To anyone coming across this video for the first time, the introduction in my workout video with Ashton explains why he is the best lifter by coefficient - ua-cam.com/video/d_J08I7STw0/v-deo.html&ab_channel=CanditoTrainingHQ. He is essentially #1 out of 50,000 active lifters (2019), and #2 out of 100,000 men historically in the sport. Basically, he's the strongest non-fat powerlifter on the planet.
It would be very cool/interesting to see some bloodwork from Ashton. A full health panel of everything a couple weeks out from a meet. That would solidify things one way or another in my opinion. Not just Test levels, but estradiol, liver enzymes, kidney functions, CBC, and lipids would tell me a lot.
@@kjfdfs4327 You never know, there are those genetic outliers with Russ being another one. But it would be telling in my opinion to see the labs of some of these guys
i honestly don't even care if he is on something. I kinda wish every serious lifter would do a cycle just so they know that sarms and legit steroids don't do the work for you. I have known guys stacking three or for things at once who didn't make much gains and guys on only test-e who got big gains from it because they put in the work. at the elite level that this guy is at, it's still otherworldly. plus, just look at him. he is built perfectly for powerlifting.
@@rosgill6 what you gotta understand is that at the elite level everyone has great genetics and everyone puts it the hard work. You cant argue that steroids give them a SERIOUS edge.
@@thebro6204 i would care a lot less if these people just came out as not natty. it's annoying how hard they try to hide it. couple in with the fact that people who compete indicate that the "drug testing of XYZ federation is a joke". why be natty IF the drug testing is a joke?
Oly Weightlifting coaches say sauce adds 20kg to a lift. But the recovery for training seems like the big difference maker. Zach Telander and Max aita have a video and Max explains how it resets MRV, basically allowing you noob gains so you don’t need as much volume to continue to progress
@@IronBrotherhood4 and you have to take into account that olympic lifts are less dependent on absolute strength and muscle mass than powerlifts. They still depend hugely on your pure strength but not as much as the sbd do. And the ammount/selection of gear makes a difference too. If someone believes this guy is natural then just imagine how much stronger he would be if he took high doses of steroids for years. Just look at what had happened to Pete Rubish, he got off gear, got his test production back to the natural/healthy range and lost 200lb+ on his deadlift(not sure about the other lifts, but he probably lost a lot there too). So just imagine if this guy was natural, he would get on gear and in a few years break the super heavy weight atwr while weighing 250lb or something... Major bullshit.
Yoo it was driving me nuts, I didn't noticed it until I read your comment, but the interview just didn't feel natural as if they just recorded two separate interviews and put them together
If this guy was actually natural all he would have to do is hop on the sauzule and break every record in the world lol. Foh with this natural melarchy, the kid is beyond impressive sauced or not.
Right? People don't care if he's natural or not, they care because he's likely lying about being natural. If he was like "yeah I take x and y and smash records" more people would cheer him on.
@@hemmydall This is the problem with availability bias though 29:40. People have always assumed that strongest person they know of has to be on gear, then when they find a few people that are way stronger, they are fine with believing they are natural. It's a dumb way to make claims. For reference, there is a 0.0024% chance that the top 10 most genetically gifted athletes are currently competing in the sport.
yep like people don't realize how fucking much above a normal human's potential you can get to on sauce. So by that logic, Ashton on juice would total 1500kg. He is literally the best or one of the top 3 powerlifters on the planet right now and no one can take that from him but it's just sad how people have to constantly lie or go out of their way to point out that they're natural for ego or whatever other reason. Also I'm pretty sure John Haack said something about not being tested for 4 months prior to one of his USAPL wins.
@@3ncore706 it’s almost like he was already destroying the weight classes before he hopped on. Oh and John’s interview where he said he wasn’t tested for 4 months leading to his IPF win.
Seems like a lot of really strong people do simple linear periodization programs as their foundation. I wonder why this approach is not normally recommended anymore. I tried it myself and it took my 1 rm squat from 170 to 180kg, Bench 127.5 to 135kg, and deadlift 200 to 215kg. I just started at about 75% and did an AMRAP set then each week added 5kg to the lower and 2.5kg to the bench. Did this till I peaked with a single. It worked great!
A lot of people overthink things and convince themselves the moment they hit their first Plateau that they need “intermediate/advanced RPE DUP tempo conjugate” programming.
Ed Coan used to just run cycles of classic western linear periodization (3x12 into 3x10 into 3x8 etc). Of course, he was on a decent amount of drugs and also Ed Coan so YMMV.
Is it just me or does Rouska sound very similar to Phil Heath when he’s speaking? Great video indeed. Top tier content and what a great guy he seems like.
Why do people even watch Greg doucette. I think people should use less time watching fitness entertainment nonsense like Greg doucette and focus on educating yourself and maybe even using that time to improve in other aspects of your life
Greg and MPMD are very informative. I wish Greg were more open to people being legit strong (natty), but it’s extremely hard to convince him. He loves debating. Derek is more open to people being strong as hell and natty only because I don’t think Derek has lifted super heavy weights compared to Greg.
Not only did Candito bless us with an hour of content, but the topics are juicy as well. Quality, pacing, editing, information is all great. Thank you for this!
First time in my life that I have watched a 50+ min youtube video entirely. After watching Clarence's antiantidopping video, I really needed this. I feel refreshed, newly motivated. You guys are the real Supermen of the realm of strength and power training, fitness. Keep up your journey both in powerlifting and educating/publishing/broadcasting.
@@HkFinn83 I agree, but there's not very good emperical data to support the idea that an elite tested lifter is definitely using gear. I think he probably is, but we're just speculating, it's impossible to know for sure.
