The dangers of steroid use are well known, but many bodybuilders ignore them, desperate to get bigger and stronger.
- An estimated 20% of gym-goers in the UK have used steroids.
- An estimated 5% of British men under the age of 30 in the UK admit to using steroids.
Gregg Valentino is very well known in the world of bodybuilding. He was in the Guinness Book of Records for having the biggest arms in the world. Gregg Valentino is an example of what happens when steroid use goes wrong.
‘The Man Whose Arms Exploded – Hidden Lives’ can be seen on YouTube. Not only does it follow the story of Gregg Valentino, but it explores the dangers of steroid use in bodybuilding and the risks bodybuilders are willing to take to succeed.
Reasons why Gregg started using steroids:
- He felt self-conscious about the size and stature
- The bigger it got, the more positive attention it got
- Little Man Syndrome: Did whatever it took
Bodybuilders began to use the term “granrexia” to describe a state exactly the opposite of anorexia nervosa; they always feel that they look small and weak. These were the types of people who were much more likely to turn to steroids.
Gregg Valentino’s steroid use became so frequent that he developed infections from using dirty needles. The film shows Gregg trying to operate on himself to remove a bruise on his arm, pulling out syringe after syringe of blood and pus. After 20 minutes of self-mutilation and two glasses of clotted blood, Gregg was rushed into emergency surgery. He came very close to losing his arm and was lucky he didn’t die.
Obviously, this is an extreme case of steroid use. Steve Michalik – Mr America in 1972 and former training partner of Arnold Schwarzenegger, recalled when a friend encouraged him to take steroids for the first time.
“…just try a little…it was the biggest mistake…there isn’t a little”
Steroid use began to take over; once he had started, it was extremely difficult for him to get out of them.
“The only way out is if tragedy strikes. That’s what happened to me.”
Steve first knew something was wrong when he started passing blood in his urine. It was his liver dissolving. His steroid use is believed to have led to:
- One grapefruit-sized tumor and three golf ball-sized tumors in his liver.
- Body mass is reduced from 220 pounds to 146 pounds
- have a stroke
- Being temporarily sectioned under mental health law
- Staying with the testosterone levels of a 12-year-old girl
- Peanut-sized testicles
Dr. Harrison Pope, author of The Adonis Complex, explains that the short-term medical problems with steroids are relatively modest; this is the reason why people are tempted to use them. The perceived benefits and muscle gain outweigh the side effects of acne, mood swings, and female growth tissue development. Most do not even notice these effects and long-term problems are ignored.
Dr. Pope predicts that in the next 10 to 20 years we will see an increase in cases of top bodybuilders and high-profile athletes developing heart disease or stroke at a seemingly premature age, and this will likely be attributed to steroid use.
We live in a world where we are judged by image, the pressures are there and we want results now. Many people just starting out may feel pressured to take extraordinary risks, and there are those who have trained naturally for years who turn to steroids.
After surviving the effects of his steroid use, Steve Michalik says that the pill is not the answer and “now” is not the solution. He urges bodybuilders to take some time to go back to the old ways of training, without steroids. He believes that bodybuilders would not only be more successful, but would live longer.
“You plant a little seed of anabolic steroid in your body, that seed grows, it embeds itself in every cell of your body… although your muscles on the outside are big, on the inside you are rotting, you are rusting” – Steve Michalik, Mr America 1972, Mr Universe 1975.
