+Nick's Strength and Power Great video!!! I apologize in advance if this sounds hackneyed, but don't titles such as 'Mr. Olympia' imply that said men ought to resemble Greek gods? Unless I err, statues and paintings of Zeus, Helios, Ares, and even fricken' HERCULES never depicted them as bulky and huge as even the EARLIEST pro bodybuilders! Sorry if I offend anybody, but (especially today with "bubble guts") these guys resemble wild animals instead of men! 😭
I like how you go straight to the point, unlike other channels that talk about everything else except the intended topic. That’s why I like watching your videos 🙌🏼
Steve Reeves is in my top 3 most aesthetic bodybuilders of all time. The guy had crazy good genetics and he took great care of himself. He looked like a Greco-Roman statue.
No wonder we all have such a distorted view of how muscular a man should be. It's not unlike girls dealing with images of skinny models and growing up with Barbie dolls.
Emp6ft10in I think muscular man is even less natural then skinny woman. Some woman can be born with very narrow frame (which I think is what you mean by barbie) But no man is naturally an Arnold. You have to intake, literally, superhuman dosages of exogenous hormone.
dude look at Nordic people and Nigerians, theyre the buffest people on earth and the closest representation to the natural Arnold, Polynesians are the strongest people in the world but they like to eat a lot so theyre thick boned thick skulled bear like men
I'm a lifetime clean powerlifter. I built myself up to the 275 pound class in the 1980s, at five feet eight, and again in an aborted comeback in 2001-2002. I'm 64 in June this year and I'm about the world's weakest weight lifter these days due to work injuries I suffered years before. Now to become over 220 pounds and do it without any chemical help I had to gain some fat as well as muscle. I look like one of those off-season bodybuilders, but my "off-season" is 365 days a year according to those who know me. Women I've been with watch the Olympic Games Weightlifting and then ask me why I don't look like that . . "You're a weightlifter, aren't you?" I tell them that the public has been spoilt rotten by footage of drug-assisted lifters for so long now that they've accepted that as the norm. In the first half of 2017 I moved back to the town where I used to live. I train at home, but thought I'd check out the gym in my town that has Nautilus machines. I sat in my car for a while in the car park and watched so many steroid munchers coming and going male and female, and NO normal looking weight trainees coming and going in that time that I lost my nerve and ended up just going home. I'm still big, although now weak from age and injury, at 225 pounds and I'm heavily tattooed as well, shaved head, and big "walrus" moustache. If I walked in there half the guys training would be sizing me up wondering if they could take me. Guys, you can keep most of your size, if not the strength of your youth if you build up clean with no gear. Trust me on this.
Hey, Nick, I only started following your channel a couple of weeks ago but I have to say you're one of the most genuine RU-vidrs in the fitness industry at the moment. Quality content; honest, accurate and down to earth. Keep up the good work, sir.
ultimate lacrosse He definitely was, look at him in the previous rockys before rocky 4, there is no way someone's physique changes that much in such a short amount of time
Still they used little dosages,there is a difference between taking dbol or test only in small doses,instead today they use 101 different drugs.And the old ones still lived till they where 80 and beyond,Grimek 88 yo,Park 87, Reeves 78.
Mirko Milojkovic You're right. Tablets were being used Dianabol & Winstrol 2 milligrams only then tablet dosages started to increase. At nearly 69 I have no effects from taking low dosages of Winstrol for short periods making great progress in strength and quick recovery.
Um . . . No . . Gironda was famous for beefing up actors in a short period of time for physical roles and it's pretty well known that he put them on Dianabol. Of course he claimed it was all down to Argentine Beef Liver Extract. No sooner was the filming finished than the actors shrank back to their original size again. That's as common today as it was back then.
@@NicksStrengthandPower Vicky Lamotta said Jake used juice.Thsts why he was irritable unable to make weight and non sexual.She said his ginzo dr.got it from Europe.
Dear nick, I read about an experiment in the 80's about using a high dose of steroids in bodybuilding and it affect ,the dose was about 3500 mg in one cycle, and that that was considered a lot in one cycle, now they take three times as much in on cycle.
