How Big of an Advantage Do Steroid Users Have in the Gym? Science Answers

Summary

In this episode of 'Muscle for Life', Mike Matthews discusses a study comparing the training and supplementation habits of steroid-using and natural bodybuilders. The study reveals that steroid users perform significantly more training volume, often with higher rep ranges, and less rest between sets. Despite using more advanced training techniques and questionable supplements, the steroid-enhanced bodybuilders gain more muscle mass with potentially suboptimal training, highlighting the profound impact of steroids on muscle and strength gains.

Takeaways

• 💪 Steroids significantly enhance muscle and strength gains, allowing users to do more volume and recover faster than natural bodybuilders.
• 🧠 The common belief among steroid users that they still need to be knowledgeable about diet and training is not entirely accurate, as steroids can yield results even with suboptimal practices.
• 📊 A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research compared the training and supplementation habits of 147 natural and 40 enhanced bodybuilders.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Enhanced bodybuilders reported doing 24 to 40 sets per major muscle group per week, compared to 12 to 24 sets by natural bodybuilders.
• 🔢 Enhanced bodybuilders also trained in higher rep ranges, averaging 13 to 15 reps per set, while naturals averaged 1 to 6 reps per set.
• 🤸‍♂️ Advanced training techniques like supersets, partial reps, and tempo training were more common among enhanced bodybuilders (98%) than naturals (90%).
• 📉 Less than half of enhanced bodybuilders periodized their training (50%) compared to a majority of natural bodybuilders (71%).
• ⏱️ Enhanced bodybuilders often rested for shorter periods between sets, with 23% resting only 30 to 60 seconds, compared to just 4% of natural bodybuilders.
• 💊 Both groups took supplements, but steroid users were more likely to take supplements of dubious value like EAAs, BCAAs, and HMB.
• 📚 The study suggests that steroid users may be less knowledgeable or skillful in bodybuilding due to the forgiving nature of steroids on training and diet mistakes.
• 📈 Steroid users in the study weighed an average of 18 pounds more than natural bodybuilders, highlighting the significant impact of steroids on muscle mass.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the podcast episode discussed in the script?

The main topic of the podcast episode is the impact of steroids on muscle gain and strength, and how it compares to natural bodybuilding practices.

What was the study's focus regarding steroid use in bodybuilding?

The study focused on comparing the self-reported training and supplementation practices between performance-enhancing drug users and natural bodybuilders.

How many participants were surveyed in the study mentioned in the script?

The study surveyed 147 natural bodybuilders and 40 enhanced bodybuilders.

What were some of the key differences in training volume between enhanced and natural bodybuilders as reported in the study?

Enhanced bodybuilders did significantly more volume per major muscle group per week, with 24 to 40 sets compared to natural bodybuilders who did 12 to 24 sets.

What was the average rep range for enhanced bodybuilders in the study?

The average rep range for enhanced bodybuilders was 13 to 15 reps per set.

How did the use of advanced training techniques differ between the two groups in the study?

Enhanced bodybuilders were more likely to use advanced training techniques such as supersets, partial reps, tempo training, and pre-exhaustion, with about 98% using such techniques compared to about 90% of natural bodybuilders.

What was the difference in periodization of training between enhanced and natural bodybuilders?

About 50% of enhanced bodybuilders were periodizing their training, while about 71% of natural bodybuilders did so.

What were the differences in between-set rest times reported in the study?

A larger portion of steroid users rested just 30 to 60 seconds between sets, while a larger share of natural bodybuilders rested more than two minutes between sets.

What was the average weight difference reported between steroid users and natural bodybuilders in the study?

Steroid users weighed about 18 pounds more on average than natural bodybuilders, with steroid users averaging about 210 pounds and natural bodybuilders about 192 pounds.

What is the context provided for the 18-pound weight difference mentioned in the script?

The context provided is that the average person can gain about 30 to 45 pounds of muscle over their lifetime, making the 18-pound difference significant.

What is the name of the sports nutrition company mentioned in the script, and what does it offer?

The sports nutrition company mentioned is Legion. It offers all-natural and transparent formulations, clinically effective ingredients and doses, free shipping on all U.S. orders, affordable international shipping, and a no-hassle money-back guarantee.

