excerpts from canseco's new book

[Bigpup101]

this is an excerpt i got off msn's site... thought it was pretty good.............

These past few years, all you had to do was turn on a radio or flip to a sports cable channel, and you could count on hearing some blowhard give you his opinion about steroids and baseball and what it says about our society and blah blah blah. Well, enough already. I'm tired of hearing such short-sighted crap from people who have no idea what they're talking about. Steroids are here to stay. That's a fact. I guarantee it. Steroids are the future. By the time my eight-year-old daughter, Josie, has graduated from high school, a majority of all professional athletes — in all sports — will be taking steroids. And believe it or not, that's good news.

Let's be clear what we are talking about. In no way, shape, or form, do I endorse the use of steroids without proper medical advice and thorough expert supervision. I'll say it again: Steroids are serious. They are nothing to mess around with casually, and if anything, devoting yourself to the systematic use of steroids means you have to stay away from recreational drugs. I was never into that stuff anyway, cocaine and all that, but if you're going to work with steroids, you have to get used to clean living, smart eating, and taking care of yourself by getting plenty of rest and not overtaxing your body. I'm especially critical of anyone who starts playing around with steroids too early, when they are barely old enough to shave and not even fully grown yet. Your body is already raging with hormones at that age, and the last thing you want to do is wreak havoc with your body's natural balance. If you want to turn yourself into a nearly superhuman athlete, the way I did, you need to wait until you have matured into adulthood. That way your body can handle it. And you shouldn't fool yourself into thinking that all you need to do is just read a few articles on steroids, either. What you need to do is to absorb every scrap of information and insight on the subject — to become an expert on the subject, the way I did.

We're talking about the future here. I have no doubt whatsoever that intelligent, informed use of steroids, combined with human growth hormone , will one day be so accepted that everybody will be doing it. Steroid use will be more common than Botox is now. Every baseball player and pro athlete will be using at least low levels of steroids. As a result, baseball and other sports will be more exciting and entertaining. Human life will be improved, too. We will live longer and better. And maybe we'll love longer and better, too.

We will be able to look good and have strong, fit bodies well into our sixties and beyond. It's called evolution, and there is no stopping it. All these people crying about steroids in baseball now will look as foolish in a few years as the people who said John F. Kennedy was crazy to say the United States would put a man on the moon. People who see the future earlier than others are always feared and misunderstood.

The public needs to be informed about the reality of steroids and how they have affected the lives of many star baseball players, including me. Have I used steroids? You bet I did. Did steroids make me a better baseball player? Of course they did. If I had it all to do over again, would I live a steroid -enriched life? Yes, I would. Do I have any regrets or qualms about relying on chemicals to help me hit a baseball so far? To be honest, no, I don't.

We human beings are made up of chemicals. High school chemistry students learn to recite "CHOPKINS CaFe," which is all the chemical elements that make up the human body: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, potassium, iodine, nitrogen, sulfur, calcium, and iron. Maybe it bothers some people to think of our bodies as just a collection of those elements, but I find it comforting.

I like studying the body and how it works. I like knowing all about what makes us stronger and faster. If you learn about the chemicals that make up life, and study the hormones coursing through our bloodstreams that give our bodies instructions, you can learn how to improve your health through controlled use of steroids. And you can do it safely.

Yes, you heard me right: Steroids, used correctly, will not only make you stronger and sexier, they will also make you healthier. Certain steroids, used in proper combinations, can cure certain diseases. Steroids will give you a better quality of life and also drastically slow down the aging process.

If people learn how to use steroids and growth hormone properly, especially as they get older — sixty, seventy, eighty years old — their way of living will change completely. If you start young enough, when you are in your twenties, thirties, and forties, and use steroids properly, you can probably slow the aging process by fifteen or twenty years. I'm forty years old, but I look much younger — and I can still do everything the way I could when I was twenty-five.

When I talk in detail about steroids and how I single-handedly changed the game of baseball by introducing them into the game, I am saying what everyone in baseball has known for years. To all my critics, to everyone who wants to turn this into a debate about me, Jose Canseco, let me quote my favorite actor (besides Arnold Schwarzenegger, that is) and say: You can't handle the truth.

That is the story of baseball in recent years. Everyone in the game has been hoping the lie could last as long as possible. They wanted steroids in the game to make it more exciting, hoping they would be able to build its popularity back up after the disastrous cancellation of the 1994 World Series. So when I taught other players how to use steroids, no one lifted a finger to stop me. When I educated trainers and others on how to inject players with steroids, there was nothing standing in my way. Directly or indirectly, nearly everyone in baseball was complicit.

How do I know that? I was known as the godfather of steroids in baseball. I introduced steroids into the big leagues back in 1985, and taught other players how to use steroids and growth hormone. Back then, weight lifting was taboo in baseball. The teams didn't have weight-lifting programs. Teams didn't allow it. But once they saw what I could do as a result of my weight lifting, they said, "My God, if it's working for Jose, it's gotta work for a lot of players."