Nick, good vid, but I think you got a few facts mixed up. It IS true that steroids--synthetic ones, not animal based ones--were created in the late 1930's, but they were experimental, very crude, and probably not widely known. Doubtful that any of the lifters back then--Bert Goodrich, Jules Bacon, John Grimek--knew about them, much less had access to them. Now, if I remember correctly, John Grimek did try steroids, but that was well after he'd retired. He said it felt like he had the flu, and stopped taking them after about three weeks. Other guys like Steve Reeves, who retired from competitive bodybuilding after he won the Mr. Universe in the early 1950's, might have known about the ones made in Europe, but again, doubtful he took them or even knew where to get them. CIBA began manufacturing Dianabol in 1958. Before then, I'm going to give my opinion as a no on people taking them, at least in a widespread manner. Dr. John Zeigler helped to invent Dianabol and he intended them only for weightlifters or burn victims. After some of the the York guys took them, they caught on and spread to the gyms and the football teams, college as well as pros--that was in the early 1960's onward, as you said. Can you cite any sources that say Grimek was actually pushing the stuff on people? I'd be interested to know.
Dear Nick, My name is Audie. I am Ten years old, and my dream is to one day play in the professional USA women's olympic ice hockey team. I love hockey so, so, so much, and I want the puck more than life itself, which means I have to exercise a lot. Most of what I do is muscle work in my arms, and my core. I also just started getting up early before school, to do drylands muscle an cardio work, which includes steps, box jumps, jumping rope, crunches, push-ups, and running. I am beyond proud of myself, because I've been trying to get in really good shape. I just calculated it a minute ago, and because my height is 5' 0", and my weight is 97.7 pounds (as of today), my BMI is 19.5, which means I am in good shape. Some days my father takes me to his gym, but the guy that works there never lets me do anything, even though when other kids do things he doesn't say anything. Like do they want kids to try and get in good shape, or do they want them to sit around and play video games all day? Anyway, I really like watching your videos, and I would really appreciate it if you gave me some advice to gain muscle and to lose fat.
Nick, you’ve been making so many videos about other lifters. You should make a video about yourself and just basically talking about yourself the way you do of other current bodybuilder’s
just because they were invented as early as 1939 doesn't mean they were readily available yet. it takes many years to get there. the 40s was almost certainly a clean era and the 50s got less clean as each year went. steroids became very well known because of dbol and the soviets getting steroids in the 40s would have been next to impossible and extremely expensive. many bodybuilders in that era were natural until like late 50s when steroids were readily available, like bill pearl
William Ogden it's better for people to have realistic standards. All of these liars like Jeff Seid and Matt ogus and others have all of these naive people thinking they can look like them naturally lmao
So this just makes the oldtime strongmen even more impressive. George Hackenscmhidt, Hermann Goerner, pyotr Kryloff, Maxick, Otto Arco, bobby pandour, Gustav fristensky, etc
Great content. It’s easy to think of steroid use in sport as new, but this gives a bit more perspective on steroid use over time. There is nothing new under the sun. Please keep the content coming.
6:28 Vince Gironda NEVER told his athletes to take steroids, he was completely against them and his top athletes knew not to mention their use to him. Larry later claimed to have never used them, but I think Don Howarth openly stated that he did; in any case it was small amounts like 1-2 pills a day during a cycle. Not that I am against them, but I know Vince was and his memory shouldn't be tarnished claiming that he encouraged using steroids (he didn't.)
There have always been muscular people though, If you see the sculptures from Ancient Greece of muscular warriors and such like. There must of been naturally very muscular well built humans going right back to the dawn of humanity. Roids are just for people who want to get results faster and are willing to pay the price for it.
Steve Reeves stated that he never took steroids. He looked good throughout his entire life and didn't "deflate" like bodybuilders who took a ton of steroids. There is a video of Reeves discussing steroids use on RU-vid. I think Reeves is an example of a person with perfect genetics in terms of physical shape and the ability to build muscle.
Nick, I really think you have to say the 40's, is when pharmacies started to produce? Also it is not as it is in today's product to market. The ability to procure the product would have been extremely difficult for at least several years.
Very good video!! I would look to when lifters started adding more volume to their workouts along with more training days/week as an indicator to added testosterone.
It's refreshing to watch a video that's informative and truthful. Not just assumed info that's not backed up with sources. I enjoy watching your videos and know when I watch them I'm getting the truth.
it's soo good to have channel that speaks differently about bodybuilding all the involvement. without the bragging and drama that is found on another channel (LUI) this is such a good and well produced video..keep up the great work.
