Freak Fitness

As a competition-prep coach for both IFBB pros and amateur athletes across North America, I’ve had the opportunity to be in the trenches for many different competition circuits. I applaud and respect those willing to do whatever it takes to win.

It’s the nature of athletes to want to work harder, to achieve their personal best, and to create as many competitive advantages as possible. However, there comes a point of diminishing returns where the risk goes beyond the potential reward.

In bodybuilding, we’ve all heard or seen the end results of well-intended but ill-fated methods. Taken to the extreme, some of these methods can become dangerous. Here are some of the wackiest things I’ve seen competitors do for their grand moment onstage.

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY OF THE FOLLWING PROTOCOLS! THEY COULD, AT THE VERY LEAST, GET YOU DISQUALIFIED OR, AT WORST, KILL YOU!

1. Athletes asking for airbrushed, spray-tanned abs to make it appear that they have definition where they do not. I assume this idea was taken from the movie 300, where it was openly admitted that many of the Spartan physiques were airbrush-enhanced. Taking a lesson from those ancient heroes, more than one competitor has tried to do the same. Legitimate spray tanners will refuse, but if the competitor is a DIY-er and makes it to the stage, he or she will most certainly be eliminated, and if the backstage staff cannot quickly remove the “artistry,” the athlete will be disqualified.

2. Athletes taking Viagra to help achieve a better muscle pump. Assuming that because the purple pill can increase blood flood in areas of the body, misinformed competitors would take a dose 30 minutes to four hours before activity in an effort to achieve a maximum pump in their muscles. Unfortunately, most males found that the combo of Viagra and being backstage with good-looking bodies gave them a pump in the one muscle they didn’t want to enlarge onstage. This won’t get you disqualified as it’s not a banned substance as per the CCES, but, as you can guess, it sure can cause some unwanted attention—and throw off your symmetry!

3. An athlete injecting adrenaline to help increase blood pressure and become more vascularity. This is one of the most extreme methods I’ve seen attempted at competition. In this case, it was a powerlifter who was making the switch to bodybuilding. Using his experience with adrenaline for his lifts, this athlete would take an injection before he practiced his posing. Post-injection, as the minutes passed, he would start to tremble and become short of breath. As more time would pass, the trembling and shortness of breath would subside, but he would be vascular! Despite many people’s attempts to dissuade him, his plan was to repeat this process before he went onstage for his upcoming show. Thank God he never made it to the stage, as he later decided he wouldn’t be good enough to win. Who knows what would have happened had he made it to the show! Not only is this method banned by the CCES, it is extremely dangerous!

In the end, as athletes, you all want to win. And in that quest, you have an innate desire to gain competitive advantages to get that gold medal faster. But there comes a point where the end doesn’t justify the means. Please be careful!

For another article on the most extreme measures some competitors have taken to get read for a show, check out this article!