Giant Dumbbells.Furious Pete builds the biggest.

The YouTube celebrity Furious Pete ( Peter Czerwinski ) had the world's heaviest dumbbell made for his channel.It's looks very well constructed.A massive silver monster.Tightly fitted,and engraved with with 'Furious Pete' on the ends.It weighed 425 pounds on the shop scale.He's calling it 420.

He got it back into his warehouse gym.He could only deadlift it off the ground.
I wonder if anyone could ever get that overhead? I doubt it.
The usual approach for a strongman lift is to get it up to the shoulder with two hands,then press it up overhead with one hand.



There's a man from New York who had a 413 pound dumbbell made.

He was trying to row it.But I wouldn't say that qualifies as a row.He's deadlifting it,and jerking it up a little.But he can tell people he has it.( with his creepy deep voice )
There's a very weird guy ( also with a creepy deep voice ) who costumes himself like a Mexican wrestler who semi rows a 375 lb db.I'll skip putting up his video.He has a serial killer vibe.Just no.

Then there's a video of Rich Piana with his crew from 2015 visiting a gym with a 375lb db.It seems to be a super extended dumbbell.Very long,and awkward.One of his guys did manage to row it.He was jerking,and bouncing,but I think it still looks like a row.

Now what about a legit overhead press?
Officially that would be Dimitar Savatinov of Russia.He pressed a 143kg / 315lb dumbbell overhead
in competition at a World's Strongest Man contest in 2017.

Astounding to see someone lift that massive awkward weight.He has to handle the size,and press it overhead!
Some people would call this a jerk instead of a proper press.I'll leave that judgement to the experts.

Pete has himself a very impressive gym decoration anyway.

NPC USA Women's Bodybuilding 2017,and the case of the freak implants.

Yvette Bova

I happened to be follow a link from Muscle Insider to their contest photo coverage of  the NPC USA bodybuilding contest.I looked up the Women's Bodybuilding division..I was looking at the field of competitors,and found this picture.I can honestly say I have no idea why this women was in a bodybuilding contest.
This isn't what a bodybuilder looks like by any definition I knew of.
I got nuthin'
There were only five women in the whole bodybuilding division.Four in the heavy weight.One in the light heavy.She was the light heavy.So she won the division.Sigh.
I looked her up.She's a USAF veteran.Well,I thank her for her service.
She's also a porn actress.How unsurprising.
These implants are so utterly ( or should I say udderly ) grotesque as to defy belief.
Of course I've seen similar cartoon balloons on strippers.That's exactly the problem.This woman doesn't look like an athlete.She looks like a sex worker.
I have to wonder why they even allow these buffoonery boobs to be produced as medical devices?
I would think that implanted medical devices have to be approved by the FDA.
Yep.I looked it up.So at what point do they say enough?
Something short of the Hindenburg?
Breast reconstruction with implants after mastectomy?
Replacing a lost body part with a prothesis is common practice.
Abnormal formation of the breasts leading to plastic surgery?
Understandable.
But this? This isn't really an issue of augmentation as such.It's a radical form of sexual fetishization surgery. Have we gone beyond personal liberty into self harm here?
Women with abnormally large natural breasts will sometimes have them reduced due to severe back pain.And if these massive implants were damaged,or ruptured,it could cause a severe problem.
I don't like the idea of protecting people from themselves in general.There are considerations of informed consent,and harm reduction that reduce bad consequences.
But I wouldn't have any part in approving this by a medical board,hospital,doctors,insurance companies...or the FDA.
Common sense got up and rolled off.

I could put up other pictures of her.But what's the point.
She has trained with weights.But the entire front of her body is dominated by these basketballs straining under her skin.
I could say she has a short torso,bad abs,and she's at the age she should be in the master's division.But it's all beside the point.
I don't intend this as a mere attack on one individual either.The problem is general.She just got caught up in this mentality.But that's a bigger issue.
( the woman who won had implants,tattoos on her breasts,heavy make-up,and BBQ tan )

I've tried to find the NPC ( National Physique Committe) and IFBB ( International Federation of Bodybuilders ) rules online.
The NPC has many different divisions,and a plethora of rules.
Here are the NPC Bodybuilding Rules.
I can't find anything about implants,and site injections.

Here's the IFBB rule on implants,and site injections for Men's Bodybuilding for 2017.The Women's Bodybuilding division was discontinued a few years ago

IFBB rule on implants,and extras.

 This should be the standard for ALL Physique,and Bodybuilding.
 They should ban ALL implants.

They won't.
And because they won't the competitors will keep getting implants.About an estimated 80% of the women in all divisions.Ponder that one for a moment.Organizations claiming to be representing physique,and fitness effectively demand that women mutilate their breasts.

At the least they could impose some sane limits on size.
But at this point I don't think they care much about the Women's Bodybuilding division.It's hanging on by a thread.Why even have standards?
They act like they're giving the hens some chicken feed before consigning them to the fryer.A small courtesy.
The NPC,and IFBB ( which are not genuinely separate organizations ) are run strictly as businesses.
The more mainstream 'fitness' has become,the more money they make.And it's concentrated in a few companies,and individuals.Bikini girls pay entrance fees.They're anxious for approval,and success.Mainstream mutts want to see bikini girls.So ka-ching.
Good bye actual Bodybuilding.

Yes I know it's not much of an actual sport to begin with.It's a kind of beauty pageant for people who torture themselves with weights.But it used to be fun to watch.
Now it's too often dull,cringey,and sad.

Rich Piana dead at 46.

It has not been a good week in the world of bodybuilding.It's been pretty brutal actually.
The fact that Rich Piana succumbed to the head injury he suffered a few weeks ago isn't really a shock.If you hear someone has been placed in a medically induced coma,it's often unrecoverable.
It's brain damage,or death.
I'm not going to pretend I was a fan of the man.I had watched a few of his videos.But he wasn't my cup of tea.I'm not into the hardcore biker/rock star/tat freak look.
But I believe that he loved the weightlifting life.He really wanted to be a bodybuilder.
When he didn't become a champion,he just decided to do it his way.
That did involve the heavy use of drugs.Unfortunately he had dependency issues with a number of substances.That would be the diplomatic way to put it.
He was a grown man.He owned his own life.He made his choices.
If what some neuroscientists say about the human brain is true,we will tend to follow our deepest course.In effect we posses less real free will than we like to believe.I admit I don't like to believe we don't make real choices.
I'll try to see people as what they work to be.At least try to give them credit for the will they activate in their lives.Piana poured himself into getting huge,and pumped up,and popular.He had a big personality,and attitude,and a temper.
He excited a lot of people.If that got some young people excited about bodybuilding,then good.
I hope they find the reward in it.
Piana was an extremist.He used too much,pushed too hard,lived bigger than life.There will be people who burn bright,and too short.They do find what they love,and they do let it kill them.
So I hope the guy enjoyed his wild ride.

I'll leave with an old poem by a lady who may have understood the feeling.

                                       "My candle burns at both ends
                                         It will not last the night;
                                         But ah,my foes,and oh,my friends -
                                         It gives a lovely light.

                               
                                                                           Edna St.Vincent Millay

Dallas McCarver dead at 26.

The news has been reported today that Dallas McCarver has died at the age of 26.

