Anabolic Steroids and Aggression

Anabolic steroids have a long history of usage and they’ve been used in some medical treatments, they have many dangerous side effects that also have a long history of persistence. They are not harmless, and even the process of making steroids has changed so the side effects can’t be erased.

Behavior and steroids
Steroids can be useful to some athletes when they take them in reasonable amounts. This means that they shouldn’t take more than the prescribed volume. Many of them think that the results will be better if they take more steroids, but the truth is that, after some point, the increasing usage of steroids has no effect.

Many studies have been done to prove that steroids, beside physical and medical consequences, can have some serious impact on behavior. Increased violence is something that is noticeable within steroids users, especially with the teenagers, who are not well informed and aware of all possible consequences of steroids usage.

Aggression and previous users of steroids
Different studies tried to find out patterns in steroid usage and the level of aggression. Some previous users of steroids have been included in some studies, and they reported increased violence and rage. They have committed different types of aggressive acts. The most usual was fighting with someone else and vandalism, but in some situations this went too far, and the steroids users reported even armed robbery, burglary or theft. These are some extreme situations that lead scientist to research the connection between anabolic steroids and aggression.

Aggression is potentially really dangerous, because it manifests on others, it’s not only about the steroid user anymore, now the people around him are in danger. When we talk about medical consequences of using the anabolic steroids, the person who is taking them is the one who is responsible for the issues it can have. But aggression is something that will harm not only the user, but also his/her family, friends and even the complete strangers.

Do all anabolic steroids cause aggression and violence?
There haven’t been detailed studies about the connection between anabolic steroid usage and aggression, but the ones that have been done can be sufficient to show some patterns. Of course, as time passes by and more studies are done, the conclusions will be more reliable. Studies done by now show that the end result is not always the same.

Sometimes the anabolic steroids do cause increased aggression, but sometimes they don’t have that effect. But this depends on the type of steroid that was used. Which steroids can cause aggression and which don’t is not yet determined, because steroids are never used individually, and one cycle always includes a combination of different steroids (in order to get maximum results). Time is needed to distinguish which steroid has a potential of increased aggression and violence and which does not. But, for now, aggression and violence are not included in the list of side effects caused by steroids, because they are not well examined.

Anabolic Steroids: Impotence and Loss of Libido

If there are any side effects associated with steroid use that most individuals would like to avoid, it is that of impotence and loss of libido. While these are common side effects of AAS use, many who suffer from them choose to remain quite, rather than seek help and suffer the perceived embarrassment of admission. This is unfortunate, as this experience is not a mark of male deficiency, but that of a drug-induced hormonal imbalance. There are several potential causes responsible for the appearance of these symptoms, all of which need to be treated in their own way if a speedy recovery is desired. In this article we will cover all the basic causes and cures for diagnosing and treating sexual dysfunction in the steroid user.

The following are the 4 primary causes of sexual dysfunction in AAS users: Personal response to specific steroids, estrogen imbalance, testosterone deficiency, and 5-AR inhibitor use. Let’s look at the first of these, which is personal response. Of all the various steroids available to the BB’r, two in particular seem to cause this problem most frequently. These are nandrolone and trenbolone. Not everyone will respond the same to these drugs when it comes to their effect on sexual function. A number of individuals can take large doses of either of these drugs, sometimes even combined, yet experience no issues at all. Others may run into problems under certain circumstances, such as when their test to nandrolone/trenbolone ratio is off. Others are very sensitive to the effects of these drugs and will have problems no matter what they do, encountering full-blown sexual dysfunction, regardless of dose, within just a few weeks.

Typically, if an individual is prone to experiencing sexual dysfunction from these steroids, such side effects will generally begin to immerge within about 5-6 weeks of initiating use and will continue to present themselves as long as the offending compound(s) are employed. Often, these symptoms will begin to dissipate within 5-10 weeks after discontinuance of the offending compound. Tren ace and NPP are usually quicker to recover from, due to their much shorter active life in the body, while a drug like Deca, which maintains a very long active life in the body, can continue to produce symptoms for a significantly longer period of time (Note: Just because a user may experience issues with one of these drugs, it does not necessarily mean he will have the same problem with another).

When sexual dysfunction is brought on by either nandrolone or trenbolone usage, there are 3 options for treatment. One, the individual can discontinue the offending drug completely and wait for the symptoms to abate. Two, he can manipulate his testosterone to nandrolone/trenbolone ratio and see if this helps correct the issue (For example, the individual may experience sexual dysfunction when administering 400 mg of test and 800 mg of deca, yet a complete cessation of symptoms may take place when reversing that ratio to 800:400, in favor of testosterone). Lastly, if the individual’s symptoms are prolactin related, the addition of an anti-prolactin drug into one’s program, such as Cabergoline or Pramipexole, may alleviate symptoms.

Some individuals wrongly assume that all nandrolone and/or trenbolone induced sexual dysfunction is prolactin related, as these drugs tend to elevate prolactin levels, but this is not the case. In many instances, those who suffer from nandrolone/ trenbolone induced sexual dysfunction find no relief from their symptoms, despite taking large doses of anti-prolactin drugs. Blood work has further confirmed this to be the case, with several of my clients’ personal blood work readings revealing normal to below normal levels of prolactin after treatment with anti-prolactin drugs, only to find that they’re still experiencing the same degree of symptoms as they were prior to treatment. These results are indicative of alternate causes of sexual dysfunction in users of nandrolone/trenbolone, which are likely directly attributed to the drugs themselves and not related metabolites.

Another cause of sexual dysfunction in steroid users is estrogen imbalance; either too little estrogen or too much can bring about the same problems. The use of aromatizable drugs can result in excess estrogen levels, particularly when administered in the absence of anti-aromatase drugs (A.I.’s). It is important to note that just like with nandrolone or trenbolone induced sexual dysfunction, not everyone will have the same response to excess or deficient levels of estrogen. Many individuals can seemingly administer grams of testosterone without making any attempt to manage systematic estrogen and experience no problems whatsoever. Others will not be so fortunate, with testosterone levels even slightly outside the normal physiological range being problematic.

The only surefire way to ensure that estrogen is properly controlled is through physician monitored blood work. Otherwise, one’s best guess is just that…a guess. The goal of the steroid user should be to keep estrogen in a normal male range. Contrary to popular belief, there is no medical evidence that suggests excess estrogen levels results in greater muscle growth in men. Still, estrogen does play several roles in the muscle growth process, both directly and indirectly, so unless future evidence contradicts the current position, maintaining levels within a normal range is considered ideal. Today we are fortunate enough to have several potent, prescription A.I.’s available for use, all of which are quite effective in the management of estrogen levels, regardless of the steroid type or dosage employed.

DHT is an essential male hormone, critical for the development and maintenance of normal male characteristics and physiology, including sexual function. Inadequate levels may precipitate a cascade of negative events, including erectile dysfunction and loss of libido. Under normal circumstances, the body produces its own DHT through converting a portion of freely circulating testosterone into the target hormone. However, since exogenous AAS suppress endogenous testosterone production, they’re also indirectly responsible for suppressing DHT production. Therefore, the inclusion of testosterone into one’s cycle is mandatory if the individual wishes to maintain sufficient DHT levels.

Cycles void of testosterone will usually begin to display the initial signs of sexual dysfunction around week 4 or later, as the body’s negative feedback system will immediately sense a rise in androgen blood levels and react accordingly by decreasing testosterone production. Since the amount of steroid hormone administered during a cycle will elevate one’s androgen blood level well into the supraphysiological range, testosterone production will continue to decrease until it is almost non-existent.

The preferred method of treatment for DHT deficiency is simple…use testosterone. In those who have been running cycles in the absence of this parent hormone and suffered the consequences, its subsequent inclusion will result in a speedy alleviation of symptoms. One does not necessarily have to use supraphysiological doses of testosterone in order to experience normalcy in the bedroom; more moderate doses are usually sufficient.

