How Can We Stop the Deaths? MD Levrone Report with IFBB Pro Hall of Famer Kevin Levrone

[Jen THE Admin]

Watch the show with us, or catch it later on the replay

[Howard]

Just watched this and ( as usual) Kevin is a smart, reflective man and legend of pro BB.
Obviously,he took care of his health and did pro BB in a sensible manner.
Blaming the covid vaccine is a convenient scapegoat that takes the focus off the real problems within BB.

In my opinion, Kevin is the exception and not the rule when it comes to health risks.
For every healthy Kevin , we have a crippled Ronnie or worse with a deceased Cedric.

But c'mon, boxing and MMA can input some basic rules to enhance athlete safety .
I see no reason why pro BB can't do the same thing.

For starters, the judges need to reward the best overall physique and not the best freak .
Having arms bigger then your head or 0.05% BF% with a dry grainy look shouldn't be the winning criteria .

The sport doesn't need to go crazy testing for everything or resorting to an all classic ht/wt ratio format.
In my opinion, just test the winner for diuretics and pick the best overall physique package .

I'm doubtful anything that promotes real change will be implemented .

Health concerns are considered lame and boring when you're driving off the cliff with the car on fire.

[mayor of bodybuilding]

Solid post Howard. There are excellent guys like Derek Lunsford (When he goes open) Rafael ,Regan Grimes, Samson who have complete physiques. A new look would change the direction of mens open body! With very few teen bodybuilders the sport will have no future

[Howard]

Solid post Howard. There are excellent guys like Derek Lunsford (When he goes open) Rafael ,Regan Grimes, Samson who have complete physiques. A new look would change the direction of mens open body! With very few teen bodybuilders the sport will have no future

All it really takes is returning to the original ideals and traditions of bodybuilding,

However, I just re-watched the 2021 Olympia open prejudging while doing cardio tonight.
The fans went crazy when Big Ramy came out and posed.

This core of dedicated BB fans, won't accept anything but a freak show .
They really don't care about the pros health or what they need to take to look freaky, etc.

The sport is based on pushing the limits and health / safety isn't considered.

I don't see it changing any time soon.

[Griff11]

I disagree Howie I like the dry grainy look. It's the only thing that shows me a competitor wants it. Diuretics aren't need for dry and grainy only will.

[Howard]

I disagree Howie I like the dry grainy look. It's the only thing that shows me a competitor wants it. Diuretics aren't need for dry and grainy only will.

Oh, I know that diuretics alone won't make anyone look 'grainy' and ultra shredded.
You're view is shared by the vast majority within hardcore BB.

To me , a guy like Bumstead is the ideal pro physique.
I don't think you get 'extra credit" for being grainy or having arms bigger than your head LOL.
That's my honest opinion, but, I don't expect it to be shared by many within hardcore BB.
Your side outnumbers me 99 to 1 , so there really isn't much debate or support for my ideals.

I'm no natural purist either and don't really care if a guy uses a little juice.

Like Seth concluded in his truck rant.
Everyone should just stop asking why these guys are falling over now.
We all know why and the sport is addicted to it, so it's not gonna change.

[Howard]

part II

As you know, I dabbled in some vit S back in the mid 1980's with delusions of pro card glory.
By 1988, after 4 years of "experimenting" , I said fuk it and stopped using.

I started competing again 3 years later without any juice , in UN-tested NPC shows.
I did ok, in smaller shows and accepted I wasn't going to advance very high in the NPC without juice.

I accepted the reality of BB success , long before I posted on MD forums.

I don't have any regrets and had a decent career in academia.
I lacked the raw talent to be a top pro, regardless of what I took.

To me it's wrong that a talented BB has to choose extreme drug use to compete on a 'level playing field".
Call me crazy, but I'd like to see BB run as a legitimate sport.

LOL, in most other sports, the fans think a pro is cheating if he's caught juicing.
In bodybuilding, the fans would feel cheated IF the pros weren't juicing

[triceps]

It's best to be natty, like me

[Beti ona]

Blaming the covid vaccine is a convenient scapegoat that takes the focus off the real problems within BB.

Agree. We've had health problems for decades.

For starters, the judges need to reward the best overall physique and not the best freak .
Having arms bigger then your head or 0.05% BF% with a dry grainy look shouldn't be the winning criteria .

This seems more like a subjective opinion about your personal preferences than a rule to protect the health of athletes.

I mean: Ruhl and Warren are alive and apparently healthy, while Cedric and Rhoden are gone.

[Howard]

This seems more like a subjective opinion about your personal preferences than a rule to protect the health of athletes.

I mean: Ruhl and Warren are alive and apparently healthy, while Cedric and Rhoden are gone.

That's true .
Plus Peterson was an ideal physique and he recently died at 38.

[Howard]

It's best to be natty, like me

I agree . But natty guys won't get the Olympia crowd to go crazy like Rammy , big Ronnie or Jay.

That's the real issue and dilemma here.

[Big Beat]

Good interview by Levrone, he always has an interesting take on things.

I'm not sure about blaming the vaccine for bodybuilding deaths....I don't think there is enough data to make that call.

The number of people, of the 100's of millions who have taken it, who have have blood clotting complications is miniscule.

[Big Beat]

Over a year into the biggest vaccination campaign in history, more than 11.5 billion doses have been administered across 184 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 13.2 million doses a day.

In the U.S., 572 million doses have been given so far. During the last week, shots were administered at an average rate of 96,738 doses a day.


https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/c...-distribution/

[Howard]

Good interview by Levrone, he always has an interesting take on things.

I'm not sure about blaming the vaccine for bodybuilding deaths....I don't think there is enough data to make that call.

The number of people, of the 100's of millions who have taken it, who have have blood clotting complications is miniscule.

Putting the blame on a vaccine takes the focus off the real drug problems in bodybuilding.

It's like the wife of a cheating husband blaming the other women for his infidelity. Of course, if she blames him , then she has to do something about him.

If the bodybuilding culture ever admits extreme drug use caused the health problems , they'd need to stop it.
Then less amazing pros would be on stage and they won't like it.
So , they remain in denial and blame whatever is convenient.

[Beti ona]

So , they remain in denial and blame whatever is convenient.

The same state of denial are those who assumed an experimental vaccine without sufficient support and do not want to see heath problems in thousands of healthy people around the world, inside and outside of sports, inside and outside of bodybuilding.

Only an idiot would trust gubernment official data, it's an act of faith and people choose to have faith in the authorities (is the same as fe in religions), you can't fight that.

Bodybuilders have been on drugs for decades, deaths in the last 2 years have increased. Covid or vaccine has been an added factor that increased health problems and deaths.

Being a pro bodybuilder is not a healthy lifestyle, so an external factor can create serious problems.

There have also been deaths that have nothing to do with gear or covid or jab, such as those who have committed suicide. And also, now almost every dead person who has IG and lift weights is reported. So almost every week you can get tragic news.