Back in the day---photos

**RoChamp** · 01-03-2004, 05:39 PM

i came here with the purpose of helping whoever i can, and of meeting new people. so i started reading up n new and old topics, and one of the things i was able to observe was the number of people that are taking steroids very early on. There are some that seem to start
bodybuilding and steroids almost at the same time. There are others that are dissilusioned with the results they have from
natural training and they think steroids are the easy way. And they may be, for a while. But there comes a time when you
have to come off, and then what? You're not pros, most of you probably don't even want to compete, so you won't be using
your whole lives.
I don't want to look like i dissaprove of steroids, because I don't. They are a part of bodybuilding, and a good part. But
taking steroids when you don't have the experience needed to keep a bodybuilding diet, and the neccesary amount of knowledge
about your own body, is like having sex at age 13: the results probably are not great and they don't last long either.
So not being able to speak from anyone else's experience i will bring photos of my own. These are 16 years old, i was 24
back then and romania was still under a communist regime. I had access to no training materials, no supplements and there
always seemed to be too little food around. And let's not get into my genetics, because i am 100% hardgainer with small
joints. I had 4 years of natural training, and i had not achieved much, but it was SOMETHING, more than many here that are
taking steroids. Just think that you could achieve a lot more with today's bodybuilding tools.
It's dedication that started bodybuilding and dedication still is the only way for most of us.

**BASK8KACE** · 01-03-2004, 06:14 PM

RoChamp,

Great to have you here. Based on what you just posted above, I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts.

BTW, you look great in your pics. Nice work.

**usualsuspect** · 01-03-2004, 09:30 PM

so true...it does seem like an uphill battle these days with getting the younger guys to wait until they have stopped growing naturally before they start hitting the juice. Maybe some of these guys will start to listen to some of the more experienced guys in of the sport like yourself. Thanks for the post.

**pumpseeker** · 01-03-2004, 10:55 PM

This is so true. There are countless people posting up these elaborate cycles with virtually no experience even training! What's worse is many of them are teens. Rochamp, your pics show that a great physique is possible without AS. You have to respect the guys that spent years training naturally and looked great before they started AS. It proves dedication is there, which is definitely a prerequisite to steroid use ....along with knowledge of it, IMO.

**VforVendetta** · 01-03-2004, 10:56 PM

Thx RoChamp...your thoughts and pictures remind me of the stuff in Arnold's "Education of a Bodybuilder". The old school 70s bodybuilders look (no screaming I'm so crazy poses, dangle earings and yellow spandex

) is the one I personally admire and I got that feeling of admiration reading your post. I'm looking forward to having you around and hearing more of your input.

**GreenOak** · 01-04-2004, 01:05 AM

Nice post, and you look huge at age 16. Nice work.

LM1332 · 01-04-2004, 01:45 AM

he is 24 on that pic GO. And hell yea ROCHamp you can be a great example for ppl who wanna use steroids but still havent hit their natural max. Keep it up i am looking forward to reading your posts

**Needtobeswoledup** · 01-04-2004, 09:38 AM

Great post!

**LostUp** · 01-05-2004, 12:39 PM

Wow RoChamp, it gets better and better to have you around! Seriously! I'm looking forward to your posts and all your advice and wisdom.

**RoChamp** · 01-05-2004, 02:10 PM

that does sound like a whole lot of sarcasm to me.

**Sorken** · 01-05-2004, 02:29 PM

Bro.. Im from Rumania too.. but I live in Sweden !

**hoss827** · 01-05-2004, 07:04 PM

**** bro....lookin ripped. Glad to have you around man!

_hoss

**Devourer** · 01-05-2004, 07:09 PM

i doubt lostup was being sarcastic. you do make a great addition to the board

**tatty** · 01-05-2004, 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by anadrol devourer

i doubt lostup was being sarcastic. you do make a great addition to the board

agreed...thanks for the advice too bro.

**LostUp** · 01-05-2004, 10:46 PM

RoChamp, I swear I was being dead serious. I 100% agree with what you said in this post but I think it means alot more coming from you then it does from me. And I'll say it again, I'm looking forward to your posts, hey if you get free time my pics are around here somewhere, any tips/ advice would be awesome!