The last factor we are going to look at involves the use of 5-AR inhibitors. This class of drugs is used to prevent or slow the balding process, but is prone to causing all the same side effects associated with deficient DHT levels from other causes. The likelihood of experiencing sexual dysfunction when using a 5-ARinhibitor is highly dependent on the dosage employed. When deciding whether these drugs are right for you, make sure to weigh all your options before proceeding Often, 5-AR inhibitors can be avoided altogether simply by adjusting one’s cycle design, to incorporate drugs which are not known to cause androgenic alopecia ands by avoiding drugs (or minimizing the dosage) which commonly result in hair loss. The number of potential cycles is massive and one should not automatically dismiss an alternative approach just because it strays from the conventional format. So long as the cycle suits one’s goals and keep the BB’rs health in mind, that is all that matters.

Diagnosing the cause of sexual dysfunction in a BB’r is not always easy, especially when multiple potentially causative factors are present at one time. In cases like this, troubleshooting may be necessary in order to determine the true cause and eliminate it accordingly. There is merit to be found in trying one new PED at a time. By doing so, the individual will know exactly how the new drug is affecting him, without receiving mixed feedback from other new drugs at the same time and having no way of determining which drug is doing what. Sexual dysfunction may be one of the least enjoyable side effects of AAS use, but unlike many other side effects, it is avoidable in every case.

Anabolic Steroids and Testosterone Levels

For the anabolic steroid users ones testosterone levels are of great importance. When we supplement with anabolic steroids our natural testosterone production is suppressed, even when we supplement with the anabolic steroid testosterone itself our natural production is diminished. How far our levels drop will be dependent on several factors; certain steroids suppress to a greater degree than others but regardless of the steroid(s) you're using your natural testosterone levels are not going to be at an optimal level. For this reason among several others most performance enhancers will supplement with testosterone; for most it is the foundation of any cycle and in many cases often the only steroid used if only one steroid is going to be used. It should be fairly obvious as to why testosterone supplementation is so important; you're using anabolic steroids, you're no longer producing adequate levels of testosterone and to keep your testosterone levels at a proper rate and most likely to bring them to a level beyond standard you must have exogenous amounts of the hormone in place.

In the world of anabolic steroids there are literally a multitude of choices and within each choice there are often more choices. For example, take the anabolic steroid testosterone; there are numerous forms of this hormone, each defined by the ester attached or lack thereof. In the end each one is comprised of the same active hormone but as the ester affects the total mass of the compound it also affects the total half-life; if we are to maintain stable testosterone levels this must be understood. Most who supplement with testosterone will do so normally with long ester based or short ester based testosterone; while moderate ester based testosterone is available it is rarely available in a single ester based form and generally part of a testosterone mixture comprised of several single ester based forms.

Testosterone Levels & Long Esters
While there are many long ester based forms of testosterone or large ester based depending on how you look at it, by-in-large the two most common are Testosterone Cypionate and Testosterone Enanthate. The Cypionate form carries with it a half-life of approximately 12 days; what this means is that after an injection of the hormone 12 days later half of the active dose will still be active in the body. For example, an injection of 200mg will yield 100mg of active testosterone 12 days later and 50mg the next 12 days later and so on and so on. When we look at Testosterone Enanthate there really isn't that much difference, it carries with it a half-life approximately 36 hours shorter and when we are talking about half-lives that extend well past a week this is of an inconsequential nature; so what does this mean? We cannot arbitrarily inject our long ester forms, doing so would cause our testosterone levels do be all over the place, up then down like a roller coaster. With most long ester based forms of testosterone an injection once per week will suffice but for the performance enhancer who wishes to not only maintain proper testosterone levels but to do so at its peak twice weekly injections of an equal dosing will be far more efficient. In many competitive bodybuilding circles, although it is not medically necessary individuals often administer long ester testosterones on an every other day to daily basis, splitting their dosage up into a multitude of small regular injections. For the average performance enhancer this is unnecessary but such practice will ensure testosterone levels are at their peak throughout use.

Testosterone Levels & Short Esters
While long ester based forms are quite popular there is one short ester based testosterone that is equal in popularity and it is that of Testosterone Propionate. Testosterone Propionate is one of the original testosterone forms, in-fact it's one of the original anabolic steroids, as well as one of the very first made readily available for mass human use. As a short ester based testosterone the Propionate version carries with it a half-life of approximately 4 days and by this nature one can already see frequent injections are going to be necessary if testosterone levels are to be maintained. In the grand scheme of action one could maintain proper testosterone levels with an injection every three days but to keep peak testosterone levels at their peak an administration schedule of every other day will prove to be far more optimal and efficient.

The End Game
In the end it is fairly simple; in order to maintain proper testosterone levels when supplementing with exogenous testosterone you must understand the active half-life associated with the compound. While we have only discussed three compounded forms we have discussed the most common and if your testosterone is not in this group all you really need to know is its half-life to make an accurate determination. However, simply knowing the half-life does not apply to testosterone mixtures such as Sustanon 250; testosterone mixtures have far extending total half-lives but testosterone levels cannot be maintained with infrequent injections; mixtures are best served when treated as single short ester based forms.

Steroids - What do you know?

Anabolic/Androgenic Steroids can be roughly classified into two types, oral and injectable. When you eat food or consume anything orally, the great majority of the ingested substances pass through the liver prior to entering the bloodstream. For this reason, "injectable" AAS cannot be taken orally because the liver will deactivate the steroids in this "first pass". Deactivation in the liver usually involves the addition of one or more hydroxyl (OH) groups to increase the solubility of the molecule in water, making excretion in the urine more easily accomplished.

Oral Steroids
Oral steroids involve modification of the parent steroid to make it harder for the liver to degrade the steroid molecules. This modification is almost always the addition of an alkyl (methyl) group at the 17 position of the steroid ring. The liver can still degrade the steroid, but not as effectively as the un-modified steroid. Therefore, oral steroids make several cycles through the bloodstream before being excreted. Most oral steroids are, to various degrees, excreted from the body unchanged
Injectable Steroids
The injectable Steroids are very effectively degraded in just a single pass through the liver. If this is so, then how can the injectables be effective? The answer is called a "depot" (or reservoir), which allows a regular release of steroid into the bloodstream. As steroid is removed from the bloodstream by the liver, more steroid is being released into the bloodstream from the depot. There are several ways to provide such a reservoir of the steroid.

Suspension
The first way is to use pure testosterone (a crystalline solid) suspended in water. Testosterone has a low solubility in water, and the crystals slowly dissolve in the watery environment of the tissue in which it is injected. The dissolved testosterone is carried throughout the body by the bloodstream. For Testosterone suspension, the "depot" is the actual physical site where the injection is made. The crystals do not migrate to other parts of the body, and the presence of the crystalline testosterone can cause some pain at the injection site. The testosterone dissolves at a (relatively) constant rate, and lasts for a few days in the body. Winstrol suspension is similar.

Esters
The other way to provide a depot of steroid is to use a water-insoluble form of the steroid that can be converted in the body to the parent steroid, which has some solubility in water (bloodstream). Most commonly, the parent molecule is esterified with an organic acid, and the resulting ester is soluble in oil, but only very slightly soluble in water. Commonly used organic acid groups are acetate (C2), propionate (C3), enanthate (C7), decanoate (C10), and undecylenate (C11). The longer the carbon chain of the acid, the more oil-soluble the ester, and the longer it takes for the ester to turn into the parent steroid (de-esterification). A type of enzyme that is found throughout the body facilitates the de-esterification reaction to form the parent steroid from the ester. The enzyme actually catalyzes the reaction in both directions, so it can also attach an organic acid back onto the parent steroid. So, for example, testosterone enanthate can actually be turned into testosterone palmitate. There is some good evidence that steroid esters are, to some extent, stored in fat cells.

It is commonly believed that esters form a depot of oil/ester that stays at the injection site. This is not true. While the depot concept holds true for esters (because they slowly release the parent steroid over time), the esters actually disperse throughout the body after injection, prior to (and during) the de-esterification reaction to form the parent steroid. They do not stay at the injection site. For example, the ester testosterone enanthate has been found in tissues throughout the body, including hair samples of subjects who have injected T200. If a bio-contaminant is introduced at the time of injection (non-sterile conditions), the body will attempt to encapsulate the contaminated material, and an abscess will form. In this case it appears as if the ester has remained at the injection site. But under normal sterile conditions, the oily solution will disperse. Injecting too much at one site or injecting too frequently at one site will not cause an abscess.

