with all due respect (and why i’m bothering with “respect” at this point is a little beyond me), i think that it is you, sir, who “don’t get it”. to make a long story short, your argument is deeply (and fundamentally) flawed. first of all, i haven’t seen many/any “natural” bodybuilders competing at 250 lbs. and single digit bodyfat… have you? in fact, many of the obviously gifted, let’s just say “un-natural” pro bodybuilders, the most recent and noteable of which being dexter jackson, don’t even compete at those numbers.
second, in all honesty, i’m not sure you know or understand the mechanism through which anabolic steroids actually work. each and every person has a certain “hormonal window”, if you will, when it comes to body composition. to clarify, a person can only hold so much muscle and so little fat simultaneously, with only their natural hormonal cocktail present in the system. this simple, yet painfully overlooked fact, is the reason why people get hopelessly caught up in the seemingly endless bulk/cut cycle… i.e. they find that in order to put on any considerable muscle, they have to add fat. and, conversely, when they want to remove appreciable amounts of fat, they can’t do it without also losing some muscle. naturally, the scope of this “window” is going to vary for people across the spectrum of the population. and it is the fact that this “window” exists that accounts for the widespread use of anabolics in the game as we know it today. the use of steroids “opens” up this window, so to speak, and creates a situation in which a person can hold a higher level of muscle with a simultaneous lower level of bodyfat than could be achieved naturally. this, my friend, is why people take steroids.
third, my “100 lb.” remark was just used as an example. obviously, and anyone who’s been lifting awhile will tell you this, it’s not “easy” to add lean muscle mass once a person gets past the beginner stage… natural or not. if it were, for instance, i’m sure dexter would have gladly competed at 250 vs. 233 or what have you… but, here’s the thing: at least currently, he couldn’t. do i think it’s possible to add 100 lbs. of lean muscle naturally? of course it’s possible… anything is. but, if it were plausible, i think we’d see more natural bodybuilders at that level. and, i know you seem to think that you’re the hardest training, most disciplined, and most nutritionally conscious person on planet earth, but i think it’s a safe bet that professionl bodybuilders, natural or otherwise, can match you for intensity, drive, and determination.
fourth, and this is perhaps the most crucial issue here, not only in this thread, but on this board and in the, for lack of a better word, bodybuilding community as a whole: when discussing the achievements of bodybuilders and using these achievements as measuring sticks of the utility of bodybuilding methods, it is the distance a person has brought their physique that counts (where they started from relative to where they are now)… not simply where they are now! the one thing i’ve noticed so many here overlook is the plain and simple fact that people are different. for example, if hypothetical subject a started at 150 lbs. and worked himself into a lean 180… and hypothetical subject b started at 180 lbs. and worked himself into a lean 200… the general consensus seems to be this: praise the bigger guy and his methods, and more or less dismiss the smaller guy’s accomplishments altogether… without noticing, apparently, that the smaller guy was at a 30 lb. disadvantage to begin with and, not that this is even remotely important, but he actually built more muscle. do you follow me?
fifth and finally, i find it truly sad that some people here can’t seem to have articulate, thoughtful, adult conversation about something we’re all obviously interested in without succumbing to an apparently insurmountable urge to turn every thread, every question, every post, into a gradeschool penis measuring contest. i know that we’re passionate about these topics, but some of the disrespect i’ve observed (and received) is simply unacceptable… and wouldn’t even be tolerated on other internet sites, let alone in the real world.
good night.