**jon rock** · 01-06-2004, 06:13 PM

Why Are You Blocking Your Face In That Old Pic ?? Is That You Or Steve Reeves??

**RoChamp** · 01-07-2004, 05:49 AM

i am blocking my face because in my country i hold national titles and things that i say here could hurt my career. and no, i am not steve reeves.

**massbuildah** · 01-07-2004, 10:43 AM

So right about everything in your post. Great pix, glad to have you on the board.

**BUYLONGTERM** · 01-07-2004, 11:37 AM

I too can't wait for your input.

Thanks bro, and welcome to AR!!!!

BLT

**RoChamp** · 01-07-2004, 01:27 PM

i would like to give my input. that's what i was trying to do with this topic. do not compliment or diss me
according to these pictures, they are old and don't matter much, the REASON i put them here is that
i wanted to prove a point. the point being that you can be natural up to a certain point, and the phisique
you will get after a few years of focused natural training might be just good enough for you. a natural body
is a body you will have for your whole life, really, if you don't stop training. and a natural bodybuilder's
body also implies health, and a great deal of it.
what i was trying to do was start a discussion. this here is a community. and it seems to me that the place
where it is the most vibrant as a community is the Member's Photo's sub-forum. In here each one of you lets
others see his results. His hard work. This is where we become individuals and not just a nickname. So this
is where i belive this discussion should take place, for it might influence many people. It might give them
knowledge, it might inspire them, and it may keep some from making mistakes.
It seems to me that steroids are taken lightly here by many. Too many. Yes, they are a part of bodybuilding.
From a certain point of view they ARE bodybuilding. But really now, how many of you think you have arnold's
genetics? Or coleman's? Or the genetics of any of the pros that have are on stage now? Very few. They are the
elite, they are special. They are special through the unbelivable amounts of steroids that they use, but they
are special through GENETICS too. And another thing that makes them special is training and nutrition, even if
there will always be people (online and offline) saying that this or that pro is lazy, it's all bull****. These
men have an iron will, and even though some have it easier than others (due, again, to genetics), they all,
without exception, pay a heavy price. Bodybuilding takes a toll on the amount of time they spend on this earth
and on the quality of the time they spend on this earth.
How many of you are ready to accept that toll? Or any toll? Many will say "I". Many have just turned 20, they
have all the dedication but none of the experience. "Grow the **** up" i will tell you, because there is more
to life than bodybuilding. There is more to life than ****ing yourself up when you're 20 and then quitting the
sport alltogether. What did you accomplish? A few years of being massive, you hurt your liver and your kidneys
a bit less or a bit more, and there may be a lot of other side effects. Only time will tell. But was it worth it?
What's left in the end, what's left of those few years you spent juicing, hoping (although all that time there was
a voice in the back of your head telling you that it will end) that it will last forever??? Nothing, for some,
more for others, but really, is it enough? Are you happy with the results? Is it what you were hoping for?
But i also saw bodybuilders on this board. I saw people with results, both natural bodybuilders and juicers. And
i saw wize men, men with knowledge, some trying to teach others. Listen to them. They've been there, they've done
what you're trying to do right now. And if they've done it well, chances are that their advice will be good.
Listen to your elders, their advice might end up taking you farther than your ego would.
And what's up with this fatter is better thing? Of course, an offseason bodybuilder is an offseason bodybuilder,
and a mass phase is a mass phase, but some of you are taking it too far. 18 inch arms, even 19 inch arms are a dime
a dozen. I'd take a well defined 16 inch arms over a bloated 18 inch arm any day. Don't you know that your metabolism
slows down when you get fatter? Look at the pros, most of them still have 8-9% bodyfat in the offseason. Don't you
think you yourself should keep it somewhere around 10-12%? Bodybuilding isn't about gaining pounds and pounds of fat
and then losing them to see what's underneath. Don't you realise that this way you spend 75% of your time not looking
anywhere near what you could look like? Bodybuilding is about shaping your muscles, and in order to shape them you
have to be able to see them. If you are eating a clean, high protein diet, training hard, and taking steroids, but
you still are getting fat and really bloated, don't you think something must be wrong.
Someone sent me a private message yesterday. I won't mention his nickname, and i hope he won't get angry because i
will describe what he's doing. He's 19. He's been bodybuilding for 2 years if i remember correctly, and during this
time he got a lot bigger, but also increased his body fat level to around 19%. Now he started a cycle, his first cycle:

