Do you think social media is effecting the amount of gear a competitor uses?

[Big Dave Smith]

Before Facebook and Instagram and all the whatnot... Nobody saw you until contest day. If they did, they were close to you and whatever heard was a rumor.

Today, everybody posts constant progress pics. They see the guys at the top of the amateurs CLEARLY not taking breaks on cycles. Others, go in to hiding and seem to "clean out" a bit before resurfacing.

Even the Arnold Classic. How many people do you know are worried about their appearance at the Arnold Classic as a spectator?


Basically, is modern bodybuilding subculture pushing the limits of gear accidentally based on more exposure, more cameras, more instant newsfeeds, etc?

 

[tr]

Most definately - YES! and not only social media (facebook, instagram etc) but boards likes this too. Where the guys gets info from now? Boards like this. Nobody was talking about grams and grams of test grams of tren eq 20 or so years ago in the gyms (where the guys got most of their info about the drugs) now you can find almost every cycle posted public contains these amounts and guys accepts this as normal. The dosages grows every year, the stuff is getting cheaper and cheaper and when 9 out of 10 guys will be talking about 5 grams test and 3 grams tren as a normal cycle - this will be a normal cycle and everyone will be doing this.

 

[pryde]

For sure.

 

[cm]

Even the Arnold Classic. How many people do you know are worried about their appearance at the Arnold Classic as a spectator?

say it aint so:banghead:

 

[nothuman]

I would say 100% yes now that you mention it. Good observation!

 

[incbb]

social media will skew your perspective on things and blunt your focus if you let the images and stories consume you





incbb

 

[flexdurden]

I think that society in general has become very self absorbed and individuals seek constant gratification to make themselves feel better. My opinion is that the constant updates and photos, for many people, are not about self-improvement or to serve as motivation, they are to make themselves feel like they are of value when they have nothing else to fall back on.

Of course, there are people who post progress photos and take videos that do so simply as a reminder of how far they have come and to help inspire others or because others have an interest in their progress. But I think an overwhelming majority are seeking some type of recognition and trying to top the next person. It seems that with these people, there is not a focus on long term goals or their future, just the instant gratification that posting a picture or video brings that serves to boost their self-esteem.

IMO, I think social media has clouded the minds of a number of people and has created a distorted representation of what is reality.

 

[TNH]

I believe that what you are saying is true, one of the many negative aspects of social media. I really dislike facebook and things like it, they have really dampened the quality of actual social interaction. I can't spend time with any person that isn't at least checking their phone every ten minutes. Some will play games on them or have text conversations throughout an entire meal. I find it incredibly rude, but it has just become a part of life for some people.
My wife watches TV while playing games while texting people. It blows my mind.

 

[jay_dub]

Definitely.

From what all the old timers say around here when comparing today's generation to theirs and the dosages considered to be the norm back then vs. now, I can't even begin to imagine what its going to be like in 20 years...

And yeah a lot of the guys that I see making the most progress on here, facebook, and other media websites are clearly not taking breaks when they are looking 110% 365 days per year, it makes it easier to maybe not be as responsible as you might otherwise be in regards to health.

In the end it comes down to your individual decisions. But as norms change everyone else will adapt to those new norms in some sort of way.

 

[maldorf]

I think it has. IMO I think it has affected young bodybuilders the most because they have grown up with it and so its influence is more powerful.

Another factor is availability. Sites online make it very easy for anyone to obtain steroids in just a few weeks, delivered to the doorstep. Back when I was young we had to get it through networking, and there were a lot of young guys that wanted steroids but weren't able to get any at all or not as much as they would like. Prices were higher back then too.

The internet is the most influential type of media here I think.

 

[LATS]

i know guys that ttrain for the arnold classic just to walk the booths.. they literally diet and train like precontest.. like they are going to showup any of the competitors lol..

 

[TNH]

i know guys that ttrain for the arnold classic just to walk the booths.. they literally diet and train like precontest..

