Musclemania® Pro Simeon Panda on achieving your dream physique. He says, “I train 7 days a week, workouts no longer than 1.5 hours (don’t really need much more than that). I’ve been training for around 13 years. It’s part of my career now but was built while going through schooling and a 9-5 job just like everyone else. Why am I telling you this? So you know your dream physique is completely achievable if you invest the time required to build it.”

“When I say ‘your’ dream physique I truly mean the best of your unique structure. We all have to work with what we have. Aspiring to the zeal and ambition of others is fine but we cannot all look alike we are individuals. Look in the mirror, that is the champion. That is the winner. Make it happen!”

At 6′, 210 lbs., Adnan Ali says he’s trained for symmetry for the past 5 years. The 25 year old Pakistani trainer continues his journey and is training for Musclemania® Asia next season.  He’s qualified to compete at MM Universe and MM World in Miami and Las Vegas, respectively, but he’s been denied a US visa 3 times. “I’m not giving up,” Adnan asserts.  “It’s my dream to compete in America.”  But for now, expect to see Adnan on stage in Singapore in September.

Greek natural bodybuilder Kwnstantinos Badidos has won both of his two competitions. The 5’8″, 195 lbs., 25 year old, former National Swimming Champion says its where he got his training discipline. “I swam for 16 years, nearly everyday,” Kwnstantinos explains. “I Ioved it and was really competitive. Now, I am putting the same drive and ambition into bodybuilding.” Kwanstantinos works in a sports nutrition store in Athens and says he uses whey protein, BCAA,pre-workout, omega-3, fat burners, CLA, multi-vitamins and glutamine. “I am completely drug free and never used any steroids or GH. I am crazed with natural bodybuilding and want to compete at Musclemania® shows in Europe and America.”

New Musclemania® America Physique Champion Dong Yeob Jo created a new definition for “lean”. The 5’11″, 195 lbs., 25 year old, Korean personal trainer’s weight has not changed over the past 2 years of competing but his condition has improved in every appearance.

The United States Congress just passed the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act (DASCA) of 2014. President Obama is expected to sign DASCA into law after a House version of the legislation was passed last Thursday on the Senate floor by unanimous consent. The legislation empowers the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to crack down on dangerous substances that resemble anabolic steroids on DEA’s current list of controlled substances and that have been marketed as dietary supplements.

DASCA will place 25 known designer anabolic steroids on DEA’s list of controlled substances and grants the U.S. Attorney General authority to temporarily schedule new designer anabolic steroids on the same list. The legislation also creates new penalties for distributing, importing or manufacturing anabolic steroids under false labels, lawmakers said.

DEA assisted in crafting the bill, including identifying the 25 new substances on the list. Although the performance-enhancing substances will fall under Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, none of them have medicinal benefits, a DEA spokesperson said.

A Senate bill was sponsored by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). Reps. Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey) and Joe Pitts (R-Pennsylvania) introduced legislation in the House. The Senate passed H.R. 4771 on Thursday, Dec. 11.

Hatch and Whitehouse have said anabolic steroids are made by reverse engineering illegal steroids and slightly changing their chemical composition, avoiding placement on DEA’s list of controlled substances.

“The world’s top athletes are subject to strict guidelines and rigorous testing to prevent the use of steroids, as they should be,” Whitehouse said Friday in a statement. “At the same time, many American citizens may be unknowingly dosing themselves with these harmful substances.”

DEA has authority to place steroids and other substances on its list of controlled substances, but it must go through an arduous and potentially years-long process that requires the consent of the U.S. Department of Human Health and Services (HHS) through FDA. For instance, DEA this year moved hydrocodone combination products from Schedule III to Schedule II after receiving the recommendation of HHS. But that rule was published 15 years after a physician filed a petition with DEA requesting reclassification, citing the potential for abuse of the products.

DASCA grants the Attorney General authority to temporarily schedule additional anabolic steroids that have recently emerged if he makes certain findings. DEA must notify HHS of such an order. The Attorney General also has authority to publish a list of products that he has determined contain an anabolic steroid and are not labeled in accordance with federal law.

That section narrowly defines anabolic steroids, homing in on products that are marketed to promote muscle growth or a pharmacological effect similar to testosterone. A substance that is not on the controlled substances list is excluded from the definition of anabolic steroids if it is an herb or other botanical, the substance is a dietary ingredient under the Federal, Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C), and it is not anabolic or androgenic. But a company that claims an exemption bears the burden of proof claiming it.

Former Musclemania® World Champion Genaro Alvarado was one of the best natural bodybuilders ever to step on stage. The 5’5″, 170 lbs., Mexican native was introduced to bodybuilding by his 7 older brothers, all of whom were active weight lifters. Genado develop a heavily muscled and perfectly symmetrical physique but, unfortunately, retired from competitive bodybuilding 2 years ago.

Musclemania® Pro Julian Navarro holding his own 3 weeks after competing at MM World Pro. The 5’7″, 185 lbs., 24 year old lifetime natural athlete says, “So far a productive offseason. The gains are coming and I am still able to see great detail in my obliques. My abs not so much. But as long as I can see detail in either one, I am happy!”