Bodybuilding Dirty Little Secrets

I wish people were honest with me when I started training.

I wish people were not pushing their own products in my face.

I wish there were no lies.

I wish somebody told me the sweet truth about bodybuilding when I was young...

Bodybuilding has lied to you. Actually bodybuilding has lied to everybody and this is the truth, the truth that nobody wants to tell and everybody denies.

Bodybuilding is a sport built on PEDs (Performance Enhancement Drugs). Without PEDs there is no bodybuilding. None. 

When did bodybuilding start? According to the current data "the first bodybuilder" was Eugen Sandow who was born in 1867. He is the only world famous bodybuilder you are likely to hear about who was natural. The only one. However while the body of EugeneSandow is achievable naturally there are rumors that he used amphetamines to look drier/more ripped during his show/presentation day. But when were amphetamines discovered ?

From wikipedia

Amphetamine was first synthesized in 1887, by the German chemist L. Edeleano, the stimulant effects were not noticed. In the early 1930s, when amphetamine's CNS stimulant properties and use as a respiratory stimulant were discovered it was marketed as an inhaler for nasal congestion. At this time, medical professionals recommended amphetamine as a cure for a range of ailments-alcohol hangover, narcolepsy, depression, weight reduction, hyperactivity in children, and vomiting associated with pregnancy.

So, it's quite questionable whether Eugen Sandow used amphetamines but it's safe to say that his mass and level of leanness are clearly achievable naturally. 

Every FAMOUS bodybuilder after Eugene Sandow is not natural and used/experimented/abused/ultra-abused steroids and other recreational drugs. The first bodybuilder that comes to mind is Steve Reeves. Steve Reeves was not a natural bodybuilder. He did experiment with low doses of steroids and other drugs. Truth be told people from back then are no different than people today - they still did everything in their power to get bigger. Everything. 

As 2PAC would say: "Some things will never change."

After Eugene Sandow's death the scene of bodybuilding changed completely. The two famous bodybuilders were John Grimek and Steve Reeves. However Steve Reeves was much more Hollywood material due to his facial features and that's why he has become the face of bodybuilding at that time. He was Arnold before Arnold. He possessed that classic macho, a little too sensitive, look and people loved it. 

Steve Reeves had excellent genetics for bodybuilding - small waist, wide shoulder, strong bones. During his military service Steve was called "The Shape". However there was one secret behind his reign few people know. That little secret is called - John Bosley Ziegler or the godfather of Methandrostenolone (known as Dianabol/D-bol). While D-bol was originally released in the 1960s by Ciba Specialty Chemicals (company Ziegler worked for at some point in his career) there were prototypes of the product already during the 1940s. 

Excerpts from the article: Testosterone Dreams: Sex, doctors, and the male hormone

"Testosterone was first synthesized in 1935. Shortly after testosterone was produced in a European laboratory, following a competition among three pharmaceutical companies, Time magazine reported that: German and Swiss chemical laboratories are already prepared … to manufacture from sheep’s wool all the testosterone the world needs to cure homosexuals (and) revitalize old men.”

"The first public advocate of testosterone therapy for aging men was the popular science journalist Paul de Kruif, whose manifesto The Male Hormone was published with some fanfare in 1945. Excerpted in Reader’s Digest and promoted by a full-page review in Newsweek (“Hormones for He-Men”), The Male Hormone was in some respects a prophetic book. The potential market for a rejuvenating male hormone seemed to be enormous: “How many millions of American males, not the men they used to be, would flock to the physicians and the druggist, a bit shame-faced and surreptitious, maybe, but hopeful, murmuring: ‘Doc, how about some of this new male hormone?’

