Bodybuilding veteran Rich Gaspari joined industry expert John Romano for a candid discussion about steroids. In a recent Fame, Fitness & Fortune podcast, Gaspari and Romano examined the safety of bodybuilding by taking a closer look at common drugs used in the sport.
Gaspari, who competed in the 1980s and ’90s, was a conditioning pioneer, having been the first man to display striated glutes on a bodybuilding stage. Even though he was unable to capture the prestigious Mr. Olympia title during his tenure, Gaspari was the first winner of Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s inaugural Arnold Classic in 1989.
Given his accolades and achievements, Gasapri’s voice holds weight in the bodybuilding community. He regularly compares different eras of competitors. For instance, he sparked fan backlash online after posting a side-by-side picture of Dorian Yates and Hadi Choopan. He made the comparison because he was trying to argue that dry conditioning has fallen by the wayside in the Open class today.
Gaspari’s issues with the Open class didn’t end there. In the 58-year-old’s opinion, athletes in the Open have begun to rely on drugs more so than hard work, training, and proper nutrition. In his latest endeavor, Rich took a closer look at the dangers of bodybuilding.
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Note: Fitness Volt does not condone and/or recommend the use of recreational or performance-enhancing drugs. This article reports on information relayed by the athlete or subject. FitnessVolt is not a medical resource and the content provided to you is for informational purposes only.
Rich Gaspari & John Romano Talk Safety in Bodybuilding
Romano started by saying the younger generation of athletes has nicknamed insulin ‘slin.’
“One of my classic most-hated terms is running slin, running slin, you ever heard that one, insulin, running insulin. What am I running, EQ and deca,” said John Romano.
Gaspari said tren has become one of the most talked about compounds in the fitness sector. He added that the gains from trenbolone are impressive but come with drawbacks, specifically to the liver and cardiovascular system.
“The new one is tren, these tren people, you hear about Trenbolone constantly online and you guys, if you want to know what Trenbolone is, let’s talk about it, you probably know more about the characteristics of what it does. First of all, it’s a very harsh steroid, you can make really great gains off trenbolone, but it’s very harsh on your liver, it’s very harsh on your cardiovascular system, when you inject it, you cough right way. And then the tren cough,” says Rich Gaspari.
“These are the pellets that — back in the day, this is what [we used],” said Gaspari. “Today’s bodybuilders… they only know about the liquid oil that you get, it’s a very yellow liquid, but explain to them these pellets and you had to set up this old kit, that was the old trenbolone.”
Romano explained the differences in trenbolone formulations as some are more quick-acting than others. Gaspari and Romano agree that pairing trenbolone and Sustanon together results in an effective combination for promoting muscle growth.
“You got to remember it’s the ester that’s important, so trenbolone acetate is the quick-acting tren, the most powerful one right, so it’s – they don’t make it for humans. At the time, I don’t think they still do this, but when it started getting big in the late 80s early 90s because people were taking finijet, but finijet, the Ester’s name is this long, it’s like hex blah blah blah, LMNOP, we’ll just call it hex for short. That was a real Caddy drug, very expensive hard to get,” said John Romano.
“But acetate esters is the more potent one,” added Romano. “That’s why tren and sustanon made such a great mix because you had to take sustanon every other day too because of the propionate component – you always defer to the fastest esters regardless of if it’s a mix. Proprianate is the faster ester of the [bunch],” said Romano.
“Sustanon is a blend of four testosterone one of them being proprianate – that’s the important one because you have to defer to it because it’s the fastest acting one. That’s why you have to take sustanon every other day and that’s why tren goes very well with it because sustanon is a powerful well-used steroid paired with trenbolone acetate. If you don’t grow on that, you’re not growing.”
Gaspari contends even the nicest person would turn ‘nasty’ on a regular trenbolone dose.
“What people are taking are the tren acetate,” added Gaspari. “What I’m seeing with people, so we’re talking about the great effects, really great gains, you’re going to get really big. Tell them the bad things. One of the things I’ve noticed taking tren is it makes you nasty, nuts. Even the nicest, even Mr. Rogers would be nasty.”
In the past, Romano said trenbolone use caused him to feel anger over manufactured thoughts that weren’t real.
“Me, included, me especially, not only does it make me nuts, like wanting to kill, but it causes me to fabricate scenarios in my brain that do not exist and I react to them and get angry over them. Man, it’s only because I do have a strong mind that I’m able to understand that that’s why that’s happening and not to react to it. For as long as I’m on tren, it’s always a struggle to remember reality and what I’ve manufactured are two different things, and don’t react.”
“Users beware, you’re probably going to punch people in the face at the gym,” joked Gaspari.
Gaspari isn’t the only athlete in bodybuilding calling attention to the dangers of trenbolone. Powerlifter and bodybuilder Larry Wheels said he used the compound for some time, which he described as a ‘living hell.’
Contrarily, Nathan De Asha, a popular UK-based Open competitor, swears by the compound and says he takes it year-round for maintaining strength. He also mentioned that using the compound hasn’t made him any more aggressive.
Gaspari and Romano understand there are risks associated with the sport, especially when steroids are involved. However, there’s no denying they are widely used at the top levels of the IFBB Pro League.
Watch the full video below from the Dragon Slayer Media YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DvXjAFYynI
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