Arnie admits steroid use

2005-02-26 08:55

Washington - As a young body builder Arnold Schwarzenegger used experimental steroids on doctors' recommendations, the movie-star-turned California governor admitted in a television interview on Friday, calling for a youth ban on steroids.

"That's what we did in those days," the star of Terminator said, quizzed on ABC News' This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

"But I would strongly recommend that people do not take drugs."

Asked on the ABC News programme, due to air fully on Sunday, if he had regrets about using steroids, he replied: "No, I have no regrets about it, because at that time, it was something new that came on the market, and we went to the doctor and did it under doctor's supervision.

"We were experimenting with it, it was a new thing."

The California governor said that, "absolutely" he planned to advance his own steroid legislation, after his veto of a bill that required high school coaches to teach student athletes the dangers of steroids.

'Stay away from drugs'

Schwarzenegger said he vetoed the bill because performance enhancing food supplements had been included alongside steroids.

"It's ludicrous to forbid this for a student to take. Because if you take a protein food supplement that is made out of milk protein, out of milk, or out of soybean, or out of liver or fish that has maybe 90% protein, they will enhance your performance.

"That's what you need in order to get strong, is protein."

The California governor said he would seek a ban on steroids, but without food supplement restrictions.

"Of course, we want to keep the sport clean. It says, 'body-building', not 'body-destroying'.

"But people should take food supplements, people should be able to take the vitamins and all of the nutritious stuff that is available, but stay away from drugs."

- AFP