Its not so musch his strength that makws me doubt. Its the amount of muscle mass that hes carrying at his height. Rondel has similar strength and muscle mass level, but he's taller so you would expect from him to have a lot of muscle mass, and even if im not 100% sure, i believe rondel is natty. But ashton? Man, 100kg at 165-170cm while lean is a lot
Nothing says natty like almost the size of Jay Cutler while not training for hypertrophy at 19, and using Ray Williams as an example of natty when the dude randomly dropped like 200 pounds off his competition squat in a few months. For sure was not off cycle after blasting for the 490. Also, John Haack HEAVILY implied that he was on gear when he was in tested powerlifting in the video he did with Russel Orhii. He encouraged Russel to compete in untested because it was, IIRC, 'so much easier' or something to that effect. Implication being that he was both not natural in tested, and that he believes Orhii isn't either. Now, it's being compared to the olympic weightlifting saying that oly lifting gets better testing, even though we know that's a massively not natural sport. Lasha added 80 kg to his total AFTER getting popped for gear, ostensibly natty. Then you've gotta look at just how much stronger in the squat 'natural' powerlifters are than unnatural olympic lifters from say, china, who go through a system designed to essentially be a meatgrinder for the best genetics.
@@Jeneric81 doesn't change that he lost 400lbs off 3 lifts in 7 months. I was actually looking at the raw nationals numbers when I made that comment. If I told you someone lost 50kg off their bench and dead, and 90 off their squat in just 7 months, I think the answer for what happened is pretty obvious. The fact that he's an experienced competetive lifter and doesn't have to cut weight at all for his division doesn't make it seem better. It's harder to chalk up to some flukey underperformance and even more suspicous for that reason.
@@Derploop But the actual loss of strength was in a couple of weeks, not months. And it was way after his kid was born, so that narrative doesn’t work out.
@@Jeneric81 I don't understand your point there, from the basis of your statement to what it's actually meant to mean. They announced his wife's preganancy after he bombed IPF worlds anyway, and as of 2013 or late 2012 he already had 3 kids, yet debuted with 905 in his second ever meet. Obviously he was able to keep training through the other 3 (at least) being young.
@@Derploop The point is that the narrative everyone is pushing is off. He was hitting big ass weights in his training before worlds, there was nothing indicating him losing or having lost any strength until the actual competition, where he still put 440 kg on the bar for his first attempt. If he had been losing strength ”for months” and was ”off cycle” it doesn’t add up. Maybe the reason he lost strength is simply the one he himself stated? I’m agnostic to whether he is clean or not, but I think I’ll require a bit more than internet buffoons just regurgitating nattyornot nonsense with just baffling amount of confidence.
39:17 About this Jonnie, I'm 100% positive that in Spain all testing is done by the AEP (Spanish Powerlifting Association, IPF affiliate). Tests at meets and random too.
Doesn't matter if he's natural. 99.999% of you won't be as strong or look as good. He might as well be on gear if you're trying to compare. Focus on yourself.
No, its the fact that he is a fake natty. Nobody is denying his strength and nobody cares, the only thing we're talking about is the fact that he's juicing
I agree. I’m honestly happy with my 300x1 bench. It’s nothing crazy but it’s still very solid especially for a natural. Most guys that negatively compare themselves are still noobs and should just focus on the process.
thanks for the interview dude, but i like interviews/podcasts much more when there is very little camera work, both people in frame, it seems much more natural
I initially thought they were in different rooms and candito had used shots used by them both but then laughing at each others comments proved me wrong. Yeah, didn't like this interview camera work. The Skype portion felt better
I find it incredibly interesting how Olympic weightlifting is exceptionally notorious for doping, to the degree that it gives certain countries a significant advantage in competition. Some countries are more heavy handed with anti-doping than others (the US cannot hold a flame to Iran or China and that due in large part to out of competition testing.). Yet, when it comes to powerlifting people seem to really believe that tested federations do not have similar dealings? In the case of Olympic lifting, these athletes are generally supported by their countries- and often times it’s not an “intelligence test” like people say, but rather money is handed under the table to clear tests for competition. Who is to say popular power lifters do not get similar treatment? I’m not saying Ashton is using or not, I’m just throwing this out there- it’s known across the board most elite level athletes are likely doing whatever it takes to be the best. Why isn’t this applied to powerlifting? Is this a cultural thing in the same vein that we do not want to “smear” people’s names for doping in more popular sports such as American football?
People just really want to believe I guess. Consider also that powerlifting has way less funding for and much worse testing than weightlifting too. And people still get away with it in weightlifting.
Well, because weightlifting is an olympic sport and powerlifting is by comparison a niche hobby sport. You can't even compare the two sports in regards to the financial backing. You're not going to get the russian government to heist WADA labs for powerlifting.
@@Jeneric81 in the states there’s more money and financial incentive to be an elite level power lifter than there is to be a weightlifter. Simply by proxy of popularity. Americans are not as invested in weightlifting, we do not have a talent identification system like other countries who very proactively seek gold on the Olympic podiums. For his own brand it behooves him to remain a tested athlete and use this for sponsorships and possibly other business ventures. I understand your argument and it’s totally valid- but speaking just from sports performance, the two sports are similar (not entirely, as Oly lifting has speed components) and it’s assumed that most of the top level weightlifters are or have doped in the past to boost their training. To be clear. I couldn’t care less if he uses. He’s absolutely amazing and I love watching him lift.