Thanks Nick, that was very interesting. I had thought that Arnold's cohort was the first group to really have access. I wondered about Bill Pearl and Dave Draper but honestly never wondered about Larry Scott or anyone before him. Bert Goodrich looked like a non-user, to me. I would be surprised if he were using anything, and, if he was, I would assume it wasn't effective. During my own years, I believed Arnold's lies and trained and trained, feeling very glad to know that it was possible without steroids (a step I was not willing to take). I developed to about where Bert Goodrich was in that photo but no further. I moved on to other interests at about age 23, having let go of the delusion of a steroid-free Arnold or Franco body (really Franco and Ed and Danny, as I'm 5'5" :D ). But I still didn't believe they were using steroids. I just believed I was incapable of that development. I was terribly disappointed 20 years later when Arnold and Sergio finally came out and admitted that they had all been using. I was glad I had never been open to its use. I also think that some people can develop a lot of muscle without steroids. My ex-wife lived a very impoverished childhood in Central America. When we married and she came to the U.S. and was finally able to eat a normal and full diet, and found a job managing a coffee shop that involved 8 hours a day of moving heavy bins of coffee beans, her back, thighs, and calves developed to the level of anything we saw in the early days of female bodybuilding ... like Lisa Lyons (if I remember her name, right) and well beyond Rachel. Very deep traps, wide lats, deltoids, quads and calves ... very thick and striated and powerful. The muscles just jumped out over the course of her first year on the job and remained throughout her time there. It all faded after she left that job. I think it is terribly sad that a natural fully-developed body is seen as inadequate. I imagine that there are people out there who could develop a Frank Zane or Steve Reeves body without steroids but we'll not see it as the standard is now Coleman or worse. So, when I see people like Reeves, Goodrich, even Larry Scott, given my own experience and my ex's, I find it hard to imagine that steroids were widespread in those early years. Thanks for this very interesting video, Alex
SonGokuhSSJ It's depend of your définition of "clean". People were taking enhancing performance drugs since 776 BC! Cheating always been in the sport. I don't understand why people are offended by it now. Some MLB and NFL players abused steroïds since the '50s.
Pedro Tobin protein shakes were used widely starting with ghenghis Kahn. And the Greeks tried different things but they were more or less placebos or snake oil. It didn't become prevelant in bodybuilding till the east germans and Russians started using them in the Olympics in the 50s maybe earl's 60s.
Congratulations. This video was outstanding. The research that you put into it was head and shoulders above most bodybuilding videos. Easily your best video to date. You should try and contact some old time bodybuilders, research the behind the scenes goings on from the early days.. where they got the steroids, who disributed them, how expensive. Who used the most. You could make a series on this great topic..
Hey Man, I appreciate the time you put into making your videos. you can tell you just don't make up a bunch of shit and let it ride. I enjoy the pics a long with the commentary. good work man.
John grimek didn't use steroids til he was in his fifties long after he retired from competing he said he only took them for a few weeks because they didn't do anything for them....Vince gironda was very anti steroids and although some of his clients used them he didn't use them himself...the American bodybuilders started using them in the early 1960s and English bodybuilders in the late 1960s...there are natural bodybuilders who compete today and have physiques that would beat the top bodybuilders of the 1950s and 1960s.. Reeves was definitely clean
First were Russia who give to their olympics competition, there are several documentaries that saying that and its nothing to do with Rocky 4 movie. it was after WW 2, yes they were invinted in 1930s but never saw huge success until Russia started to win gold in every event. "In the 1956 Olympics, Soviet athletes, especially wrestlers, performed at exceptionally high levels. After learning that those athletes were using testosterone, an American physician (Dr. Zeigler) created a more selective form of what we know as anabolic "
Great job as always. It’s very entertaining to watch your channel. The glory days were the BEST in my opinion. Thank you for taking the time to do the work. Great stuff
I was into bodybuilding and some powerlifting from 1986 to 1993. I never took steroids but thought about it now and then when i would see someone who just started lifting and was way smaller than me and got way bigger than me in 6 months time when he started useing steroids. I think Steeve Reeves never took steroids because he had that look of good genetics, hard work and a good diet. The ones who juice up and stop for awhile to get clean just to claim they are natty still look unatural. Even though i don't lift anymore due to injuries from a car accident i still weigh around 240 with no gut or lovehandles. I look at some who used to be big because of steroids and when they stopped they lost most of their gains, heck i'm bigger than a lot of them. I'm so glad i got all my gains the hard way the natural way.
