To hell and back,now what?

[role model]

I never met Mohammed Benaziza or Andreas Munzer--top IFBB pros in the 1990s, both now dead--and I've yet to meet Michael Francois or Don Long or Dennis Newman, all of whom suffered major health problems that dramatically shortened their careers and nearly their lives. I've only once spoken to Orville Burke, weeks before he lapsed into a coma, and have exchanged few words with Flex Wheeler--the best bodybuilder to never win the Olympia and now, like Long, a kidney transplant survivor.

Tom Prince is different. Prince is someone I speak with in Gold's Gym, Venice, nearly every day, and when we talk, it's rarely about hack squats or carb loading. Prince is the first pro bodybuilder that I considered a true friend. That's why it crushed me when his kidneys failed in April 2003. That's why it made me question much about modern bodybuilding. It's why I was conflicted about the controversial article I wrote on Prince ("To Hell and Back ... Now What?," January 2004) and still more conflicted about writing the article you're reading now. But whether you see the journey detailed here as courageous or reckless, noble or futile, his tale needs to be told, now more than ever.

RENEWAL Prince's kidneys failed during his preparations for the 2003 Night Of Champions primarily because of the painkillers and bodybuilding drugs he took in large doses for many years. He overcame critical condition quickly, but he couldn't recover entirely. After dialysis treatments from April through September, his kidneys healed as much as they would. They now function on their own at 90%. Barring a transplant or advancements in medical science, 34-year-old Prince is jarringly realistic about his future: "It means in all likelihood my kidneys will give out early. I'm not going to live to be 85 years old. I will probably die younger than normal, 65 or something like that, but 65 is better than 35."

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl..._n6108163/pg_1

[jasthace]

Thats good reading thanks role model

Heres a couple of parts of particular interest to me.

Prince feels both sad and relieved to retire from competitive bodybuilding. "This whole diet, I learned a lot about myself," he states. "Basically, I learned I can force myself to do anything. But this isn't the bodybuilding I grew up loving and wanting to do. Having to make all these ridiculous allowances for your own health, that's not bodybuilding to me. I don't know what the f--k that is, but that's not bodybuilding. I don't mind the challenge of something being hard. For me, being hard is what makes it fun. Not everyone can be a pro. It's supposed to be this great challenge, but it's not supposed to be like torturing yourself."


Author's note: Of the top five heavyweights in the 1995 NPC Nationals, only Toney Freeman has not suffered a critical illness. Severely dehydrated, Edgar Fletcher had been rushed unconscious to a hospital during the 1993 USA Championships. Don Long had a kidney transplant in 2002. Curtis Leffler died of a heart attack in 1998; he was 36.

Whats the moral of the story?
Keep it real.

[role model]

I posted it because I thought it was interesting also. Your right, body building is getting insane. Take a look at Marcus Ruhl personally he starting to remind me of Gregg Valentino and thats not a compliment.

[jasthace]

He sure is a freak of a Man {Marcus Ruhl}
I'll like to see his video,but I'm to tight to fork-out to buy it.
I would'nt say he is like Valentino myself,Valentino is mainly an oil bag.
Although I do like Valentino because he's an eccentric charactor and I think he's funny.
Remember the thread a couple of months back," who's the greatest bodybuilder of all time?"
The guy that got the most votes was the smallest MR Olympia of all time, Frank Zane
So it does show that proportion/symmetry/condition can stand up to any amount of Mass.

[role model]

Your right proportion/symmetry/condition can stand up to any amount of Mass.
I must have been naive to think that these pro bodybuilders were just on steroids,GH,etc.
Heres another ex script from a pro bb.
He says,
I started using synthol about 3 years ago. I had been lifting since jr. high, but only seriously once I got into college. So I'd been lifting fairly, to very, seriously for about 7 years. Mostly getting ready for strongman comps.

After 7 years I decided I just wanted size -- no strongman anymore.

I had 20" arms but took 2 years off for work (intense job) and started lifting again about 6 months before synthol. So I had about 18" arms when I first tried it.

I am usually overanxious and began injecting pretty much everywhere. Starting with 1-3ml in each part: biceps, triceps, shoulders (all 3 heads), chest, forearms (just a couple times because they are stringy and you'll get one forearm muscle but not another, etc...and because I work at a computer all day and it hurt to type), traps. I tried lats, but gave up because I couldn't reach and I'd end up injecting into skin/fat. Tried stomach ONE time because it's freaken scary (how deep do you go??) and bruised like mad. Tried calves, quads and even hams. But quit on those -- requires too much liquid, and hams are too stringy w/o a major "head" -- kinda like forearms.

I would do like 10-20 injections/day (suxed really bad). It was so many because I'd inject nearly everything every day (1bicep/1tricep/3delts/1-3chest/1traps then the experimenting w/ legs and forearms).

Eventually I got to the point where I could hardly breathe and would cough all the time. This is BAD. If you get to this point, you're using too much synthol, and as you'll learn as I add to this, using more does not mean more size.

[Grizzly]

Originally Posted by jasthace

The guy that got the most votes was the smallest MR Olympia of all time, Frank Zane
So it does show that proportion/symmetry/condition can stand up to any amount of Mass.

Either that, or there's an awful lot of small people on the board.

Still kinda true, though. You can tell pretty much the physique of someone just by who they pick as their favorite BB. Those who like Dexter Jackson are short and small. Those who like the mass monsters are probably taller and fatter.

[terrorizer2]

I am not a fan of the super-size bodybuilders.They are going a bit too far.They look like f***ing neanderthals.I liked the pictures of Frank Mcgrath posted by Abi in the bodybuilding forum.Nice size,good symmetry and actually looks like a human being!.

www.muscletalk.co.uk

[role model]

Originally Posted by terrorizer2

I am not a fan of the super-size bodybuilders.They are going a bit too far.They look like f***ing neanderthals.I liked the pictures of Frank Mcgrath posted by Abi in the bodybuilding forum.Nice size,good symmetry and actually looks like a human being!.

www.muscletalk.co.uk

Frank Mcgrath proportions kind of looks like that WWE wrestler turned actor John Cena. I think thats how you spell it. Personally thats type build I like, the athletic muscular look where you can do things in life besides push weights and breathe heavy all the time. Even Yates back in the day was proportioned well.

[terrorizer2]

Originally Posted by role model

Frank Mcgrath proportions kind of looks like that WWE wrestler turned actor John Cena. I think thats how you spell it. Personally thats type build I like, the athletic muscular look where you can do things in life besides push weights and breathe heavy all the time. Even Yates back in the day was proportioned well.

I met Dorian Yates at a Weider shop in England back in around 89 or 90.He was doing a signing session.Did not speak much really,you really needed to push him to get a response.Shorter than i thought at the time.I thought he was taller.F***ing big though LOL!.Got a couple of lovely signed artworks knocking around my mum's attic.Have to dig them out.Look nice on the wall.

www.muscletalk.co.uk