The report is that he probably choked on food,and collapsed while alone.By the time someone found him it was too late.
I'm not any kind of insider news source.I'm just a bodybuilding fan.So this is just my reaction.
It's so shocking,and sad to see a young incredibly strong person die like this.Young athletes seem so full of life,and power.Particularly bodybuilders.It's a cold slap of tragedy when something like this happens.We all know of the cases of bodybuilders in their 40's-60's dying of organ,mainly heart,failure.But that is usually attributed to many years of multi drug abuse,and  congenital predispositions.At this time this sounds like a catastrophic accident.
Unfortunately I know many ignorant people will try to blame the victim in this case.
The general populace has been thoroughly indoctrinated by the irresponsible elements in the media to believe that Anabolic Steroids can,and do, cause sudden death.No knowledgeable medical source proclaims that.The health damage from Anabolic Steroids is cumulative over years of abuse.It unquestionably causes stress to internal organs,But it doesn't just make a user drop dead suddenly.
( of course this man was using multiple drugs so it would be difficult to determine which single drug would be responsible in this fatality )

I think the problem with the media's demonizing of steroids is causing a great deal of ignorance,and hostility toward users.Bodybuilders are being treated with actual hatred by some people.I have no idea why these people want to follow anything to do with bodybuilding.
This appears to be a type of young male who is fascinated,and repulsed by 'enhanced' bodybuilders.
In other words weird bodybuilding trolls who lick up information about bodybuilders,and are intrigued by steroids.They also love to compulsively shit all over them.What they think they are accomplishing by this is beyond me.They seem jealous.But they keep trying to project a position of knowing concern."Dude! He's using gear.That can't be good for you.It must be the cause!".
A kind of concern troll I guess.
It's not concern.It's glee.
They're smacking their lips in satisfaction every time a bodybuilder dies,a or suffers a serious health problem.
It's despicable.

Whatever this young man's cause of death,it's still a tragedy.He was 26.He was living the life he wanted.This was his ambition,and dream.
He was a genuine contender for the highest championships in bodybuilding.This is a terrible loss for the sport.

The most important thing is,he was a young person with a family,and friends who loved him.
Let us all spare a moment to think of the grief of his family.
Sincere condolences on the loss of your beloved son.

Tommy Chaiken;The Nightmare of Steroids in Sports Illustrated.

This was the most sensationalistic steroid story SI ever published up to that time.A harrowing first person account of a college football named Tommy Chaiken.It's essentially a horror story of a man driven mad by demon steroids.
Sadly the young man did take a truck load of drugs,and make himself very sick in the process.
This story was written in the aftermath of the Ben Johnson Olympic steroid scandal.The press was hot on the trail for stories of steroid abuse.SI found a big one in the University of South Carolina Gamecocks Football team.

The Nightmare of Steroids.

The Nightmare of Steroids in SI

                  
This is the original magazine layout from the SI Archives.I can't find the story on the site as a plain transcripted article.I don't know why? It seems as though I can find full table of contents,and articles for most issues I've looked at.This article isn't listed in this issue's table of contents,or transcribed.
If you want to read it you will have to go to the site,and read it in the original.
The story was written by Rick Telander,who had a football focus.The article was illustrated with excellent water color paintings by Jeffrey Smith.
It's told in the first person by Tommy Chaiken a young man who played for the Gamecocks college football team from 1984-1987.

It opens with Chaiken sitting on his bed with a gun under his chin.He had degenerated so far into a state of severe anxiety that he was at the breaking point.Panicking,incapable of functioning.His father talked to him from the other side of the door,and calmed him down.That's a very dramatic way to start a story.
How did he get there? It took awhile.About three years of savage tackles,drugs,and wild behavior.
He was a successful high school football player who came to a big division one college team.He was put through the smashing machine of football training to toughen the players up for a much higher level of play.
They were pushed hard to show they were willing to fight.
"If you showed a violent nature,regardless of your athletic ability,it definitely swayed the coaches opinions in your favor."
Chaiken felt the pressure to measure up.He wanted to be lean,and fast.Instead he just got pushed around.

Tackled during practice

The players were practicing in the heat.Drills,and more drills.Trying to find any shade.Sometimes dropping from exhaustion.Chaiken passed out in a huddle once.
The head coach,Joe Morrison,Standing on the sidelines dressed in black.Smoking.
"I think his smoking was kind of a poor example for us,as far as drugs are concerned."
( Now I do have to chuckle at that.Kid,that was not the impetus for you to use steroids! ) 

The subject of steroids came up early.Joking references.A knowing mention from an older player.But Chaiken didn't really know anything about it,or want to,at first.
But the message got through.The defensive line coach Jim Washburn said "Do what you have to do,take what you have to take."
After Chaiken started using Washbun noticed his 25 pound weight gain " You look great!".
Chaiken responded "Yeah,I've begun the chemical warfare."
 "People who say steroids don't work don't know what they're talking about.You've got to experience   it to know what I mean.Your muscles swell;they retain water and they just grow.You can work out much harder than before,and your muscles don't get as sore.You're more motivated in the weight room and you've got more energy because of the psychological effects of the drug."
Chaiken goes into the predictable story of drugs,cycles,injections,pills,and his increasing strength,and weight gain.He becomes one of the Big guys.He starts selling to others.He's drinking,trying cocaine,and LSD.He played a game with a xylocaine injection in his injured toe.Numbed during the game,in agony after.Players were becoming bloated,and having cramps trying to run.Keith Kephart,the strength coach,asked who was using Anadrol? Players raised their hands .He warned them about it.Said they could come to him for counseling.But he didn't stop them.
They were needle happy boys having pinning parties in their dorm rooms.You do me,I'll do you.
(sounds like the plot of a video 'pin party boys' )
By the spring of '84 Chaiken was being called Quasibloato.Benching almost 500lbs.Squatting more than 600lbs.The weightlifting meet for the team was called the 'Iron Cocks'.
The two themes for the rest of the story are violence,and illness.
The violence stories.He's edgy,and hyper aggressive.
He beats up a marine in a bar.
Players are getting drunk,and headbutting car windows.
He gets into a fight in an alley,and the man pulls a knife on him.Cuts him.
He and his buddies go out in the countryside to shoot signs,mailboxes,a cow.
Fights cops in Fort Lauderdale.Loses.Ends up in court.They let 'the fighting gamecock' go.
He bashes up his room with a baseball bat.
Pulls a gun on a random pizza boy.
Here is the classic steroid psycho.But I'm smelling a whiff  of something.He just pulls a shotgun on a pizza boy without any further consequences?
I know there were,and are,some wild goings on with college football teams.But it's still a little hard to believe there isn't some exaggeration in this litany of mayhem.I don't know how well they were capable of fact checking his stories.
The illness,and injuries were profound too.
He gradually collapsed into a heap of malfunctioning rubble.
His blood pressure was high.A common problem with AAS.Worse the doctor was hearing a heart murmur.
He developed colitis,and was bleeding rectally.
Often was sick with pneumonia,bronchitis,and exhaustion.
He left a game once with chest pain,and cold sweats.
At the end of that season he had to have knee surgery.
In his third varsity season when he came back he started using again,and it went from bad to horrible.
His blood pressure shot up,and he was having hot flashes.
Then he had a small tumor removed from his hand.The doctor said it was caused by steroids.( !? )
The college wouldn't pay for it because it wasn't football related.He got angry,and quit the team.
For awhile.Then he apologized to coach Morrison and came back.His sense of self worth was still tied up with playing.
His anxiety problem kept getting more intense.He was becoming crippled by panic attacks.
 "I can't really describe an attack,except to say it's like your mind is a car engine stuck in                     neutral,with the gas pedal to the floor,just screaming.There is terror mixed in,and  you think that you're going to explode.The anxiety attacks were the worst mental pain I'd ever experienced."
He said at this point he had only recently had one shot of Parabolin in the last five months.
But he was having repeated episodes of anxiety attacks,and hiding in his room just trying to get through them.Numb,paranoid,ears whooshing,seeing a gray colorless world.He was contemplating suicide.
He forced himself through a few games,and then quit in the third quarter of a game against Virginia.His mind was a muddle.
He was sent home to see a psychiatrist.He was put on stelazine  ( an antipsychotic )by one doctor,and an added antidepressant by another.He didn't feel better.He collapsed one day at college,and lost control of his bladder,and bowels.
He was finished.His father came,and brought him home at this time.