Outlines

00:00

💪 Steroid Impact on Muscle and Strength Gains

In this episode, Mike Matthews from Muscle for Life delves into the effects of steroids on muscle and strength gains, referencing a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The study compared the training and supplementation habits of 147 natural and 40 enhanced bodybuilders. Key findings include that steroid users perform significantly more volume per major muscle group per week, with 24 to 40 sets compared to naturals' 12 to 24 sets. Enhanced bodybuilders also tend to train in higher rep ranges and use more advanced training techniques. The study challenges the common belief that steroids only make a difference if one is disciplined in the gym and with diet, showing that even with suboptimal training, steroids can lead to significant muscle and strength gains.

05:01

🏋️‍♂️ Training and Supplementation Differences Among Bodybuilders

This paragraph focuses on the detailed differences in training and supplementation between natural and enhanced bodybuilders as revealed by the study. Enhanced bodybuilders are more likely to perform higher rep sets and use advanced training techniques such as supersets, partial reps, and tempo training. The study also highlights that steroid users are less likely to periodize their training and have shorter rest times between sets. Supplementation data shows that while both groups take supplements, steroid users take more controversial ones like EAAs, BCAAs, and HMB. The paragraph emphasizes the potential risks for natural weightlifters if they attempt to mimic the training volume of enhanced bodybuilders, suggesting that such high volume could lead to injury.

10:02

🚀 Steroid Users' Superior Training Recovery and Results

Mike Matthews discusses the implications of the study's findings on the capabilities of steroid users compared to natural weightlifters. The study indicates that steroid users can handle and recover from twice the amount of training, which contributes to their faster muscle and strength gains. The paragraph also addresses the misconception that steroids are not significantly different from supplements and emphasizes the reality that steroids allow for suboptimal training to still yield substantial results. The speaker warns natural weightlifters against adopting the high-volume training programs of steroid users, as it could lead to stagnation or injury due to inadequate recovery.

15:03

📢 Listener Engagement and Legion's Labor Day Sale

In the final paragraph, Mike Matthews wraps up the episode by encouraging listeners to engage with the content, subscribe to the show, and provide feedback. He also promotes his sports nutrition company, Legion, highlighting its all-natural and transparent formulations, clinically effective ingredients, and a no-hassle money-back guarantee. The paragraph announces a Labor Day Sale offering significant discounts on all products, free shipping in the U.S., and affordable international shipping. Listeners are urged to take advantage of the sale before stock runs out.

Keywords

💡Steroids

Steroids, in the context of this video, refers to anabolic steroids, which are synthetic substances that mimic the effects of testosterone and are used to enhance muscle growth and strength. The video discusses a study that compares the training and supplementation practices of steroid users versus natural bodybuilders, highlighting the significant impact steroids have on muscle and strength gains.

💡Muscle for Life

Muscle for Life is the name of the podcast hosted by Mike Matthews, where he discusses topics related to fitness, bodybuilding, and health. The video script is from an episode of this podcast, which focuses on the effects of steroids on muscle and strength gains, providing insights from a recent study.

💡Bodybuilders

Bodybuilders are individuals who engage in intensive weight training to develop and maintain their muscles for aesthetic and competitive purposes. The script differentiates between 'enhanced' and 'natural' bodybuilders, with the former using performance-enhancing drugs like steroids and the latter not.

💡Training Volume

Training volume refers to the total amount of work done during a workout, typically measured by the number of sets and reps performed for each muscle group. The script mentions that enhanced bodybuilders do significantly more volume per major muscle group per week compared to natural bodybuilders, which contributes to their muscle and strength gains.

💡Repetition Ranges

Repetition ranges are the number of times an exercise is performed in one set. The script notes that enhanced bodybuilders typically train in higher rep ranges (13 to 15 reps per set) compared to natural bodybuilders (1 to 6 reps per set), which may affect the type of muscle growth and strength development.

💡Advanced Training Techniques

Advanced training techniques include sophisticated methods like supersets, partial reps, tempo training, and pre-exhaustion. The script indicates that enhanced bodybuilders are more likely to use these techniques, which may contribute to their ability to handle higher training volumes.