Transport of Steroids in the Bloodstream
Once the steroid has been released from the depot (or the oral steroid has been absorbed from the intestine), it is transported throughout the body in the bloodstream. Carrier proteins (Albumin and Sex Hormone binding Globulin) bind about 98% of testosterone under natural conditions. Thus, only 2% of the hormone is free to carry out its actions. When exogenous steroid is present, the level of free steroid is much higher than 2%. Bear in mind that the hormone is not permanently bound to the some of the proteins, but is constantly binding and un-binding from the protein. At any given time, about 2% of the hormone is un-bound in the natural state. So, if the 2% unbound hormone were to magically disappear, then the proteins would release more hormone such that 2% (of the remaining total) would come unbound. The bloodstream is the mechanism by which the hormones reach their target tissues (muscle).

How Steroids Can Affect The Penis

Even though steroids have been banned by every major sport and even high school sports, people are still using steroids. Mostly the people that use them are bodybuilders, athletes, and people that feel that they need them to look stronger. Steroids can also be used as a pain reliever in some cases, but mostly they are used to give a look of strength because they promote growth of tissues and muscles to give men and some women the larger muscles that they are looking for. Steroids are not healthy for you in general and can cause a plethora of side effects and even death in some cases.

Anabolic steroids are the most common steroids used. Besides making muscles bigger they also bring more testosterone to a man who is using them. Testosterone is mainly known to produce the masculine features that accompany a growing boy during puberty. Due to this fact, anabolic steroids are used by many men who think that it will help increase the size of their penis and the erection that they can achieve. Steroids are expensive though, and many men cannot keep up with the cost to see if their penis actually gets larger because of it. That means that instead of actually using steroids they may try other steroid containing substances that can also be dangerous for them.

What men do not realize is that steroids cannot enhance or enlarge the penis in any way. In fact, the result is quite the opposite. The effects of steroids do not just stop at damaging the body, but they can cause a man to become impotent either temporarily or permanently. When taking steroids the sexual desire is decreased significantly and it is hard to even get an erection. Essentially, the penis becomes paralysed and is unable to perform as it should. Over an extended period of usage, steroids can even cause a penis to "shrink" to a much smaller size then it once was. This is of course not completely studied as of yet, but many people believe that this is the case. Most likely it is the steroids that are stopping the penis from getting erect and thereby showing the penis in the non-erect state rather than actually causing the penis to shrink. No one can really reach a definite conclusion.

One thing is true though. While steroids may not cause shrinkage, it most certainly can aggravate the situation. Steroids should never be used for any reason. The danger is just too great, not only to your penis, but to your entire body.

The price of steroids

Muscle gains with minimal effort may sound great, but the horrifying side effects of taking these powerful drugs can leave your life in tatters.

If someone was to tell you that there’s a group of men who regularly take steroids at your local gym, you’d probably laugh. You might even be tempted to knock some sense into them using those finely sculpted muscles you’ve worked so tirelessly for without chemical assistance.

Prepare yourself for a shock. Steroids are no longer just the preserve of scarily swollen bodybuilders. They can now be found in almost every sporting arena – yes, even everyday gyms like yours, where men who want bulging muscles without the hard work are using them in increasing numbers.

We’re talking about anabolic steroids, synthesised versions of testosterone that occurs naturally in the body (not to be confused with corticosteroids, used to treat conditions such as asthma). When an athlete pumps himself full of steroids he is, in effect, mimicking the changes that take place in a male adolescent at puberty.

‘They get the desirable anabolic effects, which means massive protein synthesis and bigger muscles, fast. But they also get androgenic effects, which means male secondary sexual characteristics. You’re looking at acne, aggression and a deepening of the voice. High blood pressure, depression, aggression, liver disease and even muscle weakness are also side effects of anabolic drug abuse.’
The pumped-up past

‘The first anabolic steroid was manufactured in the 1930s,’ says Professor Bruce Davies of the University of Glamorgan’s Health and Exercise Science Unit. ‘They’ve since been used medically for the stimulation of bone growth, appetite, puberty and muscle growth.’ In the 1950s, Soviet weightlifters brought them into the sporting arena and by the late 1960s, steroid use had expanded into other areas of athletics, prompting the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to institute an outright ban.

But outlawing them had little impact and in 1976, at the Montreal Olympics, the IOC introduced random drug testing. At the Seoul Olympics in 1988, 100m winner Ben Johnson’s positive test for the steroid stanozolol publicised the issue. The received wisdom was that steroids were for losers.

In the UK anabolic steroids are defined as prescription-only items under the Medicines Act. In street terms, they’re class C drugs. It is not illegal to possess them but supplying them can lead to 14 years in jail and a fine. This deterrent, however, has not been enough to stop the increasing popularity of steroids throughout the country.

A 1993 study for the Department of Health looked at 1,300 men in a range of UK gyms and found nine per cent were taking steroids. In the past two years GP surveys show one in three doctors has seen steroid takers, and they account for one-third of all visitors to needle exchanges. A 2006 survey by the charity DrugScope found that steroids form a significant part of the drug market in Blackpool, Liverpool, Birmingham, Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Manchester and Newcastle. DrugScope spokesperson Harry Shapiro explains, ‘The first steroid boom was in the late 1980s and early 1990s when a lot of guys in the Midlands and the north were out of work. They had time to kill and were looking to build up their self-esteem by building up their bodies. It then seeped into the bodybuilding community.’

This has changed, Shapiro says. ‘Steroids appeal to teenage boys who aren’t developing as fast as they’d like to, or men in their late 30s or 40s who can’t work out as hard as they used to. They’re being sought as a quick fix to look big in a T-shirt. Men are now coming under the same kind of pressure to look good that women have been under for decades.

‘Ironically, because many young men come to steroids through gym culture, they see steroids almost as an extreme fitness supplement. They’d be outraged if you called them junkies, but the label fits. While steroids aren’t physically addictive, users will develop a psychological dependence on the result,’ Shapiro says.
The science of steroids

Steroids can be taken orally or injected into the muscle. Both methods have their own side effects, says Davies. ‘Any injection carries risks, from blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis B and C and HIV to general bacterial infection from a non-sterile environment. But the injection of steroids into muscle can also cause serious abscesses or infections.’ What’s more, injecting into a muscle is a skill that few locker-room dealers are qualified to teach, says McVeigh. ‘You risk damage to the very muscle tissue you’re trying to bulk up.’

Oral steroids carry very different risks. The body naturally breaks down testosterone very quickly, so oral steroids are chemically treated to give a slow release of the steroid into your system. They achieve this by cycling it through the liver time and again. When you’re a regular steroid user, your liver is doing the equivalent of trying to purge your body after a heavy night of boozing – all the time.

Steroids can also cause a 20 per cent drop in your body’s production of white blood cells, which are critical to fighting infection. When a person stops taking the drugs, such short-term effects often disappear. The long-term effects are of greater concern: they include liver cancer as well as kidney and cardiovascular disease. Regular use can also lead to erection problems, development of breasts, low sperm count and sterility, acne, high blood pressure and increased risk of liver failure.

Large doses of steroids are known to cause ‘hyperexcitability’ – heightened aggression, known in the gym as ‘roid rage’ – and suicidal tendencies. Rather worryingly, this could be evidence of ‘catastrophic loss of brain cells’, according to Professor Barbara Ehrlich from Yale School of Medicine in the US.

To make matters worse, the underground nature of the supply chain means you don’t know what you’re taking. ‘Just because your drug comes in a professional-looking ampoule or blister-packed tablet doesn’t mean it contains the dose it says on the tin,’ Ehrlich says. ‘In lab tests we found some steroids contained zero anabolic steroid while others contained twice the stated dose.’

Despite these risks, websites advocating ‘safe’ ways to use steroids abound. Devotees swear by ‘cycling’ – eight weeks on, eight weeks off – but McVeigh begs to differ. ‘Anyone who’s using steroids and thinks they’re doing it safely because they’ve read up on it is deluding themselves. With any substance you take, there’s no way of knowing how your body’s going to react.’

