Dante's efforts to reach us..

[Knight9]

Dante May 22 at 8:07pm · Edited ·

I'm done with it.
Ive seen the body counts pile up over the last few years of bodybuilders in their 30's and 40's dying
Off the top of my head
Nasser El Sonbary
Frank Hildebrand
Ed Van Amsterdam
Matt Duvall
Luke Wood
Greg Kovacs
Greg Deferro
Stoili Stoilev
Art Atwood
Derek Anthony
Ed Kawak
Daneile Seccarricci
Anthony D'arezzo
Shawn Robinson
Mike Mattarrazzo
and now Joe Deangelis
The ages? 33 I believe with most of them being 37-48 and the oldest I believe was 53. And thats off the top of my head. Most of them died from heart problems or kidney problems (<---which in alot of the cases ended up being a catalyst to the end result heart failure)
Im naming the guys up above without naming the multitude of bodybuilders who are currently in kidney failure of have had stroke/heart problems and are still living (David Dearth, Brad Hollibaugh, PD Devers and a bunch of others come to mind)....on top of that two large bodybuilders had heart attacks in my gym the last year but are still living (late 40's-early 50's). On top of that a bodybuilder in my gym who was 42 died of kidney failure last month (Ill leave his last name out right now for his families sake but alot of my local friends do not know this person died because he had recently switched gyms in Vista to Oceanside but trust me (local friends), you do know him or know of him....I know that....he was a well liked individual and its truly sad).
So Im done with it. Im going to outline step by step of how you take your health into your own hands.....because its painfully obvious to me that the majority of this sport have no freaking idea of how to monitor your own health, your blood pressure, your bloodwork, and what steps and supplements you need to use to regulate yourself so your not dropping dead in your driveway playing with your 3 year old son or daughter. Its going to take me a couple weeks to put this all together. I got alot to cover. These are going to be long posts. If you dont like long posts or dont give a crap about your health, skip my posts. But im tired of seeing people die and Im going to do something about it. Im going to go thru A to Z here over the next few weeks so bear with me....its alot ot type up and my time is fleeting but im going to get it done.
First up....2 must buys
There is no discussion. If you want to monitor your health you must buy both of the following.
Buy this. (courtesy of Mike Weitzman )
1)
I put the link in here but FACEBOOK is not letting me post this unless I take out the link. So you need to go to Amazon and buy the LIfesource Blood Pressure monitor with the extra large cuff.
Most of you guys are bodybuilders and the regular cuff isnt going to fit you. It will give you skewered results if you use the regular cuff with over 17.5-18 inch arms. If you are a smaller bber get the one with the regular cuff, but if you got 17.5 and onward plus pipes (which I know a great deal of you do) you have to get the extra large cuff to get the most accurate reading. Im going to go thru this in detail and tell you what you need to do when the readings are off but right now i need you to buy that.
First up, get a baseline....upon arising from bed take your blood pressure every day for 2 weeks in a row and get the gist of what is happening and what the numbers are at.
2)
go to directlabs.com and order up 2 tests that you can use anytime over the next year
