I thought it would interesting to start a thread about the prevalence of AAS use in strongman, both pro and amateur.
I’m finding that many amateur strongman competitors choose to remain natural, either because of natural size or personal philosophy. It’s well known that most strongman contests don’t drug test, so one would think AAS use would become more common as the level of contests increases; which I think is the case.
I know several of the past and current pros are natural: Magnus Samuelsson, Phil Pfister (adamantly anti-drug), Dave Ostlund, Brian Shaw, and others I may be forgetting. Obviously all of these men have tremendous genetic gists in size and strength, all of them being 6’5’’ or taller and 330+.
Then of course you have the (relatively) smaller competitors like Mariusz, Poundstone, and Kevin Nee, who have massive muscularity and carry very little bodyfat for strongmen. All of these guys are fantastically strong, even scary-strong in some events.
While these groups are obvious distinctions between the natural and AAS-using camps, I’m curious as to how prevalent it is and what the strongman community in general thinks of the subject. There seems to be much less candor about it than in bodybuilding. Frankly I don’t think it’s anything to be ashamed of if there are no organizational rules against use. If there ever was a sport that would necessitate them, strongman is it.
My thought is that unless you posses extraordinary genetic gifts in size and power, if you want to reach the top, you’re going to have to bite the bullet at some point, both for power increase and recovery from the demands of ever-increasing contest weights.
I’d like to hear from some experienced athletes especially.
[quote]musicma1n1 wrote:
If you really love strongman you’ll stop. I know this might sound counter productive, but
“if Derek Poundstone was tested, (and he would probably fail) it would set back the entire strongman sport 5 years or so” - Detazoth
Seriously just stop. Please.[/quote]
Sarcasm detector is broken, but I hope you are joking. If someone got busted for AAS in Strongman, who exactly would care? How would it set the sport back?
Poundstone (or any competitor) getting busted for steroids would not set the sport back. For fvck’s sake it’s not like people dont know, much less care.
[quote]musicma1n1 wrote:
If you really love strongman you’ll stop. I know this might sound counter productive, but
“if Derek Poundstone was tested, (and he would probably fail) it would set back the entire strongman sport 5 years or so” - Detazoth
Seriously just stop. Please.[/quote]
what? i dont get what your saying… do u think the post is going to be a catalyst to start testing for steroids, and then in turn hold the sport back?
no one would give a fuck because they already assume they’re roidin even if there not.
look at the nfl for instance. do u think only baseball have gotten caught for steroid abuse? a fuckload of nfl players have been tied to steroids, and no one gives a fuck because its less surprising. they want to see freaks beat on eachother.
baseball players get a bad rap for taking steroids because its our passtime and people believe that steroids have tainted it’s essence.
i think steroids are awesome and i’ll probably use when im a little older and i want to get into powerlifting
[quote]elih8er wrote:
musicma1n1 wrote:
If you really love strongman you’ll stop. I know this might sound counter productive, but
“if Derek Poundstone was tested, (and he would probably fail) it would set back the entire strongman sport 5 years or so” - Detazoth
Seriously just stop. Please.
Sarcasm detector is broken, but I hope you are joking. If someone got busted for AAS in Strongman, who exactly would care? How would it set the sport back? [/quote]
Poundstone (or any competitor) getting busted would not set the sport back, that’s ridiculous. So many people do them I don’t see why this isn’t an open subject. It’s not a drug-tested sport.
it’s funny how the threads go. Well-known members post their opinions, people politely agree or disagree, a newer guy comes in an reiterates the idea, usually more adamantly, and then is berated like no other. Sweet!
Also, who cares if they do or don’t? I want to see strong mother fuckers move things.
[quote]KBCThird wrote:
musicma1n1 wrote:
If you really love strongman you’ll stop. I know this might sound counter productive, but
“if Derek Poundstone was tested, (and he would probably fail) it would set back the entire strongman sport 5 years or so” - Detazoth
Seriously just stop. Please.
Where was this written? another thread? link, please
[/quote]
I was talking to him in person
Right now, most people think Strongman is thoroughly drug tested and that Poundstone is clean. Even though I love the guy to death (met him in person) if he was forced to take a real drug test, I’d bet money that he’d fail. If word got out that one of the most popular strongmen in the world was a “roidz” user, people would immediately dismiss the entire sport as a bunch of “cheaters”. If enough people failed testing, ESPN would take it off Christmas Day.
[quote]musicma1n1 wrote:
KBCThird wrote:
musicma1n1 wrote:
If you really love strongman you’ll stop. I know this might sound counter productive, but
“if Derek Poundstone was tested, (and he would probably fail) it would set back the entire strongman sport 5 years or so” - Detazoth
Seriously just stop. Please.
Where was this written? another thread? link, please
I was talking to him in person
Right now, most people think Strongman is thoroughly drug tested and that Poundstone is clean. Even though I love the guy to death (met him in person) if he was forced to take a real drug test, I’d bet money that he’d fail. If word got out that one of the most popular strongmen in the world was a “roidz” user, people would immediately dismiss the entire sport as a bunch of “cheaters”. If enough people failed testing, ESPN would take it off Christmas Day.[/quote]
I never heard anyone assume competitors are drug tested, in fact the opposite, that AAS use is widespread and common. It is pretty absurd to think a man can be “natural” and weigh 300+ at 6’ with 10-12% bodyfat. It doesn’t happen. The public’s perception of strongman is probably no different than professional wrestling–a freak show spectacle.
Secondly, how is it cheating to use AAS if there is no testing?..
[quote]MikeyKBiatch wrote:
With strongman gaining in popularity the last thing the sport needs is a bunch of attention due to steroid use…[/quote]
Well it is the truth, and I think generally the truth should be out in the open no matter what. Right now it’s impossible to win anything in strongman without some serious drug use. Those people who doesn’t know this (don’t think there is a lot of them here) should know.
I don’t see why this can’t be discussed like any other issue.
[quote]molnes wrote:
MikeyKBiatch wrote:
With strongman gaining in popularity the last thing the sport needs is a bunch of attention due to steroid use…
Well it is the truth, and I think generally the truth should be out in the open no matter what. Right now it’s impossible to win anything in strongman without some serious drug use. Those people who doesn’t know this (don’t think there is a lot of them here) should know.
I don’t see why this can’t be discussed like any other issue.[/quote]
You are correct because people are so quick to quote the truth when it comes to steroidz
Something I found on Wikipedia about Mariusz Pudzianowski
“He initially finished third in the WSM contest in 2004 but was later disqualified after testing positive for a banned performance enhancing substance. He was forced to return his prize money, stripped of the International Federation of Strength Athletes points from the event, and received a one-year ban from competition. Pudzianowski did not dispute his banned substance violation and waived his right to have his stool sample verified.[citation needed] He then returned to win the title for a third time in 2005.”