My love for weight training started at a young age. I think it first happened with my interest in comic books. My favorite is Hulk and to no surprise the first body builder that I took interest in was Lou Ferrigno. I got to meet him at a Montreal comic con a few years back. Anyway I remember back in high school we had a husband/wife tandem as our PE teachers. Both were in great shape and both were into the whole weight lifting thing. So much so that they ran an after school program for those students that were interested in pushing weights. I was one such kid. Unfortunately I grew up small in my high school days and they refused to take me on account of that whole stunt your growth thing. It was obviously pretty devastating to me but once I hit college I also hit the gym. Through the years I got to meet guys in the circle and one such guy was a well built human who worked as a sales Rep for Weider. He got me introduced to the life of supplements. On and off I have been taking supplements for over twenty years. From protein to creatine to fat burners to energy drinks. I think I tried everything. Atleast it feels that way. I don’t even want to think about how much $ I have dropped on all these products. I also don’t want to think about what all these years has done to my insides.
I recently read a not so flattering article on the supplement industry. I am so angry at myself for not safe guarding the url and I cannot find it either in my browser history. Honestly it should not really come as a surprise to me. I have been around the block a few times and yes I am still using supplements but in the end I do know that there are alot of shady companies out there making a pretty penny and delivering shit. It’s so unregulated. For the last few years my supplements of choice have been whey protein and creatine. Yes, I am currently trying ‘clear muscle’ but I have decided that after I am done the bottle that’s it. Back to protein and creatine and nothing else.
I do follow alot of fitness folks on instagram and yes from time to time I do pick up a muscle and fitness and it’s hard not to get caught up in it At the end of the day though there is alot of deception. Most if not all of these people who are pushing a product are also taking something else. Yes, their lifestyle allows them to be at the gym alot. And yes, they are making gains but its hard to buy into it fully.. And yet sometimes I still do.
Recently two well known bodybuilders died. I don’t know either personally but I think we can all agree that they were not in any way ‘natural’. I actually believe that Piana was upfront about his use. In the end they push products but their gains were as a result of something else altogether; steroids. In both cases unfortunately it was also their downfall. Believe it or not I actually have no pblm with folks using steroids. When I hear people talk about how fake it is, it drives me bonkers. It’s not fake. Sure, you are using steroids to make quicker gains but the gains are still you. Fake are those that get chest or arm or butt implants as the quick path to muscle gains. Take for example this dude…
What in the hell is this? His nipples alone can take out an army!! Here you have a guy that is injecting himself with synthol.. Petrol, whatever. This is fake and disturbing. A few years back I watched a documentary on this. He’s one of a few featured in a magazine recently. This is not healthy on many levels.
Truth be told, with all the $$$ I spent on supplements over the years I could have invested in roids instead and be wayyy ahead of the game right now. Anyway, the biggest fear and issue with roids, as is the case with any drug… addiction. Once you see those gains it’s hard to want to cycle off or get off the stuff altogether. It’s what I fear the most and why I think I haven’t taken the plunge. I think moving forward I will make my supplement use a bare minimum.
Btw that well built human that first introduced me to supplements always denied using steroids but we all knew better ;).