This story had a hell of an impact at the time.It changed many of the lives of those involved.Most people didn't have any idea how anabolic steroids could affect a user.It was a shocking revelation to the average sports fan.I certainly was shocked by it.
It's possible that there are elements of exaggeration in the story.But Chaiken's drug usage looks like it damn near killed him.
I would want to bring up a few points.
He was stacking multiple Anabolic Androgenic Steroids.The usual list of popular drugs at the time.Also taking large dosages.
He was drinking alcohol.
He may have had preexisting undiagnosed  psychiatric conditions.
The psychiatric drugs he started taking may ( probably did ) affect him.
He was playing football.We now know that many,if not most,football players are at risk for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.He reported feelings of dizziness,and headaches.He may had a concussion.It's possible that was a factor in his illness.
We'll never know the full details on his health.But he did live,and returned to health eventually.

The immediate impact of the story was an investigation,and Indictment of several coaches,and Chaiken's drug dealer.From the New York Times.

Indicted were the defensive line coach, James W. Washburn, 39 years old; the tight end coach, Thomas Kurucz, 42; the defensive coordinator, Thomas E. Gadd, 42, and Keith Kephart, 44, the strength and conditioning coach.

A fifth person indicted was John Landon Carter, of Bethesda, Md., who was charged with dispensing anabolic steriods to four former Gamecock players: Tommy Chaikin, David Poinsett, Heyward Myers and George Hyder.

From the Los Angeles Times.

"Today's indictments highlight the growing problem of the illegal use of anabolic steroids and the abuse of them by college athletes," U.S. Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh said in a prepared statement."

 Here's the sentencing from the NYT

COLUMBIA, S.C., Aug. 10— Three former South Carolina assistant football coaches were sentenced today for their convictions stemming from the use and distribution of steroids within the athletic department. Their sentences ranged from three months to six months in a halfway house.

United States District Judge G. Ross Anderson also sentenced John L. Carter of Bethesda, Md., who was convicted of similar charges, to three months at a community security facility.

Among the coaches, Tom Kurucz received the harshest sentence: six months in a halfway house and three years' probation. Jim Washburn and Keith Kephart were sentenced to three months in a halfway house and given three-year probationary terms.

Kephart, 44, was South Carolina's strength coach from 1982 to 1988, and Washburn, 39, was a Gamecock assistant from 1982 to 1988. Kurucz, 42, was at South Carolina from 1982 to 1986.

The grand jury investigation of steroid use in the school's athletic department was prompted by disclosures by Tommy Chaikin, a former Gamecock football player, in an article in Sports Illustrated last fall.

Head Coach Joe Morrison died of a heart attack shortly after the story came out.This is the story on the anniversary of his death including the original local paper story.
He had claimed not to have knowledge of the drug usage of the players.
His former assistant coaches talked about his legacy.They basically said he let the players get away with bad behavior as long as they could show up to play.An unfortunate,but not uncommon attitude among college football coaches.

Jim Washburn went on to coach in the NFL for many years.He was with the Tennessee Titans,the Philadelphia Eagles,and the Detroit Lions.
He got fired from the Eagles for not getting along with the other coaches ( I guess it doesn't it doesn't go over well to call a guy Juanita )See story on the NFL site.
See this story from NBC Sports.
He kept working as a coach at a very high level.But clearly he didn't make a good impression on everyone.He was given a second chance others weren't.

Keith Kephart said he knew about the steroid use in this Chicago Tribune article.
He never worked in coaching again,and moved back to South Carolina to be a personal trainer.
See this Jayhawk Slant story.
He had been the president of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.NSCA
He went from a liked,and successful college strength coach to a personal trainer with a record because of this.

Tom Kurucz ;I didn't find any record of a return to coaching.

Tom Gadd ; had coached before at the University of Utah.He said they had a made players,and their parents sign a consent form for the use of steroids.This seemed to come out during his trail in South Carolina.See LA Times story.
Another AP story  on Gadd,and Washburn stated they were helping the players get the steroids.
Here's a a story where Gadd defends himself and says he tried to get them to stop using.
Gadd went on to coach back at Utah,and other colleges.He was then hired as head coach at Bucknell University.He had a long successful career there.He died at the age of 56 in 2003 of a brain tumor.
See this story on his death.
It's good to see he took the opportunity to redeem himself.

On the consent form?
Amazing.I've never heard of there being any consent forms/legal waivers being used in college football for steroid usage.This was in the early 80's before there was extensive knowledge about steroids.Imagine getting American parents to sign something like that now.I wonder if anyone will be made to sign a waiver for CTE in football?

Chaiken did mention his friend George Hyder several times in the story.He,and George were lifting buddies,and usually up to the same shenanigans.( and by shenanigans I mean drug use,vandalism,and cow shooting )
Hyder,and the other players weren't prosecuted.
I tired to find out what happened to Hyder.I think I've found him.
He served in the Military.Then became a personal trainer,and Yoga instructor.
Here is a dedication in a friends book on yoga.
He died  at the age of 37 in 2001.See obituary.The birth year would be consistent with the time he would have been in college.
What I learned from George Hyder a remembrance from his friends in yoga would confirm his having been the George Hyder who played for the Gamecocks.

Tommy Chaiken

Now what became of Tommy Chaiken.
I think it's revealing to look at this excellent article by journalist Sally Jenkins.
This is from March 1989. A South Carolina Scandal.
He's down 50lbs and working as a landscaper back in his home state of Maryland.
He received plenty of blow back from the story besides the legal ramifications including hate mail,and threats.South Carolina Athletic Director King Dixon  said he "defamed" the school.
Dixon;

"That article was like a 2,000-pound bomb going off," Dixon said. "It was devastating to South Carolina. It's tainted us, it's had a tremendous adverse effect as far as what other people think of us. We're still trying to assess the damage. We've had intense negative publicity. There's been a full-fledged investigation of allegations that are still unfounded. And we've gotten a clean bill of health."

It really rocked the Gamecocks,and all of college football.

Jenkins brings up an important point in revealing the fact that Chaiken was paid for the story.
4,500 for the original SI story.
And..

"Sports Illustrated paid his legal fees, which Managing Editor Mark Mulvoy said were about $20,000. Anders said the magazine could be accused of a conflict of interest in advising Chaikin legally, but Mulvoy said the player was informed of all the dangers in publishing his story, including criminal charges."

Chaiken also admitted he had been hoping for a book deal.( which he never got )
He said he told the truth besides a few figures he may have mistaken.He also admitted he regretted naming friends,and making them feel like he was pointing fingers.But he maintained his intent was to expose the drug problem.Not personal gain.
Chaiken;

"I think I helped more people than I hurt," he said. "When you expose something like that, certain people are going to be uprooted."

 Jim Washburn said in the team's defense;

"We had a bunch of great kids, I thought. No different from the average college kids."

I found this update from 2005 by Pete Iocobelli of Associated Press.
2005 story on Tommy Chaiken.
 He's in good health,and married with kids.
And there's still resentment toward him.
Todd Ellis the team quarterback said;

"No question there was betrayal, hurt and surprise,” said Ellis, an attorney. “If he had problems, he should’ve come to the team and talked instead of bringing in third parties. I’m not sure what the gain was for Tommy Chaikin. ... Nobody understood.”

 Ellis made a good point about the consciousness of steroids then,and later.