-800 mg testosterone /week
-40 mg dianabol /day

That's 1080 mg/week. On his first cycle. At age 19. And what's really shocking is that he wants to continue to bulk
up, and he will probably end up around 23-25 BF. And although i have't answered his message yet, i will try to guide
him in his training and dieting (if he wants me to) and see to it that he makes no such mistakes. Now i want to point
out the fact that in the last few years the maximum amount that i have used was 500mg/week. When i was competing at
the europeans, i used 1200 mg/week. That was my highest dosage and i don't have the slightest intention of ever using
that much again. I think that speaks for itself.

The picture i will put up was taken last summer. I was not using anything, and had not been using anything for 7 months.
And i belive i still looked like somewhat like a bodybuilder. What it comes down to is this: do you look like a bodybuilder?
Then you should consider doing a cycle. Do you still look like a bodybuilder half a year after your cycle? Then you did
not choose wrong.

I hope i was agressive enough to spark a respone. Now, i would like a discussion, i would like opinions and ideeas.

**massbuildah** · 01-07-2004, 01:49 PM

Your points are well stated, all of it solid advice. I'm even more impressed now, you'll be great to have around here. Thanks for the input and let me add you don't just look like a bodybuilder, you look like an impressive and successful bodybuilder.

**Devourer** · 01-07-2004, 02:58 PM

i dont really know what to say. i agree people should take it as far as they can naturally. but i may not of. and after six months off my weight dropped 10 lbs. i just looked leaner. and after starting this cycle ive really only maintained that 10 lbs. i dont feel i take massive amounts of AAS though. 500 test every 5 days and tren 75ed. while bb shouldnt be someones life it has been mine. it has gotten me away from some bad things in my life. but i really just traded vices.

**RoChamp** · 01-07-2004, 03:09 PM

it's your choice, but i can say your dosage is a bit high for just maintaining an initial gain of 10 pounds.

**Devourer** · 01-07-2004, 03:19 PM

initial gains were from ~155 to 195-200. after i came off i maintained 185 lowest i dropped was 178. since starting my new cycle ive been 197 at the highest. sorry for confusion

**James Bond** · 01-07-2004, 04:15 PM

I posted very rarely here, but rochamp makes me come back here with a lot added interest (hey, I'm NOT sarcastic at all!)

**LostUp** · 01-08-2004, 02:22 AM

This is going to sound sarcastic again and believe me its not, but that is EXACTLY what I meant When I said I was looking forward to your posts. I never really planned to juice, but if I had any bit of thought about it in my mind it's gone now. I'll never compete, it'll hurt when the time comes and I'm not getting any bigger, and I'm not getting any stronger anymore, but I guess thats the way it goes. I guess you put it exactly right, and it just wouldn't be worth it to me. But you know I am a little upset about the bulking at 18% bf haha. Seriously I'm bulking up now and thats how fat I am BUT I must admit, not a day goes by when I dont think "man I should have cut first", and now I know, and hopefully I'll never get this high a BF% again. Its all a learning esperience. Seeing how big I got my friend was going to follow in my footsteps basically and bulk up for long time, well hes starting off with like 18-20% body fat and I didn't tell him what to do but just yesterday I told him "you know what, as much as I would have hated seeing myself get smaller then I was, I wish now, that I would have cut first. Because if I had I would end up just as big as I am now and look alot better." I hope he understood what I was saying, funny you brought this up. And now I'm just basically eating to maintain.

**jon rock** · 01-08-2004, 08:27 AM

I like to follow the example of the skokesman for animalpac you know that "shut up and train" guy he weighs 300lbs. and says get big or die trying as long as they bury me in a big coffin.