Looking back. Was it really worth it? The health, money, time you spent in this game.

[pheenix]

Real simple..this game is what YOU make it.. if you do it unhealthy that's on you.. if you do it and go broke.. thats on you.. if you won't work because it interfere with your workouts that's on you.. I have heard all such things.. but ultimately it's all the person's decision.. I can name dozens of bodybuilders ( and many of them pros) that are successful on stage as off stage.. they own businesses.. own homes.. great family life.. the list goes on..
This endeavor takes 1 to 2 hours 4 days a week to be successful.. if you can't male life and job work around 8 total hours a week then it's on you and not bodybuilding.. eating ? Not hard.. you get breaks.. you scarf down a quick meal and move on.. again it's all time managment..
As for the health aspect.. you take your supplements for health before you take your anabolics. I have always said numerous times " if you can afford the supplements to keep you healthy you can't afford the anabolics ".. you also must know your limits.. no one is forcing you to inject the extra shit. It's on you.. you inject what your comfortable with. And if your a bit of a daredevil then be prepared for a possible bite on the ass..
Again.. its what YOU make it..

Perfectly stated. Appreciate it brother.

 

[Flex500]

As a 38 year old (well literally just turned 39) I can appreciate where the OP is coming from. That said, the "game", endeavor, whatever you want to call it can be many different things. I competed and was very happy with out it all turned out and really built an appreciable physique but I never went "I'm trying to kill myself and go broke" on the drug side. The worst I had was some bloodwork that gave me a couple wake up calls as well as my father dying young (63).

I've been on less than 500mgs of anything for over a decade, trt only the last two years and now 4 months of HCG monotherapy. I train hard and still love it. I'll go back on a modest trt (70-150mgs a week) with some hgh and still train hard and hopefully be a lean big-ish guy in my 40's to 80's...God willing.

On the flip side I guess that really isn't being in "the game" and I'd assume what you are getting at is the hardcore life that has a pretty seedy underbelly. I tried to only go so far as to stay on the fringe of that and it is probably what helped me.

 

[draven]

Im 51 now....got pinched on a delivery back in 93 personal use amount ...the package was from “ the pool guy” if anyone goes back that far. LOL Was in LE at time , lost job, beat case , broke me financially ...but through people met in iron game opened up other doors and opportunities ...I now have 7 fig year salary from companies operate... am still 245 lean.. test and gh legally from HRT company shipped as needed ... no more no knock warrants to save 100 on bottle cypionate...lol Overall healthy .. enjoy the gym still , wish did more cardio when younger but enjoy peloton daily last 4 years ...like the stress relief gym brings. Would I do it agin ..Yes, just avoid pitfalls I jumped into...but also wouldn’t have had opportunities if that didnt happen. Looking back cant change anything ...just lessons learned for future .

 

[AllLoadedUp]

Especially with internet dating now. When I got divorced there was days when I was hooking up with 5-7 different women on a weekend

Good grief. Its not unusual for me to go an entire year without a single date. I basically never get a single response ever from any women online. But I'm 48 although when I was younger my luck wasn't much better. Two more years and then I will be completely invisible to women. Not the fat ugly ones of course. LOL.

 

[NorwegianMuscle]

I'm 51 and still in the game and doing just fine. I started taking PED's in highschool. I competed all my life and have no problems. I worked and had contracts with several supplement companies. No regrets and still going strong.

 

[slayer37]

Real simple..this game is what YOU make it.. if you do it unhealthy that's on you.. if you do it and go broke.. thats on you.. if you won't work because it interfere with your workouts that's on you.. I have heard all such things.. but ultimately it's all the person's decision.. I can name dozens of bodybuilders ( and many of them pros) that are successful on stage as off stage.. they own businesses.. own homes.. great family life.. the list goes on..
This endeavor takes 1 to 2 hours 4 days a week to be successful.. if you can't male life and job work around 8 total hours a week then it's on you and not bodybuilding.. eating ? Not hard.. you get breaks.. you scarf down a quick meal and move on.. again it's all time managment..
As for the health aspect.. you take your supplements for health before you take your anabolics. I have always said numerous times " if you can afford the supplements to keep you healthy you can't afford the anabolics ".. you also must know your limits.. no one is forcing you to inject the extra shit. It's on you.. you inject what your comfortable with. And if your a bit of a daredevil then be prepared for a possible bite on the ass..
Again.. its what YOU make it..