Ellis said, ... public’s knowledge about steroids wasn’t close to what’s out there now. “It’s like the difference between a smoker in the 1960s and the knowledge there is now,”

This article was one small reason the knowledge changed.
It was shocking,and pulled back the cover on a world of drug pumped crazy college boys.
I do think it's a story told in a tone of sensationalism.Wild,and harshly dramatic.
That doesn't mean it's not largely accurate to what happened.Football hammers people.
I do feel sorry for the poor guy.He blew his life up.He's lucky he landed on his feet.


(Dec,17) I want to note that someone commented the shooting of the cow was accidental.

Steve Courson and the consequences of his Anabolic Steroid use.

I'll try to provide some further information,and links on Steve Courson and his life after the big Sports Illustrated article.He came forward and admitted his long use of Androgenic-Anabolic Steroids  while playing college and Pro football.
This was a period of more light being shined on the subject,and he became a focus of attention.
Courson played for the Steelers from 1978–1983 and retired in 1985 after two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.In 1991 he wrote a book called "False Glory: The Steve Courson Story."
I haven't read it.But I might some day.
He took a hard turn against steroid usage, and expressed regret over "Selling myself out to the system by using drugs to compete.''
Courson also developed a severe heart problem,cardiomyopathy.He didn't say he was certain the drug use was the only cause.But it's certainly possible that it contributed.He was on the heart transplant list for a time.But remarkably he exercised,and lost enough weight to be removed from it.He regained as much of his health as possible under the circumstances and became a personal trainer.

I have to give the man credit for having the incredible will to push himself to recovery.

This article from SI in early 1992 describes the difficult  time after his health deterioration.
In the Aftermath of Steroids.
It does present the hard facts of the impact of steroids on Courson's health.
This is the just of the story;

"Courson gobbled steroids and kept almost 300 pounds on his . 6'1" frame so that he could ;continue, as he says, "to perform in a sport that I would have played for nothing." He knew the drug-taking was wrong and unhealthy, but everyone else was doing it, he claims, so why not? "Without naming names,"writes Courson, "I can state unequivocally that during my time in Pittsburgh 75 percent of the Steeler offensive line took anabolic-androgenic steroids at one time or another.... The fact is, our AAS usage was the same—give or take—as most NFL teams at that time."

"Gobbled Steroids?" Writers love to use words like gobbled food,or guzzled soft drinks when it refers to something disapproved of.The writer must have pictured people swallowing handfuls of pills.
 But yes,he clearly over loaded his body to the breaking point.
This brings up the question of  people's choices,and free will.If Courson had it to do over again would he have taken steroids? Considering his love of football,and his competitiveness, I'd say he would have.Hindsight is 20/20 vision as they say.But we don't know the full consequences of our actions until after fact.At the time he played everyone around him was using AAS.It would have taken an unusual aversion to drugs to reject what was seen at the time as a helpful medicinal aid.The more negative aspects of AAS use were not as widely acknowledged.Nor the long term harms as generally known.Many doctors weren't even very familiar with athletic levels of use.
No one can shout at themselves back in time to say "don't do that!".
But he had to live with his regrets.At least the man was honest,and took responsibility.

He can be seen in this clip from his appearance before the US Senate speaking about his use.

When you take into account what we now know about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy,Steroids may not even be the worst risk in football.
It's a hell of a sport where men bulk themselves up to bash their brains out.
That's a pretty dark way of looking at it.I just hope it's worth it to those who play in the NFL.

In the end Courson's heart didn't give out.He died at the age of 50 in an unusual accident when a tree he was cutting down fell on him.

Steve Courson and 'The Steroid Explosion'.1985 story in Sports Illustrated on steroids in the NFL.

I've been reviewing some of the major steroid stories in Sports Illustrated.It's America's most prominent sports magazine,and a source of high level journalism.The standard is ( usually ) up to the level of top news reporting,and investigative journalism on any subject.They've had some great writers over the years.
I took the magazine from the early eighties to about early 2000's.I was mainly following the tennis stories.But I read a lot of the articles.It was a pleasure to read so many fascinating stories about all kinds of things I wouldn't have thought to look into otherwise.It presented many great human stories through the lens of sports.
Of course I was always interested in anything about bodybuilding,and weight training in general.
Including the revealing stories about football players training,and affinity for the world of weights.
Football players often engaged in power lifting,and general bodybuilding.Many were friends of the gym scene.
I was a football fan when I was a child.My father was a fan of the Dallas Cowboys.Which is a little funny because he was from New York City.He lived the rest of his life in Texas were my Mom was from.
I really enjoyed the drama,and color of football.They seemed like mighty giants fighting it out on the field.And this was the time of the classic Cowboys team coached by Tom Landry.Roger Staubach,Tony Dorsett and others.I think I even had a poster of the team on my wall.
That time in football was great.It was certainly more innocent for the fans.Most people had never heard of steroids.And it was far before the knowledge of CTE.

This was also the time of the great Pittsburgh Steelers teams.They had the reputation of being some of the toughest bastards that ever thundered over the gridiron.
This was the era of Terry Bradshaw,Mel Blount,"Mean" Joe Green,Jack Ham,Franco Harris,Jack Lambert,John Stallworth,Lynn Swan,and Mike Webster.
Mike Webster was one of the main subjects of the film Concussion.
It was was based on the book League of Denial.It was also the subject of an excellent documentary made by PBS Frontline.You might be able to find it free on YouTube.
Webster was the first NFL football player medical examiner Dr Bennett Omalu performed an autopsy on.Which lead him to discover the evidence of catastrophic brain injury in football players named Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy,or CTE.

Steve Courson was one of the players during this era.He was a teammate of Webster.

Steve Courson and Mike Webster

In the May 13, 1985 issue of Sports Illustrated Steve Courson was a subject in the three part expose of Anabolic Steroids.
The story is listed on the cover as "The Steroid Explosion."

All the issues of Sports Illustrated are online in the SI Vault.But it's not always easy to find stories.The search system isn't good.
You can see the whole issue with original photos,or easier to read print.( you can just keep going forward in the full issue to view all original images )
The first part is Steroids:A Problem of Huge Dimensions.
Here is the print version.
The story is by William Oscar Johnson, a respected writer.
The main photo is a two page picture of Steve Courson looking like a great burly beast.Doing bicep cable curls,and sweating profusely.He appears to be a fine example of the big lumbering lineman.He's big,and smooth.Not cut with the fine delineation of a bodybuilder.
I would hate to be the opposing player who was on the other side of this genuine hulk.He could run into you like a freight train.Good night buddy.
There's a picture on the next page of a shirtless man holding a tray of various steroids.It's like Jeeves bringing you your morning Winny.Of course there are some current bodybuilders who would look at that picture now and drool.Because those are all real pharmaceutical drugs.Not black market Mexican horse 'roids.Whinny indeed.
So the story goes into the use in college football,the NFL,the USFL ( it was a now defunct football league.Trump owned a team.Yes.Really),and gyms across America.
I'm not sure the writer had the history of steroids correct.He said they were invented  at the University of Alabama! Huh? I didn't know UAB was in Germany!
We have the usual rundown of effects,and side effects.Including the psychological symptoms.Such as a young man named Scott who was suffering from an obsessive case of what we would now call muscle dysmorphia,or 'bigorexia'.

His wife, Kathy, said, "I'm so tired of him asking me, 'Do I look big? Do I look small?' It's annoying."

Sadly steroids made Scott annoying.Maybe Scott was annoying already,and they just helped.
The story does cover the experts,and drug dealers at the time.The serious legal issues that have now buried steroids in the law were starting to blow up.

