Quote · Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
2889: 7 Muscle Building Exercises You Have Never Done (But Should Start Immediately)
Where this was said
Old school supplements
At 47:38 · chapter starts 44:54
Sal spots a social media post about banned supplements from the past and homes in on Hot Stuff — a cult favorite that gym-goers in the '90s swore by for muscle gains that were inexplicable given the ingredient label. The reason, as it turned out: pharmaceutical companies routinely discarded experimental steroid formulas that caused side effects or didn't meet drug approval standards. Supplement companies acquired these discarded formulas, tweaked a molecule or two to ensure they weren't yet scheduled as controlled substances, and added them to protein stacks under the euphemism 'prohormones.' Word spread on the gym floor in pre-social-media word-of-mouth networks; product would sell out, then move under the counter as regulators caught up, then resurface under a new name with a new undetected formula. Superdrol is discussed as the most extreme example — it was legally available at retail stores but is now banned and considered by powerlifters to be stronger than classic anabolics like Anadrol. The hosts see a direct parallel to today's peptide gray market.
The '90s supplement Hot Stuff became a cult favorite because guys were gaining 10 pounds of muscle on it. The reason: it contained designer steroids labeled as 'prohormones.' Supplement companies used discarded pharmaceutical steroid formulas, changed a molecule or two so they weren't yet banned, slipped them into protein powders and stacks, and sold them legally until regulators caught up — then went underground until the next undetected formula.
In 1988, a Boston doctor trained the oldest, frailest nursing home residents to lift weights when no one had ever tried it. The results: average strength gains of 174%, a maximum of 374%, and zero injuries in 8 weeks. One 92-year-old participant said she could walk better than her 72-year-old daughter. It's the proof that it is never too late to build strength.