Great post. Gains should take a backseat to healthy bloods.

 

[pheenix]

Yes.. ive said til I'm blue in the face.. we need to hear it when someone dies from something gear related.. but many of the recent deaths are not gear related.. we need facts.. not emotions to get to the truth..
The issue we are seeing are a cocktail of crap guys do these days.. the constant need for stimulants .. no one trains without a pre-workout anymore.. so let's raise our heart rate and blood pressure before we even touch a weight ?? Come on guys.. use some common sense.. now add in the idiotic need to be " instagram ready " lean by using clen year round.. and hey, while we are at it throw in t3 and t4.. yeah they haven't been known to cause cardiovascular issues ..
Now throw in gear use.. but let's not even use a baby aspirin to thin blood out..

So gear is just one component anymore.. it used to be some test.. a anabolic.. maybe some gh..
Now it's gear.. gh.. clen.. t3.. stimulants every day..
We choose what we put in our body.. we choose the way we treat our body.. we choose not to address high blood pressure.. we choose to buy gear over health supplements because we can't afford the health supplements..
We also wreck our bodies with incessant heavy weights when science shows us repeatedly that going to failure at 15 reps is equal in most regards to going to failure at 6.. but our egos need stroked.. so heavy weight it is!!
We are our worst enemy .. our egos.. not gear.. not bodybuilding.. as I've always said " bodybuilding is what you make it"..

you can be big.. impressive.. eat 5 meals a day.. stay lean.. have a successful job.. and have a great family.. if you cant do these things its on you.. not a recreational activity..
Oh and since I'm on a rant.. please stop referring to a training session as a " battle" or "going to war".. its not.. its a activity you choose.. you sound silly comparing it to a life or death situation .. you can walk away and go to Arby's at any time.. I m not bragging but at 53 I'll out intense about anyone in the gym.. I train because I enjoy the intensity. But its not a battle.. I can easily say " not today.. im not feeling it".. I couldn't do that in war.. see the difference?? Rant over

Good post.

 

[marssel]

Fuck no I don't feel the same! I never want to look like the average fucking American male I would rather die.
The smart people use the discipline they learn from bodybuilding and add it to other aspects of their life. Health wise it's up to YOU to take care of your health, when you are reckless then you must pay the price. We bodybuilders although we take AAS we have a far superior nutritional diet than the average American, we usually don't smoke or drink (if we do drink we do it very moderately). We usually daily take many health supplements, we exercise daily. Beside the anabolics it's a highly healthy lifestyle for the mast majority of use. Use some basic fucking common sense when using anabolics and you should for the most part live a happy, healthy, productive life.

Fuck yea im 43 did 3 years in jail still weigh 280, competing this spring, healthy as a horse with labs and echo. Getting more labs next week too, feel like im 25, fuck like im 30, and am surrounded by wellness chics and a hot younger wife with dbl GG tits that make my fat roided up cock and tiny balls disappear between them, before that i was served as a Marine and coulda died then, fuck normal and fuck regret and yea aside from some grey i got a full head of hair and baldness runs in my family. If you take care of your body youre fine everyone focuses on the few deaths not the hundreds of thousands of us still rocking, all my HS buddies are fat and bald, i could fuck their daughters, no offense if you think chics like you better normal you just found a bunch of older uglier chics.

 

[marssel]

Im 64 years old and been training,juicing,eating right for well over half of my life.Its the only lifestyle that I know! This is what I do!!!!!!!

FUCK YEA

 

[beast405]

Yes ive spent tons of money and probably impacted my health a little bit from the excessive eating, training , supplements .(Even though my bloods and echo/ekg have always been good).This lifestyle has gotten me through so many rough times. I don’t even know what it is about the lifestyle but I just can’t seem to venture away from it for too long before finding my way back to the trusty old iron. I love this shit.