So all of a sudden ballparks were being built with brand-new, high-tech weight-lifting facilities, and at the older ballparks they were moving stuff around and remodeling to make room for weight rooms. I definitely restructured the way the game was played. Because of my influence, and my example, there were dramatic changes in the way that players looked and the way they played. That was because of changes in their nutrition, their approach to fitness and weight lifting, and their steroid intake and education.

If you asked any player who was the one who knew about steroids, they'd all tell you: Jose Canseco.

Who do you go to when you want information on steroids?

Jose Canseco.

Who do you go to if you wanted to know if you were using it properly?

Jose Canseco.

If you picked up this book just for a few juicy tales about which players I've poked with needles full of steroids, or what it was like when Madonna sat on my lap and asked me to kiss her, that's fine with me. I've lived a colorful life, and people have always been curious about the things I've done. If you want to flip through the chapters looking for the highlights, I have no problem with that (as long as you pay the cover price, of course).

But let me be clear that I'm writing this book for people who are ready to think for themselves. That's all I'm asking. Hear me out, listen to what I have to say about baseball and other things, and come to your own conclusions. That might sound easy, but believe me, coming to terms with a true picture of what has been going on in baseball in the past ten years or so might not be what you really want.

Do I expect some skepticism from people? Of course I do. I've made some mistakes in the past. I've made mistakes in my personal life, and I've made mistakes in public, too. There have been times when I spoke out without realizing how my comments might sound to people. That's all water under the bridge. Now, I'm looking to the rest of my life, not dwelling on what might have been.

I'm telling the truth about steroids in this book because someone has to do it. We're long overdue for some honesty and, as any ballplayer will tell you, I know the real story of steroids in baseball better than any man alive. I'm also in a position to tell you the truth because I no longer have any ties with Major League Baseball, and I have no interest in the politics and double standards of Major League Baseball. I'm my own man and always have been

[anaBROLIC]

Very interesting. he seemed to be more educated on steroids then i would have figured.. i didnt get the book yet but i do expect most of it to be true. i also expect some of his stories a little more then the truth as well. it doesnt take jose conseco to convince me tho that mcguire, bonds, gonzalez, giambi and others were juicing..thats been an obvious for years.. i think its funny how larussa claims mcguire got that big on protien and creatine..

[thick one]

yea, i live in st louis and you wouldn't believe how many people around here are pissed off. it's almost a joke. mcguire is like a god around here (they named a street in downtown stl after him) and people just refuse to believe that mcguire used any type of steroids . does anyone remember the season that mcguire hit 70 homers and then did a cameo appearance on the show mad about you and he had his shirt off? i mean come on it was so ****in obvious that the dude was juicing, oh wait, he could of gotten all that acne and size from cell-tech and protein products..lol

[Hed]

I actually read that word for word, very interesting stuff.

Bump this, more people should enjoy reading it.

[carbs-rule]

Anyone who has taken creatine would laugh at McGuire's claims. Canseco is right, but it doesn't matter if he was wrong anyway. Steroids aren't going anywhere. Imagine if professional bodybuilders were tested rigourously before the Olympia. The entire top 16 would probably be sent home. The Olympia is powerless to do anything about it either because most of the fans don't care if one of the bodybuilders is juicing. We allow other entertainers such as movie stars and singers to get implants, surgery, hair transplants, etc., but for some reason athletes are forbidden to improve their bodies through alternate methods. Steroids saved baseball after the strike.

[worldtraveln]

I just got done reading most of that book. The one thing I was really looking forword to seeing but didn't is the exact cycles they were on. He would mention a few of the compounds such as Deca , EQ, and Winstrol but never amounts or durations. Also I never say anything about PCT or anti-e's. I think it would be interesting to see how the players were administering these drugs. I have to say that in the pictures section of the book there is a photo of Jose kickboxing without his shirt. You can really tell he has a steroid physique in that photo. I think he would do quit well at a bodybuilding comp even though he trains for sport and not size.

[decadbal]

reads like he is obsessed with himself

[worldtraveln]

reads like he is obsessed with himself

Yeah I agree. It's more like an autobiography rather than an expose on steroids in sports .

[BUYLONGTERM]

I bought the book and have read a few chapters. The funny thing I read he said most steroids should be cycled on and off. but, other like EQ, Winstrol , and Deca can be run year round!!! Winstrol year round! Man, after 4 weeks my joints were killing and I had to stop!!!!

When he tried to come back and get to the 500 mark, he was blackballed from baseball. They would not let him come up for the minors. That pisses me off. So, he owes nothing to baseball and Mr. Mcquire and the rest of them should quit whinning!!!!

[SwoleDave]

i thought it WAS an autobiography???

[bigcut77]

Good post. He is a little full of himself but I bet it is a good read.

[HammerCurler]

bump ^^^ interesting. would like to read the book

[maxex]

This guy should just keep his f*cking mouth shut. I could care less about mcgwire,bonds or whoever the hell hes ratting out. What those men did is there business, and for him to come out and say that stuff just makes him a piece of trash and a snitch, i have no respect for this man, he sold out others to enhance his fortune. he says he doesnt care what people think but this will catch up with him in the years to come and he will regret it.