The rogues’ gallery of athletes who’ve been disgraced after steroid abuse is still growing, despite ever more stringent and sophisticated tests. So when the side effects are man-tits, shrunken bollocks and no hair, why is steroid abuse on the rise? ‘Put bluntly, because they work,’ says Stowe. ‘The results are quick, with an impact on performance in as little as three weeks, which makes them particularly attractive to young sportsmen. They are cheap and easily available.’ What’s more, the drugs are becoming more socially acceptable. ‘People see the bodybuilding forums online or see a guy in the gym and think they must be OK. It’s false confidence. They’re highly potent products designed for the seriously ill. Mucking about with them is a mug’s game.’
The future of steroids

So what does the future hold for steroids? Things are changing – and not for the better. Davies sounds a warning. ‘The more sophisticated prescription drugs such as growth hormones and insulin are now becoming a feature of the bodybuilder’s armoury. These have proved to be very effective in combination, resulting in significant muscle gains. We already have evidence of the DNA from muscular people being injected into less muscular individuals with positive results. These practices will be difficult to detect and offer an unfair advantage to an athlete who’s prepared to cheat.’

McVeigh agrees, and says he’s noticed another worrying trend. ‘We’re seeing steroid abusers taking more drugs to combat the side effects, such as Tamoxifen, the cancer drug, which can be used to prevent breast tissue growth. But if your body is freaking out, the trick is to stop taking the drug that’s causing the side effects in the first place, not to load it with more chemicals. The more crap you take, the more your body will suffer. The good news is most of the side effects of anabolic steroids are reversible.’

But other experts remain pessimistic. Shapiro has the last word. ‘I hope that with more education, we’ll see decreased use. But the male body-beautiful culture shows no signs of losing pace and as long as that stays, a product that promises something for nothing isn’t going to go away – no matter what the risks.’

Are There Safe Anabolic Steroids?

There are safe steroids when they are used properly and by people who are trained and knowledgeable in their proper dosage. Many steroids are used by doctors and specialists to treat a wide range of health conditions. Steroid use by body builders and athletes is generally discouraged, although there are supporters of their use who claim that when taken as directed they can be a safe option for those looking to bulk up. Whether or not this is true is still being debated.

The most commonly used steroids are anabolic steroids. These help promote muscle growth and weight gain due to their testosterone-like qualities. They are often used in the medical community for a variety of reasons, but this is also the main type of steroid used by body builders to promote rapid muscle growth and athletic performance. Therefore, these can be considered safe steroids when used for the proper reasons and with medical supervision.

Anabolic steroids can be used to replace testosterone loss in those who have had their testes removed due to cancer, or in young boys with hormonal problems which may delay the onset of puberty. These are given in doses which are heavily monitored and restricted in order to minimize side effects and potential health risks. How safe steroids are, even those used in the medical community, generally depends on the way in which they are used.
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Most of the common steroid side effects, which can include liver damage, kidney damage, heart malfunction, stomach upset, among a myriad of others, can be attributed to overuse. When used in quantities higher than the recommended dosage, serious health complications can result. Even when used correctly a slight risk still exists, so it is not recommended that steroids be used for recreational purposes. In some areas, doing so is illegal.

Other safe steroids are used to grow muscle tissue and other tissues in the body in patients with certain conditions. For instance, those who have battled a serious disease like cancer may need steroids to rebuild lost muscle tissue. Steroids are used in mothers who are at risk of delivering prematurely to stimulate the growth of the unborn infants’ lungs. They have also shown beneficial for the treatment of osteoporosis at growing bone marrow in some women.

Corticosteroids are perhaps some of the safest steroids when used in topical ointments and creams. This is the main ingredient in hydrocortisone, a popular anti-itch medication. Side effects for this variety are usually mild and abuse is much less common than with anabolic and androgenic steroids.

5 percent of youth have used steroids to bulk up

About five percent of middle and high school students have used anabolic steroids to put on muscle, according to a new study from Minnesota.

In addition to steroid use, more than one-third of boys and one-fifth of girls in the study said they had used protein powder or shakes to gain muscle mass, and between five and 10 percent used non-steroid muscle-enhancing substances, such as creatine.

Researchers said a more muscular body ideal in the media may be one factor driving teens to do anything possible to get toned, as well as pressure to perform in sports.

"Really the pressure to start using (steroids) is in high school," said Dr. Linn Goldberg, from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

"You get the influence of older teens in high school, so when you're a 14-year-old that comes in, you have 17-year-olds who are the seniors, and they can have great influence as you progress into the next stage of your athletic career."

The new data came from close to 2,800 kids and teens at 20 different middle and high schools in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. During the 2009-2010 school year, those students completed a survey on food and weight-related behaviors, including activities tied to muscle gain.

The majority of kids surveyed were poor or middle-class.

Almost all of them had engaged in at least one muscle-building activity in the past year, most often working out more to get stronger. But up to one-third of kids and teens used what the researchers deemed to be unhealthy means to gain muscle mass, including taking steroids and other muscle-building substances or overdoing it on protein shakes, dieting and weight-lifting.

Student-athletes were more likely than their peers to use most methods of muscle-building. Steroid use, however, was equally common among athletes and non-athletes.

According to findings published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, Asian students were three to four times more likely to have used steroids in the past year than white students. Most Asians in the study were Hmong, lead researcher Marla Eisenberg from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and her colleagues noted.

Their study shows higher adolescent use of steroids and other muscle-boosting substances than most other recent research and "is cause for concern," according to the researchers. But it's not clear whether the findings would apply to an area outside of the Twin Cities, or among wealthier students, they noted.

Roid rage?

Anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of testosterone, the male sex hormone. Steroids are prescribed legally to treat conditions involving hormone deficiency or muscle loss, but when they're used for non-medical purposes, it's typically at much higher doses, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

In those cases, steroids can cause mood swings - sometimes known as roid rage - and for adolescents, stunted growth and accelerated puberty.

Anabolic steroids have become pervasive in professional sports, including baseball, football and boxing. (Another example of performance-enhancing drug use is "blood doping" with erythropoietin or EPO, which is behind the Lance Armstrong cycling controversy that caused him to be stripped of his Tour de France titles last month.)

Experts have worried that the drive to get ahead of competitors at any cost could trickle down to college and high school athletes, as well.

Goldberg, co-developer of the ATLAS and ATHENA programs to prevent steroid and other substance use on high school teams, said it's important to give teens healthier alternatives to build muscle.

"I would stay away from all supplements, because you don't know what's in them," Goldberg, who wasn't involved in the new study, told Reuters Health.

"What's important is to teach kids how to eat correctly," he said. Goldberg said getting enough protein through food, eating breakfast and avoiding muscle toxins like alcohol and marijuana can all help young athletes get stronger without shakes or supplements.

Eisenberg's team did not find clustering of steroid use and other muscle-enhancing behaviors within particular schools.

"Rather than being driven by a particular school sports team coach or other features of a school's social landscape, this diffusion suggests that muscle-enhancing behaviors are widespread and influenced by factors beyond school, likely encompassing social and cultural variables such as media messages and social norms of behavior more broadly," the researchers wrote.

Anabolic Steroids and Fertility

There are a number of side effects users will experience when taking these substances. Some are short term and others may have long term side effects. Unfortunately any side effects will in most cases also effect the male fertility health. Some of these side effects can include:

Short term effects

    Puffiness and swelling in the face and neck due to increased water retention.
    Development of breast tissue in males.
    Increased risk of injury to muscles and joints.
    Increase in muscle mass.
    Heightened aggression, sleeping disorders, anxiety and irritability.
    Stunted growth if taken during adolescent growth spurts due to skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty changes.
    

Long term effects

    Growth of breasts due to the high level of testosterone some of which the body converts to oestrogen.
    Increased erectile dysfunction and shrinking testicles.
    Heart and liver disease - some steroids are toxic to the liver.
     Kidney disease due to the increase in toxins to be broken down.
    Aggressive behaviour and depression.
    Jaundice from high levels of steroids - affects liver function.
    Increased blood pressure.
    Prostate enlargement.


Anabolic Steroids and male infertility are often linked due to the effects on the body as mentioned here.  Any increased toxins in the body have the potential to affect the sperm being produced.