On to the second part of the series Getting Physical-And Chemical. ( print )
This is the first person account of Steve Courson and his personal experience with using steroids.He is very honest,and open about his reasons for feeling he needed to use.
It's one of the most forthcoming pieces on the issue of steroid use in major league sports you will find.Particularly at that time.

"Football is my business. I take this attitude toward drugs: They give me an edge in my business. I don't regret anything I've done so far as pharmaceutical use is concerned. It's very easy for people on the outside to criticize."

The third part of the series is A Business Built On Bulk. ( print )
It's about a drug dealer named Charles Radler.

"Radler was running the most lucrative steroid-dealing operation in the U.S. His records showed he was grossing $20,000 a week and that in the last nine months of 1983 he had salted away more than $673,000 in four different bank accounts."

He was arrested and sent to prison.
But before they caught up with him he was doing a thriving business.He had been working at a pizza place when he got into lifting.He started using steroids himself.Then got the bright idea to go into selling more than pizza.He looked up names in a powerlifting magazine,and sent out fliers in the mail.Responses came in.He went on to live the movie drug kingpin life.Money,cars,guns,and a ruined life.
He received a surprisingly short sentence.( I'm sure he'd do more time now )
I didn't find further news on him.

Some readers may find the stories generally sensationalistic in tone.Steroid stories almost always play heavy on the negatives,and concerns.But I've seen far worse.It's fair,and accurate about the scene at the time.
I do think it's an interesting insight into the developing story of steroids in sports.

I'm going to do a further post on Steve Courson,and follow his story.
There were serious repercussions in his life due to steroid usage.
Heart problems,and legal scrutiny.

Steve Courson on the field.

Reason magazine article on the history and legal issues of Steroids in the USA.

This is one of the best articles I've read recently about the history,and current usage of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids.
It's mostly focused on the current legal status,and the problems users are facing.The fact that young men are purchasing steroids illegally,and older men are being prescribed testosterone by cooperative doctors.
This is far better researched than the usual journalistic shallowness on the subject.
Basically the semi reluctant criminalization of AAS has done little to stop people from using it.It's made it more dangerous to the users.

How Washington Lost the War on Muscle

Of course as long as the old gas bags in Washington can get testosterone from their doctors,why let the commoners have it?

Ben Johnson at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

In 1988 sprinter Ben Johnson was caught using an Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid during the Seoul Summer Olympic games.
It was a massive story at the time.He didn't just win the race.He left them in the shadows.He blitzed them.
Most of these runners were probably doping.But he got caught.

He was stripped of his gold medal.
The fact is he physically won that race.That's what happened.
But he tested positive for a banned substance.History erased on paper.

This was a watershed moment in sports history.
Before;most people probably hadn't heard of steroids,after everyone had.
They were shocked,and became suspicious,and cynical.
People don't like to be made fools of and they felt like they had.They didn't know what was going on behind the scenes in high level sports.
The evidence of the East German doping program had been noticed by those following international sport.But before the fall of East Germany all the records,and revelations were yet to see the full light of day.
This was the time when people realized how much of a difference doping an athlete could make.At least that was the perception.That Ben Johnson was a kind of Stanozolol powered Superman.
Who knows how these athletes would have performed if they were all perfectly natural?
Ben Johnson might have still won.We'll never know.

Here's the Sports Illustrated covering the story at the time.
The loser

Here's the famous cover Busted.

I think it's worth looking at the history of the increased awareness of AAS use in sports.It has certainly effected the view of bodybuilding,weightlifting,and physiques in general.
People have become intensely suspicious of anyone with muscular size.
To be a muscular human now seems to attract accusations of being a 'cheater'.
I think too many people overreact ,and howl "Roids! You can't fool me!"
Clearly people have been fooled in the past over all kinds of subjects.They'll get fooled again by many more.
Better more informed opinions than jumping to conclusions if you ask me.

I'll post a few more stories of interest on this period.

Jackie Paisley - Dead at 54.Her burst boobs ruined her health.

Jackie Paisley died at the age of 54 on March 17,2017.She was a female bodybuilder who competed from the 1980's to her retirement in 1991.Her Wikipedia entry shows how successful she was too.I was watching bodybuilding at the time,and remember her.She was tall,and leggy,and a very expressive poser.
She really wasn't one of the athletes I followed closely at all.Not the body type I could identify with.
But she seemed like a nice positive person.She certainly had plenty of fans,and media coverage.
There's a large gallery of pictures of her on this 80's muscle blog.
You can see she was an impressive woman.
Women's bodybuilding was booming in the 80's,and it seems somebody spotted her natural gifts and told her she could make it onstage.She had a fast rise up the ranks,and competed at the highest level.She won the Ms International in 1989.She competed in three Ms Olympia's.
She retired in 1991 at the young age of 26.
Bodybuilding is a damn hard thing to do.It's sad but not surprising when people stop competing at a young age.It seems she didn't feel like the demands of competition were worth it anymore.

She went home to Arizona,and worked in training,and nutrition.She had been a music student,and posed for this statuesque photo.

Jackie Paisley playing the violin.

I do remember at the time seeing the progression of her career once she got on the national scene.The earliest photos show her before she got implants.She had a well developed but flat chest.It followed the usual trend with female bodybuilders.She started out with her real breasts,then boom,big hard implants were installed.Of course the drugs,and dieting reduce their breast tissue.But it was depressing to see how many women thought artificial breasts were a necessary addition.
At that time in the 1980's breast implants were becoming more generally popular.There's a sensationalistic but entertaining 1997 movie called Breast Men that portrays a fictional account of the rise of silicone breast implants.Silicone implants made by Dow Corning became the fake boob of choice.It was softer,and more pliable than saline.A lot of women got them.Many of them came to regret it horribly.They claimed it made them extremely ill.Dow Corning was sued into bankruptcy though the company survived.There is information about the whole controversy in this Wikipedia article on breast implants.Fair warning there are graphic pictures.
There were subsequent studies that claimed that the risk of silicone implants was exaggerated.That they weren't proven generally dangerous.
This 1997 story from the New York Times includes the following quote;

In recent years, tens of thousands of women have claimed that they suffered a host of health problems from silicone-filled breast implants, including hardening of the breast tissue, implant rupture and disabling disorders that resemble autoimmune disorders like lupus.

There is abundant evidence that silicone implants ruptured at rates far higher than initially suggested by manufacturers. But the vast majority of recent scientific studies has found that the rate of autoimmune diseases in women with implants is about the same as for the general population.

  This 2015 article from Forbes takes the other side of stating that the whole lawsuit onslaught was financially motivated,and a debacle of the real science.It reviews a book "Silicone on Trail;Breast Implants and the Politics of Risk" by Dr Jack Fisher.The article author Henry I. Miller takes a strong counter stance against the concerns over silicone implants,and places blame on FDA head David Kessler for overstepping his authority and using his power to suppress a safe medical device.

I do believe in healthy debate.And I understand the antipathy to David Kessler.He comes off as a self righteous crusader.But he may have been correct in his caution.
It's also clear we have a classic case of battling greed.Dow Corning didn't put enough research into how large bags of  soft silicone placed over the chest cavity would actually affect the patients health in the long run.When the lawyers got involved in this conflict.They had a field day with it.They hit the jackpot.Sick mutilated women against a cold corporation.It's one of the most notable recent cases of a major company being devastated by class action lawsuits.

I'm not a medical expert,or lawyer.But I can smell the bullshit.Silicone breast implants might not be statistically proven to cause a whole range of  common autoimmune disorders.But they can cause problems when they leak.And they can,and will leak in time.They can develop mold too.I've seen a number of images of capsules full of murky goo pulled out of women's bodies.I did enough online research to believe the women,and doctors who claim they can be damaging to women's health.

