Rich Gaspari was among the most elite bodybuilders of his era. He became a three-time Mr. Olympia runner-up against the original record-setter, eight-time Mr. Olympia, Lee Haney. Gaspari became an ambassador for the sport of bodybuilding after retiring. Throughout the years, he has been a constant and relevant voice in the bodybuilding community. In the latest episode of his podcast, Gaspari talked about how drug use in bodybuilding has evolved in the last 40 years.

In the latest episode of his podcast Fitness, Fame & Fortune, Gaspari sat with his co-host John Romano and made a startling claim about new-age bodybuilders and the types of steroids they use.

Bodybuilding icon Rich Gaspari makes a bold claim

During their conversation, the 1989 Arnold Classic winner spoke about how steroid protocols have changed over the decades. Gaspari has been open about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional bodybuilding. He has talked about using steroids multiple times in previous episodes. He said the doses might have changed, but bodybuilders still use the same compounds.

“I think the drugs the bodybuilders are taking are the exact same drugs… they’re still using Testosterone, Propionate, Deca (Deca Durabolin)… Winstrol. They’re using Trenbolone. Those are all drugs that were used 40 years ago…” said Gaspari. However, he also said the new-age bodybuilders increased the doses of these compounds to gain massive amounts of muscle mass.

READ MORE | “Eat 5–6 Meals a Day”: Bodybuilding Legend Debunks Alarming Habit of ‘Under Eating’ in New Age Fitness Enthusiasts for Building Muscles

Rich Gaspari said he learned about the information from “reliable sources from these people that are prescribing them (steroids) to the athletes.” He made the startling claim that bodybuilders today use “doses four times higher than what I used to take.” He also said many bodybuilders add Insulin and HGH to the mix.

Rich Gaspari’s take on the evolution of training

However, the former Arnold Classic champion gave credit to how new-age bodybuilders train. Gaspari explained he had watched new bodybuilders train and thought the old-school high-intensity training methods are making a comeback. “I’ve watched Milos (Sarcev) train some of the new guys you know, Samson (Dauda). And he is training them super hard. Like, high-intensity workouts were what I used to do,” said Lee Haney’s training partner.

He also said that the new generation of bodybuilders also benefits from the fact that they are training under people who dedicated their entire lives to bodybuilding. “The gurus now are the guys that are from our era,” said the three-time Mr. Olympia runner-up.

Watch this story | Most Underrated Exercises for Muscle Growth According to Famous YouTube Bodybuilding Vlogger

What’s your reaction after learning about Rich Gaspari’s startling claim? Let us know in the comments.