A semen analysis will give a good indication of the health of the sperm if a male has used steroids previously and is now having difficulty with infertility. A low sperm count will also be detected by going for a semen analysis.

Fortunately medical technology and advancement in procedures such as sperm washing as well as ICSI - Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection could assist men whose fertility may have been affected by the usage of Steroids.

Your doctor will be able to advise you on using an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) procedure in the event of being diagnosed with infertility due to this usage.

Natural remedies for infertility

In order to get rid of the toxins and increase your health status and hormonal balance, changing your infertility diet and considering the alkaline diet may assist in correcting your sperm problems.

Many of the side effects mentioned can be corrected by immediately stopping the usage of these substances, as well as considering lifestyle changes and partaking in moderate exercise such as walking and swimming or yoga.

Steroids Used in Sports

Steroids used in sports are usually anabolic in nature. Ideally, anabolic steroids are drugs that closely resemble androgenic hormones and are synthetically derived from the male hormones called the testosterone. The widespread use of anabolic steroids among athletes is precisely to achieve strength, weight gain, speed, endurance against pain and fatigue, and aggressiveness. They are most commonly used by athletes involved in track and field sports, particularly the throwing events, weight lifting, football and baseball. Despite their prolific usage by the sports fraternity, the research literature still reveals debate on whether anabolic steroids can really enhance one’s performance or not. However, almost all athletes who have administered these substances have affirmed to the benefits caused by these. In fact many athletes have also asserted that they would not have been as successful without consuming them.

Some common steroids employed by the sports fraternity include:

Androstenedione or (Andro)
Androstenedione, popularly known as Andro is a supplement made from a naturally occurring steroid hormone. It is a designer steroid frequently mentioned in context with athletes and about its effectiveness in improving one’s physical performance.

Primobolan (Methenolone)
Primobolan can be administered in the body by either injecting it or consuming it in a tablet form. This steroid is highly popular among athletes because it builds muscle power without adding to its bulk. Also this steroid does not have many negative side effects like other ones and hence remains high in demand.

Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG)
Tetrahydrogestrinone is another steroid whose chemical structure is similar to other ones. Its specialty lies in the way it is manufactured which ensures that it is not detected in the doping tests. The FDA has banned the use of THG among the athletes, saying that it is not a supplement but an unapproved drug.

Clenbuterol
Clenbuterol or Clen as it is popularly called is a selective beta-2 antagonist and a bronchodilator which is also medically prescribed for obstructive pulmonary diseases at times. Amongst athletes, it basic function lies in increasing lean muscle mass but it should be administered only in small qualities.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)
Dehydroepiandrosterone is a steroid prohormone which is naturally produced by the adrenal glands. After its synthesis the body converts the DHEA into both male and female sex hormones i.e. estrogen and testosterone respectively. DHEA are extremely popular because they are considered to be anti-aging supplements. However research on its this very property is still going on.

DHEA supplements were taken off the shelves of U.S. markets in 1985 and were made available only by prescription then. However, in 1994, it was reintroduced as a nutritional supplement after the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act was passed.

Though not all anabolic steroids pose as a threat to the athletes, some of them have been banned by a few sport’s organization which include the Olympics, NBA, NHL and NFL.

However, a few other steroids which find popular use among the athletes include oral ones like Anadrol (oxymetholone), Oxandrin (oxandrolone), Dianabol (methandrostenolone) and Winstrol (stanozolol). The injectable steroids include Deca-Durabolin (nandrolone decanoate), Durabolin (nandrolone phenpropionate), Depo-Testosterone (testosterone cypionate) and Equipoise (boldenone undecylenate).

Health effects

If taken in prescribed quantities, anabolic steroids can never cause harm to the human body. However, those who consume large doses of these might experience certain changes, particularly in the sexual characteristics or the ones regulated by the male hormone called the testosterone as they are derivatives of it only. Some effects of steroids intake that might come to surface among men include, infertility, breast development, shrinking of the testicles, le-pattern baldness and acne and cysts. Effects among women include deeper voice, enlargement of the clitoris, excessive growth of body hair and male-pattern baldness. Some other hazards of anabolic steroid abuse include delayed growth in adolescents, tendon rupture, increased LDL cholesterol, decreased HDL cholesterol ,high blood pressure,heart attacks, trembling, Swelling of feet or ankles, bad breath, difficulty or pain in urinating and enlarged prostrate, enlargement of the heart’s left ventricle and fluid retention.

Anabolic steroids consumed by athletes can indeed cause some withdrawal symptoms when they quit such as mood swings, depression, fatigue and irritability, loss of appetite, insomnia and aggression. Although controlled studies on the long-term usage of anabolic steroids have not been conducted very regularly, extensive research on prescribed doses for medical use has documented the potential that the side effects of these steroids , even when taken in small doses.

At the same time, it would be wrong to club anabolic steroid in the same category as other banned substances, like cocaine or heroin. This is because anabolic steroids also have good medical value for many patients in dire need of recovery from serious ailments.

The Safest Steroid For Man

"Safe" has not only to do with roid choice or choices but also dose...let me make that perfectly clear.

BUT if one was to choose a safest steroid it would likely be oral Primobolan - methenolone - and not nandrolone or anavar and here is why.

First of all it is a very mild androgen so it doesn't rank very high in androgenic sides, which are typically the most potentially damaging.

It is not 17 alpha-alkylated, like Dianabol - methandrostenolone - and so many other orals. It is 1 alkylated and beta esterfied. This makes it easy on the old liver and lipid profile, unlike the por Dianabol - methandrostenolone - , anadrol or ANAVAR.
A high mg dose is required since the hormone is not protected from the gut by the 17 alpha-alkylated compound.

Primobolan - methenolone - does not aromatize so water retention and blood pressure increases are a non issue.

It has a very short half life so if sides come on that you don't like then you can easily bail out of a cycle.

There have been reports of men using small doses of Primobolan - methenolone - and still maintaining a somewhat decent natural test output. In other words it can be used, in moderation, without completely shutting down hpta - hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis - . Try that with the mild androgen nandrolone... no chance as even 100 mg per week will up hpta - hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis.

I must give the edge to nandrolone in regard to hair loss, if you have that tendancy, but the brutal affect that nandrolone has on hpta - hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis - cancels it as the safest steroid. Also no other hormone shuts one down more at the level of the testes than does nandrolone. Many men have a very hard time recovering form nandrolone. Not so with moderate dose Primobolan - methenolone - .....recovery is usually not too much of a problem with clomid use.

Moderate yet anabolic dosage for men typically range between 75 and 150 mg per day.

Unfortunately this steroid is very expensive and often faked. NEVER buy the 50 mg tabs unless you know they can directly from Schering, as they are not often the "real macoy" The 25 mg tabs from Schering are a much safer buy. You can get 5mg doses but using this steroid in this way is nor very cost effective.

Also, this steroid will not give you large gains in strength and mass. If you are after that then Primobolan - methenolone - is not the best choice.

It is valuable in the cutting phase of a cycle before a show since it does not aromatize yet is acceptably anabolic.....Quadsweep "The Voice of Reason" has including it in the cutting part of his current cycle for the nationals.

The Use of Therapeutic Steroid Dosages for Building Muscle

If a person is interested in getting an edge with anabolic steroids, but have no professional aspirations either as an athlete or bodybuilder. He just wants to be moderately bigger and stronger. Why not just all the time use a low dose such as doctors have prescribed for medical reasons?

Well, a person can do that, but there are some reasons not to.

First, the body has feedback mechanisms where androgen and estrogen levels are sensed and the higher they are, the more that natural hormone production is cut back. For example, if injecting testosterone at a very moderate dose such as 100 mg/week, natural testosterone production is typically reduced to about half of normal, and where testosterone is injected at for example 200 mg/week, natural testosterone is typically reduced to about 1/3 of normal.

Where testosterone was deficient in the first place, the injections provide good improvements. But where testosterone was good in the first place and the person was simply looking for an edge, the resulting net increase of testosterone is very small. Most of the injected amount simply goes to replacing the lost natural production. (Natural production can be about equally effective as 200 mg/week by injection, even though the actual milligram amount is smaller.)

