Bodybuilding can be really habit-forming. Once you start seeing the results of
all your hard work, you can get addicted to it! But don’t take my word for it.
I’ll let these guys show you what I mean… while I sit here finishing my quarter pounder with a
side of large fries. These are the 10 Bodybuilders who took it Too Far!
What’s up, fact-natics! This is Discovery Amuse, serving up your daily dose of the most
Outrageous, outlandish and out-of-this-world fun facts!
Be sure to check out our number 1 entry because
this guy’s biceps are literally bursting at the seams!
Let’s get physical!
#10: Dave “Jumbo” Palumbo
This bodybuilder took his craft to the extreme that when it backfired,
a medical condition was named after him!
Dave Palumbo is the founder of the bodybuilding website rxmuscle.com and
owner of the supplement line “Species Nutrition.”
He’s known for competing with contest weights ranging from the low 200s to more than 280 pounds!
But Dave wasn’t satisfied with just being strong; he wanted to
be massive. So,he resorted to taking steroids! Unfortunately, Dave didn’t know when to stop,
until the excessive growth hormone and insulin intake caused his midsection to expand!
When doctors examined Dave, they saw his condition as nothing like they have handled before, so they
named it Palumboism! These days, Palumboism is also popularly known among bodybuilders
as GH gut or roid gut, and Dave accidentally became a poster boy for the dangers of doping.
Keep watching because what happened to our top 1 pick is even worse!
#9: “The Professor”
This IFBB professional bodybuilder was nicknamed “The Professor” because
of his signature spectacles and his fluency in several languages. Well,
if you’re anything like Nasser El Sonbaty who was born in Germany to
an Egyptian father and a Serbian mother, you’d most likely be multi-lingual too!
In total, The Professor competed in 13 amateur competitions and 53 IFBB Pro shows, and would
you believe that in the nine times he joined Mr. Olympia from 1994-2002, he never won first place?
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
Sadly, he will never get to take home the Mr. Olympia crown
because in 2013, Nasser passed away in his sleep while on a trip to Cairo.
Before this, he had already been hospitalized for breathing problems,
at which point he was diagnosed with kidney damage and heart failure due to excessive drug use.
#8: Egyptian Popeye
Ladies, if you like your man sporting biceps as huge as a tree trunk, then look no further.
Moustafa Ismail arms are so huge, they earned for him the Guinness record for
the world’s largest biceps, each measuring a whopping 31 inches!
Whoa that’s the waistline of an average man!
Although Moustafa insists that his gargantuan guns are all-natural and are a product of hard
work and consuming six pounds of protein per day, some skeptics have accused him of injecting his
arms with synthol--a temporary implant used by bodybuilders. Moustafa denies using synthol but
once admitted to using testosterone when he lived in Egypt years ago, where testosterone is legal.
Okay man, I believe you. We’re cool, right? Hehe.
#7: Flex Wheeler
The Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
described this guy as one of the greatest bodybuilders he had
even seen! I don’t know about you but that’s one huge stamp of approval if I ever saw one.
Kenneth “Flex” Wheeler, also known as “the Sultan of Symmetry” began his passion for
fitness at a very young age, turning to exercise and sports whenever he had a hard time at school.
He was nicknamed Flex by his fans for being remarkably flexible in martial arts,
particularly in taekwondo. He has bagged lots of trophies and awards during his glory days
including being a 5-time Ironman Pro title holder and a 4-time Arnold Classic winner.
While he never won Mr. Olympia ever, he is still ranked among the world’s best bodybuilders.
Unfortunately, he was forced to retire early after being diagnosed with a kidney problem.
And in 2019, he underwent a right leg amputation
following complications from an emergency surgery the week prior.
But as you can see on his IG posts, the bodybuilding legend
isn’t letting any adversity hold him back from getting into tiptop shape once again.
Now that’s a champion I stan.
#6: Dean Wharmby
Just when this bodybuilder and fitness trainer thought he had
finally achieved his dream physique, his body suddenly gave up on him.
Dean was a successful bodybuilder for 20 years, and would train up to seven clients a day. To
maintain his colossal figure, he consumed 10,000 calories per day while washing them all down
with seven to eight cans of energy drink. He also admitted to using steroids early on in his career.
