Every day, thanks to the internet, we seem to be introduced to some new bodybuilder who claims to be the greatest natural bodybuilder in the history of professional bodybuilding. He’ll arrive on the message boards, posting pictures of himself winning a regional show, gloating about how he won the title with good genetics, some great new supplement, and lots of hard work. Despite his rapidly receding hairline, lactating Gyno, and acne-ridden back, we’re supposed to believe he has achieved muscle mass on par with, and conditioning beyond, that of Arnold Schwarzenegger at his peak, without the use of drugs? It’s a sad phenomenon, but one that occurs all too often in the competitive realm. The key for bodybuilding fans, ever so irritated with such nonsense, is to realize that the bodybuilder is either mistaken – or misleading – and is confusing the terms ‘clean’ and ‘natural’ when it comes to the use of anabolic steroids.
The clean bodybuilder isn’t using steroids at the moment. He might have not used in 6 months or a year. Or, he might not have had his testosterone suspension shot since yesterday. To the ‘clean’ bodybuilder, if he isn’t injecting steroids into his tush right now, then he’s not a steroid user. Some clean athletes are more honest than others. The honorable ones will admit their use years ago, and tell you they are now ‘off the gas’ in order to compete in a new division. Others will try to fool everyone around them that it’s all hard work. Many people who aren’t familiar with the sport of bodybuilding will accept these stories. Those people more well versed in the expected side effects, as well as the hormone levels needed to carry 240 pounds of muscle mass, will laugh off this fairy tale explanation.
The natural bodybuilder has never used steroids. He’s never altered his HPTA function with artificial hormones of any kind. Not even with a prescription. His body produces its own levels of testosterone, and he works hard to elevate those any way he can. Natural bodybuilders are easy to spot because they lose an incredible amount of size when dieting, but they do come in diced quite often thanks to work ethic. Their thin skin shows us they haven’t seen the wonders of growth hormone – yet. Natural bodybuilders are to be admired for doing things the hard way – even if they’re not exactly winning that many magazine covers for their physiques!
Pro-hormones throw our easily defined system for a curveball, but they need to be addressed as well. Chemically and at the molecular level, pro-hormones are nothing more than oral steroids which have not yet been classified as oral steroids and banned. Athletes who have used, or are currently using pro-hormones, cannot claim natural status. How far they want to claim “clean” status is anyone’s guess. As a bodybuilder, you have a solemn duty to the sport you love, and for respect of those around you, to never claim a natural status if this doesn’t apply to you. In the end, all bodybuilders are just competitors in male beauty pageants, and lying doesn’t benefit anyone.
