• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
BarBend

BarBend

The Online Home for Strength Sports

  • News
    • CrossFit
    • Strongman
    • Bodybuilding
    • Top Athletes
    • Powerlifting
    • Weightlifting
    • Competition Results
    • Latest Research
  • Reviews
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Mini Massage Guns
      • Individual Recovery Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Protein
        • Best Whey Protein Powders
        • Best Vegan Protein Powders
        • Best Whey Isolate Protein Powders
        • Best Mass Gainers
        • Best Protein Bars
      • Best Pre-Workouts
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Women
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Men
        • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workouts
        • Strongest Pre-Workouts
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Electrolyte Supplements
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Meal Replacements
      • Best Nitric Oxide Supplements
      • Best Fat Burners
        • Best Fat Burners for Men
        • Best Fat Burners for Women
        • Best Non-Stim Fat Burners
      • More Supplements
        • Best Supplements for Muscle Growth
        • Best Supplements for CrossFit
        • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
        • Best Supplements for Bodybuilding
        • Best Supplements for Men
        • Best Supplement Stacks
      • Individual Supplements Reviews
    • Equipment
      • Cardio
        • Best Treadmills
        • Best Rowing Machines
        • Best Exercise Bikes
        • Best Ellipticals
        • Best Recumbent Bikes
      • Strength
        • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
        • Best Dumbbells
        • Best Kettlebells
        • Best Barbells
        • Best Squat Racks
        • Best Free Weights
        • Best Weight Benches
        • Best Resistance Bands
        • Best Slam Balls
        • Best Weighted Vests
        • Best Leg Extension Machines
        • Best Cable Machines
        • Best Power Racks
        • Best Pull Up Bars
      • Best Home Gyms
        • Best Smart Home Gyms
        • Best Gym Equipment Under $100
        • Best Home Gym Essentials
        • Best Home Gym Flooring
      • Individual Equipment Reviews
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Apparel
        • Best Weightlifting Shoes
        • Best Cross Training Shoes
        • Best Gym Bags
        • Best Gym Shorts
      • Training
        • Best Weightlifting Belts
        • Best Knee Sleeves
        • Best Lifting Straps
        • Best Grip Strengtheners
        • Best Wrist Wraps
        • Best Lifting Gloves
      • Individual Fitness Product Reviews
    • Certifications
      • Best Sports Nutrition Certifications
      • Best Personal Trainer Certifications
      • Best Nutrition Certifications
      • Individual Certifications Reviews
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
      • Individual Program Reviews
  • Nutrition
    • Diets
      • Carb Cycling
      • Vertical Diet
      • Reverse Dieting
      • Carnivore Diet
      • Ketogenic Diet
      • Intermittent Fasting
      • IIFYM Diet
    • Fat Loss
      • Macros for Fat Loss
      • Calorie Deficits
      • Natural Fat Burners
      • Cut 2 Pounds Weekly
    • Muscle Gain
      • How to Dirty Bulk
      • Go From Cutting to Bulking
      • Eat These Carbs
      • How to Eat for Muscle
    • Supplement Guides
      • Pre-Workout
      • Whey Protein
      • Mass Gainers
      • Greens Powders
      • Creatine
      • BCAAs
    • Nutrition Tips
      • Daily Protein Needs
      • Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition
      • Foods With Creatine
      • Bulking Tips
  • Training
    • Workouts
      • Back Workouts
      • At-Home Workouts
      • Chest & Back Workouts
      • Full-Body Workout
      • HIIT Workouts
    • Exercise Guides
      • Deadlift
      • Bench Press
      • Back Squat
      • Overhead Press
      • Bent-Over Row
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Crunches
      • Farmer’s Carry
    • Best Exercises
      • Shoulder Exercises
      • Back Exercises
      • Chest Exercises
      • Glute Exercises
      • Ab Exercises
      • Hamstring Exercises
      • Quad Exercises
      • Calf Exercises
      • Biceps Exercises
      • Triceps Exercises
    • Programs
      • Push-Up Program
      • Pull-Up Program
      • German Volume Training
      • 5/3/1 Program
      • Powerbuilding Program
      • The Cube Method
      • 5×5 Program
      • Bodybuilding Programs
      • Build Your Own Program
    • Fat Loss
      • How to Burn Fat
      • Spot Fat Reduction
      • How to Train on a Cut
      • Body Conditioning
      • Workouts
        • Kettlebell Circuits
        • Dumbbell Complexes
        • Farmer’s Carry Workouts
    • Muscle Gain
      • Muscle Hypertrophy Explained
      • How to Build Muscle
      • How to Maintain Muscle
      • What Researchers Say About Muscle Gain
        • Workouts
          • 20-Minute Workouts
          • Kettlebell Circuits
          • CrossFit Workouts for Muscle
          • Bodybuilding Workouts
  • Calculators
    • Protein Intake Calculator
    • Macros Calculator
    • BMR Calculator
    • Squat Calculator
    • Calorie Calculator
News

Jim Stoppani on Modern Bodybuilding and the Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs

Stoppani expresses his support for bodybuilders and their use of drugs to achieve their goal physiques.

