Page 9 - NGA NATURALmag 2023 SPRING / SUMMER Issue

Spring-Summer 2023
competed and and won many professional bodybuild- ing ing cards in in in in several natural organizations and and and I have also won many overalls and and national placings in in in in the untested organizations As a a a a a a a a a a a a a a judge I have critiqued many classes of of physique competitors ranging from amateur to to to professional Through it it it all all I I have seen a a a a a a a a a a a ton of of of change and I I can tell you it it has not all all been for the the better or or or improvement of of the the sport The sport sport has changed often and unlike what Churchill says the the the the sport sport is is by no means perfect Some of of the the the the things that I have witnessed for the the the the good is is the the the the addition of of more more bodybuilding classes which brings more more athletes to the stage The sport has grown tremendously because of this change and many athletes who previously may have have not competed have have have now had their experience on stage With that that said there are far more changes that that have have have made the the the sport worse than it it was 25 years ago I have have person- ally seen politics greed perversion and drugs take a a a a a heavy toll on on the the sport over the the years The politics are worse in some organizations than others and greed has taken the the sport from an an an an athlete centered competition to a a a a a a a a a a a money-making machine at at at the the expense of the the athlete I I I can tell you from expe- rience what I I I personally witnessed when I I I was on on on on a a a a a a a a a a a a judging panel of a a a a a a a a a a a high-level organization organization and con- test test (I won’t mention the the organization organization or or or contest) The winner of the the the the brand-new bikini division was hand- picked by the the the organization president and and and the the the judges’ scorecards were not even tabulated or or or or considered Yes that is politics politics at at at the the worst I have also been on on the the the the receiving end of politics politics when being judged both for the the the the good and the the the the bad Without going into story story after story story of the the the the the things I I have witnessed I I want to to to to focus primarily on the the the the the changes in in the the the the the sport when it comes to to the the the the use of drugs to to enhance the the the the body Thank goodness for drug tested organizations organizations like like the the the NGA NGA Without organizations organizations like like the the the NGA NGA athletes today would would have nowhere to to go other than the the the non-tested arena This would would put them at at a a a a a a a a a a a a a huge disadvantage The biggest change I have seen over over the the the years is is the the the advancement of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) which have have taken over over the the the sport and almost have have become a a a a a a a a a a normal part of competition Even the the leadership in in the the non-tested organizations knew that PED use was becoming
problematic at at at the the the the onset and the the the the hope was that some of the the the the newer divisions would curve the the the the prob- lem Well that didn’t happen It got worse and now even the Physique divisions divisions are rampant with drugs Women’s divisions divisions have become so competitive that they even dabble into the the the male hormones to to to gain an an an advantage Drugs to to to help better condition the the the athlete are used by males males and females alike The sad part of of all this is is is that the the health and well- ness of of of of the the the athlete athlete is is is at at at at at stake I think by now we we are are all aware of of of the the ever-growing death toll of of of athletes (mostly male bodybuilders) They seem to to drop like flies year year after year year and and almost all of of these deaths are related to the the the short- short- and and long-term effects of of of the the PEDs Athletes in in pursuit of of some short-term fame or or title will do almost anything to chase that ever-elusive dangling carrot Once an an an athlete starts the vicious cycle where does it end? For some this will sadly end in death Again thank goodness for events like those held in in in the the NGA Athletes can make a a a a a a a a choice and and not have to to to give in in to to to the the the pressure and and and perils of o untested shows When the the the the sport started to to to take off and and and really grow back in the the the the “Golden Era” o of Arnold and and and the the the the like steroids and and diuretics seemed to be the the the only abused PEDs Many years later we now see see those those same drugs as “introductory” or or those those taken by beginners Today the the list of of drugs goes way beyond the the steroids and diuretics of of yesteryear They include classes such as as Human Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) Human Human Growth Hormone (HGH) Insulin Prohormones Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMS) Insulin like Growth Factor (IGF-1) and many others as this list is is is not exhaustive It would probably blow your mind to to know all the types of drugs people will try to to have an an advantage The problem with with all these drugs is is that that there is is a a a a a a price that that comes along with with them In the the the the the the past when steroids were the the the the the main drugs abused in in the the the the the sport the the the risk usually consisted of unwanted side effects such such as as aggression and acne which extended to more serious effects such such as as sudden cardiac death (SCD) myocardial infarction altered serum lipopro- teins and and and cardiac myopathy Diuretics can cause dehydration and and and electrolyte imbalances and and and extend to permanent organ tissue damage or or even death NGA NATURALmag
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