💡Periodization

Periodization is a training method where the intensity, volume, and type of exercises are varied over time to optimize progress and prevent plateaus. The script reveals that enhanced bodybuilders are less likely to periodize their training compared to natural bodybuilders, which could affect their long-term progress and recovery.

💡Supplementation

Supplementation refers to the use of nutritional or ergogenic aids to support training and recovery. The script discusses the types of supplements taken by both enhanced and natural bodybuilders, noting that steroid users tend to take more supplements, including some of dubious value for their enhanced state.

💡EAA

Essential Amino Acids (EAA) are a group of nine amino acids that are crucial for muscle repair and growth and cannot be synthesized by the body. The script points out that more steroid users take EAAs, even though they may not be as necessary for them due to their high protein intake.

💡HMB

Beta-Hydroxy-beta-Methylbutyrate (HMB) is a supplement derived from the amino acid leucine, believed to have anti-catabolic properties. The script mentions that enhanced bodybuilders take HMB, but its effectiveness for them is questionable, especially outside of fasted training contexts.

💡Legion

Legion is a sports nutrition company mentioned in the script, which offers supplements that are claimed to be all-natural and transparent in their formulations. The script promotes Legion's Labor Day Sale, suggesting that while supplements are not necessary, they can be beneficial for fitness goals.

Highlights

The podcast discusses a study on the impact of steroids on muscle gain and strength, challenging the notion that steroids are only effective with proper diet and training.

The study compared training and supplementation practices between enhanced and natural bodybuilders.

Enhanced bodybuilders performed significantly more volume per major muscle group per week compared to natural bodybuilders.

Enhanced bodybuilders typically trained in higher rep ranges than naturals, averaging 13 to 15 reps per set.

Enhanced bodybuilders were more likely to use advanced training techniques such as supersets and tempo training.

Fifty percent of enhanced bodybuilders did not periodize their training compared to 71 percent of natural bodybuilders.

Steroid users had shorter rest times between sets, with 23 percent resting only 30 to 60 seconds.

Enhanced bodybuilders were more likely to follow old school bodybuilding programs with high volume and sets.

The study found that steroid users can recover from more training volume than natural weight lifters.

Steroid users weighed about 18 pounds more on average than natural bodybuilders.

The average person can gain 30 to 45 pounds of muscle in their lifetime, with diminishing returns over time.

Steroid users can gain muscle and strength with suboptimal training due to the effectiveness of steroids.

Attempting a steroid user's training program as a natural lifter can lead to injury and stagnation due to inadequate recovery.

The podcast promotes Legion, a sports nutrition company, offering natural supplements and a Labor Day sale.

Legion's Labor Day Sale offers 40 percent off on the second product and gift cards with purchases over certain amounts.

The host encourages feedback and subscription to the podcast for new episodes and increased visibility.

