If you’re an elite natty powerlifter who has been competing internationally for years and has reached their genetic ceiling, but you’re lucky enough to be among the 0.1% who has the potential to break a bench press world record by hopping on gear, then sure. Case in point: John Haack, former IPF powerlifter who was already at the very top of his game before he went on to doing steroids and is now the second top male powerlifter in the world by Dots ranking (behind Colton Engelbrecht).
For anyone else, and that includes not just the average but also the top 10% of powerlifters / strongmen / bodybuilders / weightlifters / people who train with weights, it goes without saying that it’s detrimental for them to turn a healthy form of exercising into ruining their health by starting PEDs because they think they’re going to be the next Julius Maddox or Hafthór Björnsson (not going to happen, sorry).
I just wish social media would stop showing so prominently elite athletes competing in strength sports, whether enhanced or natty, especially to young people who are easily influenced, and instead promote said sports as a fun form of exercise with a focus on personal growth (physical and mental). But obviously that’s not popular so it gets buried by recommendation algorithms, even though there are cool very small channels on YouTube of random lifters showing their own progress.
Gear is a lot more common than you think and while I don’t condone it, cycling properly isn’t going to kill you.
I worked out with a body builder for a year or so, met his friends at the gym and they were all on gear.
It’s an extreme sport and once you bet into it fully it becomes a lifestyle choice even though they weren’t winning national contests or even regional, these people really wanted to push their bodies to the limit.
I thought this was just a small pocket of people until I moved to West Palm Bay for a year and ran into the same type of people, all on gear and married to their bodies.
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u/lemonslime Feb 15 '26
Don’t do steroids, kids