspoken opposition to steroids, the show features a select
group of heavyweight competitors, many of whom freely admit in muscle
magazines, books and Web sites that they regularly use steroids in their
drive to emulate Schwarzenegger's bodybuilding success.
Competitors at the Arnold Classic, which is now part of a fitness weekend
that includes such diverse activities as gymnastics and yoga, are tested for
steroids and other banned substances, said Schwarzenegger's business
partner, Jim Lorimer.
"Arnold now publicly and repeatedly condemns the use of steroids," said
Schwarzenegger campaign spokesman Rob Stutzman. "If he knew then what we
know now, he wouldn't have done it."
No competitor has been banned from the Arnold Classic for testing positive
for steroids.
The classic is not touted by the North American Natural Bodybuilding
Federation, a group aimed at promoting drug-free bodybuilding that sponsors
so- called clean competitions across the nation.
COMPETITORS USE STEROIDS
Lorimer, whose 28-year business partnership with Schwarzenegger is based on
a handshake, admitted that competitors in the show use steroids and probably
try to cheat the testing.
"I know they use them, but whether they are using them at the time of the
competition, I don't know. . . . The challenge in all sports involving
strength is the testing and of what the tests can detect."
But Yesalis said that explanation amounts to looking the other way. "The
vast majority of humans with IQs above room temperature would look at these
bodybuilders and be very suspicious of steroid use," Yesalis said.
Anti-steroid campaigners warn of the health dangers of using the muscle and
strength enhancers. In men, side effects from prolonged use can include
liver and heart damage, increased blood pressure, such psychological
problems as "roid rage" and depressed testosterone production.
Schwarzenegger, who in interviews has minimized the amount of steroids he
used during his competitive days, is now outspoken in his opposition to the
substances.
In addition to the testing at his show, his supporters say that when he used
steroids in the late 1960s and 1970s, he did so legally, probably with a
doctor's prescription. Only in 1991, with enactment of the Anabolic Steroid
Control Act, has possession, import or sale of steroids without a
prescription become a federal felony.
Others also credit Schwarzenegger for his turnaround since his bodybuilding
career ended.
Rick Collins, a former competitive bodybuilder who is now a lawyer in New
York specializing in steroid cases, said the atmosphere was different when
Schwarzenegger used steroids, because athletes could get the drugs legally
from doctors.
"When he used them, it was prior to the 1991 act. It was a decision made
with a doctor and it was an issue of personal responsibility and personal
freedoms," Collins said.
Collins said the 1991 law has backfired because it has driven those who want
to buy steroids into a dangerous underground market.
Public health officials say the illegal substances are used by more and more
teens and by athletes in strength sports other than bodybuilding.
"As somebody who is in a position to influence young people, I want to make
my position very clear. I am absolutely against the use of these dangerous
and illegal substances," Schwarzenegger wrote in his "New Encyclopedia of
Modern Bodybuilding."
Schwarzenegger wrote that he wished the International Federation of Body
Building, the group that oversees pro bodybuilding, would test all its
competitors at all shows for steroids and other banned drugs. Some pros
abuse diuretics, which bodybuilders use just before a competition to get rid
of water as a way of making their muscles stand out even more. Some also
inject insulin to build muscle mass.
"Personally speaking, I have been trying for more than 10 years to convince
the IFBB to use the latest state-of-the-art technology to test both amateurs
and professionals for any and all anabolic/ androgenic agents,"
Schwarzenegger wrote.
But four-time Arnold Classic winner, Kenny "Flex" Wheeler, admits in his new
autobiography that he was a heavy steroid user for 18 years, including when
he won the show. Wheeler, who says he has suffered serious health problems
related to steroids and other drugs used for bodybuilding, adds that steroid
use among his fellow competitors is endemic.
VITAL ROLE
In his book, Wheeler is frank about the vital role that steroids play in pro
bodybuilding, and about how everyone involved knows that heavy use is going
on.
