I have been accused of being on steroids since I was in high school. I STILL remember those days. It was as if none of the kids could fathom someone building muscle. Looking back, I have to laugh. I trained with infinite mistakes and could have made 10X the progress if I had a mentor with someone who knew what they were doing.
With my knowledge today, and seeing the natural greats from the Silver era, especially of men like Chuck Sipes and Chet Yorton, you KNOW you can develop extreme strength and a great physique naturally.
I've seen guys on steroids since day 1. I began training at commercial gyms at age 14. Some of these guys have been strong and big, while others, completely unimpressive, lazy and weak minded, using steroids as a crutch to get them results with the hopes of getting jacked while avoiding hard work.
The Olympic athletes and weightlifters who used steroids did so because of course, their coaches had them on drugs, and also, so they could train more, train harder and recover faster.
The training, nutrition and overall lifestyle are what count the most if you want results. It's NOT the drugs you take. Don't blame your lack of results on you being natural, that's being weak. You'll never get strong with that kind of attitude.
Instead, take training and nutrition into your own hands, commit to being stronger, bigger, leaner, meaner and tougher.
Inside The Russian Lion Power Course I shared an article written by Bill Pearl titled, "There are NO Secrets".
In the article he explained what the # 1 rule for success.....
As expected, his # 1 rule was busting your ass on ALL aspects related to building yourself into a lean, mean wrecking machine. He emphasized learning what works for YOU rather than copying everyone else. This can only be done by training hard on a consistent basis.
The longer you train, the more you learn what works for you vs what does NOT work for you.
Watch this Video where I share where that Bill Pearl article came from:
And once in a blue moon, the haters come out and accuse me of steroids to this day. It brings me to a quote by Louie Simmons: Weak People Hate Strong People.
And by "weakness", that is simply being jealous. Listen, comparing yourself to others never helps. You CAN be inspired by others, as I am by many of the Silver Era and Golden Era greats. I am inspired by how they are built like Brick Houses. I let that inspiration drive me to get better.
Here are my thoughts when it comes to getting big and strong with OUT the use of steroids....
Below are some photos of bodybuilders who inspire me BIG time. Chet Yorton who was the first man to defeat Arnold in a bodybuilding show. And, Chuck Sipes, who had a 570 lb bench press at a bodyweight of 230 lbs!
That is STRONG!
Respect to the Natural Bodybuilders!
I've always been on a mission to do things on my own when it came to training. There was something special to me about doing it this way. I don't really care if you personally choose to use steroids or not. As a wrestler, this is how I was trained. To EARN it all through the work. NOT to cheat or find short cuts.
And to this day, I have yet to see anyone with a respectable physique or level of strength who is seeking short cuts.
What I DO care about are the cry babies who see others who have great physiques or who have great levels of strength and then they accuse them of being on steroids. Listen, some people are using drugs. Who cares, that is their own choice. It is not my business.
My suggestion..... shut up and train.
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Live The Code 365,
Z
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I have trained with a juicer years ago and I always knew when he was waiting for another delivery because he was not motivated. His philosophy was why train if you can’t juice.
thankfully I stayed away from the stuff. Too expensive and I lived off of tuna during college so no money for gear.
He was funny because he would get so pissed at me because I would out train him. He waspissed because he swore I was taking better stuff.
nothing like lifting heavy to grow big muscles.
sad thing is I went into a fitness store and jokingly used a line from pumping iron”I’m here to grow some muscles’ and they had no clue. When I explained it was Arnold they never heard of the movie. But they had plenty of testosterone boosters. I laughed and said,” I deadlift. My testosterone/manhood is fine”.
ha ha ha
I also remember those guys, who said they were gonna unleash hell when they got money for drugs.
I love relying on no man but myself!
Interesting question yet such an easy answer. The answer is Yes! You can easily get and be stronger then those guys that “juice up”. Mentally speaking when you work out without the use steroids you are getting stronger mentally as we’ll as physically because only you are pushing yourself. While steroids may be a “short cut” it’s certainly not worth it. Anything worth having is worth working hard for.