Jackie Paisley claimed to be suffering from silicone toxicity in this 2013 article in Iron Man magazine.
She had had surgery,and was asking for support.
She posted this YouTube video on December 9,2012,

I think you can see her health has deteriorated.
She's talking about her medical history with her silicone implants.
She had developed pain in her left chest,and shoulder.This would have been about 2005/6.
She had surgery to remove the old implants,and replace them with a new set.She claims this surgeon failed to notice,or inform her,that there was silicone leakage.He failed to clean out the silicone that had leaked.
She seems to have become distrustful of mainstream medicine as well,and started pursuing alternative therapy.Following Naturopathy , and Allopathic  healing ideas.
Which is in fact Pseudoscience.Sadly this melange of antiquated intuitive ideas is attractive to people.Though her disappointment with mainstream medicine's failures in her case are understandable.See Alternative Medicine for the bigger picture.
She continued feeling ill,and talked to other surgeons about having her current implants removed.Unsurprisingly she had problems with insurance coverage,and couldn't afford treatment.
She eventually had surgery in Atlanta by a breast implant specialist; Dr Susan Kolb.
Kolb is a legitimate surgeon.But she also has ideas that could be described as out there.She believes in all kinds of woo in addition to scientific medicine.Still Dr Kolb has been very involved in care for silicone leakage victims.
Jackie had the implants,and about 10 lymph nodes removed in 2011.
She had a mold infestation and went through a course of antifungal,and antibacterial treatment.She said she was treating herself with an antibacterial treatment.( more about that in a bit )
During this whole crisis she had become dependent on Benzodiazepines which she had been using for her insomnia problem.It's basically a tranquilizer.These drugs can cause dependence,and withdrawal problems.
Jackie went through a very difficult time during withdrawal.She had spells,and seizures which were very frightening to her.
Then she goes on to claim she had some unique genetic issues.She claimed she did research,and found she had some kind of vitamin D problem.She claimed she had found something she's calling "the genetic code"
Oh dear.It sounds like nonsense.No real idea about what she thought she had discovered.Gene polymorphism regarding vitamin D?
Some people do have such a condition.But I have no idea how this person with no medical education believed it effected her health issues.
She never published anything about these claims.
She mentions doing a podcast with Dave Palumbo.This would have been an episode of Heavy Muscle Radio.I tired to listen to it.But there's only a repeat of another show where that show was listed in the order.It's not available.

A friend of hers named Derwin White published an appeal on the Inside Edition Facebook page by Allison Pease.You can also read it here on Area Orion.
Pease is saying Jackie was helping her,and "used her knowledge to identify “The Genetic Code” to help others become healthy through herbal supplements rather than medication."
I'm afraid this is where she may have started taking some dangerous substances.
This is an interesting interview conducted by Derwin White  on the site Muscle Insider.Here she talks about the treatment for the fungal,and bacterial infections.

Q. Tell us about the progression of your health problem.

A. I was given two years for recovery. Ten lymph nodes were gone. I had steady recovery, but used antifungals, which made me feel horrible, and killed the mycoplasmic bacteria with Miracle Mineral Supplement, a natural but powerful bacteria-killing solution similar to bleach, for up to six months before and after surgery. My recovery has been slow but getting better. Tapering off the medicine I was on for sleep has almost been worse than the surgery! By this February 11, it will be two years, and I think I will be a new person.

That substance called Miracle Mineral Solution is poison.I don't know what else to call this horrible swill.It's either sodium chlorite, or chlorine dioxide solution.It's bleach.
People selling this as a medicine have been prosecuted. 
I certainly hope Dr Kolb wasn't recommending this noxious stuff.
I have no idea why Jackie would have thought this was a good idea.
I don't object to people taking supplements.I also don't object to people making their own informed decisions regarding their health.
But this is simply out of bounds.There is no conceivable benefit to this caustic solution.
I wish she had of had better medical advice. 
Clearly a part of the problem was she couldn't pay for it,and couldn't get insurance.We're back to  the American tragedy of proper health care being a luxury for the rich.
She went on about her ideas on gene receptors,and illness.Since she had no education in this area I could only call this her speculation.She also claimed to be treating her disabled son in some way.
( The question of silicone implants affecting babies has been examined.It's unlikely to contribute to health problems. )
She sounded hopeful at the end of this interview.It's sad things didn't turn out that way.

It does seem like the whole cascade of health problems started with the implant leakage.I don't have the information to say what actually caused her death in the end. ( The death certificate would have information if it ever becomes available ).
The damage from the implants? She may have succumbed to the impact of the bleach solution on her long term health.She may have suffered a relapse of her drug dependency.Though that seems unlikely.
It's awful the poor thing had to go through this misery.
I'm sorry for the melodramatic title about the burst boobs.
But it does seem like the implants were a kind of land mine she stepped on.
RIP Jackie.
  

Cedric McMillan winning the Arnold Classic - Arnold believes popularity matters.

The video is from the channel MAKAVELI*MOTIVATION.It celebrates Cedric McMillan's victory,and hard work.

Last month Cedric McMillan won the Arnold Classic Open Bodybuilding division.Most bodybuilding media was predicting he would.They called it.He won,and looked great doing it.It's a well received victory from a competitor who's paid his dues.
It's a popular victory with most fans,and certainly with Arnold Schwarzenegger.He's been pushing the point that awkward looking, bloat gutted bulk freaks are hurting the sport.Almost nobody enjoys looking at them.The general public flips out over the extremity.That's one thing.They dump on bodybuilders anyway.But most people who actually love muscle are weary of the meatball parade.
If you love bodybuilding you want to see the muscle displayed with graceful lines.Presence,and compelling posing.The look of a classic Herculean hero.
We can all get a kick out of the super freaks.But it's a cheap thrill.
The dream physique produces awe.

Arnold owes his famous life to bodybuilding.He may have become the mayor of Graz,but he wouldn't have become a star without his unique physique.It seems he's putting most of his energy back into bodybuilding now.He's still acting.But it looks like he's returned to his first love with enthusiasm,and concern.He's promoting his tour of shows now.It's becoming a kind of rival to the singular importance of the Olympia.
The business,and politics of the sport are complicated.But I think the big issue is the lasting legacy of the Weiders,and the fact that AMI bought a major interest in the sport.It feels like it can't grow independently.It's constrained by the business,and marketability concerns of the IFBB.You would think they'd want nothing more than to have bodybuilding,and fitness being more popular.And I can see that's a part of their approach.Particularly with the division expansions introduced in the last decade,or so.But what about the real fans? Are we being listened to?
Not much.They torpedoed the women's open class because they couldn't ( wouldn't ) address the judging issues,and gave up.How many new male potential champions are coming up too?
The bikini,and men's physique is earning entrant money.It's unthreatening to the mass market.But it clogs up a bodybuilding stage with fitness classes.
Not good for the heart of the pursuit.Real bodybuilding.

I wonder if Arnold is having an influence on the judging at his shows? I think he is.He was making noise about the bulging bellies in the past few years.
Cedric winning.The smiling Ahmad Ashkanani winning the 212's ( yes.his belly is too thick )
Oksana Grishina winning the fitness.
There could be a shift going on with the judging to reward the people who make a more positive impression on viewers.Outgoing,energetic people are what Arnold wants representing the sport.
The fact is it's getting stale at the top.
Why even bother to watch the Olympia anymore if Phil Heath just shows up to collect his yearly trophy?
I hope Arnold can pump in some enthusiasm,and excitement into the scene.I can't help but wonder what would happen if he could get even more power in the sport?
He brings far more to the whole picture than Eric Weider ever could.