The first one is under male health labs and its the anti-aging test and yes its expensive 299 dollars but im going to give you a 20% off coupon that will make it 239 dollars. Is your health worth 239 dollars to you? It should be because i see alot of you guys spend money on certain "things" with no regard for expense so 239 dollars for the knowledge and peace of mind that you arent screwing yourself up longterm should be nothing. So i would like people to buy the anti-aging test (2nd one down) https://www.directlabs.com/Default.aspx… and also the comprehensive wellness profile (first one) https://www.directlabs.com/…/26…/language/en-US/Default.aspx which is 97 dollars but with coupon will be about 78 bucks. You do the anti aging test once a year and then you do the comprehensive wellness profile once a year (6 months later or so) to make sure you are still on the correct path. The anti-aging test is highly detailed and will have everything you want to know as a bodybuilder. The CWP test is basically a "healthy bloodwork" test but you can add a few tests to it to see if you are off still from anything awry from the anti aging test. (Dont worry im just getting thru the basics here...im going to go thru everything in detail over the next few weeks)
(sidenote: you could also use discountedlabs but when all is said and done and using the coupon codes i think youll be around the same price Choose Your Test - Discounted Labs )
What happens with this is you dont already know........you will go (fasted) to a local drawing lab near your zip code (for most people probably within 5-10 miles of you) and they take couple minutes, draw your blood, you go home and your bloodwork results end up in your email in 2-3 days. Yes it is that easy and that quick. And the blueprint that its going to give you to your own bodies chemistry is going to be invaluable.
This weekend for the next 4 days there is a coupon code (its ' USA ' ) which you can use for 20% off
Thirdly what I would like everyone to do is to take your body temperature 3 days in a row upon arising and get the median temperature. If you are below 97.6 there is a good chance you are running a little hypothyroid and your endeavors to lose bodyfat are going to be for naught. Especially for women....I could not even tell you how many women over the years ran tremendously low body temperatures and their "inability to lose bodyfat" had 100% to do with that (and the resulting subpar thyroid blood workup) than cutting more carbs and doing more cardio. Half a grain of armour thyroid later....walla....but i digress and ill get into that later.
We could go into cardiac calcium scores and echocardiograms but lets get down to brass tacks and maybe get into that later (specially with echocardiograms where someone like Justin Harris commenting would be invaluable information)
Thats the start of it and im going to hit on this every single chance i have over the next few weeks until i get the urgency of this pounded into as many peoples heads as possible. You have to put as much priority and thought process into your health and longevity as you spend timewise thinking about putting on your next 5lbs of muscle muscle mass)......And if you dont believe that and have been walking around with 170/110 blood pressure for a few years with that all too common "I look good so I must be healthy" - out of sight out of mind" mentality....(most of those guys in that list above were freaking specimens on the outside and 95 year old men on the inside) .....for example take a few minutes and research dialysis and see what it all entails. Take a look and see if you would enjoy being hooked up to a dialysis machine Monday Wednesday and Friday for 6 plus hours at a time. I will continue on with this as much time as i can give over the next 14 days or so....because ive just gotten sick of seeing the RIP threads that seems to be happening way too much way too often. A system of "YOU MUST DO THIS IF THIS IS HAPPENING WITH YOUR BLOODWORK/BLOOD PRESSURE/SIDE EFFECTS!" needs to be put into place in the bbing community and hell for that matter anyone reading this. I dont have all the answers but I do have alot of them and I have fixed too many bbers bloodwork I couldnt even begin to count. If you take one thing from what im about to write over the next few weeks i hope its "Ok enough im getting on top of this stuff!"