So in a way, taking small amounts of anabolic steroids such as 100-200 mg/week is giving with one hand but taking away nearly the same with the other. Meanwhile, your testicles become smaller and your LH production is suppressed.

Now actually that’s the simplest case. We can improve on it.

By using a non-aromatizing anabolic steroid or by using an antiaromatase to optimize estradiol level, it’s possible in very many cases to take 100-200 mg/week of an injectable steroid, or sometimes somewhat more, and still maintain normal LH and normal testosterone production. A small “edge” results which will slowly become noticeable over time.

However, there’s not a really large benefit from doing so.

The most important muscular benefits from anabolic steroid usage include triggering lasting changes in the muscle cells, such as increased nucleation and differentiation of satellite cells into mature myocytes. To trigger these changes, a threshold must be passed, and low dose steroid use just doesn’t accomplish this, or accomplishes very little of it.

Just a few cycles at typical bodybuilding doses – I don’t mean those of IFBB pro bodybuilders, but of typical successful steroid users – will, combined with proper training, trigger these changes to a very useful extent.

After that, you could see if you’d like to maintain with a subtle approach.

But for most, starting subtle from the beginning will not accomplish much.

Steroid Abuse – A Spotlight On The Dark Side Of Steroids

Anabolic steroids have been around since the 1930′s. What was once thought of as a medicinal remedy has now become in the publics eye a dangerous and explosive drug, that seems to turn ordinary men and women into massive muscular beings. Horror stories or aggression and heart attacks circulate the internet, and the newspapers seem to always have some report of a famous sport figure caught breaking the rules and using steroids.

But what exactly is steroid abuse? What are the signs? Are there any side effects? And perhaps most important, what can we do to curb the abuse of steroids, to not only maintain competitive equality, but to protect everyone from its harmful effects?

Steroids are synthetic hormones that copy naturally occurring enzymes in the human body, often administered in high doses and stimulating rapid muscle growth. They also allow faster muscle recovery. It is used primarily as a medicinal remedy. The United States has very stringent laws and regulations regarding the use of steroids. Normally, a prescription is needed, and only in small doses, when deemed medically necessary. However, in many other countries, the laws are much more relaxed.

The illegal use of steroids happens on many levels, from the high schoolers wanting to look attractive, to wealthy sports celebrities trying to keep a competitive edge. The abuse itself stems from the usage of steroids for a purpose that is not medically necessary. There are also steroid precursors in many dietary supplements that people take without having any idea of the risks.

Side Effects

The effects of steroids are swift and dramatic. Muscle mass is gained at an incredible rate. Physical prowess is sharpened. Combined with extensive training, steroids make the body stronger and faster. But those aren’t the only effects that steroids have on the human body. In excessive doses, steroids wreak havoc in a multitude of ways. Some will fade once the drug is no longer being used, but many will not stop, even if the steroids aren’t ever taken again.

More Side Effects

In males, acne is a prevalent side effect of steroids. The increase of testosterone is similar to that found in puberty, and skin cysts can also develop. The constant use of steroids fools the body into thinking that it doesn’t need to produce the hormone anymore. When the body stops producing it, there can also be shrinking testicles, hair loss, decreased sperm count, and even breast development.

Even More Side Effects

Steroids can also increase bone growth, with growth in the skull and face the most common. Adolescents are at an increased risk if they take steroids before they have stopped growing. Accelerated muscle growth can cause stress on tendons, causing them to rip and tear.

It is estimated that almost 200,000 women take steroids annually. The side effects for women do vary, but the most common are musclizitation that leads to body fat loss and breast size, the development of facial hair, body hair, deepening voice, and even swelling clitoris.

Deadly Side Effects

More serious conditions include heart attack and stroke, blood clots, liver cancer, and even liver failure.

There are psychological side affects as well. Addiction and withdrawal can both occur. Manic behaviour, including hallucinations and delusions have been reported. Aggressive tendencies are common, often called ‘roid rage’.

The Arnold Workout

Arnold… I don’t even have to tell you the rest of his name because he is larger than life. Think about it… how many people are known worldwide by their first name only? And, it’s not even a unique name. And what is he known best for? Ok, his roles in the movie industry are pretty memorable, but really everyone knows how he became ARNOLD; Bodybuilding. Still today, after being retired from bodybuilding for more than 30 years, Arnold is considered among the greatest bodybuilders of all time!
But how? How did Arnold turn himself from a scrawny soccer playing kid to a 7 time champion of the biggest bodybuilding competition in the world? How did he become Mr. Universe and blow people’s minds away with his uncompromising physique?
Well, the answer is simple. He worked out, right? No doubt he did. But as you probably already know, simply “working out” doesn’t get you near the kinds of results that turn your average everyday man into an Arnold! If it was that easy, we’d all be looking like the greatest bodybuilder ever. So the answer is what? Diet? Genetics? Steroids? … I think, yes to all of those.
To get an Arnold like physique you have to have a combination of the right genetics, an effective workout plan, solid dietary guidelines, and steroi*#& (ahem) Supplements. When any of these pieces are missing, the puzzle will not be complete.
In fact, Arnold himself has published a book – Arnold’s Encyclopedia – on how to do it. And in this book he writes out what he calls “…a simple beginner weight training plan”. But as you will soon see, it’s a lot of work for a beginner to start with. Here it is…

DAY 1, 3, 5 Chest Bench Press 4sets 10 8 6 4 Inclines DB or BB 4sets 10 8 6 4 Flys 3sets 10 8 6 Dips 3sets 15 10 8 Pullovers 3x15 Back chins 4sets take to failure close grip chins 4x10 t-bar rows 4sets 15 12 8 6 Barbbell Rows 4sets 8-12 reps Thighs Squats 4sets 10 8 6 4 Front Squats 4sets 10 8 8 6 Hack Squats 3x10 Leg Curls 4sets 20 10 8 6 Standing Leg curls 4x10 Stiff Leg Deads 3x10 Calves Donkey raises 4x10 Standing Raises 4sets 15 10 8 8 Abs Crunches 3x25 Twists 100 reps each side Machine Crunches 3x25 crunches 50 reps

Day 2, 4, 6 Shoulders Militaries 4sets 10 8 8 6 Laterals 4x8 Bent Over Lateral 4x8 DB Shrugs 3x10 Bis/Tris BB Curls 4 sets 10 8 6 4 Inc. DB Curls 4x8 Conc. curls 3x8 Lying tricep ext. 4sets 10 8 6 4 tricep pressdowns 3x8 one arm ext. 3x10 Forearms Wrist curls 4x10 Reverse wrist curls 4x10 Calves seated raises 4x10 Abs reverse crunches 4x25 twists 100 reps each side vertical bench crunches 4x25