Notes;
Just damn,Cedric! Dragging a chain,and weights down the road in the rain.That has to be some of the more bad ass cardio I've seen.A human dray horse.That's what I love about bodybuilders.

I'll admit I didn't sit down,and watch the whole Arnold show.Sigh.My attention span isn't what it was when I was a young fan.I don't ever watch the bikini,figure,fitness events.I can't even pretend to care.

It's very hard to get an actual sport out of bodybuilding isn't it?
It's just an excuse to show off hard work.
That's another article.

Google needs to change the one sign in problem.

I think most people who use a Gmail account for YouTube,and Blogger,and just having an email address don't like the system.
We need to be able to keep it separated.
I don't want one single account.
It takes time to work on a blog post.But to sign into Blogger I have to sign into the associated account.I have a number of Gmail accounts for different identities.I have different interests,and need a few different emails to have accounts for them on various sites.
And...It's a pain in the ass to have to sign in,and out of the different accounts.
I have to stay out of my preferred YouTube account.
This has been going on for awhile now.The one Google idea is a flop.
They're really not promoting Blogger anymore anyway.
They're fumbling,and fouling up on YouTube.
Why not change things?
One of the richest,most powerful internet companies in existence,and they mess up the small stuff.
They're getting too big,and unwieldy.
A giant train of products,and services with the caboose falling off.But they can't see it from the expensive cars up front.
And if you complain about it;it's an impotent whine in an ocean of ignoring.
Sigh.

Kratom - my experimentation with taking it.

This may be a controversial issue to discuss.But what the hell.It's not like anyone is reading this anyway :)
I've been trying Kratom lately.
I recently posted about my chronic pain from years of weightlifting,and playing tennis.
I do take a Hydrocodone/ Ibuprofen medication for the pain sometimes.This is an opioid pain killer.
I almost always only take half a tablet.It's an effective medication for pain.But it's strong enough that it's hard to workout with a full dose in my system.
Before that I was taking a lot of Ibuprofen.Probably too much.Too much Aspirin before that.
Fortunately the Aspirin didn't seem to cause me any problems.I have a good stomach.
But in the long run NSAIDS can stress the system.Taking Acetaminophen( Tylenol ),and drinking alcohol is not good for your kidneys.At least it's risky.
I didn't take Tylenol.I don't think it's a good drug frankly.
Ibuprofen is an effective painkiller.But again taking higher doses of medications for a long period of time can be concerning.When I was taking enough to reduce my menstrual cramp pain,it would make me feel slightly uncomfortable from it after a few days.I guess I would describe it as stuffy headed,and icky.Of course menstrual periods make you feel nasty anyway.For the most part I've had a good experience with Ibuprofen.

So on to my recent use of Kratom.
I had a period of time when I didn't have a refill on my usual medication.Kratom had been in the news a lot,and I started looking into it.
Chris Bell , the director of the film 'Bigger,Stronger,Faster' is making a documentary on it.He has had an opioid  problem in the past.He's had severe hip problems,and replacement surgery.He made the documentary 'Prescription Thugs' about the issue of pharmaceutical companies,and doctors encouraging the use of powerful drugs.I haven't seen the movie yet.I'll try to watch it sometime.
I understand the point of view.I think the problem of opiate addiction is very complex,and multicausal.Not only bad intentions from Pharma,and irresponsible doctors.I wonder if obese,over stressed,and depressed America is really having a pain crises? I think that's possible.
I know Americans are relatively spoiled when you look at the global picture.But I think the pain is not imaginary,or mere self indulgence.
This is also a nation of athletes who play contact sports,and we have many suffering veterans.
Maybe I just don't have the heart to condemn people for their agony,and grief.I don't think anyone wants to become addicted.
But opiates are strong drugs that can cause real physical problems.They seem to change the way the body perceives pain.It's normal for people to develop a tolerance for opiates.But it can become worse and develop into Hyperalgesia.It's beyond my knowledge level to go into details.But it's the frightening effect of long term opiate use causing a worse pain problem.
 It's horrible to think there are people who have pain problems then have worse pain because of the painkillers.The human body is just great,isn't it?

So I ordered a sample pack of Kratom to see what it would do.It included;Red Vein Maeng Da,Green Vein Malay,White Vein Bali,and White Vein Maeng Da.I'm a long time taker of various supplements.Most of them are over rated,and not worth it.I'm reasonably cautious.But I'm willing to give things a try.
( I do want to point out that Kratom is legal where I live.Also I don't take recreational drugs )

Kratom is unquestionably effective.
It certainly feels like it's activating the brain's opiate receptors.It does clearly have the feeling of pleasure,euphoria,and warmth that opiates can induce.
But it feels softer,and rounder in a way.More diffuse,and relaxing.
Pharmaceutical opiates are strong,and pointed in their impact.They have the feel of a targeted drug doing what it's designed to do.That's not a criticism.Just fact.
There are claims that the different strains of Kratom have different effects.I'm not sure I really noticed that.Maybe it effects different people in different ways.
It's said to make you more alert,and yet relieve pain.I didn't find what I took particularly energizing.But it didn't make me feel like I was going to fall asleep either..Not at all.I didn't feel out of control.Merely softened,and relaxed.
I took a dose of about 1/4 tsp of Red Vein Maeng Da and proceeded to lift weights.It was a leg session with squats.No problems.I did have some pain relief from it.But I didn't feel dopey.
I could,and usually can,feel some degree of pain in my hip joints most of the time.It's just a question of getting it down to a manageable level when I lift.It's more of an issue on leg days of course.
I also tried taking the other strains in slightly higher doses when I didn't have to lift.I did notice the White Vein Bali was very relaxing.Good bye anxiety!

It would certainly be worth experimenting with people who have severe problems with anxiety,and depression to see if Kratom would help them.I wonder if it would help people with OCD,Anxiety,PTSD,Insomnia,Anorexia,Anhedonia  etc..?
Who knows?
But we live in a society that would allow them to take SSRIs,and drown themselves in booze before they would be allowed to take a plant.
I'm still amazed we're seeing an improvement in the decriminalization of marijuana.
I hate to think this is all really due to the greed of pharmaceutical companies.We live in a country that seems to place financial interest before all else.That's a tragedy.But I'm sure the drug companies think they can create better,more precise,drugs than can be found in nature.True,scientific drug manufacturing has improved human life immensely.I'm absolutely not anti-science.But that doesn't excuse unfairly barring people from using natural substances when appropriate.
Evolution has been at it's work a long time.
We can't have the arrogance to destroy individual liberty when people are seeking relief from pain,and disease.It's not a noble cause to protect society from the right to control their own bodies.
I never get over the fundamental refusal from the Right,and the Left to respect personal autonomy.
I'd rather see people educated,and allowed to exercise their liberty,than unnecessarily frightened and protected from 'themselves'. It may be well-intentioned.
I just don't think it works.You end up infantilizing society.

Now in all seriousness;Kratom could cause problems.I doubt it would be as addictive as pharmaceutical opiates.But that doesn't mean people couldn't become dependent.I don't have the information on that.It might be too soon to tell.
Of course you wouldn't want people to take it just to get high,and be useless.
I wouldn't want minors taking it unless under medical supervision.
There could be some reasonable restrictions,or expectations for usage.Though it does seem like we have a major problem with common sense usage of anything in America.
That's what I'm afraid of.It's either legal,and everybody finds out about it,or it's criminalized.
Why does everything have be classified as good and legal,or bad and criminal?
If the media goes into a panic frenzy that will set the politicians off to dog pile on it as a menace.
I'd bet on it.
America hates a 'junkie'.
I just remembered the late great comedian George Carlin's line about a 'Commie Fag Junkie'.
If American politicians get a whiff of the dreaded spectre of bums getting high,look out.