 

[Knight9]

Part 2:
Before I get more into everything here...I want to present my own personal thoughts on something. There are hundreds of thousands of natural bodybuilders. There are hundreds of thousands of "enhanced" bodybuilders. I made my bones "so to say" in the sport by talking about things that werent openly talked about back in the 90's when I came out with the Hardcore Muscle Newsletter. I dont want to count the hours (YEARS!) I have spent researching libraries (pre-internet), pubmed, assays, various theories, various studies etc etc etc. Ive researched training, diets, foods, compounds, supplements, and drugs as it pertains to this genre. Now over the next few weeks im going to talk about things that arent so politically correct in certain circles. Why am i saying this? Because I have people reading my facebook page that are in the sport (and they already know the deal) and people who are on the fringe and outside of the sport (family/friends) who arent going to understand why Im talking about certain taboo subjects. Ill tell you why. ITS REALITY!
I had this conversation with my parents back in the 90's when they asked me why I discussed steroids and growth hormone and drugs in my newsletter along with training, diet, food, supplements. And my reasoning to them then is the same reasoning now. I am not condoning anything but for gods sake, above all else do not bullshit anyone. Dont walk around the controversy. It is what it is. Talk about the reality of things because the reality of things is people are using steroids and drugs and the majority of society is applauding them and idolizing them. My father was a huge N.E. Patriots fan as I am.....the conversation went like this back then in the 90's : "Dad if you really think the same people you are applauding and cheering for every sunday in the NFL, if you really think the various sports events you watch, if you really think the highest grossing movies and action hero's at that time (Rocky movies, Terminator movies, Bloodsport etc etc etc) are not part of this reality.....then i dont know what to tell you dad!""But i will tell you, if someone wants to lose the respect of everyone real quick? Pretend its not there....because the truth of the matter like it or not it is there!".....My parents got my points after the whole Major League Baseball debacle (I had certain members of MLB contacting me back in the early 90's during my newsletter reign telling me what they were doing ergo wise...so i already knew that whole deal)....the whole NFL debacle, Bonds, Sosa, Armstrong etc etc etc you all get it. And my parents I believe finally did to....REALITY.
So fast forward to today....every bodybuilder (natural or enhanced) reading this right now knows the deal but the layperson family or friends reading it who arent understanding why IM talking about certain things...let me go with the same vein of thought modernized...... "If you really think that you are watching a movie starring the Rock Dwayne Johnson, If you really think you are watching certain actors in the most popular movies out there like Xmen movies and Avenger movies, If you really think these cult TV shows like "Jersey Shore", certain motorcycle building shows in the past, and other incredibly popular modern media heros or sports celebrities arent part of this reality....I dont know what to tell you"..........its as simple as that.
Now to this point Im going to tell you where the huge problem comes from. The internet. Prior to 1996-2000 the number of bodybuilders who were dying young were few and far between. Very rare and very unheard of. Then the net starts getting widespread around 1997....Prior to these years bodybuilders by and large used moderate to respectable dosages of bodybuilding drugs. And for the most part, if you are respectful in your usage of these bodybuilding drugs, you will be as healthy (if not healthier) than you would normally. Now let me quickly explain the (if not healthier part). I dont care what it is about the endocrine/hormonal system it is, if you are deficient or overproduce...you will create a situation that will cause you to expire many years before your proper time. If you have diabetes and refuse to take insulin or various derivatives....you are going to die (probably quick). If you have extreme hypothyroidism or extreme hyperthyroidism (severely underactive or overactive thyroid) the consequences of all those side effects over time without solving that problem are going to end your life much sooner than you expect. Testosterone, its reaches its peak around the mid 20's (SURPRISE! Also your healthiest years as a person!) and for every year after that it ebbs. So take a modern physically active person. From the age of 20-40 their physique looks pretty much the same doesnt it? What happens from age 40 to 60? Their endogenous testosterone goes way way down and they turn into an old man before your eyes. Estradiol goes up, testosterone goes down and you will see someone disintegrate visually from the outside and physically from the inside from the age of 40 onward. I could spend the next 48 hours listing study after study proving how important it is to have lower estradiol 21-37 ish, and healthy testosterone levels plus 550ng ish including studies showing thousands of men studied with the ones with the lowest testosterone levels dying so much sooner than their "healthy testosterone level" counterparts it would scare the hell out of you. But Ill get offbase of what my point is.... so if inclined...look thru the various literature and footnotes at the bottom of pages and research it all yourself. It is of my opinion that keeping your testosterone levels and estradiol levels a semblance of what they were in your 20's while you age....is among the most important things you can do for your longterm health.
Life Extension
Life Extension
Life Extension
Life Extension
Life Extension
Back to my point. Prior to the internet age hardly anyone in the bodybuilding community was dropping dead in their 30-40's. Then along comes the internet, access to bodybuilding drugs goes sky high...click of a button and people are ordering up. The prices of these drugs go unbelievable low. And in the old days alot of the people drawn to bodybuilding were athletes, yea there was some insecurities to be overcome mixed in there but by and large a majority of the people drawn to the sport looked at it as a personal challenge...you against the weights...an athletic endeavor/willpower/fortitude (not everyone obviously but a great many). Fast forward to the last 20 years and with society so focused on the visual (Instagram...the "enough about me, lets talk a little bit more about myself" society), the constant barrage of Jersey Shore, Wrestling, Action Movie Hero's visuals, etc etc etc.... a bunch of terribly insecure junkies trying to solve their insecurities by next Tuesday have entered into the sport. Add that up with widespread access to bodybuilding drugs, the astronomical low prices and you have the recipe for "bodybuilding drug abuse!"....and thats what has happened and what we have seen is just the tip of the iceberg of the people that are going to be dropping over the next few years. I thought personally the Derek Anthony dying at 33 years old was going to be a big wakeup call for a large majority of the sport....INSTEAD ITS GOTTEN EVEN WORSE because social media has allowed a bunch of uneducated idiots to be heard (and they are the exact "junky" mentality Ive been talking about who dont realize that what you do today doesnt end your life 30 days from now but DOES end it 12-15 years from now). If Science Daily came out with a latest study that showed 2 aspirin a day over 4 years time can increase a womans breast size, within one month there would be thousands of insecure "junky-like" women dead from overdosing on 50-100 aspirin in a days time. That in a nutshell is what has happened.
So thats why I felt the need to explain this above. Its a reality that is ending peoples lives prematurely that needs to be talked about. (continued)

 

[Aikman56]

Thanks for taking the time to share that here...great info!