During that period of time (the 40s)  Ziegler experimented - on himself and athletes with many testosterone versions. Ziegler already had access to the popular steroid testosterone propionate and the extremely dangerous fat burner DNP. There was also experimentation with the powerful hormone insulin. The really scary part is that were are talking about the 1940s -the prime years of Steve Reeves. He, Grimek and a bunch of other lifters did catch that phase and were no strangers to the "finishing touch"*


During the 70s and 80s or in other words the era of Arnold Schwarzenegger steroids were quite common and used by pretty much most of bodybuilders. Arnold started taking steroids (mainly D-bol) at a very young age (teenager) and when he won Mr. Universe in 1969 at 19 years of age he was far from being a natural bodybuilder. He had really good structure and genetics but reality is - he did in fact take PEDs. All of this information was presented in the book called: Arnold: An Unauthorized Biography by Wendy Leigh. This book is very hard to find since Arnold's legal team is doing everything possible to eliminate its existence.

Many bodybuilders during the old days are trying hard to make everybody believe how little gear they used and that most of their success was due to the same old rules - training, diet, persistence. No, it was not like that. Here's an excerpt written by Nelson Montana, author of The Bodybuilding Truth.

DISCOVERING THE TRUTH 

I have fairly recently trained down in Florida with top pro of the 70's and early 80's CASEY VIATOR. 

I asked him directly about steroid use in the 70's and this is what he had to say.... and I quote... 

"Don't let anyone fool you about our low doses. We were just as reckless with steroid use as they are today." 

I asked him when the big doses started.... 

" The big doses started around 1974 and yes we were all right on top of it". Yes we ALL used GH back then and it was from real cadavers. The GH we all used was called CRESCORMIN and nobody was going to morgues to get it". 

I wanted an example and I told him about what I heard my mentor, and his friend and former training partner, Mike Mentzer used......only 400 of deca/week and 30 of d-bol/day. 

CASEY LAUGHED and then said this...." Mentzer used up to 2.5 grams of deca a week, God knows how much primobolin acetate, along with d-bol and growth, so as I said don't be fooled about our low doses as we were just as reckless as theses guys are today.  

I "left it at that" and didn't question him about HIS specific gear use because he really doesn't like to talk about steroids and is very much against their use in bodybuilding.....he is ashamed of his past gear use bro's but is perfectly aware that it allowed him to compete at a very high level and attain to success as one of the biggest and strongest form 73-83. 

During that same period of time the money loving Joe Weider had a vision - create an image using the best bodybuilders and show people a way to achieve that goal. The way was of course - supplements sold by him. Since many people would be training hard in the gym, emulating their heroes and yet staying far, far from their level of physical development there had to be a "supplement" that "makes" everything work. Joe Weider was selling those supplements. 

The advertisements contained fake promises, fake pictures and most of all no working products. Just like today. Reality is most of Weider supplements were just powder milk and sugar. They tasted horrible and were based on the myth that you need enormous loads of protein to build muscle mass. Many of the bodybuilders who advertised the products were not even using the supplements themselves - just like today. 

I have a question for you - how much money did you waist on supplements ? Don't get mad. We all did.

Bodybuilding had become really popular after the contest Mr. Olympia was created. The biggest bodybuilding contest to this day. The first Mr. Olympia was Larry Scott who was trained by the popular guru - Vince Gironda who himself was against steroids. Of course this was a lie and Vince Gironda took PEDs but responded poorly or as most people would say - "like a regular gym rat". One of the reasons he was a little too bitter and was screaming so loud against steroids. Virtually all of his pupils such as Larry Scott, Don Howorth, Rick Wayne, Mohamed Makkawy and many others used at least dianabol back in the day. Here's what they say about the subject:

Don Howorth: People said dianabol didn't do much but they were full of it. I took 20 mgs a day and my bench press skyrocketed. I never felt any side effects. I don't think I took enough to notice. 

Larry Scott: We only used a couple of dianabol pills a day and they really made a difference. Messed with the Libido though.

