These days a lot of famous athletes have openly admitted to using steroids or have been caught in the act. This can leave us second guessing whether our favorite sports stars might also be in on the act, or questioning whether greats from the past may have had a little help.
Take someone like Mike Tyson for instance. One of the things that made Mike such a great fighter – other than his ferocity – was his large amount of lean muscle mass. This was a fighter who looked like he belonged in a Rocky film and who had the abs to go along with huge shoulders and biceps.
What’s key to recognize here is that abs are actually quite rare in the world of bodybuilding. While they look great, they don’t offer any advantage as far as the sport is concerned and they wouldn’t be a priority for someone who’s focussed on power. In fact, if you look at real fighters you’ll often find that they look a little ‘soft’ around the midriff!
There’s no questioning the guy was a monster – but did he get that way naturally?
Did Mike Tyson Use Steroids?
So the question is, did Mike Tyson use steroids or did he find a way to get that way naturally?
All we can do to answer that is to assess the evidence in front of us.
In terms of physique, the size and definition that Tyson achieved would be hard to achieve naturally but by no means impossible. There have been far bigger and far more ripped natural athletes so we shouldn’t accuse him on that basis.
At this point then we’re pretty stumped, until we decide to look at his training regime. Did Tyson’s training regime have enough stimulus to get him to the size he was without the extra help? Was Tyson eating enough protein to build himself up that much?
One thing we do know is that Tyson worked out 7 days a week. This could be seen as a plus and a negative when it comes to the likelihood of steroid involvement. On the plus side, training that much supplies plenty of stimulus and could have helped him to grow big.
On the other hand though, we can also take the stance that it’s quite unusual to train that much – precisely because you normally need to take a break in order to allow your muscles to recover. If you train that hard and that regularly, then you break down your muscle tissue and don’t let it grow back – which can actually hamper muscle mass.
What can help you to get through a particularly tough training program though – is a little help from some steroids.
Another tidbit of information that may or may not be relevant, is that Tyson is still in great shape today: even though he no longer fights.
This suggests that Tyson enjoys training and perhaps takes an element of pride in his physique.
You’re going to have to make up your own mind on this one but at least you have all the facts now to do so fairly!
