The Ramblin’ Freak Speaks his Mind About Steroids in Sports

The following article will appear in the October 2008 issue of New York Sportscene magazine. (www.nysportscene.com)

At Arm’s Length

Gregg Valentino Flexes his Opinion About Steroids

The old saying “Don’t throw stones in a glass house,” doesn’t apply to Gregg Valentino. When he talks about anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs, people listen. It’s sort of like that old Payne Webber television commercial. You see, Valentino has no problem admitting to steroid use that would probably eclipse every baseball clubhouse in the late 1990s.

“I was up to 4,000 milligrams of testosterone a week, and that’s not even counting the equipoise,” he said, not bragging but just being truthful. When you inject such high quantities of juice in your body, it should come as no surprise that Valentino laid claim to having the largest biceps in the world. At one point during the height of his usage, his arms were an astronomical 28 inches. Continue Reading »

By Leigh Penman

This is part of a continuing series provided exclusively by MuscleSport Mag giving information on a variety of performance-enhancing drugs for educational purposes. While it is apparent that people are going to use these substances regardless of the health and legal risks involved, quality information is necessary and learning as much about them as possible can only assist an adult making a decision either way.

EPHEDRINE HYDROCHLORIDE

Ephedrine is one of the all time favorites when it comes to fat burning, increasing training energy and enhancing both strength and focus. Unlike Clenbuterol (another popular fat loss agent) ephedrine is both an alpha and beta adrenegenic agonist - Clenbuterol is a selective beta 2 agonist.

Ephedrine enhances the release of norepinephrine - an alpha agonist whose action is similar to adrenaline (the ‘fight or flight’ hormone which prepares the body for action).
On administration ephedrine increases the activity of the Central Nervous System (CNS). This is displayed by an increase in body temperature which reflects an increase in metabolic rate leading to the burning of subcutaneous body fat. This whole process is triggered by the breakdown of triglycerides in fatty tissue and leads to the athlete displaying a more defined appearance - which makes it an ideal pre- contest drug. Continue Reading »

By Leigh Penman

This is part of a continuing series provided exclusively by MuscleSport Mag giving information on a variety of performance-enhancing drugs for educational purposes. While it is apparent that people are going to use these substances regardless of the health and legal risks involved, quality information is necessary and learning as much about them as possible can only assist an adult making a decision either way.

Dianabol is one of those drugs that seem to have gained a ‘cult’ following over the years. Originally introduced in 1960, it soon gained the tag “Breakfast of Champions”. Whether this tag is deserved or not, Dianabol still remains one of the most popular bodybuilding staples to this day.

Similar to testosterone and Anadrol 50, Dianabol is a powerful substance with a great effect on protein metabolism. It also promotes calcium storage in the bones and is believed to have a strengthening effect on the whole system. A weight gain of 2-4 pounds per week in the first six weeks is usually observed which is accompanied by significant strength gains.

On the down side, it does have fairly noticeable side effects. Being quite estrogenic, gynecomastia (growth of female like breast tissue in males) could be a concern and water retention can become pronounced. For this reason sensitive individuals may wish to add an anti-estrogen such as Nolvadex or preferably Arimadex when using this drug. Androgenic side effects are also common and may manifest as bouts of oily skin, acne, body/facial hair growth as well as aggression. Continue Reading »

By Leigh Penman

This is part of a continuing series provided exclusively by MuscleSport Mag giving information on a variety of performance-enhancing drugs for educational purposes. While it is apparent that people are going to use these substances regardless of the health and legal risks involved, quality information is necessary and learning as much about them as possible can only assist an adult making a decision either way.

Deca Durabolin has a long history of use in the athletic community and remains to this day to be one of the most popular basic steroids in the steroid world. The popularity it enjoys stems from the fact that it has a very high anabolic activity and produces significant mass increases with relatively few side effects. It also produces less water retention, has less effect on blood pressure and is far less toxic to the liver and kidneys than most of its mass building buddies.

Another interesting quality is that it has the ability to improve collagen production and enhance bone mineral content. This makes it of particular importance to athletes with connective tissue problems and those who experience joint pains.

Of course it would be misleading to present Deca Durabolin as a drug completely free of side effects. When dosages go beyond 400-600mg/week sensitive individuals may see an increase in blood pressure, prolonged bleeding of cuts, increased oil production by the sebaceous gland (leading to slight acne breakouts), increased hostility, increased sex drive and a fall in sperm production. Headaches can also become more frequent. Oh, and of course we cannot overlook the fact that long-term use of this drug by male athletes can lead to impotence (counteracting the increased sex drive experienced when dosages are kept within limits and for acceptable duration). Continue Reading »

The Sport of Kings Has a Gray Area in Doping

By Leigh Penman

This is part of a continuing series provided exclusively by MuscleSport Mag entitled, “This is Your Magazine”.

Leave it to New York’s ‘Daily News’ to come up with yet another juicy steroid story (no pun intended!). This time around, tired with the world of baseball, they turned to the world of horse racing. In a recent report they ‘discovered’ that drug use is rampant in horse racing in America, although England, France, all of Europe, Japan, South Africa, Dubai and Australia banned the use of steroids years ago.