 

[dnab87]

Thanks Knight. Ordering mine tonight. Curious where you got this from? I'd like to read more from Dante if possible.

 

[0893]

"And in the old days alot of the people drawn to bodybuilding were athletes, yea there was some insecurities to be overcome mixed in there but by and large a majority of the people drawn to the sport looked at it as a personal challenge...you against the weights...an athletic endeavor/willpower/fortitude (not everyone obviously but a great many). Fast forward to the last 20 years and with society so focused on the visual (Instagram...the "enough about me, lets talk a little bit more about myself" society), the constant barrage of Jersey Shore, Wrestling, Action Movie Hero's visuals, etc etc etc.... a bunch of terribly insecure junkies trying to solve their insecurities by next Tuesday have entered into the sport."

I know this isn't exactly what these thread is about, but this paragraph really stood out to me. This is how I've felt about the current culture of bodybuilding. I quickly browsed thru Instagram a few days ago and almost through up at the attention whoring which floods social media. Everyone thinks they are bodybuilder just because they "go to the gym", posting gym selfies captioned "just trained legs!" Or posting pics of food "chicken and rice! Meal number 3!" .

DC always has solid posts. Much respect to DC

 

[little slice]

tl : dr










haha j/k, good stuff as usual. very thought-provoking. Im personally going in for bloodwork and a 24-hour creatine clearance test next week. keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[nothuman]

"And in the old days alot of the people drawn to bodybuilding were athletes, yea there was some insecurities to be overcome mixed in there but by and large a majority of the people drawn to the sport looked at it as a personal challenge...you against the weights...an athletic endeavor/willpower/fortitude (not everyone obviously but a great many). Fast forward to the last 20 years and with society so focused on the visual (Instagram...the "enough about me, lets talk a little bit more about myself" society), the constant barrage of Jersey Shore, Wrestling, Action Movie Hero's visuals, etc etc etc.... a bunch of terribly insecure junkies trying to solve their insecurities by next Tuesday have entered into the sport."

I know this isn't exactly what these thread is about, but this paragraph really stood out to me. This is how I've felt about the current culture of bodybuilding. I quickly browsed thru Instagram a few days ago and almost through up at the attention whoring which floods social media. Everyone thinks they are bodybuilder just because they "go to the gym", posting gym selfies captioned "just trained legs!" Or posting pics of food "chicken and rice! Meal number 3!" .

DC always has solid posts. Much respect to DC

I honestly unfollow those people. I dislike when regular joes make their entire social media about their own personal selfies/progression in the gym. Once in a while is cool, but every day is annoying.

 

[PitbullTank]

I saw that on fb... one of the best posts I've ever read... Dante really cares about bodybuilders, and has notta to be made off his recommendations ... truly a stand up guy

 

[jm425]

Thank you Knight for posting Dante's thoughts. I cannot stress to all you guys on the board, doesn't matter if you're a recreational bber or highly ranked national amateur, how important blood pressure and blood work are. I was one of the guys Dante talks about that brushed off my bp readings and my bloodwork. I took 3 different medications for my bp, took natural supps, did cardio, but my bp would still be erratic and I didn't do anything else about it. My labs came back fine except my creatinine and BUN levels were slightly elevated but I thought nothing of it and let it be for awhile. Last year my kidneys shut down and I was in the hospital twice, about 10 days each time. I had gained 30 pounds of fluid on top of whatever I had and those dialysis machines could only take out so much at a time. Second time I went to the ER was because I still had too much fluid leftover and that night, I could not breathe. I thought that was it, I was going to die. Luckily they rushed to the ER just in time to get enough fluid off me and gave me oxygen. It took me 6 months to get down to my dry weight. During that time, every single time after dialysis, my bp would spike to 180/105 and sometimes at night would jump up to 220/110. I had chest pain and had to take nitroglycerin at times. Skip to now, a year later. I'm finally down to 170(muscle memory) and at my dry weight. My bp has stabilized and currently I'm on a low dose of norvasc and coreg as far as bp meds go. At one point I was down to 148 pounds at the lowest but that was before I started going back to the gym. So there is my story for those who were curious. So please, get your labs done, even if it's just twice a year and get that bp cuff like Dante suggests. The thyroid problem is also something to look out for as well. Hopefully I have shed some insight for the guys who are seriously concerned with their health.

