What is the Future for Bodybuilders? (Part 3)

On 22nd May 2003, a Bodybuilder died. Scott Klein was found dead in the early hours in his bed by his mother. Although he was a healthy 30 year old man, he died of cardio-vascular disease and kidney failure. Now this guy had no gentical illness, so as far as I am aware his death was not typical for someone of his age. And then just to top it all another great bodybuilder Tom Prince fell ill during the same week with Kidney problems and ulcers.

Lee Priest, who was a well known bodybuilder at the time, announced his immediate withdrawal from this competitive sport. It had always been rumoured that he had suffered poor health due excessive weight swings and his addiction to junk food. In an interview he said that he couldn't believe what was happening to some of the great bodybuilders out there and that if all we have is our health, some of those top guys didn't even have that.

Similarly Milos Sarchev retired from contests after the Hungarian GP on June 8th, when he finished 6th and failed to qualify for the 2003 Mr. Olympia. He also cited health reasons for giving up. Milos has been at the top level for many years and has probably competed in more Pro contests than any other bodybuilder, ever. He obviously enjoyed the competition and has come back after suffering serious injury with a rupture of the quadriceps in his right leg. Such mechanical type injuries can happen to anyone in any sport that pushes the body to the limits. But Milos has had direct experience of internal health risks associated with top level bodybuilding. He suffered an almost fatal embolism a year or two ago when he had a blood clot, caused by using Synthol, detach from an artery and cause a blockage in his lung.

So many more top level amateurs and professionals were admitting to major health problems. Orville Burke got injured during a photo shot in Olympia and as a result his shoulder and Elbow needed operating on. But due to his poor health, one medical team refused to operate, although another did, but only after getting a report and approval from a heart consultant. Orville went into a coma after kidney failure but slowly recovered although his bodybuilding career is over.

Mike Francois, a great physique until a few years ago suffered serious internal problems, which ended his career. Nasser el Sonbaty withdrew from the Night of the Champions 2003 in New York for health reasons and it is reported that his bodybuilding career is finished. Flex Wheeler has had his pro Card withdrawn for "health reasons" and it is rumoured that he may need a kidney transplant. Don Long, another top American, also required a kidney transplant - his sister had to give up a kidney to save him.

Then there was a really top American bodybuilder Ron Teufel from the 70's who died at 45. We can no doubt argue the case that these examples are not necessarily drug related but it goes without saying that we are talking about young, strong and fit men who should be glowing with health. But I'm afraid that it's just not the case when so many become so seriously ill and sometimes even leading to fatal illness.

I have talked about several drugs which aren't anabolic steroids, and are taken by competing bodybuilders but professionals are at the cutting edge of the game. These pros are very well connected with the drug gurus who are permanently looking out for new material which is able to push that freaky physique on just that bit further. These products are able to make that all important difference to muscle size and vascularity and not forgetting to mention the guru's added earning potential. These top pros need bodies with potent drug handling genetics in order to handle such high doses and complex drug cocktails over long periods of time.

A pro's life is dictated by his sport and his wealth potential. The time scale for high earning at the top is normally very limited so during this time period a pro must maximise earnings, because once they begin to drop down the rankings they are forced to take radical steps- more drugs during longer periods just so they can continue to competing and this isn't healthy.

The pro body building scene isn't really what it's made out to be. Training is hard and those heavy weights lead to joint problems and in the modern day era heavy means heavy and injuries are high on the agenda. In addition we have a high food intake including high protein content which over works the digestive system, the kidneys and the liver. This deadly combination causes high blood pressure and accompanied by potent drug cocktails, the stress factor on the body organs is tremendous. The human body needs rest, but there's no rest for a pro bodybuilder.

In some ways American Football makes similar huge demands on the body. A sport with big men training hard, lots of pounding of the body and games where players get lots of bad injuries. What drugs are used by American Footballers, I don't know - I can only guess - use is certainly not at the dosage levels of bodybuilders and generally they will get better medical supervision. But American Football is played for only four months each year and eight months is left for rest and recovery.

Most of you who read my column will know that I am not opposed to the use of drugs and, like every real bodybuilding enthusiast; I want to see ever freakier physiques. But I do not want a single young man to kill himself trying to get just that bit freakier. Trying to draw the line anywhere is difficult. Once a genie is out of the bottle it is pretty well impossible to get it back in again. And the release occurred over 40 years ago.

I really believe that bodybuilding won't just become a lunatic freaks sport, comprising of a couple of crazy guys with something similar to a self imposed death wish in order to become THE FREAK of the year. Perhaps it has become this already? It is the old rockers motto incarnate. Live hard, die young and have a good looking corpse. On 22nd May 2003, Scott Klein died. Is death the only real future for the Bodybuilder?

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