The year was 2008, and according to the New York Daily News, the bodybuilder’s secret for getting two different kinds of swole using the same dick pill was out: “When the Daily News approached John Romano about athletes’ love affair with Viagra, the senior editor at bodybuilding magazine Muscular Development laughed. ‘All the good secrets are getting out,’ Romano chuckled,” the tabloid reported.
According to the same report, Romano explained that several athletes take Viagra alongside anabolic steroids before a workout, to help dilate their blood vessels so that the anabolics go straight to their various muscle groups. “You want to fortify the blood with whatever you’re going to pump in there. Viagra is tailor-made for that because you’re slamming in all kinds of amino acids and whatever else, then expanding the muscles and pumping it in there,” Romano told the Daily News.
A slightly more scientific explanation for how Viagra helps bodybuilders get more bang for their pump comes by way of Men’s XP:
“Viagra acts a vasodilator [widening of blood vessels] by raising nitric oxide content in the blood, which increases blood flow in the veins of the penis, helping men with ED develop an erection. Now this increased blood flow is what the bodybuilders are chasing as a means to get better pumps during their workouts,” they report.
And in case you were wondering if any of this scientific jargon means Viagra actually works, look no further than any bodybuilding forum.
“I decided to test out some viagra pre-workout. I used 15mg, liquid form. Viagra was not originally intended to treat ED, it was actually designed for heart disease because its a major vaso-dilator. It increases nitric oxide levels a million times more than arginine etc…All i can say is HOLY CRAP. Pumps were OUTRAGEOUS…like far beyond any pump i’m ever achieved on a shoulder workout day,” writes Monsterbox on the Anabolic Minds forum.
The only downside, he says, is that you have to make sure not to let your mind wander to thinking about hotties because, well, y’know what that means.
BigZach1234 (we’re assuming BigZach123 was already taken) says Cialis works, too (sic obviously throughout). “hell yea.. havent tried it befor a workout but heard so much good stuff about it.. im about to pop a cialis right now.. and go lift in 40-45.. just slammed my super pump.. ill let u know how the cialis/superpump/cee stack works,” he writes.
Urologist Jamin Brahmbhatt tells me that this topic has been a point of controversy for years, as men have been using Sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra, and its generic name) beyond the bedroom and inside the weight room for more than a decade. (Case in point: The New York Daily News story referenced above.) “Sildenafil works by increasing nitrous oxide synthase, which then leads to increased blood flow to the penis and surrounding muscles, which translates into a nice strong erection,” says Brahmbhatt. “This increased blood flow is what athletes hope to have to get them to build up their bodies faster.”
That’s why Brahmbhatt concedes that taking Viagra, technically speaking, can help get you a slightly better pump. But the side effects are numerous: “The two biggest ones I tell patients are that it can decrease your blood pressure (so gotta watch out for other meds that could make the problem worse) and priapism (an erection lasting more than four hours — that’s an ER visit for sure!),” says Brahmbhatt. “Some of the minor side effects that make it a less than suitable pre-workout partner are headaches, abnormal heart rates and heart attacks from decreased blood flow/pressure. Plus, if you take too much, you may lose the ability to do it on your own.”
Which, of course, can be so deflating that no amount of swole can pump your spirits back up.
Andrew Fiouzi
Andrew Fiouzi is a staff writer at MEL.
