ABSTRACT
Why is it that many fitness and weightlifting enthusiasts still regard the Arnold Schwarzenegger of 1975 as the epitome of the perfect body? Chapter 1 introduces the book’s topic and the overall ambition: To offer a framework for understanding the use of anabolic androgenic steroids and other image and performance enhancing drugs, IPEDs, among groups of people whose workout activities include serious fitness, bodybuilding and weightlifting. The chapter introduces the author’s research strategy, the methodology, the use of semi-structured qualitative interviews, and the most important concepts. Rather than just seeing the phenomenon of IPED use in gyms from one perspective, the book’s idea is to include a wide array of psychological, social, cultural and biological explanatory models. Three hypotheses are central for the inquiry: (1) The use of IPEDs must be understood in light of the identity-construction work that is a crucial element during every person’s late teens to mid-twenties. (2) The increased focus on competition in society also affects social relationships, and that as an extension of this the body has become an important indicator of personal success. (3) Muscles play a particular role for men in this context, as muscles and masculine identity are connected.
