A quick google suggests Skip uses/used prohormone.. if he does/did, he's not natty.
Also, compared to pics of pro BB'ers from <60's (i.e. before gear was even discovered).. gear does seem likely.
Prohormones are not steroids, you might aswell say hes not natty cos he ate 4 chickens a day. Or took a really good multi vitamin. What about ZMA? unnatural doses of Zinc and Magnesium that boosts testosterone, that not natural either then? I think the distinction between natty and enhanced is simply whether or not direct hormone has been applied. This includes all illegal/illicit PE drugs but not 90% of otc supplements. IF he used PH's id still consider him natty, trust me on this, where a PH gives you maybe a 1-5% boost if any, Steroids give several 100%'s boost, its not even in the same league
Regardless of the boost, its classed as non natural. Something like epistane will put your test levels above that which is classed as normal and you would fail a drugs test because of it.
You might not class it as illegal, but the ruling bodies do and they are the ones that people will take notice of
Firstly, im sure you understand this morbs even if your post doesnt come across as such, illegal in sports and illegal in society are two different things, just wanted to highlight that. Second, when talking about natural versus non-natural in a bodybuilding context you cant put epistane, halodrol, M1T etc in the same boat as test, tren, deca etc.
I mean to do so is to consider someone on PH's capable of competing with the Mr Olympias of this world. A steroid is a specific compound, or compound type that has a distinct physiological effect on the human bodys endocrine balance. A prohormone is simply a chemical or nutrient that has an indirect effect on the bodies hormone levels, ZMA as a supplement is still a prohormone, it just isnt classed as such in the popular press.
The fact remains that whilst i agree with your sentiment, in tested competition no drug should be used that manipulates hormone levels, ie powerlifting. In bodybuilding i think the distinction must be drawn betwenn thos substances technically classed as 'Anabolic Steroids ' and all other types. So going back to my initial comment, yes i would call skip lacour natty even if he had taken PH's however im fairly sure he hasnt, he's ultra dedicated to being all natural, it just wouldnt make sense.
TESTOSTERONE/EPITESTOSTERONE RATIO. The T/E ratio is used to measure the presence of exogenous testosterone, or illicit elevation of testosterone levels. A T/E ratio in excess of 6/1 is ruled as positive, no matter what the cause. Note: Should the use of any substance cause an elevated T/E ratio in excess of the 6/1 limit, the athlete will be ruled as positive (failure).
Prohormones are listed as illegal, right next to Anabolics.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohormone
That tells me it's not natty.
What about ZMA? unnatural doses of Zinc and Magnesium that boosts testosterone
This study was funded by SNAC Systems Inc. (the patent holders) and one of the study's authors (Victor Conte) has equity in this company.
It still amazes me when people believe in marketing claims without question
Your right ive not actually read any studies to back that up. Are there any? Since you seem to know otherwise have you got any to hand? id be very interested to read. Everything ive heard is anecdotal but ZMA has always seemed to boost my recovery.
nice one, very interesting, might save my money on the next loy of ZMA and try me some soy proteiun instead :O
The safest and best way to increase T levels is a hot girlfriend
i do follow you morba m8, but my questioning is not what some federation deems natty, more what a PERSON should consider natty. There are many compounds that are very effective and are NOT detected in tested federations when used correctly. Is their use then acceptable?
Essentially im saying that you cant use federation rules or national law to define what is and isnt natural. It is something that should be defined by effect and to that end i dont see anything not classed as an anabolic steroid to be 'unnatural'.