A few things: 1) Although steroids were technically available in the 1930's, how accessible were they? It's not like today where you ask your friends in a gym or go online. Heck, there were very few gyms in America. Weight training was frowned upon in this Country. Most cities had one YMCA and in that YMCA there was a small room with some dumb bells and some benches, that's it. London was the MECCA of Bodybuilding for decades. Baseball players, for example, were told NOT to lift weights b/c it would decrease mobility and make you "muscle bound". 2) Unless you were already a high end athlete (e.g., Mickey Mantle), who could AFFORD steroids? There was this thing called the Great Depression and WWII. You mean there were bodybuilders working two jobs just for food that had extra income to BUY steroids simply to compete in competitions that paid nothing? Come on, Nick. be real. It wasn't till after WWII (1950's) that people had some disposable income and the time to devote to weight training. Unless you have proof of people taking steroids, I wouldn't imply that steroids were pervasive in any sport. Sure, it's roots started in the 30's, but that's all you can really say. "The Male Hormone" cost 35 cents in 1945. Who had 35 cents to waste on a book in 1945 (during the war)?
totally agree with your words here . the 1930's were the depression era , money was hard to get and if you had money you bought food not drugs that were in the early stages of development let alone not widely known , , it is true that crude forms of testosterone were given to the Nazi SS troops to help make them more aggressive , but they were also given meth as well , steroids were developed in NAZI Germany , they were used to help war wounds heal faster and to treat burn victims that was their original reason for their development , and the only application for these new drugs in the 30's and 1940's . I knew Dan Lurie a former Mr America competitor in the 1940's we spoke many times about drugs in bodybuilding . he would know when they were introduced into bodybuilding and he was a winner of the most muscular award at the AAU America IN THE 1940'S three consecutive years . He told me nobody at that time used drugs ,and that drugs came into bodybuilding in the early 1960's . That point was confirmed by a book written by John D Fair on the history of York Barbell with direct reference to Dr Ziegler introducing Dianabol to the lifters in York Pa.
Michael Felli I'm a little late but I agree 100percent with your response It gives a false impression and is an insult to all who came b4 us . Just because it was invented and a few people new about does not mean the average Joe did not make his gains through hard work and diet.
As a former student and advocate of Vince Gironda, I can attest to the fact that he NEVER condoned the use of DIANABOL or any form of anabolic steroid. He was admittedly against the use of steroids and considered them the downfall of true natural bodybuilding.
You two guys can think what you want, but I trained at Vince's Gym for about ten years beginning in 1976. My first year Vince was my personal trainer. After that he told me that I knew what worked for me and that I didn't need his person training. Vince told me, personally, that he had introduced Larry Scott to dianabol. That and Blair's milk and egg protein and vitamin and food supplements were about all that Larry took to get his physique. However, you are right about his not advocating steroid use beyond that. I don''t believe Vince ever used steroids, himself. He was just way ahead of the crowd in terms of nutrition and exercise techniques.
Steve Reeves, has personally made it VERY CLEAR, that he NEVER even heard of steroids in bodybuilding, until the 1970s. Plus Steve Reeves also said that even if he had got word that steroids could be use to build muscle when he was competing, he said, "I still would have NEVER EVEN CONSIDERED THE THOUGHT, of experimenting with any drug much less!" 😊
Yeah, I agree with this too. I doubt many BBers in the 1940s had access to even get them. Most doctors probably didn't know how to get them. Medicine wasn't even using steroids as a part of any patient treatments. Even today, before the internet, buying steroids wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do. For BBing contests in the 1940s and earlier, I'd bet 70-90% of the the competitors were natty. Guys competed in BBing back in the day NOT because they wanted to get big, but because they were already bigger and more muscular than most their peers.