 

[Tomgrass]

With all the crap going on right now, depression and kids wanting to kill themselves, I think the gym and this lifestyle can give kids and a lot of people direction. When people have time on their hands or no direction or motivation, that is when shit goes down hill. For me, I don't get the depression people have these days. I mean I think its real but I can't relate. I jut think about me growing up as a kid, racing bmx bikes, playing basketball, football and weights, there was no way I even had time to be depressed, I was driven to get better in everything I was doing. The current book I am reading, this statement and hit me hard...."the best athletes and most successful people in life do not focus on WINNING, they focus on getting better. In order to get better, you need to eliminate mistakes. WINNING is a bi prodcut of getting better" I think you can use that in anything in life.

Thing is these days everything is so incredibly easy available that you dont even have to try to achieve something. That constant easy mode makes people pussies. Just even look at diet products all those delicious protein bars. Years ago it was plain tuna in water. And still despite the fact that you can eat your cake and have your cake there are milions of people who dare to bitch how hard diet is. And it is like that with everything. I am not even talking going to 6 percent bf I am talking first 10 pounds......

 

[pheenix]

Fuck yea im 43 did 3 years in jail still weigh 280, competing this spring, healthy as a horse with labs and echo. Getting more labs next week too, feel like im 25, fuck like im 30, and am surrounded by wellness chics and a hot younger wife with dbl GG tits that make my fat roided up cock and tiny balls disappear between them, before that i was served as a Marine and coulda died then, fuck normal and fuck regret and yea aside from some grey i got a full head of hair and baldness runs in my family. If you take care of your body youre fine everyone focuses on the few deaths not the hundreds of thousands of us still rocking, all my HS buddies are fat and bald, i could fuck their daughters, no offense if you think chics like you better normal you just found a bunch of older uglier chics.

True. Most dudes i served with are out of shape, drink way too much, and just accept life that way. Fk that! Gotta kept pushing forwards or you die. Keep moving. 54 yrs old, grey fkn beard, but 197lbs, 10% BF. Regret nothing! AAS, TRT, not for everyone, only the winners and it fkn pays to be a winner!

 

[goback2013]

True. Most dudes i served with are out of shape, drink way too much, and just accept life that way. Fk that! Gotta kept pushing forwards or you die. Keep moving. 54 yrs old, grey fkn beard, but 197lbs, 10% BF. Regret nothing! AAS, TRT, not for everyone, only the winners and it fkn pays to be a winner!

funny.. i was at a gas station on the south side of town last week.
after paying for the gas and the kids junk food, the female cashier said 'have a good day mr. winner'
i said 'i wont deny it, but why do you say that?'
she said 'i can sense youre successful and by the way you treat your children'
she had to have been in her early 20s.. slim and sexy.. in the past i would have walked through that door.
but responsibilities have recently changed.. always good to have the ego stroked.

 

[Ruhlfreak55]

Good grief. Its not unusual for me to go an entire year without a single date. I basically never get a single response ever from any women online. But I'm 48 although when I was younger my luck wasn't much better. Two more years and then I will be completely invisible to women. Not the fat ugly ones of course. LOL.

I'm with you. I don't know how people do that above unless they just lie constantly. I'm always myself and don't lie, so the fact is few people like me. My gf swears up and down I'm attractive asf, but I don't believe it, and if I lost her I'd fully expect to never really have sex again (35 now).

 

[Dugbet]

I'm with you. I don't know how people do that above unless they just lie constantly. I'm always myself and don't lie, so the fact is few people like me. My gf swears up and down I'm attractive asf, but I don't believe it, and if I lost her I'd fully expect to never really have sex again (35 now).

All those stories of people getting young hot pussies to me sound like seeing a unicorn, LMFAO

 

[Tomgrass]

I was always believer of not chasing girls and always thought that all those pick up skills are not needed. What you need is being yourself not being a jerk have sense of humour and treat a woman in good old fashionable way , opening doors take care about her but also be firm and stand up for yourself and not being needy. I never complained about being single to long, if was long time it was cause i wanted to be alone not just jumping to another relationship after anther ends. Had few girlfriends , found a great wife in 2012. She still love me a lot.

