Steroids - Use Is Not Legal!
Bodybuilders and other competitive athletes,
whether young or old, amateur or professional, are always seeking ways
to gain an advantage over their opponents. This “win at all costs”
mentality exists in all sports, and at all levels of play. Most successful
athletes rely on sound training and nutrition to increase their performance
and/or physiques, but there will always be those willing to take performance
enhancing drugs such as steroids to put them in the winner’s circle
What they are
These drugs go by many names including
'roids, anabolics, gear, juice, hype, or pump. No matter what you call
them, these drugs are powerful compounds that bodybuilders use to build
massive amounts of muscle tissue, while at the same time lower their
body fat percentages. The drugs were first developed to maximize the
male hormone testosterone’s anabolic (muscle building) effects
while minimizing the hormone’s androgenic (masculinizing) effects.
Medically they are used to treat such wasting diseases as cancer and
AIDS.
Who uses them?
In the past, steroid use was seen mostly
in college, Olympic, and professional sports, but now days virtually
everyone uses them from athletes to nonathletes to those in jobs requiring
physical strength (i.e. bouncers, firefighters, laborers). There is
also a growing concern that the drugs are being used more and more at
the high school and junior high levels. Most major professional and
amateur sports’ federations have banned anabolics for use by their
athletes. Some of these organizations include the International Olympic
Committee, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the
National Football League (NFL).
How are steroids used?
There are three primary methods to take
steroids. Orals are swallowed in pill form, and while the easiest to
use, produce the most side effects because of their chemical modifications.
Injectables are trickier to use, as a needle is required, but are considered
much safer. The newest delivery method is by a transdermal patch whereby
the drug seeps through the skin and into the body. This form of steroid
use hasn’t really caught on with bodybuilders.
Stacks and cycles
Most bodybuilders don’t just randomly
inject the drugs or pop pills. Instead they take precise dosages over
a set time period followed by periods of abstinence, called a cycle.
Cycles can be as little as 4 to 6 weeks, or up to 12 weeks or more.
Most intelligent bodybuilders realize that the risk of side effects
increases with duration, so they limit their cycles to an average of
8 to 12 weeks. Besides cycling, bodybuilders may also combine different
drugs into groups called stacks. Stacks may include steroids, growth
hormone, insulin, and estrogen blockers. Modern bodybuilding can be
called drug cocktailing.
Are there side effects?
Most drugs cause side effects and anabolics are no different. Most of
the negative effects, however, can be reduced or eliminated by cycling
the drugs. The horrendous side effects reported in the media are usually
associated with individuals who took mega dosages of multiple drugs
over extended periods of time. In fact many bodybuilders consider “off”
to mean lower amounts not total termination of drug use.
Perhaps the biggest risk of using steroids is that they could get you
incarcerated! As of 1990 these drugs have been reclassified as controlled
substances. As the old saying goes if you can’t do the time don’t
do the crime.
Are there alternatives?
Yes
you betcha!
30 or 40 years ago the most bodybuilders could look forward to was a
tin of protein powder. But the science of supplementation has progressed
in leaps and bounds. There are now steroid analogs that are safe and
legal and reported to produce muscle gains that rival their illegal
and potentially dangerous cousins. These steroid alternatives are probably
the greatest revolution in bodybuilding so check them out!
Article by Bob Howard
© Bob Howard 03/27 2006
|
