A new study looked into the practices of IFBB
competitors. Six (four male and two female) bodybuilders (IFBB) and their
coaches were directly interviewed for this study(1).
Participants
2 male Bodybuilders in the same category.
2 Men’s Physique competitors belonging to the same category.
2 women competing in different Wellness categories.
All competitors used anabolic steroids during their bulking and cutting phases. They also used ephedrine and hydrochlorothiazide during the cutting phase. They trained each muscle once per week and all participants performed aerobic exercise in the fasted state in order to reduce body fat.
During the bulking phase, bodybuilders ingested ~2.5 g of protein/kg of
body weight. During the cutting phase, protein ingestion increased to ~3 g/kg
and carbohydrate ingestion decreased by 10–20%. During all phases, fat
ingestion corresponded to ~15% of the calories ingested.
The supplements used were whey protein, chromium picolinate, omega 3
fatty acids, branched chain amino acids, poly-vitamins, glutamine and caffeine.
The men also used creatine in the bulking phase.
Body composition was assessed by bioimpedance which we know is not the
best methods and is greatly impacted by hydration status.
No surprise, they
gained large amounts of fat-free mass during the bulking phase but lost a lot
of fat-free mass was lost during the cutting phase along with fat mass. A great
deal of the lost fat-free mass right before competition could be attributed to
dehydration.
Nevertheless, the table shows data from the beginning of the bulking
phase, to the end of the bulking phase and beginning of the cutting phase and the
end of the cutting phase before competition.
Note how much fat-free mass
subjects gained in a short bulking phase (4-6 weeks), for example male
bodybuilder 1 gained +7.8kg of FFM in about 6 weeks, Wellness competitor 1 gained
+6.3 kg FFM in about 6 week, Wellness competitor 2 gained +9.8 kg FFM in 4
weeks, Men’s Physique competitor 1 gained +7.2 kg FFM in about 5 weeks.
Wellness competitors 1 and 2, and Men’s Physique 1 were able to retain
much of the FFM gained during the bulking phase after the cutting phase perhaps
due to better hydration status. Another factor was due to the non-evidence
based practices of subjects regarding exercise even though they took anabolic
steroids during the cutting period.
MB1 won his category and was overall champion. MB2 was second place. W1
placed second in her category and W2 placed third. MP1 and MP2 were
fifth and third, respectively.
I will just comment, for now, about the anabolic steroid use and leave exercise,
nutrition and supplementation for another occasion.
Anabolic steroids
Men:
- 500 mg/week of testosterone enanthate, 200mg/week of boldenone and 150
mg/week of trenbolone acetate during the bulking phase.
- During the cutting phase, MB2 used 400 mg/week of testosterone
propionate, 200 mg/week of stanozolol and 160 mg/week of oxandrolone during the
cutting phase.
(The dosage is 9–41 times higher than the natural androgen production)
Women:
- 200 mg/week of stanozolol and 200 mg/week of nandrolone decanoate in
the bulking phase
- 200 mg/week of stanozolol, 100 mg/week of testosterone propionate, 140
mg/week of oxandrolone and 300 mg/week of drostanolone propionate during the
cutting phase.
For perspective, the amount of androgen used was 142–285 and 264–528
times their natural androgen production during the bulking and cutting phases,
respectively. Testosterone increases
muscle recovery (2) protein synthesis (3) and satellite cell activity (4,5).
For more perspective: 600mg per week with training can produce about 6kg
of LBM in 10 weeks (6), 8-9 kg LBM in 20 weeks without training (7), and 4-14kg
LBM (individual range) in 20 weeks without training (8). Gains are also dose
dependent (9,10).
But anabolic steroids help only a little right? It is their very special
training and dieting right? Clean eating, 6000mg of potassium and some other
delusional fantasies from some people...?
Adverse effects of anabolic steroids
Testosterone may impair tendon adaptation to resistance training (9) and
increase the risk of tendon ruptures, particularly in the upper-body (10). Other
adverse effect are myocardial infarctions, alterations in serum lipids
(decreased HDL and increased LDL), elevation in blood pressure and increased
risk of thrombosis (11).
There are many reported cardiovascular events in bodybuilders associated
with steroid abuse (12,13,14,15) and the risk is undeniable (16). Along with cardiovascular risk, the
liver, the reproductive system, and psychological status are also adversely affected
by the use of anabolic steroids (17,18,19,20,21) and this should not be ignored
(22).
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References:
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Paulo Gentil, Claudio Andre Barbosa de
Lira, Antonio Paoli, José Alexandre Barbosa dos Santos, Roberto Deivide
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infarction in a young bodybuilder taking anabolic androgenic steroids: A case
report and critical review of the literature. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2016.
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Sonmez E, Turkdogan KA, Yilmaz C, et al. Chronic anabolic androgenic steroid
usage associated with acute coronary syndrome in bodybuilder. Turk J Emerg Med
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Frati P, Busardo FP, Cipolloni L, et al. Anabolic Androgenic Steroid (AAS) related
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anabolic steroids. Angiology 2008;59:376-8.
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Montisci R, Cecchetto G, Ruscazio M, et al. Early Myocardial Dysfunction After Chronic Use of Anabolic Androgenic
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Echocardiography 2010;23:516-522.
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Rogol AD, Yesalis CE, 3rd. Clinical review 31: Anabolic-androgenic steroids and
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