"Steroids are simply part of the game in the bodybuilding world, as common
as barbells and a high protein diet," Wheeler wrote.
In his few public comments on his steroid use, Schwarzenegger has minimized
how much of the injectable drugs he used.
"You'd do it for three months, once a year before contests," he said in an
interview in the 1990s. "If you take 15 milligrams of let's say, anabolic
steroids for three months, it's one thing. But if you take 200 milligrams a
day for a whole year, that's something else."
Dr. Linn Goldberg, a professor at the Oregon Health and Science University
who has designed programs to keep high school students off steroids, said,
"If you sponsor a show where people are knowingly using steroids, that's
hypocritical."
SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND STARS
But Goldberg said that before condemning Schwarzenegger, he would have to
know the timing, strictness and sophistication of the Arnold Classic's
testing.
He said his high school programs avoid using star athletes who are former
steroid users as spokesmen because they send a mixed message.
"We
Schwarzenegger linked to contests with steroids
Questions raised over his campaign against use
Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Wednesday, October 1, 2003
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle
Washington -- Arnold Schwarzenegger, who admits he used then-legal steroids
to help create the mass of muscle that made him a bodybuilding champion,
movie star and candidate for governor, says today's athletes shouldn't use
the same chemicals that aided him.
But Schwarzenegger remains deeply connected to the world of professional
bodybuilding and sponsors an annual pro contest where even his co-promoter
admits competitors use steroids. Schwarzenegger is one of the star
attractions every March at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, where he
appears alongside competitors, many of whom admit they use steroids.
Schwarzenegger's Web site continues to promote the event, promising he'll
attend a VIP event with ticket buyers at the classic in March.
These connections have raised questions about Schwarzenegger's credibility
as an anti-steroid campaigner.
Charles Yesalis, a Penn State University health policy professor who wrote,
"The Steroid Game," and who has long campaigned against athletes' using
steroids, said Schwarzenegger "is not an appropriate role model.
"The message he sends is an inappropriate one," said Yesalis, who describes
himself as a "staunch Republican."
"You have to ask, would Arnold Schwarzenegger be the successful person he is
today without using those drugs?" he said.
Since 1989, Schwarzenegger has sponsored the annual Arnold Classic, where
this year's top prize was $100,000, a $70,000 Hummer and a gold Rolex watch.
Despite his outspoken opposition to steroids, the show features a select
group of heavyweight competitors, many of whom freely admit in muscle
magazines, books and Web sites that they regularly use steroids in their
drive to emulate Schwarzenegger's bodybuilding success.
Competitors at the Arnold Classic, which is now part of a fitness weekend
that includes such diverse activities as gymnastics and yoga, are tested for
steroids and other banned substances, said Schwarzenegger's business
partner, Jim Lorimer.
"Arnold now publicly and repeatedly condemns the use of steroids," said
Schwarzenegger campaign spokesman Rob Stutzman. "If he knew then what we
know now, he wouldn't have done it."
No competitor has been banned from the Arnold Classic for testing positive
for steroids.
The classic is not touted by the North American Natural Bodybuilding
Federation, a group aimed at promoting drug-free bodybuilding that sponsors
so- called clean competitions across the nation.
COMPETITORS USE STEROIDS
Lorimer, whose 28-year business partnership with Schwarzenegger is based on
a handshake, admitted that competitors in the show use steroids and probably
try to cheat the testing.
"I know they use them, but whether they are using them at the time of the
competition, I don't know. . . . The challenge in all sports involving
strength is the testing and of what the tests can detect."
But Yesalis said that explanation amounts to looking the other way. "The
vast majority of humans with IQs above room temperature would look at these
bodybuilders and be very suspicious of steroid use," Yesalis said.
Anti-steroid campaigners warn of the health dangers of using the muscle and
strength enhancers. In men, side effects from prolonged use can include
liver and heart damage, increased blood pressure, such psychological
problems as "roid rage" and depressed testosterone production.