@@nickcustodi592 When I'm talking financial backing, I'm talking about someone paying for a) your drugs b) pay off the right people to make sure you don't get caught. I just don't see any country going to the IPF and paying them off to not test their athletes. Now, I'm not saying Gaston and IPF wouldn't be willing to accept such money (they probably would), more like, what country would give enough of a shit about powerlifting to do such a thing? I'm completely agnostic to whether Ashton Rouska is clean or not, but I find it completely preposterous that so many youtube commenters are so dead certain they have the basis to say he isn't. On a scale of 0-100, the estimated scientific knowledge on this subject in this commentary section is 0.
because powerlifting is just a novelty sport lmao. For some countries, winning an olympic medal represents prestige, what's winning a powerlifitng meet? Even China doesn't participate in powerlifting. Not that powerlifting is totally clean, but there are no incentives.
Just a tip for interviews, have the two seperate people on different sides of the screen, so when person A is speaking show him facing the right side of the screen, and when person B is speaking show him facing the left side of the screen
Degrading disheartening really a kms almost feeling when people call you a cheater and you’re not. But you know who cares only matters is being true to yourself.
Jonnie you’re love for the sport shows in your videos !!! Great stuff and after watching I know realize the delay in releasing everything. Worth the wait !
While I think you brought up plenty of good and legitimate arguments for natural vs enhanced, and the fact that were likely only starting to see true outliers due to the massive difference in the # of lifters competing now vs 10+ years ago, you didnt address the single most damning fact. And that is Ashton's physique and the amount of LBM he carries now, as well as the level of development and amount of LBM he had even when he was 18-19 with only a handful of years training. There is simply no possible way Ashton could be (5'7 or 5'8 correct?) and compete at a BW between 212-220lbs fairly lean, and still be natural. The genetic outlier argument doesnt hold up there(and im not saying he isnt, hes clearly extremely gifted no matter what). Theres good reason why there are no other guys out there in tested PLing who are FFMI's of 30-31(while still being pretty lean) with physiques like his putting up the numbers he does, and thats not because they dont exist, theyre simply competing in untested PL.
These get better with each iteration. By the time you perfect the craft, you'll have to interview tools like me because you wasted all the practice tries on the elite... j/k, half serious. These are awesome.
I remember I was coming up powerlifting in 2015, comp lifts 463/303/584 at 17, 205lbs in the USAPL. I had beaten world and American record holders and had a couple American records myself. Then this guy appeared in my weight class, I remember he pulled 700 raw bc I was looking at the American record and it was like 612 equipped and 700 raw. He had the highest lifts of any weight class.
That's a great point Jonnie brought up on John Haack. The man has ascended to the next level since switching over to the untested side. So, like I stated before, should Ashton decide to cross over, if we see his numbers shoot up like crazy (15+% increase), it would probably indicate that he was in fact natural all along.
@@kimborampage Usually, when people cycle off, their strength drop is quite noticeable - very typical of Olympic weightlifters. Of course, assuming testing is much more lax in powerlifting, he could be cruising all the way into the competition.
@@20bucktakedeal75 that explosion of strength is rare for someone who already juices tho. Steroid dosages don’t translate proportionally to strength gains, there’s definitely diminishing returns. If it’s truly all about drugs then those guys at west side should be holding all the damn records, yet they don’t
Greg is thinking of 345 @181 as a cap on natural performance whereas I think it's really just the minimum where you can *currently* begin to reasonably use that term on a relative basis.
On the topic of steroids and whether or not people are using them, we see outliers all the time. There are people who are over 7 feet tall. Look at the NBA, and you are going to see a ton of outliers in terms of height. But anytime you see a person who is an outlier in terms of strength or muscle mass, no one wants to believe that they could be a genetic outlier. They immediately default to steroid accusations. I have no idea who it is or isn’t using steroids, but I do think it’s unfortunate that everyone immediately jumps to steroids rather than recognizing that muscle mass and strength have a genetic component just like height has a genetic component.
@@ChadCilli He won't be bigger than any serious roiding bodybuilder at the top level. Saying "still bigger than 99% of people" is pointless because 99% of people don't even train, so no shit.
Correction I actually didn't even hear him say he's been tested out of comp for 8 years of competing, we dont have a record sheet of all his USADA run ins like Russ showed in a vid responding to Greg but Im sure thats true then. Apparently all competitors who get put into the testing pool at some point stay in it for their competition career so long as they are competitive on a national level even if their not winning to go back to worlds. Worlds is how u get in the program, winning worlds is a step up to the where abouts program and then being competitive keeps u at registered for lower frequency but still sufficient out of comp testing procedure.
I think what gets to me the most is that since steroids have got introduced being natty now means nothing, and we're literally unable to know what the true natural limit is. True natty lifting died in 1953.
There was a farmer in the presteroid era who deadlifted 720+ lbs at a bw of 180. I need to look up his name later, but if there’s a proof that insane strength genetics exists, he’s it
Drug-tested isn’t drug free, if he keeps improving like Haack when he does take the plunge, then it’s easier to believe he’s natural. But if he doesn’t, given he is still so young he should be improving, then he’s clearly on the sauzule. But yeah, come on Jonnie this guy isn’t natty.
@@jrwitherite12 Eh. Not so much. Would not believe how many meatheads I've met across all branches that are blatantly juicing. They face no consequences for it
I think you're doing a great job in these interviews. One thing I would change is: ask just one question, instead of asking multiple questions at the same time :)
John haack, considered the greatest power lifter of all time, on steroids, has totaled 2,100, Ashton in only One weight class above him has totaled this in the gym. What a joke to say he is natty.
I would have loved to hear ashton’s perspective on what he will do now that the IPF has banned lifters from competing out of IPF affiliate feds. Especially considering his announcement that he will compete in the Showdown meet later this year.
hey man, could u please explain what did he mean by liking squat press and disliking leg press as a squat accessory. What is squat press? Btw i love your content man. keep your good work up.