You eluded to the fact in this video. That steroids could have been used by bodybuilders in the 40s and 50s. You don’t know that for sure. Steve Reeves said he never used steroids. Leroy Colbert. Said he never used steroids. Stop defaming these men’s reputation
I was so naive working out as a kid that when I was 17 years old my friend told me Arnold Schwarzenegger took steroids and I argued with him that he did not wow but it did make me believe I could become strong and huge without taking steroids which I did at age 19 I was deadlifting 550 squatting 550 benching 350 had 19 and 1/2 in arms cold weigh 230 lb did behind the neck press with 275 for 6 reps all the way up all the way down I would cheat curl 225 my training Partners were taking steroids and I had to keep up with them also 10 meals a day plenty of sleep and tunnel vision for my next workout and gains of course I had a 40 inch waist but it was by no means fat now I'm 49 I have the stretch marks to prove it and the muscle memory is insane and the minute I start working out I can feel my testosterone go through the roof very hard to explain I get agitated I get anxiety and it takes me about three weeks to get used to it. I'm not delusional watching Nick with his size games and what it took to get ripped reminds me of how I was training at his age but I never tried to get ripped because like Nick I knew I'd probably have to go down to 145 pounds and I was not willing to do that and yes walking down the beach I used to get the screams steroids as I walked by to me it was a compliment and if I could go back I would have made a lot of money betting people that I would drug test clean also I didn't have the best genetics it was determination and believe it and achieve it mentality now at my age I'm so glad I never did that shit A friend of mine who used to Juiced rip both ligaments off the bone walking down steps and was a cripple for about 7 months had to have reattachment surgery on his quadriceps yeah because it destroyed his ligaments me I have no pain whatsoever no muscle tears no injuries and I beat the shit out of those weights every day for about 10 years just saying
I like your videos. No annoying background music, you do good research and have a pleasant voice and read well. And they are always interesting and different from the rest of the bodybuilding crap on the tube.
Excellent information, well researched history. Thanks a bunch. It makes sense too, comparing to the age of physical culture and the huge differences of physiques.
I read in Muscletown USA that York barbell didn't start using D-bol until after the 1960 Olympics because they didn't know how it worked and didn't want to screw up their training. The natural testosterone available before they synthesized it in D-bol had too many side effects like enlarged prostate making it impractical to use. So you really didn't see PED fueled athletes before 1960.
I gotta say man, these are some quality videos. I was never interested in lifting before but these help me stay in the gym and are truly interesting. Seriously, thanks.
How did he manage to get hold of them? They didn't have dealers with steroids back then. They existed but you couldn't exactly get hold of them. They were very underground nobody even knew of them. They were just starting to be developed. Plus if you think reeves isn't natural I feel sorry for you. He's just got good genetics. You can't say someone is using just because not matter how hard you try you can't achieve what they have achieved. I'm not saying he definitely didn't use but considering the circumstances and they way he looked high chance he was natural
The 'just got good genetics' line has been around as long as steroids. There's a 'look' and a degree of musculature which can only be achieved thru juicing. I feel sorry for you if you think Reeves was 'natural.'. It's like wanting to still believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy when you're all grown up.
Nick ... amazing video ... totally blew me away . I always thought that the likes of Grimek, Scott , er al where all natural weightlifters , bodybuilders ..I even heard that Al Oerter the discus thrower back in the early 1960’s used dianabol ...this expose totally enlightened me .. Good job !!! I see things in a different light now when I look at the bodybuilders of old ..even Vince Gironde jumped in the band wagon.. amazing !!!
This is the reason I subscribe to niks channel I always learn new things great vids and it’s great to see someone who actually know what they are talking about 👍🏻🇬🇧
Nick I enjoy your content very much. please make a video on the evolution of bodies of cartoon characters and other superheroes over the time. and the change in cartoon bodybuilders due to change in the standards of bodybuilding.
Great topic, man. Very interesting to hear about the lengthy history of testosterone. I was surprised you mentioned Vince Gironda had his athletes on Dianobol, with him being so vehemently against steroid use in all of his publications.
I love the homework you put into your videos nick. I have been into gym/strength for 35 years and you cover so many interesting topics. Well done keep up the great work👍
I’m 23 and I’ve been lift for 8 years. Started powerlifting 15-18.5 for football. Got to 6’2-3” 280. Then 18.5-23 started B.B. Now I’m 209. Lol I look good but my friends that take steroids look better and have been in the gym for a year. It’s crazy how much “medicine” effects the bodybuilding journey. 8 years natty< 1 year geared
Obviously I'm a fan of Reeves and even I admit he had a "full" anabolic look, he just didn't train or eat to maximize mass. He ate 3 light meals and did fullbody workouts. He was pretty huge considering those two variables. Everyone today with that type physique admits or is known to use boatloads of steroids. Zyzz, Seid, Laid, Guzman, John Skywalker. Like Reeves, they utilize steroids not to get huge, but to achieve a certain look.
