I was wondering if any of you know of the amounts that the pros (Arnold, Zane, Franco, Sergio, Draper etc.)took in ‘The Golden Age of Bodybuilding’?
As seen in the recent T-Nation article with Prisoner, most of the pros from this era downplay the role of drugs in their training during the golden years.
I’ll start with two I pulled from Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors by Randy Roach.
The Dr. John Ziegler Special- The Original Dianabol Cycle:
Dose: up to 15mg Dianabol daily
Duration: 6 Weeks on/5 days off
This cycle was allegedly the first cycle of anabolic steroids administered to lifters (including the legendary John Grimek) from Bob Hoffman’s York Barbell Club, of which the majority of America’s Olympic Weightlifters came from during this time. Ironically, many of the lifters attributed their gains to ‘isometric training’ and ‘positive thinking.’
Bill Pearl’s First Cycle:
Dose: 30mg Nilivar daily
Duration: 3 Months
This cycle took Pearl from a bodyweight of 225 lbs. to 250 lbs. and allegedly took his squatting poundage to over 600 lbs.
I hope you all enjoyed this post and can post some more ‘historical cycles’
A while back I remember someone posting that Arnold was rotating between Primo (something 800mg/w) and deca with Dbol (don’t remember the doses) but there is no way to know if it is accurate without the man himself saying so.
It seems to be the norm for pros to not want to talk about their usage because it takes away from their accomplishments.
[quote]FuriousGeorge wrote:
A while back I remember someone posting that Arnold was rotating between Primo (something 800mg/w) and deca with Dbol (don’t remember the doses) but there is no way to know if it is accurate without the man himself saying so.
It seems to be the norm for pros to not want to talk about their usage because it takes away from their accomplishments. [/quote]
I think they also don’t talk about it much because of the off chance that they’ve come across a ‘holy grail stack’ (I couldnt think of a better term and use it loosely) they wouldn’t want the competition to find out.
Here are a few more ‘historical cycles’ although they are not as concrete and clear as the original two I posted.
Dave Draper was known for his ‘smooth bulky’ look early in his career as this was what the judges were looking for at the time. When judging standards began to shift to a more ‘cut’ look, it was a cycle of Winstrol that brought Dave into his most famous shape.
Arnold coined one of my favorite quotes of all time: “Dianabol: breakfast of champions.” Arnold was reported, at one point during bulking cycles, to have been taking AT LEAST a gram of Dbol a week. It was joked that he would sprinkle tabs in his cereal.
A few years back I read a rather recent interview with Serge Nubret and he denied EVER using steroids. He contributed his success to sets that would sometimes last hours long (insert eye roll here).
Then of course in the recent T-Nation article with Prisoner, he states he heard Serge used to eat Dbol tabs by the handful.
In the recent T-Nation interview with ‘The Black Prince’ Robby Robinson, which is also referenced in Prisoner’s recent T-Nation article, Robby attributes most of his gains to Deca, although he definitely downplays the role anabolics played in his career.
Robby Robinson’s description of drug use had me rolling me eyes a few times. Most especially at his account of taking a SINGLE shot of Primo and completely changing his entire physique and winning the Mr. World?
I’d need a shot of Primo into the muscles of my eyes to get them to roll that high.