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So [chuckles] this one, um, it was an email said, "Maybe this is a podcast topic." So acknowledging, yes, that, that's-- there's certainly potential for that.

But, um, a lot of buzz going around, this person says, around the number of dead bodybuilders, right? Understand that there's some inherent risks with taking gear.

Their understanding is that, you know, this person is taking a fairly conservative approach, and that as long as your blood work and blood pressure stay good, doing okay.

In general, as long as I pay attention and take this conservative approach, I should be okay.

Do I agree with that logic? He continues, "When I hear about bodybuilders dying, my usual reaction that they must have been taking way more than me, or they had other preexisting conditions or kept pushing even when their blood work was alarmingly bad.

But I don't know." Continuing, "Taking into consideration age, uh, 40s-ish, um, and the amount of gear you're taking." Side note from coach, not much.

Um, do, do I th- do I think as a coach that he is in the realm of permanently damaging health and being at risk of early death? Uh, any insight into what other people might be doing that's leading to so many deaths? So, yeah, um, [clears throat] to be clear, like a lot of it is speculation, but generally the, the strategy here is, first of all, accepting that, yes, when you do something like this, there is a greater inherent risk.

Now, that risk can be managed, but managing that risk takes work and it takes diligence, and it's not for lazy people that, um, are gonna fall off routine.

And to be clear, like you can be a very disciplined bodybuilder, but if you're like, "Oh, yeah, you know, I d- I don't take care of this, I don't take care of this," like you've gotta have the holistic approach and look at everything here.

So you don't wanna fly blind on this stuff.

It's just not worth it.

[clears throat] Um, generally though, there are a couple things, uh, and, and this-- I, I responded to, to this person already and just I wanted to save it, um, for a podcast discussion, but not keep him in suspense since it is a really good question that deserves a, a faster answer.

So already addressed it there.

Um, a, a few things.

First of all, is this person using diuretics or insulin? Um, as far as things that kill you, those are the things that'll kill you fast if you misuse or abuse them or just don't know what you're doing with them.

Like you can very easily send your body into hypoglycemic shock with insulin.

You can very easily put your kidneys in a state where they can't regulate your electrolytes with diuretics.

And if you don't know what you're doing, you could end up going into kidney failure, diabetic coma, and die.

Like that, that is a very real thing that can happen, which is why I'm really not a big advocate for using those.

[chuckles] I would say with insulin specifically, like you've gotta be pretty dumb to, [chuckles] to mess it up.

But you know, at the same time, mistakes can happen.

Like smart, smart people can do dumb things and make honest mistakes.

So, um, [clears throat] like if you, if you mix up like, "Oh wait, is this my insulin or my growth hormone?" You dose the wrong one.

You're like, "Oh, I just gave myself 40 units of insulin." Like you're gonna have a problem, okay? It's also pretty easy not to do that.

So those are the things that are more of the acute risks.