I do this for pre-planned river floating trips, lol.

 

[maldorf]

i know guys that ttrain for the arnold classic just to walk the booths.. they literally diet and train like precontest.. like they are going to showup any of the competitors lol..

Yeah, you can tell by the kind of clothes guys wear too, trying to show off their physiques. It is a very interesting spectacle going there and half the fun is seeing the fans.

 

[nothuman]

I believe that what you are saying is true, one of the many negative aspects of social media. I really dislike facebook and things like it, they have really dampened the quality of actual social interaction. I can't spend time with any person that isn't at least checking their phone every ten minutes. Some will play games on them or have text conversations throughout an entire meal. I find it incredibly rude, but it has just become a part of life for some people.
My wife watches TV while playing games while texting people. It blows my mind.

I think facebook has actually ENHANCED human interaction actually, although I agree it is very rude when someone spends a whole meal texting. I must admit, however, I am guilty of checking facebook on my phone between sets sometimes, especially since the weight room at my gym has a separate floor so there are not hot women to glance at instead.

 

[TNH]

I think facebook has actually ENHANCED human interaction actually, although I agree it is very rude when someone spends a whole meal texting. I must admit, however, I am guilty of checking facebook on my phone between sets sometimes, especially since the weight room at my gym has a separate floor so there are not hot women to glance at instead.

Can you give some examples?
I can see it enhancing some interaction in general because it makes it easier to stay in touch with people you may not otherwise have much contact with, but I don't see it enhancing social interaction in person.

If you are into facebook, I don't see a problem checking it between sets.... I actually wish I had something to do between sets sometimes, because I would rather just lift than sit there, even with short rest breaks. I have a habit of getting a sip of water from the fountain between every set just for that reason.

 

[nothuman]

Can you give some examples?
I can see it enhancing some interaction in general because it makes it easier to stay in touch with people you may not otherwise have much contact with, but I don't see it enhancing social interaction in person.

If you are into facebook, I don't see a problem checking it between sets.... I actually wish I had something to do between sets sometimes, because I would rather just lift than sit there, even with short rest breaks. I have a habit of getting a sip of water from the fountain between every set just for that reason.

Your first paragraph was my main reasoning really. It also keeps me better in touch with old high school and college friends and I feel like I hang out with them still, when I probably would have lost complete touch with them otherwise. Keeps a larger stable of friends in my life. Another huge benefit is party event invites over facebook. I know a few people who are not on facebook and never hear about certain events, simply because they are unable to receive the facebook invite and no one tells them in person.

 

[Pusher]

Most definately - YES! and not only social media (facebook, instagram etc) but boards likes this too. Where the guys gets info from now? Boards like this. Nobody was talking about grams and grams of test grams of tren eq 20 or so years ago in the gyms (where the guys got most of their info about the drugs) now you can find almost every cycle posted public contains these amounts and guys accepts this as normal. The dosages grows every year, the stuff is getting cheaper and cheaper and when 9 out of 10 guys will be talking about 5 grams test and 3 grams tren as a normal cycle - this will be a normal cycle and everyone will be doing this.

this x2

when i first got interested in AAS, i was 16 and there was NOBODY to ask questions, so i had to get my info from old issues of MMI via Greg Zulak.

Then i got a PC and internet but still hadn't found forums, and had to base my first "cycle" on what little info i had access to.