Food for thought: could it be that the ipf is testing lifters and he/she fails a drug test and they just disregard it as these top level lifters bring in the most income and influence? If it were to come out a top lifter failed, the entire organization would crumble.
assuming you're also not a fake natty, what's your total? and at what body weight? no one cares if you're a specialized elite in 1 lift but this guy blew the all time WR out of the fucking water... you're argument is dumb as hell
@@ben2474 I wasn't making an argument but okay also I literally put my bw in my comment I totaled 577.5kg/1273lns Also Ashton said he deadlifted 500 @ 130 something bw he probably weighed that in 9th grade of something so I honestly doubt he started taking gear at about 12-14 years old
31:04 Internet myth, please correct. Lean body mass includes organs and water weight, it is not just lean muscle mass. For the non-lifters in this study, people seem to be unaware that a portion of excess testosterone is aromatized into estradiol then estrogen. Increasing these female sex hormones increases water retention. More water retention = more "lean body mass". As is often the case, it's not so much what the study says but what people take it to mean.
i think the bell curve of genetic potential is a really good point but would you not agree that the average person who is into powerlifting is more genetically gifted for strength than the average person who doesnt care for the sport?
To anyone coming across this video for the first time, the introduction in my workout video with Ashton explains why he is the best lifter by coefficient - ua-cam.com/video/d_J08I7STw0/v-deo.html&ab_channel=CanditoTrainingHQ.
He is essentially #1 out of 50,000 active lifters (2019), and #2 out of 100,000 men historically in the sport. Basically, he's the strongest non-fat powerlifter on the planet.
isn't atwood the best?
not natty
i realize it's quite off topic but does anyone know a good website to stream new movies online?
@Gordon Cullen I use flixzone. You can find it on google :)
@Gordon Cullen I watch on FlixZone. Just search on google for it =)
It would be very cool/interesting to see some bloodwork from Ashton. A full health panel of everything a couple weeks out from a meet. That would solidify things one way or another in my opinion. Not just Test levels, but estradiol, liver enzymes, kidney functions, CBC, and lipids would tell me a lot.
Pete. You know it. I know it. EVERYONE KNOWS IT. He isnt natty lol.
There's an obvious reason why he will never do that lol
@@kjfdfs4327 You never know, there are those genetic outliers with Russ being another one. But it would be telling in my opinion to see the labs of some of these guys
He said he’s open to doing a blood test. Later in the video. Rather than just doing a urine test.
@@Istoppedaging awesome, I didn't listen to it all yet, but that would be good. And I don't mean a PED panel, I mean a literal health/hormone panel.
Damn someone gave it a like while it still has no views. Impressive.
🎉
The title must have been impressive
God I fucking love you Jonnie Candito you beautiful man thank you for providing us with this scrumptious content amen
wow this dude goes to my old gym. I've seen him lift and he's super strong. I had no idea he was the strongest in the world. crazy
He’s the strongest by a quite a bit in his weight class , it’s scary to think what he could do on roids
@@purplecircle7413 lol sorry to break it to you but he is already on roids
@@iHoRiZonTaLz right, if even if hes not injecting he can still be on some sarms, like Haack
i honestly don't even care if he is on something. I kinda wish every serious lifter would do a cycle just so they know that sarms and legit steroids don't do the work for you. I have known guys stacking three or for things at once who didn't make much gains and guys on only test-e who got big gains from it because they put in the work. at the elite level that this guy is at, it's still otherworldly. plus, just look at him. he is built perfectly for powerlifting.
@@rosgill6 what you gotta understand is that at the elite level everyone has great genetics and everyone puts it the hard work. You cant argue that steroids give them a SERIOUS edge.
He’s bigger than pro bodybuilders and stronger than untested powerlifters. What gives?
He eats clen and trens hard breh
It's the creatine
@@shiddygaymer he dbolishes expectations anavar gives up too
It's almost like he's not actually natural
@@thebro6204 i would care a lot less if these people just came out as not natty. it's annoying how hard they try to hide it. couple in with the fact that people who compete indicate that the "drug testing of XYZ federation is a joke". why be natty IF the drug testing is a joke?
Numbers they were projecting if Ashton were to go on PEDs, are close to Dan Bells ATWR of 2606lbs. Dan Bell weighed 396lbs.
Where is that?
That's a waste of time to try and predict. It's impossible to say how much a single specific individual would gain, even if monitoring the doses.
Oly Weightlifting coaches say sauce adds 20kg to a lift. But the recovery for training seems like the big difference maker. Zach Telander and Max aita have a video and Max explains how it resets MRV, basically allowing you noob gains so you don’t need as much volume to continue to progress
@@IronBrotherhood4 and you have to take into account that olympic lifts are less dependent on absolute strength and muscle mass than powerlifts. They still depend hugely on your pure strength but not as much as the sbd do. And the ammount/selection of gear makes a difference too. If someone believes this guy is natural then just imagine how much stronger he would be if he took high doses of steroids for years. Just look at what had happened to Pete Rubish, he got off gear, got his test production back to the natural/healthy range and lost 200lb+ on his deadlift(not sure about the other lifts, but he probably lost a lot there too). So just imagine if this guy was natural, he would get on gear and in a few years break the super heavy weight atwr while weighing 250lb or something... Major bullshit.
Drug tested powerlifter*
Is there a reason why Ashton and Johnny are facing the same direction? Isn’t this breaking the 180 degree rule? Is it intentional? If so, to what end?
its casue they're the same person dummy
Because Jonnie edited himself in, it's actually Mike Wallace doing the interview.
