Nation,
This has been a topic of discussion that has heated up in the last few months especially after the Rob Riches scandal where an
amphetamine-like compound was found in his system after winning a UK BB show and he blamed it on a pre-workout supplement called "Craze". I will share my opinion on this based on personal experience and numerous observations. I used anabolics for 3 years when I was in my mid-20s. I know and see what they can do. I also know that there is only so low in bodyfat and so high in muscle size the
human body will go naturally - regardless of genetics.
A perfect example is look at Scott. He is at 7% bodyfat now and could probably hit 5-6% max naturally as he is already lean by nature.
I have observed that extreme vascularity and paper thin skin is a good indication of Human Growth Hormone or some combination of
exogenous substances - steroids, insulin, diuretics, etc. Amount of vascularity is genetic but extreme vascularity is not. Scott is vascular but not to the extreme. His skin is thin but no like rice paper. The human body will NOT go below 5% body fat naturally as this is
dangerous and life threatening. As a matter of fact, may pro bodybuilders will tell you the time they are the weakest and most unhealthy is when they are on stage - they have drastically manipulated their diet, salt, water, and drugs to extract every last ounce of fat and
water to make them shredded.
Another indicator of chemical assistance is the amount of calories consumed, how many times they train at high intensity, and growth
rate. If you read about someone eating 6,000 calories a day while staying in single digit body fat and training like an animal 6 days a
week and adding 20+ Lbs of lean muscle in a month or so, something is suspect. When I was on anabolics, I could train 6 days a week
with no problem. My recovery ability was incredible. I was eating 7-8 times a day and staying relatively lean (about 14% BF). I put on 25 Lbs of muscle in 1 month and this was after having lifted for 4 years naturally before taking anabolics. You gain your most size and weight naturally in your first TWO years of lifting. I was doing it in years 5 thru 7. Had I been training to cut and not bulk I am sure I
could have got downto single digit body fat while keeping most of the size I gained.
There are very few true natural bodybuilders out there. People like Scott Herman, Nick Wright, OlympusIron, Eric Hulse are people that
immediately come to mind. One must remember that Human Growth Hormone is NOT a steroid. Neither is insulin or diuretics. An
athlete can accurately claim to be "steroid free" if they use these chemicals. Some "natural" bodybuilders use very low dose cycles and
only at certain times (photo shoots, competitions, etc) so they "feel" they are natural as they don't do the amounts and numerous cyclesof an IFBB pro. They also feel since they are not massively huge that people will believe them. Drug test are not fool-proof and
anyone can beat a test - just look at MLB or the NFL. The bottom line is we humans have an innate ability to sense when things don't
look "right". Call it a "gut" or "instinct". As Judge Judy says, "If it doesn't sound right, it's not true."
John