By Leigh Penman

And so it came to pass last week that Marion Jones decided to place herself in front of the talk show high priestess, Oprah Winfrey, and tell “all” about her brush with the law and imprisonment for anabolic steroid use during the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

But did she really tell the truth this time around or was it simply a case of trying to crawl her way back into the publics’ hearts?

Well, during the interview Marion looked down a lot when formulating her answers to Oprah’s questions. Now, any student of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) would tell you that this was a sign of searching her feelings and emotions for the appropriate response. However, it could also just be a sign that she was avoiding too much eye contact with Winfrey as she considered her answers (and we don’t need to be students of body science to figure out why). Continue Reading »

When Bodybuilders Turn Pro…

Recently, MuscleSport Mag had the pleasure of doing a one-on-one interview with Gregg Valentino, who is a top staff writer in ‘Muscular Development’ magazine. His ‘Ramblin’ Freak’ column is just one of his contributions each month to the famous publication and is known throughout the industry as the type of writer that pulls no punches and tells it like it is – if it pisses off some people or not. (Part Two of this interview also appears in the October issue of New York Sportscene magazine.)

Being around professional and amateur bodybuilders his entire adult life, Gregg Valentino has noticed one consistency during the progression of their careers. “A guy will win an amateur contest and then turn pro,” he said. “A year later, he’s a totally different bodybuilder.”

The difference, Valentino says, is usually 20 pounds bigger and ripped. “I think it takes a lot of money to be a pro bodybuilder with all the drugs.” While that may sound shocking to some, the obvious is blatant and to have a frank conversation about the subject, denying that there is steroid use in the sport of bodybuilding is detrimental. It is there and has been for a long time.

Continue Reading »

Family Members Feeling Heat; Trainer May Decide to Flip

It’s an old ploy, used by a number of different agencies. If you don’t care about your own freedom, then we’ll start picking on your loved ones. Maybe their well-being means more to you, and then we can finally get what we want out of you.

Greg Anderson has sat in a jail cell because he refused to testify against Barry Bonds, who has - for some reason - become John Dillinger and Al Capone rolled into one. They will stop at nothing to get the goods on baseball’s home run king, even if that means going after his mother-in-law.

Both the New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle reported that Madeline Gestas is being investigated for possible tax violations, an obvious tactic to pressure Anderson into coming clean of what he knows of Bonds’ alleged steroid use. Continue Reading »

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.

Anavar is one of those drugs that have attained cult status amongst athletes over the years. It has also become relatively hard to find and also fairly pricey. This puts it high on the ‘purchase it while you can and keep it stashed away’ list for many bodybuilders.

Anavar is also an extremely popular drug amongst female athletes who wish to avoid many of the side effects associated with anabolic steroid use(but more of that later).
Anavars near legendary status is due to the fact that it causes a strong strength gain without increasing water retention. It does this by stimulating the creation of phosphocreatine in the muscle cell without depositing water in either the joints or the muscles. Powerlifters often choose to combine Anavar with Halotestin to foster the strength and aggression required in their sport. Continue Reading »

MuscleSport Mag Sits Down with MD’s Own

Recently, MuscleSport Mag had the pleasure of doing a one-on-one interview with Gregg Valentino, who is a top staff writer in ‘Muscular Development’ magazine. His ‘Ramblin’ Freak’ column is just one of his contributions each month to the famous publication and is known throughout the industry as the type of writer that pulls no punches and tells it like it is – if it pisses off some people or not.

Here is one part in a continuing series from our session with Gregg.

Being shy about his own steroid use is not a trait for Gregg Valentino. Instead of being like someone who was born again and preaching the clean life, his experiences with the substances were not all bad and he’s been as open about that as the detrimental part of them.

Due to his being brutally frank about the subject, Valentino is sort of like that old television commercial for E.F. Hutton – when he talks, people listen. Picking his brain about the modern world of bodybuilding was as enlightening as it was interesting. With the ‘grand daddy’ of them all, Mr. Olympia, right around the corner, the topic of drug testing at that level is one that has been broached before, but remains cloudy.

“First of all, there is no testing,” Valentino said. “If you tested bodybuilding, the sport would die. Bodybuilding is not like baseball. Steroids are part of the sport. They’re a tool like the baseball bat is. If it weren’t for steroids, bodybuilding wouldn’t be the sport you know now.

“There is such thing as a natural show, but they’re looking for diuretics and stuff like that. Even when they do test, they make it so you have to be stupid to fail the test. They’ll go like, ‘Listen, March 23 you’re going to be tested.’ Long in advance. They give you enough time to clean out.” Continue Reading »

An Unlikely Target Votes in Mandatory Provisional Suspensions

First, golf was talking about getting tough on steroids, which seemed ludicrous enough. But now another sport you wouldn’t think of when talking banned substances has taken steps towards punishing players who look for that extra edge. The International Tennis Federation voted in an anti-doping code that was necessary for compliance for inclusion in the Olympics.

Effective on January 1, 2009, the rules will be more flexible for suspensions, and what was described by the ITF as “increased flexibility of sanctions.” This another prime example of trying to get the ‘one up’ and show the public that an organization - in this case all of tennis’ governing bodies - is not going to have the necessity of its own Mitchell Report. The specter of steroids even lurks over the tennis court, albeit it for real or just for show.

Bill Phillips’ Publication was a Good Read, Still Missed

When it first burst onto the bodybuilding scene, Muscle Media 2000 looked and read different from the other publications sitting on the newsstand. Bill Phillips was the right type of voice for the gym set and didn’t pull any punches, coming straight out and admitting his own steroid use. Where as the others tried to sugar coat the use of performance-enhancing drugs in bodybuilding, MM2K seemed to embrace it. They claimed to be a trend-setter by not being held hostage to advertising, a welcome break from the norm.

While all of this seemed to be a great variation, Phillips ultimately used the magazine as a platform to promote the supplements he was behind. Met-Rx and EAS were promoted liberally throughout the slick.

According to www.getbig.com, MM2K “took on hard subjects such as the ever-controversial issue of steroids in bodybuilding, and dealt with them in an informative manner.” One article of substance to prove that was when members of the staff took a trip down to Mexico and purchased anabolic steroids openly in ‘pharmacias.’ Continue Reading »

Big Brown’s Trainer Under the Weather, Will Miss Testifying

The star witness expected to headline Congress’ latest inquisition into drugs and sports will be a no-show. Rick Dutrow, Jr., the trainer of almost-Triple Crown winner Big Brown, had to pass up an opportunity to publicize himself again due to a virus.

The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection will go on in their hearings on horse racing and what can be done to improve the ’sport of kings.’ Dutrow, who can be kindly described as the court jester, would have been asked a lot of questions, according to Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky. Steroid use is just one of the many topics being investigated by the committee, and Dutrow’s comments concerning the use of winstrol would have surely come up. Continue Reading »

A Bit Outdated, But Fairly Informative Until…

Good luck finding a new book that is up to date with anabolic steroids. Most of the staples are now considered ‘oldies,’ and have actually become collectibles for some. But for recent info on what is going on in ‘gear world,’ you have to come to websites like this one - I hope!

Steve Gallaway’s “The Steroid Bible” (Third Edition) is a spiral-bound book that is still available on www.AnabolicSteroids.com for $49.99, and that includes a report “Importing Drugs.” A bit pricey, as far as I am concerned, for a book that is from 1997 with a $24.95 cover price. Continue Reading »