While the stories about "just a few pills" may be partially true the professional bodybuilders during the 80s were taking about 100mgs of d-bol and of course many other substances. Here's what THE MYTH Sergio Oliva has to say on the subject:

Sergio Oliva: This is an area of great interest for people. I don't care who wants to take steroids, because that's a personal choice... that's his life. Now, today, everybody has access to them. I even saw in one of the big magazines that Arnold denies having used them, but Arnold was one of the first to bring steroids over to America. And everybody in the old days used them: Zane, Columbu, myself, Arnold, Larry Scott, Harold Poole, Dave Draper, and even Steve Reeves. There's no way to deny it. It wasn't much, nothing like today. But the development of drugs is much different. I used decca and dianabol, and that was something really big at the time; and decca was not considered that bad. It was even prescribed by doctors to help make your bones strong. Today you have guys weighing 200 pounds, and six months later they weigh 250-300 pounds! So you know these guys are taking something unbelievable. When they say they haven't taken any thing, you know that it's phony.  (excerpt from interview made by By Brian D. Johnston )

After the Arnold era ended the bodybuilding scene was taken by guys Like Lee Haney, Dorian Yates, Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, Nasser El Sonbaty..etc. They took the steroid abuse to the next level. Dorian Yates who is the prime example of average genetics was one of the first "mass monsters" mainly due to unheard before abuse of growth hormone and insulin. He was pushing 280lbs at 4% BF. Size only a few like Nasser El Sonbaty could match. At the same time he was promoting the so-called High Intensity training method made famous by Mike Mentzer. While the training principle itself has solid points most of it was pure hype and this method of training had absolutely zero impact on the outcome. The main rival of Dorian in 1997,  Nasser El Sonbaty, has admitted to drug use and criticized professional bodybuilders for lying and hiding the truth. 

Nasser El Sonbaty used a lot of drugs through his life but was one of the few bodybuilders honest with the "kids".

The first Mr. Olympia was 200 pounds at about 5'7 height. Today we have guys competing at 250 pounds/5'7 height. What changed? The supplement industry developed? Better training equipment? More knowledge? More food? No. None of that was the reason for the muscle size increase. There's nothing new under the sun. Supplements still do nothing and most of the research backing them up is paid behind the scenes and corruption is all over the place. The only thing that changed are the dosages. How much gear does a professional bodybuilder use? A lot - grams of testosterone and insane amount of growth hormone which alone costs USD 40 000+ a year. All that is a "public secret". The text below is a quote of Wayne Demilia, President of the International Federation of Body Builders (IFBB)

When my guys tell you it costs more than $25,000 to get ready for a big contest, do you think they’re talking about pasta?

Despite claims like the above one many people continue to believe in miracles, wonders even though the reality is completely different. Truth be told if PEDs and other chemicals are removed from bodybuilding there won't be much improvement compared to Eugen Sandow's time. The only difference is that today's true natural bodybuilders compete a little leaner (less bodyfat) due to better dieting and recreational drugs such as yohimbe and the popular cutting stack - ECA (Ephedrine, coffeine and aspirin). Muscle size wise the natural guys are the same or at least the real ones are. 

Many people claim that dieting, training methods and better training equipment are the reason for the progress of bodybuilding. The truth however is that the changes are not that significant. Old school bodybuilders since Sandow's time were known to eat - eggs, meat, milk...wholesome foods. Actually there was even some sort of protein supplement called Plasmon used by the lifters. Arthur Saxon also wrote in The Development of Physical Power about drinking Bovril (a beef extract) on a regular basis in addition to his usual food. On top of that I would even add that during Sandow's time refined sugar products were not everywhere like they are today. The "fake" foods we find today in the stores and we see on TV were not part of people's diet. So, the diet was the same - protein rich foods. Yes, there were no iPhone applications to track your macros but people still managed to survive. Let's now take a look at the training methods.

The training methods during the early days were - lift heavy weight. Many people before Steve Reeve's time were not familiar with "repetitions". They were simply lifting maximum weight but without burning out or going to failure. Quite similar to the training philosophy presented by Pavel Tsatsouline in most of his books. Right about the time of Steve Reeves people started relying more on repetitions because of the pump and the faster increase in size. One of the biggest differences during the old days was that there were no training splits and everybody was training the whole body each training day. For example Steve Reeves routine looked like that:

All exercises were done each training day and the workouts took a lot of time. At some point people decided to split the body and train different body parts on different days in order to reduce the duration of the workouts and recover better. 

While people today are using splits we pretty much do the same thing. For example when you look at Steve Reeve's routine he does 1-2 exercises per bodypart and about 3 sets per exercise. That would make 6 sets per day or 18 sets a week. Modern bodybuilders usually do 4-5 exercises per bodypart each week. The number of sets is about 3-4. That makes around 20 sets per bodypart a week or volume similar to Steve's routine.