At least the DEA has relented for now.
We'll see.
Can America please agree it beats the hell out of oding on Fentanyl?


A few more practical points;
This stuff was as fine as baby powder.And it's very hard to mix with anything.You could say it's        hydrophobic just to have the opportunity to use that word.It hates water.
It can be mixed with applesauce,or pudding,or even ketchup.It takes patience to mix.It doesn't have a pleasant flavor,or texture.It's dusty,but tends to clump together in the mouth.
The only thing I can remember that it tasted like was a supplement called Horny Goat Weed (epimedium)
It's not a horrible taste.It's just a little bitter.
It will stick to a silver spoon.Use a plastic spoon to take it if you're going to be simply putting it into your mouth.
You can take about a 1/4 - 1/2 tsp dose in your mouth and then take a swig of a non-carbonated drink like a fruit juice,or Crystal Light.Swish it around vigorously in your mouth,and swallow slowly,and carefully.Don't gulp it.And wash it down well.
Don't get it up your nose either.That would be a bad time.
It can be made into a tea.Put it into brewed tea in a cup.Or mix it with an instant tea mix.You could try it with cocoa.I didn't.But it will settle to the bottom,and stick to the sides of the cup, even in hot water. Sipping it with a strong lemony instant tea mix was not bad.
You could probably also buy it in capsules.But then you couldn't control the dosage as much.
I would take it easy at first.Always better to under do something until you get a feeling for how it will effect you personally.

Now to wrap up.To provide the usual disclaimer.
Of course you should never do anything illegal,or naughty.
I'm not encouraging you to take any drug,or supplement.That's your choice.
Talk to your doctor.(Really that wouldn't be a bad idea.)


My final word is;I do think Kratom should remain legal.
I'm concerned about the people who are trying to stay,or become, more functional.
Why punish them?
It would do far more harm than good at this point to ban it.

Personal Pain Experience.

And it's all personal.We're all limited to our own subjective experience of our pain.We can bitch about it to others.But we're the ones stuck with it.
Of course there's emotional pain.It can be every bit as horrible as physical pain.But this is about physical pain,and exercise.
About how you learn what the depths,and limits are.

It seems so easy when you're young.You know what pain is by instinct,and you avoid it.The doctor comes at you with a needle,and you cry and hide behind your momma.At least I did.I'm lucky I was successfully immunized.Actually I was a very healthy child.I did get a few injuries.But nothing major.
When I was young my mother would complain about her discomforts.She had me when she was forty years old. My father was forty three.Naturally conceived.What are the odds?
My point of view has usually skewed older.I feel rather 'out of time'.
But I guess I must have taken my youth for granted.I believe most of us must.The aches,and pains will inevitably increase with age.
My mother would say her hips hurt her.She was having trouble sleeping because of it."My hip hurt so bad last night it almost killed me."She may have been slightly melodramatic,but she wasn't making it up.I believed her.Told her I was sorry.But I don't think I really understood how bad it was.

When I was a teenager I started playing tennis.Running around hard courts.Not fast either.I'm not a good runner.But very good form on my strokes.Shame I couldn't get around the court better.I may have been a decent player.Forgive me for a little brag.But my teaching pro said my backhand looked like an Ivan Lendl copy.That's who I was trying for.( Lendl or Edberg )
A few years in I noticed I was having some incidences of hip pain.It felt like the hip joint was biting on the nerve.Sharp stingers that would shoot down the leg.
Sciatica
It's pretty common.And no doubt inherited in my case.
It can be a genuine pain in the ass.

All this time I've been weight lifting too.On and off.I don't want to give the impression I've lifted day in,and day out  year after year.I've been involved with other things.Didn't have the enthusiasm.Didn't make the effort.
But in recent years I've been more dedicated.Which is great.
The benefits far outweigh the negatives.
But one of the questions I have is does it make my pain better?
Because the sad fact is it's gotten worse over the years.I think you could label it chronic at this point.
There are good,and bad days.But I can feel the discomfort in my back,and hips ( left particularly ) most of the time.
I do take pain killers when I need them.
I've taken Aspirin,Ibuprofen,and Hydrocodone.

My first experience with opioids was an attack of kidney stones when I was about thirty.It just hit me one evening.Bizarre unimaginable pain.I ended up in the ER where they gave me a shot of demerol.It felt like having the full tension of a set of piano strings released.
I was given some hydrocodone to take at home.I did take it when needed.I did not pop the whole bottle of pills down my throat like candy.That bottle lasted awhile.The stone passed.
I've passed a few of them since then.I,and you,would have to take strong pain killers to get through it.
It's like passing a sticky burr down a piece of spaghetti.It's excruciating.
An emergency room doctor told me he had women who had both experiences say kidney stones hurt worse to get out of your body than a baby.
Now I'm really glad I never had kids.
But seriously.The pain of kidney stones is bloody awful.
Having the medication on hand keeps me from needing to make an expensive trip to the hospital.

To get the point of the issue.I was a very strict young person.I didn't use illegal drugs.I didn't smoke.
I didn't drink more than a few times in my twenties.I worked out,and tried to eat well.
I was born to be the designated driver.
I don't party.
It's a family joke how unwild I am.
I don't take drugs lightly.But I've changed my views.I have nothing but sympathy for people who have to treat intense,or chronic pain with medication that's beyond over the counter.
I used to chew down enough aspirin to kill a horse.it gets to the point where you have to use more effective substances.

Pain sufferers are not criminals.Some may be addicted,or dependent.I'm as sorry as anyone else to see people die of opioid overdoses.I don't want to see the irresponsible over prescription of drugs.
But I'm sensing the onset of another case of destructive moral panic coming on in America.It wouldn't be the first.We seem to have a sad predilection for them.Americans hate the appearance of moral incontinence.All the while being surprising selfish at the same time.A puritanical,and individualistic nation can lead to some weird convictions.
I just hope that the greedy sensationalistic media doesn't keep careening out of control on this issue.This can't be turned into another case of hysterical click bait.
Why the hell can't we be rational about serious issues?
I'm sick of seeing politicians scampering to get ahead of a fear herd for votes.
Criminalize marijuana.Criminalize Anabolic Steroids.Now the DEA is moving toward criminalizing kratom.Here we go again.We grant the idea of personal freedom like a ticket you're not allowed to cash in.And people will keep trying to get what they want,and need.
And doctors are being accused of being drug pushers.Big Pharma.What a mess.What a complicated problem.Money making drug companies?Yes.True.But they do so much to relieve human suffering too.I know there are corrupt,and just plain lousy, doctors too.But most of them are not.They're overworked,and under pressure to function as a profitable part of the health care system.I don't think the vast majority are careless of harming patients.

The problem is physical.The human body deteriorates over time.The baseline changes.The baseline is not pain free any more.The baseline may not be manageable without treatment.
I certainly hope for progress in drug development too.

So I have to care.because it effects me.It's not just somebody else's problem.
I don't want to be treated like a self indulgent weakling because I have pain,and need to manage it.
Maybe I've made it worse by over training.That's a real possibility.
I could go on about the evidence on the benefits,and risks of weight training with chronic pain.
I'm going to say in my case the benefits win.I can lift heavy weights,and function.I think it keeps me ahead of the limitations that could set in.
I'm going to keep trying to build muscle,and strength.At least keep all I can.
My mother didn't play sports,or exercise much.I wish she had.
So I think I would have had the probably congenital low back,and hip pain anyway.
I'll keep working to hopefully improve my body under the circumstances.It's an ongoing process.

This is just one of the big issues in weight lifting.Something is going to give eventually.It's individual what it's going to be.