I’m guessing he’s just trying to make it feel a little strange and off kilter because it goes with his style and channel personality.
50:14 seems to go with this.
Yoo it was driving me nuts, I didn't noticed it until I read your comment, but the interview just didn't feel natural as if they just recorded two separate interviews and put them together
You both looking in the same direction made my head explode
If this guy was actually natural all he would have to do is hop on the sauzule and break every record in the world lol. Foh with this natural melarchy, the kid is beyond impressive sauced or not.
Right? People don't care if he's natural or not, they care because he's likely lying about being natural. If he was like "yeah I take x and y and smash records" more people would cheer him on.
@@hemmydall This is the problem with availability bias though 29:40. People have always assumed that strongest person they know of has to be on gear, then when they find a few people that are way stronger, they are fine with believing they are natural. It's a dumb way to make claims.
For reference, there is a 0.0024% chance that the top 10 most genetically gifted athletes are currently competing in the sport.
yep like people don't realize how fucking much above a normal human's potential you can get to on sauce. So by that logic, Ashton on juice would total 1500kg. He is literally the best or one of the top 3 powerlifters on the planet right now and no one can take that from him but it's just sad how people have to constantly lie or go out of their way to point out that they're natural for ego or whatever other reason. Also I'm pretty sure John Haack said something about not being tested for 4 months prior to one of his USAPL wins.
They said the same thing about john haack. And then he did hop on. And then he did destroy several records in his weight classes.
@@3ncore706 it’s almost like he was already destroying the weight classes before he hopped on. Oh and John’s interview where he said he wasn’t tested for 4 months leading to his IPF win.
Loving actually asking relevant questions on programming. More of these Jonnie! MORE!!
20:50 FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT ‼️‼️
Dr. Greg the Scientist has the voice of an angel, take that back!
I’d love to see a Greg’s response to that
Facts
I say it all the time
I would watch that channel if it wasn't for the fake annoying screaming voice
Such high quality everything. Wouldn’t expect anything less but I’m still always surprised.
Seems like a lot of really strong people do simple linear periodization programs as their foundation. I wonder why this approach is not normally recommended anymore. I tried it myself and it took my 1 rm squat from 170 to 180kg, Bench 127.5 to 135kg, and deadlift 200 to 215kg. I just started at about 75% and did an AMRAP set then each week added 5kg to the lower and 2.5kg to the bench. Did this till I peaked with a single. It worked great!
Because you gotta confuse the muscles bro
A lot of people overthink things and convince themselves the moment they hit their first Plateau that they need “intermediate/advanced RPE DUP tempo conjugate” programming.
One single working set per lift, or multiply sets with the last one being AMRAP?
@@henrikgulyas 1 top set on the main lift. Then I did a variation for 2-3 sets, stuff like pause squat, SLDL, and close grip bench.
Ed Coan used to just run cycles of classic western linear periodization (3x12 into 3x10 into 3x8 etc).
Of course, he was on a decent amount of drugs and also Ed Coan so YMMV.
Is it just me or does Rouska sound very similar to Phil Heath when he’s speaking? Great video indeed. Top tier content and what a great guy he seems like.
They should drug test a non-drug test competition to see how many people pass
Why do people even watch Greg doucette. I think people should use less time watching fitness entertainment nonsense like Greg doucette and focus on educating yourself and maybe even using that time to improve in other aspects of your life
LIKE MPMD?
People like drama
Greg and MPMD are very informative. I wish Greg were more open to people being legit strong (natty), but it’s extremely hard to convince him. He loves debating. Derek is more open to people being strong as hell and natty only because I don’t think Derek has lifted super heavy weights compared to Greg.
I wish greg would just stfu
It is always funny to see people say they have learnt so much from doucette
Great interview! I'm glad you asked about the basics of his training, many interviews with lifters do not touch on that at all for some reason.
Not only did Candito bless us with an hour of content, but the topics are juicy as well. Quality, pacing, editing, information is all great. Thank you for this!
Juicy?
Gents are we not gonna talk about the LMAO at 50:14? ........
That killed me hahah
yoo it threw me off so bad xD was so confused
WTF was that LOL
If I wanted to get stronger I would simply just lift the heaviest weights.
😂
First time in my life that I have watched a 50+ min youtube video entirely. After watching Clarence's antiantidopping video, I really needed this. I feel refreshed, newly motivated. You guys are the real Supermen of the realm of strength and power training, fitness. Keep up your journey both in powerlifting and educating/publishing/broadcasting.
he still not natty tho LMFAOO
@@ben2474 I'm not sure he's natty, but saying someone is too strong to be natty isn't a great argument.
@@lekooz2301 it’s logical. There are natural limits
@@HkFinn83 I agree, but there's not very good emperical data to support the idea that an elite tested lifter is definitely using gear. I think he probably is, but we're just speculating, it's impossible to know for sure.
@@HkFinn83 Where are the limits?
finally lmao you teased this 2 months ago
Lad
Can't wait to see Rondele and Ashton battle it out some time in the future. Two amazing lifters to watch.
Less than four months until they do.
Its not so musch his strength that makws me doubt. Its the amount of muscle mass that hes carrying at his height. Rondel has similar strength and muscle mass level, but he's taller so you would expect from him to have a lot of muscle mass, and even if im not 100% sure, i believe rondel is natty. But ashton? Man, 100kg at 165-170cm while lean is a lot
Nothing says natty like almost the size of Jay Cutler while not training for hypertrophy at 19, and using Ray Williams as an example of natty when the dude randomly dropped like 200 pounds off his competition squat in a few months. For sure was not off cycle after blasting for the 490.
