HighIntensity.net View Mike Mentzer Bodybuilding Topic

Dr. Darden put out a great new HIT book this summer. Its an easy read and very informative. As for the success stories in his book, they′re not very impressive. His number one example of HIT success is Casey Viator. Viator′s massive size leaves many to ask about possible streoid use. Darden addresses this on page 223. He says that viator was steroid free.

DONT YOU BELIEVE IT.

<<Casey Viator was interviewed by Brian Johnston and was asked about steroid use. This is the actual interview cut and pasted:

BDJ: It′s apparent that you, as well as any top-caliber athlete or bodybuilder took anabolic steroids. How much do you feel they contributed to your progress?

CV: I don′t encourage anyone to use steroids, however if people do, do it under a physician′s guidance. I do feel it gives you an edge. Remember Ben Johnson, 100 meter sprinter expelled for his steroid use? He looked like a bodybuilder and he ran like he was shot out of a cannon. If steroids didn′t help him, it damn sure didn′t hurt him.

BDJ: Did you find that you became psychologically dependent on steroids during your competitive years and did you incur any long-term side effects?

CV: Steroids are used for a purpose. I know some people who take them just to attend a physique show, just to sit in the audience. Pro Ball players OK, Pro Bodybuilders OK, casual use for no reason definitely not.>>

This does not sound like the voice of a natural bodybuilder to me. All I′m saying is this. You need to be leary of anyone who needs to exbound the truth to make themselves more credible.

For PURE facts on HIT, go to the ASEP (Association of Sports Exercise Physiology) website. Look for an article they wrote in response to the ACSM′s position on volume training. There you will find great unbiased no BS facts about what works and what doesn′t. The exact title you need to find is: A critical analysis of the ACSM position stand on resistance training, Journal of Exercise Physiology online, Vol 7, No 3, pages 1-60.

Always pursue Truth.

Mentzer said in his audio tape series that Viator was on steroids during the Colorado Experiment. Even if he wasn′t, the fact that he was regaining muscle he already had and was a genetic freak to begin with should make the experiment less than impressive. Most seasoned trainers have experienced the phenomenon of muscle memory after a layoff, and from what I understand, Viator had financial incentive to gain as much muscle as possible.

all pro athletes are on steiroids. even the college athletes are using. thats why its not smart to take the advice of ppl associated with pro athletes.

Plus two other main things,
1) Casey had hurt his hand very badly and had a bad reaction to anti-biotics so lost a ton of weight
2) Then, he was offered a cash bonus for every lb of weight gained during the experiment so he starved himself prior to the experiment, losing even MORE weight.

Az

This is from Heavy Duty 2:

http://www.mikementzer.com/hd2chap6.html

There are a few who claim that a positive calorie balance is not necessary to build new lean mass while on a body- building program. They say that the body can literally "steal" calories from fat and shunt them to the muscles for growth. In fact, this is precisely what Arthur Jones alleged was the case when Casey Viator gained 62 pounds of lean body mass dur-ing the one-month Colorado Experiment, which I described in my last book. He postulated that the number of calories Casey consumed that month weren′t sufficient to account for all of the weight gained. Casey was not on a weight-loss or a maintenance diet. According to observers of the experiment, Jones literally force-fed Casey everything he could shove down his throat – including the kitchen sink. It was calculated that Casey was fed only enough food calories to account for 45 pounds of lean mass increase; therefore, that 17 pounds of Casey′s fat was sacrificed somehow to build the muscle.

While there may be some truth to this claim, I am skeptical. I suspect that either Jones′ calculations were skewed, even if only a bit, and/or he really believed that Casey wasn′t on steroids at the time, which he was. Steroids are extremely potent chemical agents that dramatically alter the body′s bio- chemistry in many ways, two of them being that protein syn-thesis and glycogen/water storage inside the muscle are greatly enhanced. So while stolen calories may account for some of the lean mass buildup, I believe that the steroids helped, too. ( I conducted an experiment years ago, in which I went on a calorie-deficit, or weight-loss, diet while training without steroids, and the first week I lost nine pounds. Then I went on the same diet with steroids, and gained two pounds the first week!) Then again, the stealing of calories from adiposity would be a genetically mediated trait, and like all genetic traits, its expression (i.e., how efficiently one′s body makes use of calories from fat to build muscle) would vary across a broad range – from those whose body is poor at stealing calories from fat, to those whose body is very effective, and everything in between.