Regardless of how you train you won't gain two inches on your arm thanks to "evolved training method" and today even with all the "training advancement" people are still using old school routines such as 5x5, push/pull, 10x3...etc.

The only thing that changed over the last 70 years is the level of confusion. This is the truth and you may choose to ignore it and follow "Weider's training principles" or some other fancy over hyped training method but in the end of the today all natural bodybuilders end up having the same muscle mass as the guys from previous centuries. Why? It's quite simple actually - the level of testosterone in males and females has not changed dramatically. Without having large amount of testosterone in your body you will never build huge muscles. It's like trying to fly without wings - no matter how fast you move your arms eventually you fail miserably. The prove can actually be found in the usage of steroids - the bigger the dose, the bigger the man. In other words even if you are using steroids at some point in order to get bigger you will have to increase your dose or otherwise you won't grow after a certain point. There is a reason why professional bodybuilders are taking grams of anabolic steroids each week instead of 200mg of testosterone - you simply get bigger by using more drugs. 

Today just like the old days money is king. And how do you make money in the muscle world - by creating pipe dreams. The newest sensation right now are the fitness YouTube channels such as FlexForRail (Matt Ogus), TheHodgeTwins, CTFletcher and many others. Virtually 90% of the famous channels are owned by steroid users. A good example would be Matt Ogus who is clearly a steroid user competing in "natural competitions". The kid is barely 20 and has the muscle maturity of a 32 years old man training for 12 years. He is also ripped but has a bloated (water retaining) face. For those who don't know that's a pure sign of drug abuse. Yet many people are following him on YouTube because of his "precious" advice while he is "making bank" uploading value deprived videos of him showing nothing more than his huge ego and the effectiveness of anabolic drugs. 

Typical look of bloated steroid user

Without pipe dreams being sold nobody would make any money. Nobody. The supplement companies will bankrupt, the famous bodybuilders won't be payed, the "gurus" will vanish, the youtube channels of steroids users such Matt Ogus, HodgeTwins and Scooby will disappear.

It's all one big conspiracy - from the gym membership to the last protein shake. 

Imagine a world where everybody knew that every single supplement is useless?

Imagine a world where everybody knew that you don't need to train six times a week?

Imagine a world where everybody knew that natural training ends at 170lbs 5'10 5% BF if you have good genetics?

Imagine a world where the professional bodybuilders are barely bench pressing 300 lbs after 10 years of training?

Imagine a world where Mr. Olympia is 200lbs 6'3. 

Imagine that world. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* finishing touch - most professional bodybuilders describe the usage of steroids as polishing of the physique while the reality is that drugs are the engine of bodybuilding and have been so from the start.

Read more ...

Joel Stubs - Best Back In The History Of The Human Race

• Full Name:Joel Stubbs
• Place of Birth:Nassau, Bahamas
• Date of Birth:30 December 1967
• Occupation: IFBB professional bodybuilder, personal trainer/commercial airline pilot
• Height:6'3"
• Contest Weight:300 lbs
• Off-Season Weight:325 lbs
• Bench Press (1 rep max.): 535 lb
• Deadlift ( 1 rep max.): 600 lb
• Squat (1 rep max.): 550 lb

source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Stubbs

Joels Stubbs is professional bodybuilder known for his back development. Below is a sample of his back routine. He trains back two times a week - once "light" and "once" heavy.