Transcripts

hello hello I'm Mike Matthews and this

is muscle for life thank you for joining

me today for a new episode on the topic

of steroids I came across an interesting

study in my travels that was published

about a year ago and I wanted to discuss

it here on the podcast because it lends

some insight into just how big of a

difference steroids make in terms of

gaining muscle and gaining strength

because many steroid users will say that

yeah steroids do make a difference but

you still really have to know what

you're doing in the kitchen and you have

to really know what you're doing in the

gym or they're not going to make that

much of a difference well how true is

that that is the question that I will be

answering in today's episode and

specifically I'm going to be discussing

some research that looked at the

training and supplementation differences

between enhanced and natural

bodybuilders and sharing a few two of

the key takeaways that we can glean from

this research

okay let's start with a paper called

self-reported training and

supplementation practices between

performance enhancing drug user

bodybuilders compared with natural

bodybuilders and this was published in

September of 2022 in Journal of strength

and conditioning research so if you've

spent enough time in gyms talking to

enough people usually guys you're going

to come across drug users who are honest

about using drugs and a common refrain

you will hear if you talk about drug use

and bodybuilding is that they still have

to work just as hard as everybody else

they still have to be just as

intelligent with their diet and with

their training they just get better

results that is what many drug users

will say now you might be skeptical

because you're on social media and

you've seen many drug users who pay very

little attention if any attention to

what they eat and who also don't seem to

have any Rhyme or Reason to their

training it's just go hard all out two

hours a day six days a week seven days a

week and they look like superheroes and

they perform like superheroes they are

big they are lean they are strong and

they are always big lean and strong for

years on end and so in this study that I

want to share with you today scientists

at the University of Sydney surveyed 147

natural and 40 enhanced bodybuilders to

investigate how they're training and how

their supplementation protocols differed

and what the responses showed is that

the steroid users did significantly more

volume per major muscle group per week

than the Natty bodybuilders so in the

enhanced bodybuilders it was 24 to 40

sets per major muscle group per week

versus 12 to 24 sets and the enhanced

bodybuilders also typically trained in

higher rep ranges than the naturals so

in the enhanced bodybuilders it was 13

to 15 reps per set on average in the 90s

it was one to six reps per set on

average the research has also found that

enhanced bodybuilders were slightly more

likely to use Advanced I guess you could

put that in scare quotes Advanced or

sophisticated training techniques so

there was more in the way of supersets

and partial reps and Tempo training

pre-exhaustion so forth so about 98 of

the enhanced bodybuilders said that they

use techniques like that versus about 90

percent of the naturals the enhanced

bodybuilders were also less likely to

periodize their training so that's

training in different rep ranges based

on goals and circumstances so about 50

percent of the enhanced bodybuilders

were periodizing their training versus

about 71 percent of the natural

bodybuilders there were significant

differences in in between set rest times

as well most of the bodybuilders

surveyed rested about one to two minutes

in between sets but a larger portion of

the steroid users rested just 30 to 60

seconds between sets than the natural so

about 23 percent of the enhanced

bodybuilders said they rest just 30 to

60 seconds in between sets versus about

four percent of the natural weight

lifters and also a larger share of

natural bodybuilders rested more than

two minutes in between sets than the

steroid users so about 45 of the natural

bodybuilders said that they rest more

than two minutes in between sets versus

about 20 percent of the steroid users

and so then what we are seeing here is

that the enhanced bodybuilders were much

more likely to follow just an old school

bodybuilding program a lot of volume so

a lot of volume in terms of hard sets

per major muscle group per week I mean

40 hard sets imagine trying to program

that 40. 40 hard sets even 20 hard sets

for more than one major muscle group per

week gets tricky to program if you're

not willing to be in the gym four or

five days per week for at least an hour

and a half per session but you you try

to do 30 or 40 sets for even one major

muscle group let alone more than one

that is a lot of training and one of the

reasons why I would not recommend trying

that is as a natural weight lifter you

are almost certainly going to just get

hurt if you try to do that we also saw

that the enhanced bodybuilders are more

likely to do higher rep sets which is

also something that I'm sure you have

seen if you've spent enough time in the

gym you've seen guys who are clearly on

a lot of drugs and they have long

workouts and they're doing like eight

exercises per workout and they're doing

several sets per exercise and they're

doing sets of 15 20 25 reps per set

they're rarely doing below probably 10

or 8 and the enhanced bodybuilders are

also often doing supersets and giant

sets and cluster sets and partials and

negatives and force reps and so on also

also the supplementation data was kind

of interesting because both groups of

bodybuilders surveyed took supplements

no surprise but significantly more

steroid users took eaas BCAAs hmb

digestive enzymes supplements that are

of dubious value eaas BCAAs worthless

especially to an enhanced bodybuilder

who is almost certainly eating plenty of

protein absolutely worthless hmb also

almost certainly worthless for an

enhanced bodybuilder even if they are

doing fasted training and that would be

the only scenario where I would

recommend hmb for its anti-catabolic

properties that's why it's in one of my