The article quoted Dr. George Maylin, the Director of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board Drug Testing and Research program (now that’s a job title for you!) as saying, “ North American racing has come to realize there is a problem with drug use and they must do something about it. Anabolic steroids are just the tip of the iceberg.”

I guess this means that the $35 million a year that is spent on keeping the racing game clean is still not having the desired effect. However, Alex Waldrop, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association would beg to differ claiming, “There is testing using urine and blood and we are increasingly moving towards plasma testing. One thing we have discussed with Congress is that we believe our testing methods are superior to testing of humans.”

The difference between the use of anabolic steroids in horse racing and their use in other competitive sports is that four anabolic steroids have actually been recommended by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium to be used for therapeutic treatment on horses – boldenone, nandralone, stanozolol and testosterone. However, the fact that they are technically given the “okay” is leading to their abuse. Continue Reading »

Drug Screening Could Pose Problems to Users

A Virginia research company may become the thorn in the side of athletes that have been using human growth hormone and getting away with it. Due to the heavy drug testing for performance-enhancing drugs, anabolic steroids have become virtually impossible to use. Many have turned to HGH, which was only detectable through a blood test.

The scientists “developed particles that can trap microscopic elements in fluid,” according to a report in the International Herald Tribune. It may take six months or more for baseline testing to be conducted until the test could be used.

The heads of the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB all agreed during congressional hearings in February that they preferred urinalysis over the more invasive blood tests for HGH, which can only detect the substance over a 24 to 48-hour period. The urine test in question will be able to detect after a much longer period of time. Continue Reading »

An Explanation on Steroid User Interview

We have received a number of emails since publishing ‘Deca Dick’ May or May Not Leave You Hanging a few days ago on MuscleSport Mag. First off, if anyone received the wrong message from it, we would like to apologize. With that said…wake up! The article was obviously written for education and information on a very hot topic, one that will not go away no matter how far some people stick their head in the sand. If anyone thinks that M.T., our interviewee, is unlike many of the people that work out next to us in the various gyms around the world, you are terribly mistaken.

Steroids are not only used by the bodybuilders on stage, the athletes on the field or the movie and rap celebrities on TMZ. No, the average guy or gal out there without much to gain besides what they see in the glass every morning are using performance-enhancing drugs, too.

We are not polarizing this or telling the readers that it is ‘the thing to do,’ but rather merely telling the truth. As we stated in our first article, Welcome to MuscleSport Mag, this is not the place to read about how great a supplement is if it sucks, or that anabolic steroids will kill you by reading the label. No, we’re not pussy-shipped like that. You will hear also not hear what you want to hear, unless that’s the truth. Continue Reading »

Interview with Steroid User Gives Info from the Horse’s Mouth

This is Part One in a series of Q & A interviews by the staff of MuscleSport Mag with an anonymous anabolic steroid user. M.T., a 37 year-old male, recently completed a 12-week cycle of Deca-Durabolin (Nandrolone Decanoate), and decided to sit down with us and share his results. This is by no means a recommendation to use performance-enhancing drugs, merely for informational purposes.

MSM: When did you begin your Deca cycle?

MT: I started in January and finished up in April. One cc a week from a 300 mg bottle.

MSM: What type of gains did you experience?

MT: About 10 pounds. As far as size goes, I didn’t do measurements before hand. I know…how could I forget that? Things happen. Judging by looking, there was a difference, but without ‘before and after’ numbers, I won’t know exactly.

MSM: How about strength gains in the gym?

MT: This is where I know that the stuff had an effect on me. I was able to put up weight that I haven’t been able to handle in a long, long time. Bench went up approximately 60 pounds, squats nearly doubled. All the other exercises went up, too. Continue Reading »

Former Blazer Forward Faces 10-Game NBA Drug Ban; Let’s Not Jump to Conclusions Yet

Former Portland bad boy Darius Miles doesn’t even have a job, yet he faces a 10-game suspension in the event that he does catch on with an NBA team. The league’s Anti-Drug program has that same penalty for one positive test for performance-enhancing drugs.

With the name of the drug not being released, the Internet has been doing its usual irresponsible reporting methods putting anabolic steroids at the top of the list. To a certain degree, many of us have become jaded when it comes to steroids and athletes, causing us to immediately go there as soon as we hear anything about anti-drug programs. Continue Reading »

Sacramento Kings Center Cited for League’s Anti-Drug Program

Brad Miller, the veteran center of the Sacramento Kings, received a five-game suspension from the NBA after violating the league’s anti-drug program. The name of the drug was not released, and speculation was that it may have been marijuana or even anabolic steroids.

Looking at Miller’s injury history makes one wonder if he did take a performance-enhancing drug. He missed quality time for two years leading up to last season, where he played in 72 games and averaged 13.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game before being forced to the sideline for the final seven games due to a left leg stress fracture and a bad elbow. Continue Reading »