Heavy day:

Wide grip pull-ups - 2 sets of 10 reps (2x10);

Neutral grip pull-ups - 2 sets of 10 reps;

Chin-ups - 2 sets of 10 reps;

Deadlifts - 5-6 sets of 15 to 6 reps;

Barbell rows - 5-6 sets of 15 to 6 reps;

One arm dumbbell rows - 5 sets of 10-12 reps;

Back extensions - 4 sets of 15 reps;

Light day:

Wide grip pull-ups - 2 sets of 10 reps (2x10);

Neutral grip pull-ups - 2 sets of 10 reps;

Chin-ups - 2 sets of 10 reps;

T-bar rows - 4-5 sets of 12-15 reps;

Seated cable rows - 4 sets of 15 reps;

Pulldowns wide grip (underhand) - 4 sets of 15 reps;

Pulldowns narrow grip (underhand) - 4 sets of 15 reps;

Back extensions - 4 sets of 15 reps;

Note: This is routine of an IFBB professional and he uses PEDs during his preparation. However this routine can be done by natural as well because the back is very tough muscle group and can take a beating. Make sure there are a few days between the sessions and the routine does interfere with your leg workouts since having a tired back musculature is a problem when doing squats, lunges, Romanian deadlifts, front squats...etc.

As wide as it gets

Read more ...

Big Bones, Small Bones, Bodybuilding

The skeleton structure of a person is strongly connected to his strength, muscle size, speed...etc. In bodybuilding it's hard to say what's better - small joints or big joints. Why?

If a person has big bones this usually means that he/she will have bigger muscles compared to a thin/fragile individual. However the person with the larger bone structure will also have bigger waist and since bodybuilding is based on illusion the thin guy may end up looking much better than his/her rival. As far as men are concerned any bodybuilder/fitness enthusiast with under 7 inches wrist has small bone structure. On the other hand anybody with 7.5-8+ inches wrist has large skeleton structure. 

A person with 6' inches wrist and insane genetics would be able to have about 16+ inches arms at a decent (below 12%) BF* At the same time a big boned trainee with 8 inches wrist will have about 18 inches arms. Who is bigger? Well, technically the guy with 18 inches arms. However we all know that in bodybuilding the winner is not the guy with the biggest measurement and the guy with 16 inches arms may actually win. What about strength?

When it comes to strength the guy with big joints has full advantage. Actually I can't think of a single advantage small bones offer when you are a powerlifter. The goal is to push the most weight and having stronger and bigger skeleton gives you an advantage right from the start. A lot of  guys with small wrists have trouble benching. Also small hips can be a problem for squats. The only strength exercise than does not give a fuck about bone size is the deadlift. The reason for that is quite simple - during the deadlift you are not supporting the weight with your limbs but you are rather pulling it towards your entire body. 

Ed Coan, the most famous powerlifter, has 8 inches wrist while some of the most aesthetic bodybuilders out there like Serge Nubret, Vince Taylor and Flex Wheeler have small - 6-6.5 inches wrists. 

Ed Coan - 8 inches wrist 

Vince Taylor (on the right) has really small wrist which gave teh illusion his arms were bigger.

"all the top pros i've met have tiny joints.  when i met Vince, our arms look close to the same size.  but if you saw a pic of me onstage alone, and a pic of Vince on stage alone, you would guess his arms 3 inches bigger at least. 

my wrist is probably 1.5 inches bigger than his, and thats why i was never a great bodybuilder."

  -hazbin (member of Getbig.com and also the guy on the left)

original source 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's not about height

Lee Priest 

A lot of people such as Lee Priest believe that the taller guy should have bigger measurements than the short one. It's not true. It's about bone thickness and size. The height of a person does not determine his/her bone size - only length. In other words just because a guy like the 5'4 inches tall Lee Priest has 20 inches (obviously he has been abusing drugs since his creation) it does not mean that a guy who is 5'10 should have 25 inches. No. The measurements of a person are determined obviously by his level of development but also by his bone size. A person who is 6'1 tall with 20 inches arms has 50+ pounds of muscle more than a 5'4 guy with the same arm size.

 So, Lee Priest can fuck off and go heal his Napoleon complex. Truth be told naturally he will be 140 lbs top at his height. He competes at 200lbs. Case closed.

Conclusion: Small joints may be great for bodybuilding while huge joints work better for Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting. In all cases be happy with what you got.

Read more ...