 

[marssel]

Yeah I was the same way a lot of people see how big we are and they think we’re assholes on them and they realize you’re a good guy it’s a game changer but I won’t lie in my early years I ran through hundreds of women even before I started bodybuilding I’ve been in the Marine Corps our goal is to try and fuck three or four different girls every weekend and we were pretty successful at it and yeah I’m at my wife in 2010 and she’s rocksolid and we’ve been together for 11 years now and we’re going to have a son in February and that took a lot of work by our relationship never strain but she’s like the opposite of me she’s only been with a handful of guys and her whole life doesnt Kast doesnt drink which I don’t drink anymore but I did when I was younger doesn’t party you know all the things I did when I was younger she’s never Done the only thing I don’t like is that she’s not that into the bodybuilding thing which is respectable because it means she loves me for who I am but sometime she doesn’t realize that who I am is bodybuilding and so caring about it a little more would matter but yeah when I was single before her I was never really single always had like three or four chics I can’t think of very many nights I slept alone and I’m sure that’s because being bodybuilders we tend to need to get attention and needing you know sex and affirmation which is fine that’s how we are built might as well be good with how your made

 

[goback2013]

I was always believer of not chasing girls and always thought that all those pick up skills are not needed. What you need is being yourself not being a jerk have sense of humour and treat a woman in good old fashionable way , opening doors take care about her but also be firm and stand up for yourself and not being needy. I never complained about being single to long, if was long time it was cause i wanted to be alone not just jumping to another relationship after anther ends. Had few girlfriends , found a great wife in 2012. She still love me a lot.

I agree ... pick up lines are the worst. A matter of fact compliment, natural conversation, eye contact and a smile have always been my go-tos. It also goes a long way when you can sense she's also interested. I pretty much put that guy away this summer. Well sorta. I still flirt and and still have it reciprocated. I have some stories from this past week at the local indoor trampoline park. That place basically turns into a club after 7pm. Complete with police and security. The trampolines and go carts act as a babysitter of sorts
I digress.
Anyway... I have no shame in being who I am. I'm completely honest with females. I tell them I am not really committed, etc, etc.
Majority are ok with that.
I had one female tell me she's ok with polygamy as long as she is the main one and in the main house. I said I believe in polygamy too. But not in the west. I refuse to put someone on my payroll ever again. And that's exactly what would happen when one of the females gets mad and decides to take me to family court.

For those who can't find a date or attract female attention, maybe it's a confidence thing??

From my teens I've always been around the west African and carribean cultures.
When I started going out in my mid20s, I noticed some of the most unattractive of these men were pulling the baddest females.
Maybe it was money, cause that was certainly there, but as I observed I noticed it was a swag. A confidence.
Most board members talking about fucking all types of randoms also comment how they don't care about these females.
Maybe that's the attracting factor.
Most women probably want the don't give a fuck guy.
The roses and opening doors is cool and all.. but 20-50yo women wants someone who has their shit together.. confidence.. and can break their back. Not in that order sometimes.

 

[Tomgrass]

If she will feel that you are weaker mentally then her you are done so done.

 

[AedenD]

This is such a great thread! Almost feels like a bunch of father figures bestowing upon me all they've learned through their time in the trenches.
I'm new around here, just 25, been training for close to 6 years, all natural and the thought of hopping on gear hasn't quite crossed my mind yet. I mean sometimes I do feel that I lack size but for the remaining part, I have acquired enough knowledge to tweak my diet and nutrition to look lean/bulked up for occasions and personal preferences throughout the year. I mean yes, I feel like I would be spending much less if I were to eat simple home cooked meals as the rest of my family does. But hey, they do not wish to look like a swole gorilla like I do, haha! So I gotta put in what the thing calls for, right? No regrets as of now, I feel fully content with the lifestyle I've been following and mean to follow for years to come.
Thanks for the valuable insights, gentlemen. It feels like I could use some more of it so I'd stick around here.