Phil Phister beat “The Dominator” at The Worlds Strongestman Competition and he along with another great strongman Mark Phillipi have tried for years to get drug testing at the Worlds Strongestman.
So it can be done. Just takes work. In the end your body will thank you.
Amen, brother! Nothing beats hard training. Take that old school work ethic combined with modern day knowledge (we have come a long way nutritionally) and I have seen a ton of drug-free lifters look just as good, if not better than some of the bodybuilders of yester-year.
Nothing motivates me more than “old school.” Sadly, I see a majority of people trying to take shortcuts without combining it with hard work. I get accused of being on steroids all the time. And if not accused…asked. My answer is “steroids are for professional athletes or people with low self-esteem…I’m neither.” Now, part of this is tongue-in-cheek. I have met quite a few lifters in my day that lift hard that are on steroids. But the bulk that I see around are lucky if they fill out their t-shirts after a cycle or two. I refer to them as OTBAs (On To Be Average).
Hard work (the willing to bleed, sweat, and/or cry). Basic, Compound Movements. Proper Nutrition. And being consistent! There is no better formula.
Lift heavy, eat enough, sleep enough, you will get amazing results. It’s called Hard work for a reason. That’s why the majority of people will never get the results they seek, because they don’t want to put the work in. I don’t really care if you do steroids, it is your health in the end, not mine that you are f’n with. I don’t need ’em. Here is how to raise testosterone levels: Load a bar up, pick it up, eat some quality protein,fat, and carbs..BOOM! That’s all there is to it.
MEN! We are ALL on the same page, LOVE it. Sure, there are haters and opposers, but can they REALLY slow us down. Hellz NO!
We understand what needs to be done and then we DO the work!
Lead from the front!
Great post bro, you know I don’t really care if someone takes steroids. But what I do know is that there are no shortcuts in life. You know the guy that takes steroids in place of hard work in the gym is the same guy that ain’t gonna do crap in his life.
Damn right, Zach!
Who the hell needs steriods when a simple formula is already in front of our faces? Shut up and Train. Work hard, lift heavy, eat lots of meat. Honestly, its like the golden ticket to becoming twice if not twenty times the man we are. It’s that simple, but not easy. As everybody else said—there is a reason why its called hard work!
And secondly, I’ve came across quite a few people who juiced and frankly, my strength smoked them. Once I realized that all it took was the burning desire to work hard—that’s all you need.
Keep it up, fellas!
Haven’t been to your site Zach in a long time, but I was wondering about your thoughts regarding steroids if it gets you over the edge to win competitions? Similiar to one of your long time idols Arnold. How can you respect a guy who, although he kicked butt working out and did the work, still admitted to cheating using steroids during his bodybuilding days? Now, you are part of his advisory team with his website.
Isn’t that the same as someone siding with Barry Bonds or Lance Armstrong, both top level athletes, but still illegally took PED’s to stay on top?
What are your thoughts on all of this?
Tom – it sucks what Arnold did, then, I see they all were doing it, kinda like a level playing field…..
There are no excuses behind it, very difficult to answer but I respect all his accomplishments and don’t dismiss his success in life b/c he took steroids when all the other competitors did as well.
Back then, compared to now, is a whole new world. Today, it’s pure chemical warfare
I’ve been training now 4 months I eat 4-6 meals a day simple anwser is eat well work hard and let your muscles recover on rest days yes I’m not impressively strong but at the end of the day I’m working hard to get my strength and stamina to a good one short cuts are for wimps who don’t wanna do Jack all there life steroids cause all kinds of problems my advice put down the pipe and train right you will see better results with out the juice jump starter
William, exactly!
You’re eating strong and lifting strong and most of all, you recover strong.
many people blow it with a poor lifestyle and poor eating. You can’t get BIG and STRONG that way.
Excellent, my bro!
Z
William, excellent my bro!
You are doing the RIGHT things. Eating big and lifting strong and recovering.
MANY people blow it by NOT training correctly and then a poor lifestyle.
It ALL counts and doing it ALL correctly is the way to Succeed!