Man Up - The Only Carpal Tunnel Treatment That Works

RSI injuries were a very important part of my life for many years. Not anymore. You can read my full story here. In this post I will focus on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome which have become as famous as Kim Kardashian. Let me tell you something - there is hope in the end of the tunnel.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpal_tunnel_syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a median entrapment neuropathy, that causes paresthesia, pain, numbness, and other symptoms in the distribution of the median nerve due to its compression at the wrist in the carpal tunnel. The pathophysiology is not completely understood but can be considered compression of the median nerve traveling through the carpal tunnel. It appears to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.  Some of the predisposing factors include: diabetes, obesity, pregnancy, hypothyroidism, and heavy manual work or work with vibrating tools but not lighter work even if repetitive.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the general definition of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Usually the most common ways to treat the problem are - NSAIDs, wrist splints, rest, acupuncture, joint supplements, Vitamin B6, yoga, deep tissue massages, surgery and more.

Most cases of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are related to computer usage or should I say over-usage. These days office jobs are quite common and on top of that everybody uses computer at home too. Therefor many people believe that the repetitive motions and positioning of the wrist when typing on the keyboard are the main reason for the appearance of CTS. That's why a lot of people start using wrist splints like the one you see in the image above. The main idea behind similar equipment is to keep the wrist in natural alignment and avoid unnecessary pressure on the median nerve. However this treatment is not as efficient as it would seem. Our joints are meant to move freely and artificially reducing the range of motion of a joint is hardly needed when there is no structural damage such as bone fracture or ligament tears. On top of that in order to achieve the advertised natural alignment of the wrist you need to make sure that the wrist splint is tight - this could potentially cause reduced blood supply, unnecessary sweat and more. I've tried using wrist splints when I had nerve problems with my hand and in the end of the day they helped a little but mostly due to the placebo affect and false sense of security. That's why I would not recommend the usage of similar medical products for more than a few weeks at most. You risk becoming too dependant.

Unfortunately the other traditional methods can't be classified as very effective neither. NSAIDs for example will do very little for this condition. They can stop the pain, if that, but still the main problem for the pain will not be addressed. We all know that NSAIDs meant for oral use can be quite harmful on your stomach so make sure you don't go overboard. Yoga, stretching, acupuncture are all great but they also have limitations and usually promote slight pain alleviation during the activity and a few hours after but soon the pain returns. The reason for that is the fact that the root of the problem is not addressed.

When I was younger I developed some weird skin deformation on my first two knuckles. The doctor gave me a drug which actually did wonders. The problem was gone. But soon it returned. You know how the cycle goes on. 7 years later I still have this problem for one very simple reason - I don't know what's the cause and how to stop it. The above treatments for CTS are doing the same.

You may think I am crazy but I truly believe that the reason for CTS is mental, in your head. Yes, you read that correctly - in most cases the occurrence of carpal tunnel is caused by emotional trauma. Dr. Sarno, one of the most successful doctors when it comes to chronic pain, has presented his idea on the topic in many of his works. The basic message is this - chronic injuries such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome have emotional cause and the physical pain that comes with the condition is meant to distract you from the real problem. I know this is hard to believe but you've probably tried all other treatment methods and they failed. Otherwise you probably wouldn't be reading this text.

Our bodies love us and will do anything to protect us. When we are in a period of serious stress and emotional pain the brain can initiate some sort of a physical pain in order to distract the mind from the real problem. Think of it as a knockout. If you are hit hard enough there is a point when your body jumps in and says "Enough !" and shuts down the system in order to protect itself. 

I am pretty sure that in most cases you are going to experience pain described as carpal tunnel when you are working or doing some kind of activity you find unpleasant. Also if you have CTS you are probably dealing with serious personal/family dilemmas that require hard choice and self-denial. This is when the "knockout" comes very handy. Dr. Sarno describes similar conditions as TMS or Tension Myositis Syndrome.

I believe that if the conventional methods failed to clear the problem or at least offer satisfactory level of improvement in a month you are most likely suffering from some sort of TMS. If you've had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome for a very long period of time the chances that you have TMS become even higher.

The biggest problem which stops people from believing that they actually have TMS and their pain has emotional root is the fact that in most cases there is real physical pain. There is no doubt about it. The pain is real even though it's caused by stress and not real physical damage. That's why it is so hard to trust unconventional methods such as this one.

