Being all natural is getting tougher and tougher.

[punch]

I was chatting w/ my bud who is my age 33/34. He has competed numerous times in various wieght classes and has been using AS for years. We were just chatting about routines and nutrition when the topic of injuries came up. What was fascinating to me is that during the 15 years we had both been training my friend had very few injuries, aches, pains etc.

He was congratulating me on my persistance in training without juice for so long. But, he went on to ask a question that I never really asked myself. " Have you made any gains in the last few years" It took me a while to realize that the answer was, " Not all that much". Yet, my training volume has increased, wieght has increased, diet is far better. Is it father time knocking on my door.

Many of you will say 33 is very young, and I agree. But...have I maxed my body naturally?? Am I in a mode of maintaining?

My friend explained that at our age it becomes an uphill battle because you are, essentially, fighting gravity. He on the other hand has made great gains at his age using AS with very little injury. His joints feel great, hes lean and in general, feels like an 18 year old.

I must admit, I am jealous, not so much of his build but of his feeling of youth again. I sent him a picture of myself, he has not seen me in 10 years by the way, and he almost died when he saw my body. He said that with just alittle help, I could compete. This was very shocking to me because I always trained with those that were ALL natural. I actually felt a sense of well being hearing this from him, a competitor, one that has grown both naturally and w/ anabolics.

I guess its the old age battle of looking for the fountain of youth. I am sure that when I go to train w/ FranK Zane in feb he will enlighten me on what the age process means from a former Mr Olympia.

Anyway, for all of you that have trained naturally for so many years I applaud you. I am now in a self battle of going to the other side. I can honestly say that I have tried it all, in every form. Maybe now its time for a little help. Time will tell

 

[WalkingBeast]

Its tough brother. And gets harder all the time. Im still trying to wait it out as long as possible. Have been natural for the 9 years Ive been training. Size gains have been very slow. Strength has increased alot though. Best of luck with your decision!

 

[needsize]

when you get to the point where you cant achieve any more naturally, then I cant see any reason not to cross over to the other side. If done right, there are no health risks, and you will continue to get something back for all the effort you are putting in training, eating, etc. It was the best decision I ever made, I even think 10 years was a bit too long for me to wait as I had been plateaued for the last 3 years of my training

 

[punch]

Im glad you can relate Walking Beast

Needsize. I respect your answer. You are an example of what can be done, naturally and on AS. I guess part of the internal battle is fear of the unknown. Now that I have kids, my own business etc it sheds a different light on things. I told my wife last night that I love BB so much that I maybe robbing myself of not trying to get to the next level. I dont want to live w/ that regret, especially after dedicating so much time to my body this far.

 

[needsize]

punch, that is exactly the way I felt about it. I had dedicated my life to this, and had taken it as far naturally as I could, and it was nowhere near to the goals I had had for my entire life. So at that point I decided to research it, to see if it was a viable option. When I found out that most of the negative things that I knew about steroids and side effects were wrong, just bullshit being perpetuated by the media, the choice was easy.
Now I get blood tests every two months, and they prove me right every time as they always come back in the normal range

 

[Forge]

I know many lifters who juice, most of them have no ill side effects from using. All of them have made much better gains than I ever have. I am 31, been natural my whole life, and rather small muscularly compared to most on this board. I don’t expect I’ll gain much more muscle in my lifetime, over the past few years I’ve experimented with a few different lifting routines trying to gain more muscle and have seen next to no gains. I think my body has just reached it’s natural limit.

But for me lifting is more about being healthy than being big. The potential risk of juicing isn’t worth it for me, but I can definitely see why people do use it, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it. In the end, being bigger just isn’t that important to me.

But I know how you feel, the temptation is strong.

 

[needsize]

I know many lifters who juice, most of them have no ill side effects from using. All of them have made much better gains than I ever have. I am 31, been natural my whole life, and rather small muscularly compared to most on this board. I don’t expect I’ll gain much more muscle in my lifetime, over the past few years I’ve experimented with a few different lifting routines trying to gain more muscle and have seen next to no gains. I think my body has just reached it’s natural limit.

But for me lifting is more about being healthy than being big. The potential risk of juicing isn’t worth it for me, but I can definitely see why people do use it, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it. In the end, being bigger just isn’t that important to me.

But I know how you feel, the temptation is strong.

good post
In my case I have been obsessed with being a huge bodybuilder ever since I was 5 years old and first saw Lou and Arnold...so my natural limitations were no where near good enough. Getting there is pretty much everything to me, and as such I have devoted my life to it. I would have done steroids eventually regardless, its just nice to know that I am still healthy

 

[punch]

I can only imagine NS how you felt after you realized gains on sauce. It must have been like, " Why didnt I do this earlier". Someone posted an article on here about Flex Wheeler's recent bout w/ surgery and general health problems. He said he cant understand how people train naturally, its true.

Its funny, Im not really worried about any side effects, Im more concerned that I will love it way too much. I know that sounds strange, but that is my real concern.

 

[protobe]

it may be tough but look at ronnie bro he's i think 40. He put on 40lbs since last years MR.O. Of course he knows what supplements to take and when. There are some suppliments just as high seeked out as allegal steroids, its just a matter or pushing it and doing a lot of research.

 

[Lord_Suston]

If you are tapped out and can honestly say you trained hard and ate right, and had a good diet; then I see no problem in adding AS.

P.S. disclaimer- do them if it is legal in your country