[Bigpup101]

This guy should just keep his f*cking mouth shut. I could care less about mcgwire,bonds or whoever the hell hes ratting out. What those men did is there business, and for him to come out and say that stuff just makes him a piece of trash and a snitch, i have no respect for this man, he sold out others to enhance his fortune. he says he doesnt care what people think but this will catch up with him in the years to come and he will regret it.

I agree that he should not have opened his mouth about others...he has put their carreers in jeopordy for no reason at all..what they do is their buisness. As far as everything else stated above i think he spoke w/ an educated tongue and is right on w/ his predictions

[maxex]

I agree that he should not have opened his mouth about others...he has put their carreers in jeopordy for no reason at all..what they do is their buisness. As far as everything else stated above i think he spoke w/ an educated tongue and is right on w/ his predictions

His predictions may be right and he does sound educated aboout steroids but that doesnt change the fact that hes a piece of garbage.

[viking_warrior_2k]

Gotta agree with him about steroids being the future. I'm reminded of the day when wrestling was still "real", and then one day, oh, it's not real. Hmmm... You had your grannies and kids and ignorrant folk that still thought wrestling was real, your wrestling fans thought it was still real, but now it's understood it ain't (duhhh), yet you still have a handful of people out there (like my grandma) who think it's real. C'mon... the issue of steroids is exactly the same. The "powers that be" turn a blind eye to it, and who suffers? The recreational user, not the highly-paid athlete who can afford to get around the loopholes. I don't know if it will be more accepted legally in this country, but I do see its use more common as people are still searching for ways to stay young, active, and sexual. Conseco has a very valid point.

Maxex, I do think he's a punk to rat on guys, but hey, that's life. He's trying to make a point, and hell, he probably doesn't give a crap about the consequences now that he's retired and living his own life. The funny thing is that people will refuse to believe that McGwire and all the other guys are users, no matter what Conseco says. I had a similar discussion with my mother this week about steroids and "why are they bad?" She is the typical un-educated person who will take prescribed muscle relaxers, Imitrex for migranes, and who knows what else for even the most minor of discomforts? And here I am, hell, I don't even take an aspirin but maybe once a year, and I never get sick anymore. And I'm not even a user! Coincidence? Nahh. Smart users are smart because they are maintaining a reasonable - and sometimes socially and popularly unreasonable - state of being.

Weightlifters and bodybuilders are by far more healthy than your average person will ever think about being. If steroids help us to get there quicker or to maintain that edge as we get older, hell, people will always use and use more. In a way, it is evolution.

[decadbal]

i will say this... next to maraxuses wife, he is the biggest mexican ive ever seen

[kloter1]

i picked up his book, its 175 pages, the next morning it jumped to 275 pages? weird

[buff999]

nice stealing the joke from leno kloter1....lol

[EastCoaster]

Yeah I agree. It's more like an autobiography rather than an expose on steroids in sports.

humm... thats exactly what it is, he wrote an autobio.

[dirtdawg]

he is an a**hole, he used to train where i trained a few years ago, and he gave his daughter, she was like 5, a speed stack!!, my buds that worked there, took it from her, and gave her a gatorade

[Samson7]

I know its an old post but i came across it and i read the book so i thought i would chime in...I think Canseco is getting a bad rap. He is the voice for what is going on. I see a lot of people calling him a rat and so on, but look at it from his perspective. McGwire, Palmeiro, Bonds, Giambi ect. were all doing all the same stuff he was doing to improve their games, yet untill recent years Canseco took the fall for all these guys. Everyone refused to believe McGwire juiced when he hit 70 homeruns. The press wouldnt touch him even if they did have reason to believe he juiced, on the other hand everything Canseco did for 15+ years was exposed and made to look way worse than what it was. Canseco was mad because he got blackballed from the MLB for the same thing that Baseball's golden boys McGwire, Giambi, Bonds were doing and no one would accept the fact that steroids are why. For example look at Giambi now, to my knowledge he is not juicing now and look at him, he is having one of the worse years of his career. Canseco was condemned for doing nothing more than what these other guys were being made heros for. The only difference is Canseco was honest about how he transformed himself and McGwire was dishonest (and boosted legal supplement sales) by saying that andro was what gave him his 275lb frame. It is sad that Canseco was blackballed from baseball 38 homers shy of 500 just so he would not have to be put in the hall of fame. Maybe he should be in the hall maybe he should but if he doesnt make it, neither should Mcgwire. Thats why he was mad, that’s why he wrote the book...not just to rat on people...not just to make money, but because his whole career was written off for the same thing that probably 50% of players in the MLB do or have done at some point in their career.

.......oh and as for the being on eq, and deca almost year around, my only guess as to how they did that was unbelievably low dose cycles. He talks about taking low doses a lot in the book because he is a baseball player not a bodybuilder. He needed flexibility and fast twitch fibers for his career. He is very knowledgeable now on the use of steroids as he has been doing them now for 20+ years and looks better than ever.