Jerry Ward: “There is no right way to use diuretics in bodybuilding.”
UPDATE 7/23/22: In light of the passing of Jerry Ward, Generation Iron is republishing a GI Exclusive interview segment with Ward first aired in 2020.
On the day of a bodybuilding competition, one of the most important things is to have pitch perfect conditioning. A large part of this comes down to how dry you can make your body so it looks as sharp as possible on stage. This kind of timing, to retain no water weight on the exact day and time of the show, is a true challenge. This is why many bodybuilders have turned to diuretics as a solution to being grainy and dry as possible on the day of a show. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, bodybuilder and fitness guru Jerry Ward discusses the extreme dangers of using diuretics for bodybuilding.
While many bodybuilders have turned to diuretics in order to bring the best and driest possible physique to the stage, Jerry Ward makes a clear point to remind us that there is “no right way” to use diuretics in this capacity. Diuretics have a medical use, and that’s the only way they should be used, to use them for athletic competition, the way bodybuilders often do, is to misuse them in a way that can be extremely dangerous.
The key issue to using diuretics for bodybuilding are two-fold. Athletes can end up taking too much diuretics leading to dangerous health issues. The second issue is how much other dietary decisions affect the way diuretics will work inside your body. Jerry Ward goes on to explain multiple times in his life as a bodybuilder that he witness athletes literally freeze and crumple on stage. He’s even seen one athlete freeze up on stage, go to the hospital, and try to come back and finish competing. She was disqualified.
Jerry Ward then goes on to describe a time when he started locking up due to diuretics use. He describes a moment where he literally couldn’t open his arms out wide due to his chest locking up. He also describes anther time he couldn’t get himself out of bed because of his legs locking up.
While these scenarios all ended with Jerry and the other athletes in these stories ultimately being okay – these kinds of health problems could lead to a more serious and dangerous outcome. Jerry Ward makes it very clear that many bodybuilders don’t take this seriously enough.
You can watch him explain in more detail about the dangers of diuretic use in bodybuilding in our latest GI Exclusive clip above.
