Hello friends. After my trilogy, where I talked about the importance of
Mind Power in your training, as well as what are the best memory and mind supplements, today we will talk about the most controversial topic in
the
bodybuilding scene. Drugs VS. Natural!
When someone starts a topic like that, it is certain that he will hear
many
positive and negative comments. I know that maybe some of the things I
will
say and analyze, you won't all agree with.
But what I want to do,
since
this
site is giving me the opportunity, is to pass on some messages about
your
health! (Especially to teenagers, because something that makes me nervous
is that recent studies have shown
that
6.5% of adolescent boys and 1.9%
of girls reported the use of steroids
without a
prescription!)
I won't start this article by giving exaggerated facts, or by
warning that "steroids are evil" or "if you take them you will
immediately
die".
My point is to give the best scientific references of what they can do.
I won't tell you also lies friends, by telling you that you won't
have
a
better performance if you use them, and you can have the same results
if
you
just eat good, train hard, recuperate enough, and take your normal
supplements.
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Proven Side Effects
Steroids do work, but what are the most probable consequences that will
happen to you if you starting taking them?
Scientific Truth VS. Scientific Fiction:
Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of the male hormone
testosterone
that are taken to build muscle, enhance performance, and improve
appearance.
The
drug’s anabolic or "muscle-building" effects help the body retain
protein,
a
necessary building block for the growth of muscles, bones, and skin.
These
artificial substances were developed in the 1930's originally to help
men
whose
bodies produced inadequate amounts of the natural hormone that is
responsible
for the development of masculine characteristics occurring
at
puberty,
such as lowering of the voice and growth of body hair.
Now don't misunderstand some things here. You won't get huge if you
start
injecting yourself every day with one of the many "testosterone
treatments"
or with GH (Growth Hormone). If you don't eat huge quantities of food
and
train like a real warrior in the gym, nothing good will happen to you,
no
matter what.
The best thing that steroids can do is help those who
use
them to recover from their workout much faster than a natural bodybuilder.
When
natural bodybuilders need at least 48 hours rest before they train
again
in
order to continue increasing their muscle bodymass, steroid users need
just a few
hours!
When most of us should not train more than 3-4 times per week,
and
every
time we train we should not spend more than 1 hour in the gym, people
that
use
steroids can easily train 6 times per week, splitting their sessions in
morning and afternoon training, as well as they are able to spend
easily
2
hours in the gym, getting stronger and bigger, week after week. (That's
something that
would make any natural bodybuilder get overtrained in no time!)
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Consequently,
these people are able to train longer and recuperate
faster, making
it much easier for them to increase their muscle mass as
well
as their
strength.
I would like also to present to you some facts about
what
else steroid
use can produce.
The major side effects of anabolic steroid use include liver tumors,
jaundice (yellowish pigmentation of skin, tissues, and body fluids), fluid
retention, enlargement of the heart, (a precursor to heart failure),
high blood pressure, atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries, (a
precursor to coronary heart disease) elevated cholesterol levels, heart
palpitations, heart attack, and finally steroids can impair the kidneys leading to
kidney stones and kidney disease. The most common side effects are severe acne and trembling.
Additional Side Effects:
For men - shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility,
baldness, development of breasts.
For women - growth of facial hair, changes in or cessation of the
menstrual cycle, enlargement of the clitoris, deepened voice.
For adolescents - growth halted pre maturely through premature skeletal
maturation and accelerated pubertal changes.
Most Noticeable Changes
Athletes that use steroids can be identified by:
a) Quick weight and muscle gain
b) Purple or red-colored spots on the body
c) Swelling of feet or lower legs
d) Trembling
e) Unexplained darkening of the skin
f) Bad breath
g) Increased aggressive behavior ("roid rage")
Finally you should not forget that some physiological effects of
steroid
use can have profound effects on the mind, causing temporary
personality
changes
in some. Users may exhibit uncontrolled aggression and violent behavior
called
"roid rage", in addition to severe mood swings, manic episodes, and
depression.
The Five Steroid Facts
The facts and the scientific evidence that we have to support how
hazardous the use of anabolic steroids
can be for your health is plenty. But I would
prefer to present to you 5 of the most profound examples. After
searching a lot and spending a lot of time trying to find the 5 best, here they
are!
My first two facts will be based on the most important muscle in the
human
body. The heart! When one uses anabolic steroids, they do because they
want
their muscles to grow right?
Ok, as we said, steroids do make your
muscles
grow
more (that's the good part), but they affect ALL the body's muscle
growth
(including the heart of course, and thats the bad part). The heart is a
muscle that is also affected by steroids and the health consequences
can
be
very very serious.
Fact 1:
A group of bodybuilders who used steroids were compared to
bodybuilders
who had never used steroids. The men's hearts were
examined
using
echocardiography, (a type of sonar picture that allows doctors to see
the
heart without having to use any invasive procedures).
They found that during steroid cycles the users had left ventricles
(the
main pumping chamber of the heart) that were 25% greater in mass than
the
non-users!
This increas in mass caused the walls of the steroid user's heart
muscle
to be
almost 20% thicker while on steroids! Although the heart was bigger
during active steroid use, the cardiovascular fitness of these
individuals
was
nearly 18% less than non-users.