WOAH! This is an incredible amount of volume for even a seasoned gym rat. Volume, in case you didn’t know, is the accumulative amount of weight you lift throughout each workout. And, while we (and many of today’s experts) would say NO WAY to this workout schedule for a beginner, there is something to learn here. Two points actually.
1)      Volume Training is what creates muscle size. Muscle size and strength don’t always go together. Check this out, according to the Wikipedia page on Arnold his 1 rep maximums are listed as follows.
Clean & press – 120 kg (264 lb)
Snatch – 110 kg (243 lb)
Clean & jerk – 135 kg (289 lb)
Squat – 215 kg (470 lb)
Bench press – 200 kg (440 lb)
Deadlift – 310 kg (680 lb)
Seriously? Mr. Universe himself with that massive chest could only bench press 440 pounds? And only squat only 470 pounds? Those are good numbers, no doubt. But keep in mind that at the time of his reign in 1980, the world records for men at the same weight as Arnold exceeded 550 lbs bench press and well over an 800 pound squat!
Also, to reiterate how much volume this really is, notice how often he is covering the exact same muscle groups. On day one, he is doing chest and back on the same day. Then on day two he is doing biceps and triceps. Because you are using your bi’s and tri’s when you are benching and rowing, he is essentially working his arms every single day!
2)      You need help to recover. The second point is that we know through science that the real muscle growth doesn’t take place in the gym. The truth is, when you lift weights, you are actually breaking down the muscle, not building it up. It’s in the recovery process – between the workouts – that all the real muscle growth takes place. And when you are working out the same muscle groups every day when can you really recover fully? You don’t unless you have help. Full recovery, obviously is not necessary to grow a lot of muscle mass. But the more you recover between workouts the more muscle growth you will see. And that is where you need to have the rest of the puzzle pieces in place.
So, how can you ensure faster recovery? Good question! Genetics obviously plays a role in how fast a person can recover from their workout. But adding supplements (and/or steroids) to the mix and drastically increase the speed of recovery. Bodybuilding supplements and even steroids don’t actually build muscle directly. All they do is help your body recover faster, which allows you to get to the gym more often. Supplements and anabolic steroids aren’t really shortcuts… when you are on them they actually allow you to work harder! A good recovery agent like RX5 mixed with a Testosterone Supplement like Permadrol can literally work miracles on how fast a person recovers from their workouts. But here’s the kicker. If you are only able to get 2-3 days of workouts in a week then you don’t need any anabolic supplements or steroids… you have plenty of recovery time built into your schedule already.
3)      Your diet is extremely important. Although it’s last on this list, your dietary choices are probably the most important piece to this puzzle! Protein is key to building muscle. Muscle is made of protein so if you are working hard to break down your muscle and then taking supplements to increase the repair rate, you will be crazy to not give your body the “raw materials” needed to get the job done. Obviously if you want to be lean you have to make sure you aren’t eating too many fatty, high sugar foods. But if you want to build muscle, all you need to really worry about is your protein intake. The main point is that you never want to be lacking in protein so you should have protein in every meal of the day. What is the best protein? We say, eat real food that is high in protein. Fish, eggs, legumes, beans, beef, and chicken are all great sources of protein. When you can’t find a way to include one of these in every meal, get a whey protein shake to supplement your diet.
So that’s that. If you want to look like Arnold you gotta work hard in the gym, lifting weights… then you gotta recover fast so you can get back in the gym and lift more weights! All the while, never leave your body lacking the protein raw material it needs to continue to grow. A simple plan really. Now get to work!

Good Health or Good Bodybuilder?

“I predict that bodybuilding will become the chief form of systematic exercise and physical activity, and that it will come to be looked upon as one of the greatest forces in the field of preventative medicine.” — Joe Weider, 1950


When Joe Weider famously wrote those words over six decades ago the United States economic engine was running full speed ahead as a result of the boost it received from World War II, the general health of the American public was a relative non-issue, and the outside world’s view of the bodybuilder was one of respect and admiration as they saw men who were the personification of what dedication to training, nutrition, and hard work could achieve.


Fast forward to present day and what we find is a world that’s vastly different. The American economy is in recovery from a financial collapse of the magnitude that hadn’t been seen since the Great Depression, the health of the population has precipitously declined as some form of chronic disease affects over half of the population, and the worldview of the bodybuilder has gone from admired to ostracized. But perhaps the thing that Joe would find most troubling is how the health of the modern bodybuilder has declined in the pursuit of taking their physiques to heights that defy logic. In today’s world, and in today’s current landscape of bodybuilding, is it possible to be in good health and still be a good bodybuilder?


If we’re trying to analyze what changed, and where things began to shift we can’t do it without addressing what’s going to be the first thing everyone wants to scream out. “It’s the drugs!” And there’s no denying that there is a great deal of truth in that statement. With each passing decade it seems that competitors are required to up the ante in the freak factor department which seems to go hand-in-hand with the “up the dosage” mentality.


If we look back to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, during the Pumping Iron era, if you used anabolic steroids year round you were considered the exception, not the rule. Most competitors, including Arnold who was the reigning Mr. Olympia, only used anabolic steroids precontest, and even that was still probably less than or equal to what most local and regional level competitors use today.


Now, in the era of Get Big or Die Trying, in order to be competitive at the Junior and National level competitions it’s not uncommon for a competitor to use four or more anabolic steroids all in the hope of potentially cracking the top ten. I’m not saying that we should abandon anabolics, but maybe we should start to reevaluate the approach so that future generations don’t think putting in all of their chips is the only option for getting a seat at the table.


It’s a lazy and unfair argument to cast all of the blame on anabolic steroids. I believe that a great deal of the blame for why we’ve seen so many tragic and untimely deaths, many of them due to heart disease, is due to the bodybuilding diet. In order to build the tremendous size we see from today’s competitors it requires an enormous amount of food to meet nutritional needs and fuel growth. Building a championship physique – or even a decent gym physique, for that matter – requires substantial amounts of protein, plenty of healthy (ideally) fats, and a surplus of carbohydrates, and therein lies the problem.


Carbohydrates in any form – simple or complex – cause blood sugar to rise. That means that the standard bodybuilding diet of six meals per day causes a near constant elevation in blood glucose levels. When blood glucose levels are constantly elevated something called glycation occurs in the body.


Glycation occurs when excess blood sugars bind with protein or lipid molecules causing what are known as advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) to form. Once AGEs are formed they become Weapons of Mass Deterioration in the body. AGEs deposit themselves in tissues throughout the body and once they reach their destination there is no way to remove them. Buildup of AGEs leads to deterioration of joints, eyes, the brain, and most importantly to the bodybuilder, the heart.


AGEs don’t damage the heart directly. They do their work much more discretely, by glycating LDL cholesterol particles. In the body we have two forms of LDL cholesterol particles; we have normal large particles, and small damaging particles. Under normal circumstances large LDL particles transport cholesterol through the blood delivering it to cells in need before being taken up and disposed of by the liver.


However, once an LDL particle becomes glycated it changes in size from large to small. Because they’re no longer normal size, the liver is unable to properly dispose of small LDL particles and they remain in the blood before ultimately becoming deposited in our arterial walls. Now, imagine the amount of damaging glycation that occurs in a 250 plus pound bodybuilder eating six meals per day and consuming thousands of grams of carbohydrates – day after day, week after week, year after year. We are literally creating the perfect environment for the development of heart disease, and most of us are doing it for decades.


Is it possible for us to simultaneously maximize our health and our physiques? Or is this just the price we owe to the Iron Goddess for her allowing us to set foot in her domain?


There’s a scene in the movie Gladiator where Russell Crowe is standing in the

arena and he screams out to the crowd, “Are you not entertained?” It’s one of the most powerful scenes in the movie as he challenges the morality of a blood thirsty crowd enthusiastically anticipating death. He’s essentially asking them, at what point does enough become enough? I believe we need to ask ourselves the same question. Bodybuilders are our own form of modern day gladiators battling it out onstage in front of cheering crowds for their entertainment, and far too many of us are still paying the ultimate price. Is this just the nature of the beast or is it time to change for our sake and the sake of future generations?

More young men using steroids but do they know the harms?

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are synthetic forms of testosterone, the hormone that plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues as well as the development of secondary sexua

Anabolic Steroids have legitimate medical uses. They can be used as growth stimulators in children with growth failure and are given to people with chronic wasting conditions, such as AIDS, to help stimulate appetite and preserve muscle mass. But, when combined with exercise and a proper diet, steroids can help increase muscle size, strength, and help with the development of lean muscle mass.

The Australia Crime Commission has reported that the number of steroid detections at the Australian border had increased by 74% in 2009-10, the highest recorded in the last decade. It also said the number of national steroid arrests had increased by 47%. A large number of detections involved small quantities, which suggest they are being imported for personal use.

It’s important to note that these numbers reflect what law enforcement detects and seizes. If we accept this as the tip of the iceberg, then it suggests that the use of steroids is increasing in our society. While steroid use has always been synonymous with bodybuilding, we have seen its use becoming increasingly acceptable among the average gym-going population. The figures in the just-released national survey attest to this.

But while we have a fair idea of who is using, there’s no actual profile of a typical steroid user in Australia. And the prevalence of steroid use varies depending on the group being surveyed.
Who uses steroids?

A large, general population survey of over 26,000 Australians found less than 0.1% had used steroids for non-medical purposes in the last year. To put this into perspective, around 10% of Australians had used cannabis in the same time period, 3% had used ecstasy and 2% had used cocaine. Since this survey was first conducted in 1993, this level of steroid use has barely changed.