Also, John Haack HEAVILY implied that he was on gear when he was in tested powerlifting in the video he did with Russel Orhii. He encouraged Russel to compete in untested because it was, IIRC, 'so much easier' or something to that effect. Implication being that he was both not natural in tested, and that he believes Orhii isn't either.
Now, it's being compared to the olympic weightlifting saying that oly lifting gets better testing, even though we know that's a massively not natural sport. Lasha added 80 kg to his total AFTER getting popped for gear, ostensibly natty. Then you've gotta look at just how much stronger in the squat 'natural' powerlifters are than unnatural olympic lifters from say, china, who go through a system designed to essentially be a meatgrinder for the best genetics.
Ray was hitting massive squats in training leading into that worlds, so your recollection of the events is flawed.
@@Jeneric81 doesn't change that he lost 400lbs off 3 lifts in 7 months. I was actually looking at the raw nationals numbers when I made that comment.
If I told you someone lost 50kg off their bench and dead, and 90 off their squat in just 7 months, I think the answer for what happened is pretty obvious. The fact that he's an experienced competetive lifter and doesn't have to cut weight at all for his division doesn't make it seem better. It's harder to chalk up to some flukey underperformance and even more suspicous for that reason.
@@Derploop But the actual loss of strength was in a couple of weeks, not months. And it was way after his kid was born, so that narrative doesn’t work out.
@@Jeneric81 I don't understand your point there, from the basis of your statement to what it's actually meant to mean.
They announced his wife's preganancy after he bombed IPF worlds anyway, and as of 2013 or late 2012 he already had 3 kids, yet debuted with 905 in his second ever meet. Obviously he was able to keep training through the other 3 (at least) being young.
@@Derploop The point is that the narrative everyone is pushing is off. He was hitting big ass weights in his training before worlds, there was nothing indicating him losing or having lost any strength until the actual competition, where he still put 440 kg on the bar for his first attempt. If he had been losing strength ”for months” and was ”off cycle” it doesn’t add up. Maybe the reason he lost strength is simply the one he himself stated?
I’m agnostic to whether he is clean or not, but I think I’ll require a bit more than internet buffoons just regurgitating nattyornot nonsense with just baffling amount of confidence.
39:17 About this Jonnie, I'm 100% positive that in Spain all testing is done by the AEP (Spanish Powerlifting Association, IPF affiliate). Tests at meets and random too.
Very good interview. The amount of work and the quality of questions u put into this video is impressive Mr. Candito. Keep up the great videos.
Yoooo I didn't realize it was Anthony Fantano until the follow-up interview! That's awesome man good for him
He's on the duck eggs. Right babe?
Doesn't matter if he's natural. 99.999% of you won't be as strong or look as good. He might as well be on gear if you're trying to compare. Focus on yourself.
Facts 💯
No, its the fact that he is a fake natty. Nobody is denying his strength and nobody cares, the only thing we're talking about is the fact that he's juicing
@@kjfdfs4327 "the fact that he is juicing" XD
I agree. I’m honestly happy with my 300x1 bench. It’s nothing crazy but it’s still very solid especially for a natural. Most guys that negatively compare themselves are still noobs and should just focus on the process.
s̸u̸r̸f̸ a 300 bench is awesome ! Keep up the great work.
Hair is looking good. Thanks for the interiew.
This man is strong and that's a fact. You don't have to justify it.
Phenomenal Interview. Informative and very well prepared. Thank you so much for the video
thanks for the interview dude, but i like interviews/podcasts much more when there is very little camera work, both people in frame, it seems much more natural
I agree. This is weird
Same
I initially thought they were in different rooms and candito had used shots used by them both but then laughing at each others comments proved me wrong. Yeah, didn't like this interview camera work. The Skype portion felt better
Candytoe is very unnatural
@alex' 😂😂
I find it incredibly interesting how Olympic weightlifting is exceptionally notorious for doping, to the degree that it gives certain countries a significant advantage in competition. Some countries are more heavy handed with anti-doping than others (the US cannot hold a flame to Iran or China and that due in large part to out of competition testing.). Yet, when it comes to powerlifting people seem to really believe that tested federations do not have similar dealings? In the case of Olympic lifting, these athletes are generally supported by their countries- and often times it’s not an “intelligence test” like people say, but rather money is handed under the table to clear tests for competition. Who is to say popular power lifters do not get similar treatment? I’m not saying Ashton is using or not, I’m just throwing this out there- it’s known across the board most elite level athletes are likely doing whatever it takes to be the best. Why isn’t this applied to powerlifting? Is this a cultural thing in the same vein that we do not want to “smear” people’s names for doping in more popular sports such as American football?
People just really want to believe I guess.
Consider also that powerlifting has way less funding for and much worse testing than weightlifting too. And people still get away with it in weightlifting.
Well, because weightlifting is an olympic sport and powerlifting is by comparison a niche hobby sport. You can't even compare the two sports in regards to the financial backing. You're not going to get the russian government to heist WADA labs for powerlifting.
@@Jeneric81 in the states there’s more money and financial incentive to be an elite level power lifter than there is to be a weightlifter. Simply by proxy of popularity. Americans are not as invested in weightlifting, we do not have a talent identification system like other countries who very proactively seek gold on the Olympic podiums. For his own brand it behooves him to remain a tested athlete and use this for sponsorships and possibly other business ventures. I understand your argument and it’s totally valid- but speaking just from sports performance, the two sports are similar (not entirely, as Oly lifting has speed components) and it’s assumed that most of the top level weightlifters are or have doped in the past to boost their training. To be clear. I couldn’t care less if he uses. He’s absolutely amazing and I love watching him lift.
