The photo of Jennifer Caprati is not used to imply that she's taken steriods. The photo is the best example of raw female athletic power available. If a woman can use steroids to gain this kind of ability, she can alter the outcome of a contest, and her own body's evolution in the process.
April 5/06
Just Say No
By Terry Goodlad
In our most recent Bodysport poll we asked our readers if they thought the use of anabolic steroids or growth hormone was necessary to be competitive at the amateur level in fitness and figure. Not surprisingly 46% said yes and 54% said no.
Steroids are a not a problem in our society but people that have no patience are, and that is why drugs like steroids are so popular. There was a time when craftsmanship and quality was something people happily waited for. The wait simply increased the value of what was gained in that time.
The infatuation with convenience and not-so coincidental death of persistence, pride and work ethic began a few years back with the birth of fast food. About then people started burying themselves in more credit card debt than they could possibly afford to have what they wanted now, and having a big hat became far more important than having the cattle to back it up. Today that same "I have to have everything instantly" mentality is rampant in the fitness industry as well and absolutely no one is apologetic about it, it's expected. Everyone wants the fastest way, not the way that builds pride in ownership.
For example let's take a look at theoretical Thelma. After munching down whatever tastes good and staring at a computer screen all day for a lifetime, her ass expands to epic proportions and one day while trying on clothes in a department store change room, an evil mirror jumps out and tells her the truth. In a whirlwind of discarded plus sized panties and control top hose she runs bawling from the store, wedges herself into a mini-van and tears off to a gym. Once inside some buff dude named Chip or Lance sits her down and fills her head full of useless information about machines she could care less about until she is hypnotized into signing up as a member.
The next day she shows up in the baggiest stuff she could find, with the obligatory sweatshirt tied around her waist that hangs down over her prodigious backside. She has her introductory "training session" with some young chickie named Barbie that looks like she was born about the same year Thelma's training clothes were in style. She doesn't do much other than stand there counting reps but today just having someone beside her in this unforgiving place is more than enough.
Jet forward a couple months after she has been training consistently and eating what her body needs and all of a sudden its time to go shopping for a new wardrobe and people that used to knock her over on their way to the water fountain suddenly find anything she has to say very interesting and have an urge to be her "friend". It's happening and she likes it.
Sooner or later she finds out about competing and she decides to enter a contest. Usually there is a guru someplace that knows everything about everything and after hooking up with the guy and telling him about her dreams of being on the Olympia stage, she is informed that all those girls take drugs and you will have to take them to if you want to be like them.
The story goes on with all sorts of middles and endings but the point is very clear without even knowing what happened. Drugs will get you there faster and that fact is certainly true. But you can get there without them, it will just take a little bit longer and you will have to learn more about feeding and training your body. Beyond that its just character building work and once you learn how to shape your body you won't need anyone or any substance to make it look the way you want it to.
You will have to work for it, its not going to be free as most things worth having are not. But neither is steroid use, there is a price. If you can find an athlete that will admit to anabolic steroid use and they have been doing it for a year or two to compete, ask to see a face shot of them before they started the drugs and ask them if they have had to have anything done to their faces besides the obvious need to shave those thick dark chin hairs every other day or so. Clitoral enlargement is also a side effect and if you think it's not noticeable or perhaps something you can live with then you really need to pick up an issue of Muscle Elegance Magazine and peruse the nudie shots of some athletes published there before you decide.
Not only do the drugs have unwanted side effects, they are most likely black market drugs and who knows where they were made or what conditions they were made in. In a disease and bacteria phobic society we panic when a can is dented on a store shelf but have no problems jamming a needle in our asses and pumping in a couple cc's of God knows what because some dufus in the gym gave his seal of approval that this stuff was "good".
If you still don't think it's a problem, ask yourself if you would recommend the same drugs to your daughter or little sister.
The first lesson is to examine your motives for what you are doing. Is it about feeling better about yourself or feeling better about yourself when you use drugs? Maybe, just maybe, feeling better about yourself comes in time when you face a challenge in life and with your own resources and character, you muster what you need to face and succeed at that challenge. If you use something to get you there then you will always know it wasn't just you…you may never know what you are truly capable of. But you will know it took drugs to get you where you are.
Fitness whether recreational or competitive should be a lifestyle of healthy eating, exercise, and finding balance in life. The result is having a body and a life you are proud of whether you put it on stage or not.
If you think you need drugs to compete in fitness or figure you are probably selling yourself short or maybe needing a different sport or place to set goals and achieve them. If you think it's a good idea to take drugs to compete in fitness or figure, then ask yourself if you would recommend the same to your own daughter or your younger sister. If it's a good idea for you but not for them, then maybe you need to work on feeling better about yourself, drugs won't help you there.
If you have to put your body, your face, and your self esteem at risk to get something or be a part of something then chances are it's not worth it. You are better than that.
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