 

[GottaGain]

XXXX

Really fucking funny dude one of the most knowledgeable and well-respected guys in the industry takes the time to shed some light on the life-threatening dangers of bodybuilding and it's just a big joke to you. Grow up. Respect the seriousness of the discussion.

 

[brutus69]

meanwhile people here look at big ramy like he's a goddam god.
how u think he's getting so massive?
must just be vitamins and creatine.
so preaching to guys who worship 300+ pound ripped bodybuilders is kinda pointless.

 

[BigDM]

I think it was written for those who "abuse" rather than those who "use". Of course you're going to be fucked up if you use high dosages year round. If your blasting 3+ grams all the time you're eventually going to pay a severe price for that decision. I really don't feel too bad for those that passed early. It was ultimately their decision and they knew the risks involved. I feel more for their family and loved ones left behind.

 

[mytreefiddy]

meanwhile people here look at big ramy like he's a goddam god.
how u think he's getting so massive?
must just be vitamins and creatine.
so preaching to guys who worship 300+ pound ripped bodybuilders is kinda pointless.

Thank you very much for stating this.... so many guys on Ramys jock and he's probably unhealthier than all of us on here.... thank you very much but i'll pass....i'll just be content at 190 ripped and healthy. :headbang:

Do really think guys are gonna listen to Dante in regards to this???...unfortunately, probably not.

 

[someday]

so preaching to guys who worship 300+ pound ripped bodybuilders is kinda pointless.

Where is the preaching? I've heard this several times in relation to Dante's posts and it always seems to construe that he is preaching against use of AAS, yet he clearly states that he is trying to lay out how to monitor your health and how to counteract issues that you will likely encounter along the way. I know for me that I'd like to be healthy as well as look good, so if that's preaching, than preach on Dante! Not to mention, he posted this on his FB page, right? It's not like he started posts on a dozen different bodybuilding boards.

Anyhow, Thanks Knight for posting this here for those of us who don't use FB.

 

[Knight9]

meanwhile people here look at big ramy like he's a goddam god.
how u think he's getting so massive?
must just be vitamins and creatine.
so preaching to guys who worship 300+ pound ripped bodybuilders is kinda pointless.

Thank you very much for stating this.... so many guys on Ramys jock and he's probably unhealthier than all of us on here.... thank you very much but i'll pass....i'll just be content at 190 ripped and healthy. :headbang:

Do really think guys are gonna listen to Dante in regards to this???...unfortunately, probably not.

I know you guys have to be smarter than this.

 

[j2048b]

What blows is that dante got 1 complaint about what he was saying and fb removed his other posts in relation to all this! Fb blows


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[nothuman]

Do really think guys are gonna listen to Dante in regards to this???...unfortunately, probably not.

Ummm I am

 

[j2048b]

Ummm I am

Alot of people have been changing their ways lately, and i think its a good thing.....

What also sucks is all the 25 and unders who are doing everything possible in order to be able to obtain trt anymore so they can abuse it and stick a needle in their asses instead of changing anything else in their diets, training or supplementation

I applaud all who have read what dante has been "preaching" and have taken it to heart because its all true


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[FutureFreak7]

Funny thing is all the guys that seem to find a way to get offended by dante helping are guys that have no issues. Reason why I say funny though is because as soon as these dumbfucks come across 1 health issue they're going to run an research every article he has ever written, I am young and now my main concern is health. Nobody seems to care about health until they are unhealthy.


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[pesty4077]

I listen to DC all the time. I also get bloodwork done. I also monitor my BP. I can tell you what is was this morning. 120/73. I think some of you young guys better listen or you won't reach my age. Good post, we need more reality checks sometimes.