products it's in a product of mine

called Forge or pre-workout fat burner

that is explicitly designed for fasted

training if you want to check it out

it's at buylegion.com Forge and it has

hmb but outside of that use case I

wouldn't recommend hmb it's not going to

harm anything but it's probably not

going to help much of anything either so

anyway that supplementation data point

is just in line with the training data

that we saw there that the average

steroid user in this study was less

knowledgeable was less you could say

even skillful in their bodybuilding

because of how effective steroids are

you can make all kinds of mistakes in

the kitchen and gym but if you're on the

right drugs you are going to get

outstanding results and let's talk about

the results in this study the

bodybuilders were all of a similar

height they're about five nine but the

steroid users weighed about 18 pounds

more on average than the natural

bodybuilders so the steroid users on

average about 210 pounds the natties

about 192 pounds now 18 pounds of muscle

is a lot in case that doesn't sound like

a lot to you let me just give you a

little bit of context so the average guy

will be able to gain probably about 30

to 45 pounds of muscle over the course

of his lifetime there is a genetic hard

limit to how much muscle you can gain

now you can quibble with that and say

well actually that is technically not

true because you can always gain at

least a little bit more muscle both

gears never completely stop turning yeah

fine but practically speaking your gains

approach zero after five six seven years

of training after gaining the 30 to 45

pounds that you can gain in that period

any further muscle growth is going to be

almost negligible I'm talking about a

pound or two in a year and that's a good

year and every subsequent year your

potential muscle growth gets even

smaller so if in year eight you gain a

couple of pounds you're nine it's

probably gonna be about half of that and

half of that and so forth until you are

trying to measure grams of muscle growth

per year now every rule has exceptions

of course and one could be a specific

muscle group that is very underdeveloped

on your body it's going to be a smaller

one probably like Calves for example

let's say you never really trained your

calves but you trained everything else

in your upper body and you trained your

lower body generally intensely many

years you've gotten big you've gotten

strong but your calves are relatively

under developed all right then maybe you

can put a pound of muscle on each of

your calves and you might be able to do

that in six eight twelve months maybe

even a little bit more than that but

that's only because you had a muscle

group that was under developed but if

calf training was a regular part of your

regimen and you approached that just as

vigorously as you approached everything

else then the rule would hold now I know

I am on a little bit of a tangent here

so I'll just wrap it up if you want to

learn more about natural muscle growth

potential how much muscle you can build

naturally head over to

legionathletics.com search for naturally

and look for an article I wrote on the

topic I also do have a podcast on it but

the article I think is a little bit

better because as there are some

calculators in there that you can play

with anyway so coming back to this

steroid study what can we take away from

this well one point is that steroid

users can clearly do and recover from a

lot more training than natural weight

lifters remember in this study the

steroid users were doing about twice as

much training and that is one of the

reasons why steroid users can gain

muscle and strength a lot faster than

natural weight lifters they can just do

a lot more work and recover from a lot

more work a natural weight lifter might

need twice as much time to do the same

amount of work and this study also

highlights an observation that many of

us have made over the years because

we've seen it firsthand so many times

that is steroids can help people gain a

lot of muscle gain a lot of strength

with very sub optimal training so much

so that if you as a natural weight

lifter with a fair amount of experience

under your belt you've gained a fair

amount of muscle and strength you've

been doing it for at least a few years

you've been following evidence-based

program timing which differs a lot from

the steroid programming that I shared in

this study you're doing less volume so

that's fewer hard sets per major muscle

group per week you're doing fewer reps

on average per set you're resting longer

in between sets your workouts are

shorter you're doing 10 12 maybe 15 sets

in a workout period as opposed to 20 30

or 40 sets over the course of again five

six seven eight exercises for multiple

muscle groups if you were to switch to

the steroid users program you might see

a little bit of progress in the

beginning from the dramatic increase in

volume and the dramatic increase in

mechanical tension that is now being

generated in your muscles but that will

be short-lived because eventually you

will not only stagnate but you may even

regress because you will not be able to

recover from all of that training and

you might even get hurt because you are

not recovering fully from your workouts

and you are trying to push yourself as

hard as you can and so just keep all of

this in mind when you hear steroid users

claim that steroids don't make that big

of a difference and you still have to be

really smart with your diet and with

your training and yeah I mean they're

better than supplements but they're not

that much better nonsense

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well I hope you liked this episode I

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you and if you didn't like something

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shoot me an email Mike muscleforlife.com

muscleforlife.com and let me know what I

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thoughts are about maybe what you'd like

to see me do in the future I read

everything myself I'm always looking for

new ideas and constructive feedback so

thanks again for listening to this

episode and I hope to hear from you soon