In my few years of coaching football and wrestling and in my time training athletes at Crossfit, I have occasionally been asked if I ever used steroids or performance enhancing drugs. Instead of hiding it or beating around the bush, I am always honest with my athletes.
Before I started Crossfit I was 215 pounds right around 10% body fat. I was strong. No neck. I was benching almost 400 pounds, repping 315 for sets of 6-8 with ease. The bars bended when I lifted them. I had to search for plates for my squat, well over 500. My thighs got too big for my dress clothes and jeans. I had to wear a 36-38 in waist to fit my 30-32 so the pants would at least make it over my legs. I worked out for 2 hours a day. Non stop. Super setting, drop setting, negatives, pyramids...stopping in the middle to chug a protein shake. That's what the magazines said to do. I had prescriptions to FLEX, Muscle and Fitness, Men's Fitness, and any other muscle magazine you could think of. I was a meat head. AND I DIDN'T DO IT FAIR.
It all started when a friend of mine asked me to try a new supplement, Methyl Masterdrol. I had no idea what it was. I just knew that it was over the counter and he looked like a Greek God. Couldn't be that bad, right? In a week I could see the gains. Within a month I could 225 rep what would make some NFL scouts raise eyebrows (28). I loved it. When the directions told me to cycle off for a few weeks, I ignored them and kept going. At the time a friend of mine who was also an Endocrinologist asked me what this bottle in my car was. I told her it was a supplement I was taking. She read the label then threw it back at me exclaiming, "what are you taking that crap for!" She proceeded to tell me that it was a pro hormone. Not quite on the steroid level, but bad enough. It was increasing my testosterone levels at an alarming rate and I wasn't doing anything to protect my organs from possible damage. My face turned red. I didn't know that I was taking a testosterone booster. That was my last day on the supplement but the effects lasted much longer. I noticed my maxes start dropping not just one or two pounds, but by ten to fifteen. I no longer had chiseled abs and chest but instead almost had to get a bra for my man boobs. Emotionally I was a wreck. I couldnt run a half a block without my lungs feeling like they were going to explode. I couldn't touch my toes, barely touch my shins. I pulled hamstrings just by walking. My joints hurt bad. My body ached just getting out of bed. I picked up the bottle almost daily, wanting to go back on it. In my mind I was nothing without that strength. Was it worth it? The answer is no. Not just because it's the thing to say, but in reality, I'm no better off for doing it. You cant stay on them forever and the side effects were relentless. It's been well over four years since I stopped taking them. I can now run long distances. I'm flexible. I feel better. My clothes fit. I challenge anyone who can bench 400 pounds to this question? When in life (besides the game of football) is it functional to bench that much. While benching 400, can you run a mile, do 30 consecutive pullups, jump on a 40 inch box, and still clean and jerk 260 overhead? I realized that my strength was not what made me. So to my athletes: It may seem like a quick fix. But it's just a band-aid. And when you take the band-aid off, you'll realize the wounds are so much more than flesh deep.
This week's workouts:
Max 3 rep OH Squat
245
Max 5 rep Front Squat
275
3 rounds:
30 wall balls
30 hang squat snatch 75#
14:21
Bench Press Max effort:
30-3-20-2-10-1
185-275-205-295-235-315
