

#Swole is the goal how to
Every major bodybuilding gym has a ‘coach’ or ‘guru’ who knows how to use this stuff to improve a physique that’s lagging in certain areas. “My interest in synthol started because synthol is a well-understood part of bodybuilding knowledge since the 1980s. “I cover bodybuilding as if it’s National Geographic ,” Yudin tells me. Kirill Tereshin, the “Russian Hulk” (courtesy of Generation Iron) “The crazy insulin protocols, synthol and so on.”īut aside from goofy patriotism, what makes these men tick? What leads someone from bodybuilding to synthol overuse, or straight to synthol overuse by bypassing bodybuilding altogether? Director Vlad Yudin, whose films include the three Generation Iron documentaries, a late-life look at the declining physical state of bodybuilding champion Ronnie Coleman and an MMA documentary focusing on the travails of Jon Jones and Rashad Evans, has been delving deeper into this obscure subject. “There are a lot of things we don’t do, which is why you see grandmothers in bodybuilding but not grandfathers,” says long-time bodybuilder Vanessa Adams. Few, if any, women number among the small-time users sculpting small muscle groups - most synthol users fall into this category - much less the heavy users whose unusual physiques have attracted widespread media attention.

It bears noting that female bodybuilders are largely on the sidelines when it comes to synthol. “The benefit is that the enlargement goes away faster than a synthol injection, so if it doesn’t look right, they can readjust.” “ Nolitol, a painkiller, is what many pros take before shows, producing a ‘painless pump’ or enlargement when injected into a muscle group,” he says.
#Swole is the goal pro
It’s something that’s talked about and understood by bodybuilders, as well as a part of competition prep.”Īaron Singerman, the CEO of RedCon1, notes that the types of muscle-enlargement aids used by pro bodybuilders have evolved somewhat over time. Spotting and calling out synthol use is a typical pastime among bodybuilders. “Especially the ones that talk and act like idiots. “It’s actually pretty common for bodybuilders, even mediocre ones,” says fitness journalist Anthony Roberts.


There’s no medical benefit from using it, only drawbacks and side effects.”īe that as it may, the prevalence of synthol use among male bodybuilders is considerably higher than among the general population (and they’ve been using it since the 1980s). It’s also dangerous, doesn’t make you any stronger or fitter, can droop or sag because it’s not actually real muscle and can cause nerve damage, artery damage, infections - you name it. (For the record, synthol is a generic term for a compound consisting mainly of, as Mehling says, oil mixed with a painkiller (often lidocain) and sterilizing agent (typically alcohol).) “It’s a quick fix for users because you get immediate enlargement, and you can target small muscle groups that don’t respond well to exercise. “What they call synthol is oil that works almost like a temporary implant,” says Brian Mehling, a New York-based orthopedic surgeon with a practice that provides patients with testosterone and human-growth hormone treatments.