Schwarzenegger, who in interviews has minimized the amount of steroids he
used during his competitive days, is now outspoken in his opposition to the
substances.
In addition to the testing at his show, his supporters say that when he used
steroids in the late 1960s and 1970s, he did so legally, probably with a
doctor's prescription. Only in 1991, with enactment of the Anabolic Steroid
Control Act, has possession, import or sale of steroids without a
prescription become a federal felony.
Others also credit Schwarzenegger for his turnaround since his bodybuilding
career ended.
Rick Collins, a former competitive bodybuilder who is now a lawyer in New
York specializing in steroid cases, said the atmosphere was different when
Schwarzenegger used steroids, because athletes could get the drugs legally
from doctors.
"When he used them, it was prior to the 1991 act. It was a decision made
with a doctor and it was an issue of personal responsibility and personal
freedoms," Collins said.
Collins said the 1991 law has backfired because it has driven those who want
to buy steroids into a dangerous underground market.
Public health officials say the illegal substances are used by more and more
teens and by athletes in strength sports other than bodybuilding.
"As somebody who is in a position to influence young people, I want to make
my position very clear. I am absolutely against the use of these dangerous
and illegal substances," Schwarzenegger wrote in his "New Encyclopedia of
Modern Bodybuilding."
Schwarzenegger wrote that he wished the International Federation of Body
Building, the group that oversees pro bodybuilding, would test all its
competitors at all shows for steroids and other banned drugs. Some pros
abuse diuretics, which bodybuilders use just before a competition to get rid
of water as a way of making their muscles stand out even more. Some also
inject insulin to build muscle mass.
"Personally speaking, I have been trying for more than 10 years to convince
the IFBB to use the latest state-of-the-art technology to test both amateurs
and professionals for any and all anabolic/ androgenic agents,"
Schwarzenegger wrote.
But four-time Arnold Classic winner, Kenny "Flex" Wheeler, admits in his new
autobiography that he was a heavy steroid user for 18 years, including when
he won the show. Wheeler, who says he has suffered serious health problems
related to steroids and other drugs used for bodybuilding, adds that steroid
use among his fellow competitors is endemic.
VITAL ROLE
In his book, Wheeler is frank about the vital role that steroids play in pro
bodybuilding, and about how everyone involved knows that heavy use is going
on.
"Steroids are simply part of the game in the bodybuilding world, as common
as barbells and a high protein diet," Wheeler wrote.
In his few public comments on his steroid use, Schwarzenegger has minimized
how much of the injectable drugs he used.
"You'd do it for three months, once a year before contests," he said in an
interview in the 1990s. "If you take 15 milligrams of let's say, anabolic
steroids for three months, it's one thing. But if you take 200 milligrams a
day for a whole year, that's something else."
Dr. Linn Goldberg, a professor at the Oregon Health and Science University
who has designed programs to keep high school students off steroids, said,
"If you sponsor a show where people are knowingly using steroids, that's
hypocritical."
SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND STARS
But Goldberg said that before condemning Schwarzenegger, he would have to
know the timing, strictness and sophistication of the Arnold Classic's
testing.
He said his high school programs avoid using star athletes who are former
steroid users as spokesmen because they send a mixed message.
We don't use ex-user pro athletes because they say, 'Look I got these Super
Bowl rings,' " and then warn against the dangers of steroids," Goldberg
said.
Stutzman said the fact that the Arnold Classic is drug tested at all shows
Schwarzenegger is serious. "You're describing an issue that confronts the
entire sports world. Arnold is a leader of the bodybuilding sport and is a
supporter of the sport."
Lorimer, who supports his friend's bid for governor, said Schwarzenegger
became suspicious in the early 1970s that steroids could cause health
problems,
and stopped using them. "He retired from bodybuilding, in part, he told me,
because he felt they were not healthy."
***************************
