Only The Good Die Young: Premature Deaths of Bodybuilders, More Than Just Steroids? by Jerry Brainum 2/24

 

My original motivation to begin weight training wasn't to acquire big muscles or win bodybuilding titles. Oh sure, like most other 12-year-olds, I did admire having a muscular body, having been indoctrinated into thinking that was ideal by the appearance of various comic book superheroes, such as Superman. I also noticed that muscular men seemed to get more respect, almost bordering on fear. But my real reason for beginning regular weight training was to live a longer and healthier life. Although that may seem like an odd goal for a person not yet into their teenage years, the recent deaths of several close family members made me more aware of the importance of staying healthy. And in my mind, the strength and vitality that seemed to emanate from muscular men probably equaled greater health and freedom from disease, not to mention premature death. After three years of regular training, I started training for bodybuilding competitions. I did compete in amateur bodybuilding contests on both the East and West coasts, but I never forgot my original reason for beginning training: the attainment of robust health and longevity. As such, when it came time to consider using various drugs, such as anabolic steroids, to successfully compete in more prestigious contests, such as those on a national level, I opted to retire from competition rather than use drugs to further my bodybuilding aspirations. I also admit that the idea of risking my health for paltry rewards such as trophies and losing my hair wasn't attractive to me, either, and entered into my decision to quit competing.

When I competed in bodybuilding, anabolic drug use was relatively conservative compared to today's use of drugs. Even professional bodybuilders used anabolic drug regimes that would be laughed at by current pros. But the payoff for those past bodybuilding champions is that many of them are still alive, a fate that waits to be seen for the current crop of pro bodybuilders. Judging by the extent of recent deaths among competitive bodybuilders, the future looks questionable for many others who use high-dose anabolic drug regimes. According to most studies, the good news is that most of the common side effects encountered when on anabolic drug regimes recede to normal values when the drug use ceases. However, a disturbing new trend spread by nutjob "coaches" with no training or understanding of how the drugs work suggests that bodybuilders and athletes can stay on low-dose anabolic drugs year-round without imposing any harm to themselves. While low-dose testosterone replacement therapy has proven to be safe for at least 30 years with consistent use, the doses of testosterone are never comparable to what is used by bodybuilders and athletes, who use 30 times greater doses. As such,  not completely getting off the drugs after a high dose regime doesn't allow the body to completely recover from any damage that the drugs might have caused, yet . . .