Extremely frustrated! Help please.

[NotConvincedYet]

Guys I am debating the old topic of whether or not I should do a cycle of AAS.

Here's my situation...

33yo
180lbs
Training for 15 years (done a lot of endurance sport, although strength trained the entire time)

Started doing gym as a teenager at 138lbs

I have learned HEAPS about food and training in all this time. I have given up endurance sport to focus on gaining muscle as obviously I have found that it has impeded my ability to grow!

My frustration lies with what I understand to be natural or not. Are guys like Skip LaCour, Jeff Willet etc... are they really natural?? It really makes me wonder, especially seeing the documentary "bigger, stronger, faster' where guys like hulk hogan and famous track athletes have sworn black and blue to be natural and then years later come out or get tested positive.

I have been training for so long and so passionate. Has it all been in vein??? I look nothing like I aspire to be and have literally devoted my life to the fact!

A discussion on this topic would be appreciated...

A

[LightBearer631]

what is it thats keeping you away from aas? the moral aspect? the side effects?
to each his own but if i were 33 and not happy with my progress as of yet, i would cycle

[songdog]

No one is going to come out and say I do roids.There is a taboo about it.Elvis is dead Santa aint real and people lie.Look at Bush WMDs

[toooosmall]

I think you should read the stickies in this forum, and do research about aas. I find that they can be a positive contribution to a fitness program, if done properly. Steroids have a bad rap. Like people used to say if you smoke pot you'll end up jumping off a roof thinking that you can fly. but I'm glad they are illegal, because they shouldn't be in the hands of idiots. There's alot to learn about roid use, if you do decide to try it.

[NotConvincedYet]

Hmmm, interesting.

Lightbearer. Yep morals have a bit to do with it. I am a Personal Trainer with a client base that would not understand this topic. I would think I would find myself in a position to have to lie. Yet I have a burning burning desire since I was early teens to look a certain way. How can I be a role model for health when media portray such a dirty picture? Yet i see fitness models and sportspeople doing exactly that and going places! I also wonder about all those who swear black and blue but their physiques are ridiculous!

Toooosmall, yep, I have been researching for years. I too agree it can be positive.

Here, lets get opinions, who thinks these people are natural/unnatural...

Jeff Willet
Skip LaCour
Obi Obidike
Vince Delmonte
Christian Boeving (joke ;0)

And then you see amazing transformations like Ryan Reynolds. Is that natural, or has he had help to make such dramatic changes?

I find after 15 years man I know so much more than I did even a year ago, namely about food and how I react to certain types/ways of eating (young people take note!). Where is that line when you know what your natural potential is and the fact that your struggle may be something you're doing/not doing that is the cause of slow progress rather than your natural ability. Frustration sets right in when you see these awesome builds on TV and you don't know whether it's natural or not because of media crap and political correctness.

Tough topic I know. Still thought it might ease some of my pain!

Cheers guys...

A

[Orangutang]

I've begun jumping to the conclusion that just about everyone in Hollywood is on some sort of ass. I know my ass would be. Working on nothing but their acting and physique, combined with the connections they would have, I don't blame them. Other than this forum, which has taught me I need to be educated first, my lack of a reliable source is what's holding me back from cycling. If you threw me into Hollywood I'd be all over some gear and I'd be giving Mr. Reynolds a run for his money! Lmao

[ScotchGuard02]

My first cycle was when I was 48. I graduate from High School at 5'10" 126lbs. Two time state champ wrestler. Graduated from college at 5'11" 147lbs. Full contact kick boxer. At 48, when I started AAS, I was 5'11" about 175lbs. This was the heaviest I've ever been in my life. I've been natural my entire life up to that point. Let me define "natural". I too everything under the sun that I could buy from GNC including Androstandione. Remember Marc McGuire? I did my first cycle because of health reasons. I have really bad joints from all my training and competing I did when I was younger. I read that Deca/EQ/Anavar could help moisturize collagen. I was on cissus, glucosamine, msm for years and my joints were getting worse. So I ran my first cycle at 48. It was an awesome experience. The muscle gain was fantastic but what I really liked was the sense of well being. I just felt WONDERFUL. I was less stressed out and just felt good about myself. I didn't know that I would feel like that on a cycle but it was a very good side effect. I primarily do low dose Deca/EQ/Test cycles to keep my joints lubed. My joints feel better and I look and feel awesome. I tell people I am natural too. As far as I'm concerned it's no one else business. I'm not looking for someone else's approval to justify my personal preferences. If you want to cycle, go do it. You'll really enjoy the experience. If you think you'll feel guilty, I say that you should really examine your value system. If you come out on the don't cycle side, then don't cycle. It's pretty simple in my opinion.

[LatissimusaurousRex]

Well no one on this board can really decide what is morally right for YOU, the only way I can see it being wrong is if your are competing against others who are not using it, but that doesn't seem to be the case. These celebrities and athletes have to lie about using AAS due to the fact that they're role models for kids, they're illegal, and the fact that the general public doesn't understand the real role of AAS.

[toooosmall]

do you think arnold was open about aas all them years? I wonder how many people that elected him to gov believed he was a roid user that was denying it.
funny how in the rocky movie, sylvester portrayed a natty while the other fighter was a high tech roid user. I believe stallone used and still uses aas. He's been open about his HGH use for his recent movie. I keep my use a secret, and probably always will. People just don't understand, nor do they have any desire to believe anything contrary to popular medical opinions and societies misconceptions. But they'll walk by the homeless drunk to get to their favorite bar to drink and smoke their cigarettes. Things being illegal makes things seem so much worse. We all got spanked growing up. Throw in a rule, and now you are an evil, stupid, abusive parent if you spank your kid. that's just an example that came to mind. i believe most pro sports players and most built hollywood people use aas. but I've seen good natty physiques too. genetics, i guess.

[Pac Man]

Morality? Man that is such bullshit. I hear everyone saying how great bigger stronger faster was but the truth of it is this. That doc was garbage, written and directed by some ***** with a moral objection to taking steroids. Seriously? Give me a break!
I feel better about myself every time I pin, this moral dilemma shit is so over rated.