But sadly, in 2010, he was diagnosed with liver cancer which Dean believed to be caused by his
unhealthy eating habits. He refused chemotherapy in favor of more natural remedies which did work
for a time. However, in 2013, Dave’s cancer recurred and proved to be more aggressive.
The tumor got too big to operate on, and doctors said chemo wouldn’t work anymore.
In 2015 Dean passed away at a young age of 39.
#5: Greg Kovacs
At 6 feet 4 inches and weighing 330 pounds, Canadian Greg Kovacs made
other bodybuilders look like preschoolers whenever he stepped on the stage.
In 1996, he earned his IFBB Pro Card and placed 13th at the 2004 Arnold Classic.
Well, uh, I didn’t say he beat all his competition but nevertheless, he was a huge threat to them!
But just like a number of bodybuilders, Greg abused steroids in order to keep his
hulk-like physique. He also downed thousands of calories each day which took a toll on his body.
The extra weight he gained did him more harm than good,
leading to his death in 2013 due to a heart attack at the age of 44.
#4: Andreas Munzer
Another soul who paid the price for his excessive use of anabolic steroids and
diuretics was Austrian-born bodybuilder Andreas Munzer.
During his heyday, Andreas was known for his ultra-shredded condition that was the envy
of his competition. He was one of the leanest pro bodybuilders in the world, having almost
zero percent body fat! His handsome smile was the proverbial icing on the cake.
But having too little body fat could apparently cause nutritional deficiencies
and multiple organ malfunction. And this was exactly what happened to the Austrian
bodybuilder. In 1996, Andreas suffered from dystrophic multiple organ failure
which included his liver, heart and kidneys, and died at the age of 31.
#3: Nicole Bass
The only rose among the thorns on our list is this American strongwoman who wasn’t
only a bodybuilder, but also a professional wrestler, and a soap opera actress on the side!
Nicole made her WWF debut in March 1999 playing the villainous bodyguard
of another female wrestler, Sable! But before she conquered the wrestling ring,
she won the 1997 NPC National Bodybuilding Championship! She also made guest appearances
in TV shows such as The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives and General Hospital.
But while in the peak of her career, in 2006, Nicole was admitted to the hospital
due to steroid-induced pancreatitis. She did survive that ordeal but 11 years later, in 2017,
she was found unconscious at her apartment after suffering a fatal stroke that left her brain-dead.
On February 17 of that year, she was taken off life support and died at the age of 52.
#2: Anthony D’Arezzo
This bodybuilder got really addicted to the sport
that he continued to pump iron and use steroids despite the doctor’s orders!
You see, Anthony suffered from a congenital heart defect called
cardiomyopathy. In layman’s terms, that means he had a weak heart. But he didn’t let his ailment
stop him from jacking up and abusing growth hormones, which exacerbated his condition.
Tragically, in 2006, the night before he was set to compete on a bodybuilding show,
Anthony died of a heart attack in his hotel room.
It’s not always a good thing when your will is much stronger than your body.
We’re finally down to our number 1 pick but before that,
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#1: Gregg Valentino
If this guy isn’t enough of a cautionary tale
for aspiring bodybuilders who want to take shortcuts, I don’t know what is.
Gregg Valentino once had the world's biggest biceps,
measuring 28.3 inches! His physique is something straight out of a comic book!
But apparently, he had secrets to tell. He spilled the beans on his world-famous
arms in a 2006 documentary film called, “The Man Whose Arms Exploded.
Because he wanted attention, he turned to steroids to make his biceps grow bigger.
But Gregg had this insane idea to inject the drugs
straight into his arms! Okay, so let’s cut the middleman, why don’t we?
He became so addicted that he even used old, dirty needles to dope himself. Because
of this unsanitary act, his left arm developed a hematoma, and his biceps ballooned with fluid. He
needed to occasionally drain his arm and undergo emergency surgery to save it. Fortunately, he had
a successful operation, but it did leave a massive scar that he’ll carry for the rest of his life.
Talk about a painful reminder.
And there you have it, the 10 Bodybuilders who took it Too Far! Now, instead of going
the easy route, what advice would you give to aspiring bodybuilders?
Sound them off in the comments section below!
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And if you want more of the extreme, then go ahead and check out our countdown of the 10
Strongest Women who took it too far!
‘Til then, stay invincible, fact-natics! And see you in the next video!