@@nickcustodi592 When I'm talking financial backing, I'm talking about someone paying for a) your drugs b) pay off the right people to make sure you don't get caught. I just don't see any country going to the IPF and paying them off to not test their athletes. Now, I'm not saying Gaston and IPF wouldn't be willing to accept such money (they probably would), more like, what country would give enough of a shit about powerlifting to do such a thing?
I'm completely agnostic to whether Ashton Rouska is clean or not, but I find it completely preposterous that so many youtube commenters are so dead certain they have the basis to say he isn't. On a scale of 0-100, the estimated scientific knowledge on this subject in this commentary section is 0.
because powerlifting is just a novelty sport lmao. For some countries, winning an olympic medal represents prestige, what's winning a powerlifitng meet? Even China doesn't participate in powerlifting. Not that powerlifting is totally clean, but there are no incentives.
Really enjoyed this! Hope to see you do more. Lets not take Ashton for granted what he does in the gym/meets is fun to watch.
love the production quality here
Lol my eyes read " low production quality" so I had to stop to check
Really good job with this interview, Mr Candito👏🏾. Keep 'em coming!
Awesome interview. You're both quite articulate and intelligent beasts
He had bigger delts than Jay Cutler at 19, of course he's not bloody natural.
arms are like the same size too lol
By today's absurd standards, all of the Mr Olympias from before 1990 would be considered natural.
@@Darius1295 bs they just down play their dosages
"Other than his voice is annoying as fuck" that make me laugh outloud
Each of the doors in the background contain one of Marcellus' athletes.
50:14 I'm so glad I watched instead of just listening.
Ngl it scared tf outta me lol
Just a tip for interviews, have the two seperate people on different sides of the screen, so when person A is speaking show him facing the right side of the screen, and when person B is speaking show him facing the left side of the screen
Yes! film students around the world winced watching this interview
@@crunchea622 no one carea
Ashton looking like a mini Larry wheels
Thank you for another great upload:)
Degrading disheartening really a kms almost feeling when people call you a cheater and you’re not. But you know who cares only matters is being true to yourself.
Jonnie you’re love for the sport shows in your videos !!! Great stuff and after watching I know realize the delay in releasing everything. Worth the wait !
Phenomenal video! I watched the whole thing, which is amazing bc my attention span is about on the level of a tik tok.
CANDITO LIVES. PRAISE
Edit: RELEASE SEVEN WEEK YOU BEAUTIFUL MAN
While I think you brought up plenty of good and legitimate arguments for natural vs enhanced, and the fact that were likely only starting to see true outliers due to the massive difference in the # of lifters competing now vs 10+ years ago, you didnt address the single most damning fact. And that is Ashton's physique and the amount of LBM he carries now, as well as the level of development and amount of LBM he had even when he was 18-19 with only a handful of years training. There is simply no possible way Ashton could be (5'7 or 5'8 correct?) and compete at a BW between 212-220lbs fairly lean, and still be natural. The genetic outlier argument doesnt hold up there(and im not saying he isnt, hes clearly extremely gifted no matter what). Theres good reason why there are no other guys out there in tested PLing who are FFMI's of 30-31(while still being pretty lean) with physiques like his putting up the numbers he does, and thats not because they dont exist, theyre simply competing in untested PL.
15:06 His eyes blinked unnaturally.
44:25 His movement cool.
exactly what i noticed too
He feels so nervous and take a big breath when hearing the question.
Yup he has the tell tale signs of a liar. Avoiding the question fast blinking looking to his right to say the least
These get better with each iteration. By the time you perfect the craft, you'll have to interview tools like me because you wasted all the practice tries on the elite... j/k, half serious. These are awesome.
50:14 I love you Jonnie
ashton is special he's got them special muscle fibres , good luck youngman
Crazy how u can make an hour long video entertaining all the way through
I remember I was coming up powerlifting in 2015, comp lifts 463/303/584 at 17, 205lbs in the USAPL. I had beaten world and American record holders and had a couple American records myself. Then this guy appeared in my weight class, I remember he pulled 700 raw bc I was looking at the American record and it was like 612 equipped and 700 raw. He had the highest lifts of any weight class.
That's a great point Jonnie brought up on John Haack. The man has ascended to the next level since switching over to the untested side. So, like I stated before, should Ashton decide to cross over, if we see his numbers shoot up like crazy (15+% increase), it would probably indicate that he was in fact natural all along.
Or he’ll be able to use more because he won’t worry about testing.
People don’t understand that you can use different compounds also haack could very well have been juicing in tested but using different compounds
@@kimborampage Usually, when people cycle off, their strength drop is quite noticeable - very typical of Olympic weightlifters. Of course, assuming testing is much more lax in powerlifting, he could be cruising all the way into the competition.
@@YungJuve yes it’s definitely more lax. Only a urine test.
@@20bucktakedeal75 that explosion of strength is rare for someone who already juices tho. Steroid dosages don’t translate proportionally to strength gains, there’s definitely diminishing returns. If it’s truly all about drugs then those guys at west side should be holding all the damn records, yet they don’t
Is there gonna be an interview with Taylor? He’s fighting Ashton as far as glp points are concerned
Greg is thinking of 345 @181 as a cap on natural performance whereas I think it's really just the minimum where you can *currently* begin to reasonably use that term on a relative basis.
Title of this video should be 2 of the 4 faces of the Powerlifting Mt. Rushmore on screen for 52 minutes
On the topic of steroids and whether or not people are using them, we see outliers all the time. There are people who are over 7 feet tall. Look at the NBA, and you are going to see a ton of outliers in terms of height. But anytime you see a person who is an outlier in terms of strength or muscle mass, no one wants to believe that they could be a genetic outlier. They immediately default to steroid accusations. I have no idea who it is or isn’t using steroids, but I do think it’s unfortunate that everyone immediately jumps to steroids rather than recognizing that muscle mass and strength have a genetic component just like height has a genetic component.