Written by Phil Blechman
Last updated on July 25th, 2023

Episode 10 of the interview with exercise physiologist Jim Stoppani by Generation Iron and BarBend aired on April 25, 2022. Moderator Vlad Yudin inquires about the current state of competitive bodybuilding and the drug use necessary to compete at the sport’s highest level.

Stoppani, who has competed as an amateur bodybuilder previously in his career, recognized the mental aspect of bodybuilding and the importance athletes ascribe to putting on additional muscle mass to advance in the sport.

It is the most critical thing in your life. It consumes you.

Check out the entirety of episode 10 below, courtesy of Generation Iron‘s YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnK9fl0YG1U&ab_channel=GenerationIronFitness%26BodybuildingNetwork

[Related: Breon Ansley’s Next Bodybuilding Competition is the 2022 Tampa Pro]

One of the ongoing issues within bodybuilding is the use of drugs and their potential link to illness and premature death. In recent years, there have been many tragic deaths of bodybuilders who have passed relatively young, including Cedric McMillan, George Peterson, Shawn Rhoden, and John Meadows, among others.

Stoppani does not believe that the sport is pushing athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs but rather the mindsets athletes have to further their physiques. The notion that if a bodybuilder is committed to achieving, for example, the combination of five percent body fat at 300 pounds, they “will do anything.”

You can’t understand the mentality of these people until you’ve done it.

For female bodybuilding, in particular, Stoppani suggests that the financial benefit of competing at the elite level and the respect for them within the bodybuilding community itself is lacking. However, they still endure the hardships of training and dieting for the best possible physique they can.

I have nothing but respect for everyone at every class.

While he understands and respects the athletes’ desire to chisel their physiques to their limits, Stoppani does agree that the dangers of drug use are present. However, he doesn’t believe it to be any more dangerous than the undertakings of other athletes, likening it to driving in a Nascar race.

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

A post shared by Jim Stoppani, PhD (@jimstoppani)

[Related: Bikini Olympia Champion Janet Layug Has Entered the 2022 Pittsburgh Pro]

Stoppani compares bodybuilding as a dangerous endeavor to all sports with high stakes that compel athletes to strive to be the best.

You don’t stop when you want to be the best. You do everything you can.

Stoppani extends his support for the mass monsters because he feels that those athletes want to be that big. Again, bodybuilders’ use of drugs, in Stoppani’s view, is not a result of needing to use them to compete but rather a desire to use them to achieve their goal physiques.

Stoppani is a fan of bodybuilding, noting how impressed he is when he sees two-time Mr. Olympia champion Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay‘s quads. While the use of drugs continues to be a hot topic of debate, particularly with so many athletes passing away young, Stoppani is of the mind that it is not a problem with the sport but a part of elite bodybuilders’ mindsets to achieve greatness at any cost.

Featured image: @jimstoppani on Instagram

About Phil Blechman

Phil is a native New Yorker passionate about storytelling, bodybuilding, and game design. He holds a BFA from Syracuse University.

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

Mitchell Hooper Shocks Five-Time Fittest Man on Earth® Mat Fraser With a 660-Pound Pig Flip

Four CrossFit Games Athletes Join Cast of “Gladiators” Reboot in Australia

2023 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) Nationals Results

2023 Ultimate Strongman World Championships & Strongest Nation Results

Amélie Mierger (+84KG) Bench Presses 165 Kilograms (364 Pounds), Half a Kilogram Over IPF Raw World Record

Latest Reviews

Alaskan Cold Plunge Feature

Redwood Outdoors Alaskan Cold Plunge Review

Living.Fit Grip Strengthener Review

Bells of Steel Competition Kettlebell Review

Bells of Steel Barenaked Powerlifting Bar 2.0 Review

REP BlackWing Feature

REP Fitness BlackWing Weight Bench Review

Be the smartest person in your gym

The BarBend newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I Want In!
BarBend

BarBend is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting.

  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Sections

  • CrossFit
  • Strongman
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Weightlifting
  • Reviews
  • Nutrition
  • Training

More

  • BarBend Newsletter
  • BarBend Podcast
  • The Ripped Report
  • 1RM Calculator
  • BMR Calculator
  • Macros Calculator
  • Protein Calculator
  • Squat Calculator

Policies

  • Accessibility
  • Advice Disclaimer
  • Cookies Policy
  • Disclaimers
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2023 · BarBend Inc · Sitemap