Then I found the forums, and even back then you still heard the horror stories and myths about dosages and how toxic things were and how insulin will kill you ect...

well, little by little you push the envelope a little further and find out some of the things guys swear by at the gym was complete B.S. and they're just repeating shit they overheard from somebody else who didn't know either.

in '99 i couldnt find a single damn person who'd tell me anything about insulin, even on the boards it was "you'll kill yourself with just an i.u. too much"... after a 10 min chat with Milos (imagine Milo's telling a 17yr old kid how to use insulin. lol... seems silly now, but maybe he knew i was gonna do it anyway), i start using doses ppl said would kill you, and they obviously DIDN'T.. and I post my experiences on UG and Bolex and Equinox, ect... and before you know it, 40iu/day isn't so taboo... neither is 60iu, or even 80iu... ect... and the tren doses went up from 75mg 3x a week to 150mg/day to 200+/day, and the test goes from "nobody uses more than 1-2g/wk" to 3g+/wk, and eq goes from 600mg/wk max to 1g/wk min, and anadrol isn't the "magic get you huge and kill your liver" drug that everybody says it is at 100mg/day..

ect...ect...ect...

all social media, whther it be the boards or facebook, does is increase the pool from which you can draw information from. If you have 2 guys saying one thing, and 2 dozen saying it isn't so....well, that's what you base your opinion on.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

I think it's weird because you can see some of the guys who posted pics often in off-season (some of the bigger name, young amateurs). It's clear that there is NO off-period or cruise period done.

I've heard stories about some guys just never seeing a doctor... Staying in the neighborhood of 2000mg all year... It's just madness.

I remember talking about doses this with a popular guru at the Arnold after party, one of the smartest guys around today. What was funny is he looks absolutely RIDICULOUS. Lean, bigger than everybody, and has kept longevity in the sport. He commented "I can't believe some of these guys are using 8iu of GH getting ready for shows! Jeeees!" (To him, 8iu for somebody in their mid 20's seemed incomprehensible). It makes you realize how much hard work and perfect dieting will accomplish and how going crazy with drugs isn't necessary.

 

[Pusher]

I think it's weird because you can see some of the guys who posted pics often in off-season (some of the bigger name, young amateurs). It's clear that there is NO off-period or cruise period done.

I've heard stories about some guys just never seeing a doctor... Staying in the neighborhood of 2000mg all year... It's just madness.

I remember talking about doses this with a popular guru at the Arnold after party, one of the smartest guys around today. What was funny is he looks absolutely RIDICULOUS. Lean, bigger than everybody, and has kept longevity in the sport. He commented "I can't believe some of these guys are using 8iu of GH getting ready for shows! Jeeees!" (To him, 8iu for somebody in their mid 20's seemed incomprehensible). It makes you realize how much hard work and perfect dieting will accomplish and how going crazy with drugs isn't necessary.

to be honest, if i was that guru, i'd say the same thing, esp if the athletes i trained were running 16iu.

these days, there are NO candid, honest conversations. you NEVER know who the guy is that the pro/trainer/guru/industy insider is talking to... and where the content's the convo will end up (on a bb board).

years ago, yea, maybe (like orville quoting 7g test and 20 primo amps a week), but not these days.... at least not from the guys paid to give out advice.

 

[rutger177]

Before Facebook and Instagram and all the whatnot... Nobody saw you until contest day. If they did, they were close to you and whatever heard was a rumor.

Today, everybody posts constant progress pics. They see the guys at the top of the amateurs CLEARLY not taking breaks on cycles. Others, go in to hiding and seem to "clean out" a bit before resurfacing.

Even the Arnold Classic. How many people do you know are worried about their appearance at the Arnold Classic as a spectator?


Basically, is modern bodybuilding subculture pushing the limits of gear accidentally based on more exposure, more cameras, more instant newsfeeds, etc?

The ability to disseminate information that we take for granted today was nonexistent even 10 years ago. Anyone that came of age in the last few years has had instant access to information that used to take years to aquire.

It's not just bodybuilding though. We're living in the "me" generation. Our society is becoming much more narcissitic. People post every detail of their lives on Facebook or Twitter and think of themselves as some kind of celebrity in their own little worlds. And an entire generation has been brought up to believe they're special.

I don't discount the role of social media in influencing the excessive dosages used today, but I think the real culprit is society's search for perfection. When you have teen girls getting breast implants, girls in their twenties getting botox and their mother's getting some procedure done every other week, it's really no surprise that males are juiced right to their eyeballs.