Just a thought to add to this. How big would Ronnie Coleman be without steroids? Still bigger than 99% of people.
@@ChadCilli He won't be bigger than any serious roiding bodybuilder at the top level. Saying "still bigger than 99% of people" is pointless because 99% of people don't even train, so no shit.
Phenomenal video!
this is so good love you two lmaoo
I was waiting for this video for so long.
Correction I actually didn't even hear him say he's been tested out of comp for 8 years of competing, we dont have a record sheet of all his USADA run ins like Russ showed in a vid responding to Greg but Im sure thats true then. Apparently all competitors who get put into the testing pool at some point stay in it for their competition career so long as they are competitive on a national level even if their not winning to go back to worlds. Worlds is how u get in the program, winning worlds is a step up to the where abouts program and then being competitive keeps u at registered for lower frequency but still sufficient out of comp testing procedure.
I think what gets to me the most is that since steroids have got introduced being natty now means nothing, and we're literally unable to know what the true natural limit is. True natty lifting died in 1953.
There was a farmer in the presteroid era who deadlifted 720+ lbs at a bw of 180. I need to look up his name later, but if there’s a proof that insane strength genetics exists, he’s it
@@justamustachewithoutaguy9370 yeah thats believable. Pete rubish was around that deadlift at like 19 before taking gear.
@@TheArkarnos thats what he says but no proof
Drug-tested isn’t drug free, if he keeps improving like Haack when he does take the plunge, then it’s easier to believe he’s natural. But if he doesn’t, given he is still so young he should be improving, then he’s clearly on the sauzule. But yeah, come on Jonnie this guy isn’t natty.
Word. The power of sauzule should not be underestimated.
Exactly
righhhhhht, full natty 100%
He can’t admit it or he’ll get in trouble with the army. Could have to pay the army back for his grad school.
@@jrwitherite12 Eh. Not so much. Would not believe how many meatheads I've met across all branches that are blatantly juicing. They face no consequences for it
I think you're doing a great job in these interviews. One thing I would change is: ask just one question, instead of asking multiple questions at the same time :)
Natural Powerlifter 🤣😂😂😂😂 good one johnny
This has to be Teven Jenkins brother. They look identical and both are athletic freaks.
John haack, considered the greatest power lifter of all time, on steroids, has totaled 2,100, Ashton in only
One weight class above him has totaled this in the gym. What a joke to say he is natty.
that handshake in the beginning oh lord i died, that is how i'll be meeting my gym bros once the lockdown has been lifted
I would have loved to hear ashton’s perspective on what he will do now that the IPF has banned lifters from competing out of IPF affiliate feds. Especially considering his announcement that he will compete in the Showdown meet later this year.
Hey Johnnie, could you please make a video about CNS/fatigue? There seems to be a lot of misinformation about it and people can't come to a consensus.
Excuses
Ayyyy candito with the 🔥🔥
awesome interview, thanks.
Ashton looks a bit like Tyler1 😂
Because of the shaved head? Lmao not even. Similar frames, but face wise no.Tyler has those huge bug eyes Lmaoooo
T1 has a pretty elite level bench too
heh yes natural. 0k
That was interesting! keep it up!
The real question is if he takes creatine or not
hey man, could u please explain what did he mean by liking squat press and disliking leg press as a squat accessory. What is squat press? Btw i love your content man. keep your good work up.
@CanditoTrainingHQ please explain this
@@gill6452 The squat press has more of a squat-like movement pattern. 11:43
Incredible squat at 22:55
It took you long enough to post this Jonnie!
Great video! Though, it would help if one of you were facing the other with the camera angle.
Crazy the things this guy accomplished a PhD in parapsychology a respected high rank military veteran very impressive 👏 😀👍
Food for thought: could it be that the ipf is testing lifters and he/she fails a drug test and they just disregard it as these top level lifters bring in the most income and influence? If it were to come out a top lifter failed, the entire organization would crumble.
great interview!
Holy shit that bench argument is dumb lol. I just benched 341 at my meet @ 73.5kg and trust me you can definitely tell I don't take gear
assuming you're also not a fake natty, what's your total? and at what body weight? no one cares if you're a specialized elite in 1 lift but this guy blew the all time WR out of the fucking water... you're argument is dumb as hell
@@ben2474 I wasn't making an argument but okay also I literally put my bw in my comment I totaled 577.5kg/1273lns
Also Ashton said he deadlifted 500 @ 130 something bw he probably weighed that in 9th grade of something so I honestly doubt he started taking gear at about 12-14 years old
31:04 Internet myth, please correct. Lean body mass includes organs and water weight, it is not just lean muscle mass. For the non-lifters in this study, people seem to be unaware that a portion of excess testosterone is aromatized into estradiol then estrogen. Increasing these female sex hormones increases water retention. More water retention = more "lean body mass". As is often the case, it's not so much what the study says but what people take it to mean.
Ex Canadian Hockey player here that almost got offended by your comment checking in... lol
Did he call Canadians weird?
Larry Wheels is the strongest Natty PL
20:04 - God bless him but I about spit out my breakfast when Greg started talking haha.
20:51 Yeah buddy, You know it's true.
you look like smeagol
50:15 yo that threw me the FUCK off xDDDDDD
i think the bell curve of genetic potential is a really good point but would you not agree that the average person who is into powerlifting is more genetically gifted for strength than the average person who doesnt care for the sport?