When the steroid users were off the
steroids, their heart size decreased, but never fully returned to its
normal
size!(1,2)
Now, if some of you think that it was just a "coincidence" and nothing
more, read the second fact very carefully.
| Most Common Causes Of Death In The U. S., 1999. |
|
Fact 2:
A study published in the journal "Cardiology" (1997;88:50-51), offered
a
unique perspective of the effects of long term anabolic steroid usage
and
heart function.
The study was unique because it involved fraternal twin bodybuilders,
one
of
whom has used steroids for 15 years, while the other was drug free.
Both of these men had trained for over 20 years. They were described in
the
study as "extremely large with profound muscular hypertrophy". They had
won
several state and national titles in bodybuilding and powerlifting. The
twins
had bodyfat levels below 10 percent, and followed the same diet and
training
regime on a yearly basis.
 |
 |
Hypertrophy
Hypertrophy refers to an increase in muscle size, due to the enlargement of the size of the cells as a result from strencth training.
|
 |
|
The primary test to access their cardiac function was echocardiography.
(As
I
previously said, it's a machine that uses reflected ultra sonic waves
to
show the structure and function of the heart.)
Both men showed normal blood pressure readings. The drug-free twin
showed
a
testosterone level of 6.2 nanongrams per mililiter of blood, and the
steroid
twin had a higher than normal level of 11.5 ng/ml!
(The normal range for testosterone is 2.8-8.8, and as you can easily
understand, the
steroid twin had testosterone levels almost 3 times
the
high normal level)
The echocardiography tests showed that both men, with similar genetic
backrounds
and the same training and diet regimes, showed little difference in
gross
heart
function. However, the steroid user showed a LARGER left ventricular
wall
size
with a decreased ventricular compliance. (That means that the pumping
chamber
of his heart was LARGER than his brother's, while also being a
bit
stiffer!)
The heart stiffness that occurs in steroid-using bodybuilders is
thought
to be brought on by an increased sensitivity of heart muscle to
catacholamines,
such as epinephrine, induced by steroids. And guess what friends, this
scenario
may have played a role in the sudden deaths due to heart failure that
have
occured in a small percentage of regular steroid users.
Fact 3:
Cohen and co-workers at the University of Witwatersrand Medical
School
in Johanesburg, South Africa, examined the influence of self
administered
anabolic steroids on lipids in bodybuilders. Ten men used a steroid drug
and
eight
men
served as controls (placebo). The two groups were equal in their
physical
and
competitive characteristics. The scientists found that serum
lipoprotein
(L-a) a genetic determinant of risk for cardiac disease, was reduced.
(HDL-C
over LDL-C was reduced).
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That means that lipid profile investigations of individuals taking
anabolic
steroids have shown that high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C,
a.k.a
good cholesterol), decreases, while low-density lipoprotein cholesterol
(LDL-C a.k.a bad cholesterol), increases! (3)
Fact 4:
A study published in the British Medical Journal
(313;4-5:1996),
looked at five cases of steroid using bodybuilders who had showed up at
an
infertility clinic. While the men in this study took extensive doses
of
several
anabolic steroids, none of them claimed to know about the fertility
reprecussions associated with long term use of the drugs. Incredibly,
all
of
these men, showed ZERO sperm counts!
Fact 5:
This fact has to do with GH. Shortly before his death, one
famous
former
pro football player (a big name in 80's), attributed his brain cancer to
a
long course of anabolic steroids which he claimed to have used for
nearly
26 years.
But in other statements, this unfortunate pro footballer, suggested
that
his
more recent use of human growth hormone was the thing that really
kindled
his fatal brain T-cell lymphoma.
More recently, one very famous bodybuilder (I won't say his name but I
bet
most
of you will understand immediately to whom I am refering), said that
according
to his doctors who treated him for leukemia, it was not his use of
anabolic
steroids that caused the disease, but rather the growth hormone
injections
he has also taken!
Also you have to know that there is research showing an increased
incidence
of leukemia in Japanese children being treated for growth
hormone
deficiency
and
dwarfism!) (4)
Conclusion
After reading these 5 facts friends, I hope you have realized that
steroid
use
is totally worthless for you. There is no point in getting a great
body,
then also a "sick" body. There is no point in looking good now, just to
look
terrible after
10-20 years. (If you can stay alive.)
Every person's priority
should
be
to live longer and healthier!
Many bodybuilders now might say that I am exaggerating things. I have
heard often: "C'mon John, I am not doing many cycles per year, I am
taking
great care, I know where to stop", etc.)
Well, in my next week's article, I will tell you my personal thoughts,
and
what
I believe will be the future of bodybuilding as a sport. (Also giving
some
good
suggestions to make the sport better). Stay tuned!
References:
1. Melchert RB, Welder AA. Cardiovascular effects of
androgenic-anabolic
steroids. Med. Sci. Sports Exer., 1995:27:1252-1262
2. Sachtleben TR, et al. The effects of anabolic steroids on myocardial
structure and cardiovascular fitness. Med. Sci. Sports Exer.,
1992;25:1240-1245
3. Cohen, L.l. et al. Lipoprotein (a) and cholesterol in bodybuilders
using
anabolic androgenic steroids. Med. Sci. Sports Exer. 28(2):176-179,
1996
4. Blethen, S. (1998). Leukemia in children treated with growth
hormone.
Trends
in Endocrinology and Metabolism, 9: 367-370.
giannis@bodybuilders.com
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