The first thing you have to do in order to get out of the trap is stop thinking negatively and believe you will get better. Then you will have to force yourself to accept that your suffering is caused by emotional pain rather than physical damage. The best thing would be find the reason for your emotional pain and deal with it. It could be your work, family, career..etc. For example you may hate your job and need a change of direction. Of course we all know that this is not always possible and we all need money every day in order to survive. Don't worry. Even if you don't remove the cause of your emotional struggle your condition will get better once you get aware what is the real reason for your suffering.

The next step is to resume any painful activities gradually - start using the computer, going to the gym, playing tennis, running...etc. Don't be scared. Like I said you have to commit 100% and believe that there is nothing physically wrong with you. Dr. Sarno would usually first examine his patients for dangerous conditions such as cancer before finally classifying the problem as mentally induced.  Once you have ruled out real problems you can breathe more easily and move on. 

Think about it for a second. How often do you hear kids complain about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? Not very often and they play video games, masturbate like crazy, play sports. In other words the human body can handle much more than we think. Writing on the computer is not a very challenging for your fingers.  Try using an old school typing machine if you don't believe me.

Professional Korean gamers play video games such as Starcraft for close to 12 hours a day. Playing a game like Starcraft requires much more clicking than any office job currently known. Guess what - very few of them actually have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Of course there are injuries but in the end of the day the majority of the gamers is healthy when it comes to their wrists and arms. You don't see any of those guys wearing wrist shins, do you.

I know it sounds crazy but in order to get rid of TMS you just need to man up, commit and work through the pain. There is no other way around. We can talk forever but in the end of the day it comes to stop being a coward. I've been there. I know the pain is real. I know it sucks but I also know that if you continue to be a bitch about it instead of moving on with your life you are going to remain frustrated and suffering.

Treatment:

1. Perform the necessary physical examinations in order to be sure that you are not suffering from serious illness such as cancer.

2. Rest the area from the painful activity for a few weeks.

3. Accept that your pain is caused by your emotional state and move on.

Obviously if you have been suffering for a long time simply move to step 3.

FAQ:

Q: How long does it take to feel better?

A: Once you truly understand the root of your pain, stop being afraid that you will break by touching the computer mouse and move on with your life it will all be gone in no time. How long? From 10 minutes to 1 month.

Q: Will working through pain make my injury more severe?

A: It depends but if you truly have chronic Carpal Tunnel most likely you will be ok. Still be careful but not a coward.

Q: Should I take Vitamin B6?

According to the experts Vitamin B6 can be beneficial.

"A study by the Portland Hand Surgery and Rehabilitation Center in Oregon examined 441 people and found that higher levels of vitamin B6 were associated with fewer carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. Researchers also found that higher levels of vitamin C relative to lower vitamin B6 levels were associated with a higher prevalence and greater frequency of carpal tunnel symptoms."

Source:http://altmedicine.about.com/od/carpaltunnelsyndrome/a/carpal_tunnel.htm

While taking vitamin B6 supplement will not hurt you it is not needed. RSI including Carpal Tunnel may be affected by Vitamin B6 deficiency but it sure as hell is not the main reason. Do you think the nerds eating pizza all day and playing video games are getting a sufficient amount of Vitamin B6?

Q: Am I too old?

A: No. There is no such thing as too old, especially in this case. Too old has always been the excuse of cowards.

Q: Should I buy the books of Dr. Sarno?

You could but it's all about following the main principles which you can find in this article as well as many others. However if you have the money buy it.

Q: Do you recommend any wrist exercises?

A:Yes, you can start exercising. It will help you. The most important thing however is to understand why you have this pain in the first place.

Q: Does masturbating make my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome worse?

A: No, unless you masturbate 4 hours every day.

Q: Do you think I should try some Chinese cures?

A: No. Don't waist your money. It's all garbage. The real cause of carpal tunnel is emotional pain. No, need to buy some mystic Chinese cure. 

Q: What do you think about the hand master?

Well, the hand master is actually a pretty good tool because it allows you to train both the wrist extensors and wrist flexors but you can make it yourself for a few bucks. The parts are cheap. Besides simple wrist curls and reverst wrist curls will do the trick just as well.

Read more ...