Meanwhile, a survey of over 22,000 high school students in Australia found that around 2% of 12- to 17-year-olds had used steroids “without a doctor’s prescription” in an attempt to make them “better at sport, to increase muscle size or to improve your general appearance”. Slightly fewer students had used steroids in recent time periods, indicating that use was generally not regular. Those who had used steroids had also used a range of other substances, such as alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, ecstasy, and cocaine.

Surveys of men who have sex with men have found that around 2% in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have used steroids in the past six months.

Some of 100 bottles containing illegal liquid steroids hidden inside sexual lubricant packaging seized by Australian Customs in Melbourne in 2008. AAP Image/Australian Customs

What all these figures tell us is that we aren’t looking in the right places. We are probably never going to get an exact number of the people using steroids. But who are they? From all the research that has been done in Australia, we know that the people who use steroids, and other drugs to enhance their image or their performance, are not the same.

They do tend to be male. They do tend to be aged in their mid-twenties to early-thirties, though there are men who are younger and older who also report using steroids. They tend to have completed high school and be employed full time. A sizeable number identify as bisexual or homosexual. They do tend to use other drugs such as cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy, although that may be better explained by their sexual orientation rather than their steroid use.

While steroid users may be alike in some ways and different in some ways, what appears to be common is why they use them. Each person who takes steroids will have their own motivation for doing so, but we can broadly place these into one of three categories: to get a better body, to be better at sport, or to be better at their job. Some of these reasons may cross over. Having more strength may mean that you perform better on the footy field, and if you are a security guard or a bouncer, having a better body may be advantageous at work.
Side-effects of steroid use

Combined with exercise and a proper diet, steroids work. But they have a range of negative side effects and harms. Indeed, most of the people who have used steroids in Australia perceive and report harms; only a small minority report having no concern, and, in one study, 97% reported at least one physical side-effect.

Some of the harms associated with steroid use could be considered minor or inconvenient, such as acne or increased body hair. Other side-effects can include increased appetite, water retention, reduced teste size and sleeplessness. Many of these will subside once steroid use has stopped.

But, there are other side-effects that people often don’t consider. Steroids are injected, so there’s potential for harm from unsafe injecting practices, such as sharing or reusing needles or sharing multivial doses. Harms related to injecting may include persistent soreness or redness at the injection site, scarring or hard lumps, hitting a vein or persistent bleeding, swelling of the arm or leg, abscesses and nausea.

Steroid users do report concerns regarding their mental health. These include aggression or “roid rage”, and changes in mood and the impact of these on relationships with friends and family. Users have self-reported negative effects on mood, and these include mood swings or feeling more moody, and feeling anxious or depressed.

It’s also been suggested that steroid use can cause a dependence syndrome. This is probably the least explored aspect of steroid use. Interviews with steroids users have shown that some have continued to use despite experiencing negative physical or psychological effects, and some users indicate they are scared of stopping because they fear they will lose the physical benefits of using.

The latest research gives cause for concern and it’s really important that people who use steroids are aware of the harms they are opening themselves up to.

l characteristics, such as the growth of body hair and deepening of the voice.

Steroid use and prostate health.

Prostate health in men is often dismissed or overlooked. Lots of folks are working towards healthy blood counts and liver values, but the fact is that your prostate gland is highly affected. This may not be a big deal to you, but a lot of concern will be raised once you understand your prostate's purposes and the negative effects it can cause. Hopefully this article will serve to educate you further, and you'll be able to make a much more informed decision on how you handle your future cycles.

    What Exactly is the Prostate?

    Opposite of endocrine glands, this is an exocrine gland; such as the liver and pancreas. It's part of your reproductive system and it sits just under your bladder. The main reason this gland exists is to enhance the quality of sperm by secreting Prostate Specific Antigen fluids (PSA). The alkaline content in the fluids it produced in ejaculate protects the sperm because vaginal areas are acidic and can damage sperm. All the nerves that affect male erections wrap around the prostate.

    As mentioned earlier, the penile nerves are surrounding the prostate. These are the nerves that control our erections. Another reason to keep a healthy prostate because an unhealthy prostate could damage these nerves, inevitably leading to erectile dysfunction. Furthermore, being an actual muscle, it also controls the force of which your ejaculate content exits. A weak ejaculate would be an indication of a weak muscle. This is a "pumping" type action and it's the reason males feel "good" at the climax point.

    Kind of like the liver, it also acts as a filter to make sure your sperm stays healthy. Toxins can reach the prostate just like anything else, and the prostate will filter these toxins out. This is not only important for the sake of healthy sperm, but overall health as well because if filtration is hindered due to an unhealthy prostate, big complications can occur such as prostate cancer.

    Urinary infections are more likely in women than it is in men, but it's still possible and these infections start with an unhealthy prostate. Speaking of urinary issues, the prostate has 2 muscles called the "Sphincter" muscles. These exit to control the release of ejaculate and urine, where it literally turn valves on and off so that they are not released simultaneously.

    So that's your prostate and it's functions. Let's look at how steroids affect your prostate...

    How Anabolic Steroids Negatively Affect Your Prostate

    Earlier we mentioned that the prostate is a muscle. Continuous steroid use will eventually enlarge the prostate, as it would with anything else. This isn't a drastic increase but certainly something to consider if you plan on using anabolic steroids for extended periods. The truth is, as you age, your prostate will get bigger. This is why folks over 40 are always recommended to get it checked periodically. But there are some precautions we can take to delay this process as much as possible.

    Here's a quick study on an athlete that was using anabolic steroids and volunteered himself for this study. Please note that in the medical industry, any use of steroids that is not done under a doctors care is considered abuse. So don't let the word "abuse" scare you as it does not mean he was injecting several grams of anabolic steroids.

    Steroid abuse in athletes, prostatic enlargement and bladder outflow obstruction.

    OBJECTIVE:
    To evaluate the effects of exogenous androgenic-anabolic steroids on the human prostate gland.

    SUBJECT AND METHODS:
    A white male athlete, who was routinely using anabolic steroids, volunteered for the study. He was studied during a 15-week period of steroid self-administration. Both objective and subjective parameters were measured, including: prostatic volume (transrectal ultrasound), digital rectal examination, urine flow rate, serum acid phosphatase and prostate specific antigen, symptom scoring for bladder outflow obstruction and other associated symptoms.

    RESULTS:
    During the period of steroid self-administration, prostatic volume increased and urine flow rate decreased. The man also noticed an increase in nocturnal urinary frequency, libido and aggression.

    CONCLUSION:
    In this pilot study, the administration of exogenous androgenic-anabolic steroids has been demonstrated to have profound effects on the human prostate gland, including an increase in prostatic volume, reduction in urine flow rate and an alteration in voiding patterns. These findings warrant further investigation.

Why You Should Avoid Abusing Anabolic Steroids?

In today’s cutthroat world, second chances are rare due to intense competition and able contenders more than ready to take your place, at the workplace or the sport field. This is one of the biggest reasons why more and more people, and not just sportsmen, are using anabolic steroids these days. However, some of them often fail to differentiate between the right use of steroids and steroid abuse and this is exactly where health complications come into the picture.

Anabolic steroids abuse is related to interference with efficient collagen deposition in tendons that may cause weakening of the tendon structure. Few studies in the past have indicated that steroid users are more likely to face tendon injuries as their muscle tissue become so strong that they tend to surpass ability of the muscle to transmit force. Moreover, the use of steroid drugs (even if for the first time) may enhance infrequent or dysplastic development of bovine collagen materials that may cause stiff tendons with significantly reduced elastic qualities. The use of steroid drugs is also relevant to a rise in prothrombin time, which is time taken by our body to produce blood clots. This means that a steroid user’s body may take slighter longer than others (non-users) for a small cut to stop blood loss that can lead to a more serious trouble. Moreover, these changes may get aggravated with the use of medicines such as Tylenol, Pain killers, and especially anticoagulants.

In short, anabolic steroids should always be used sensibly and for medical purposes only such as the treatment of severe burns, prostate cancer, breast cancer, knee or shoulder injury (joint repair), anemia, thrombosis, osteoporosis, endometriosis and hereditary angioedaema, asthma, and muscle-wasting disorders. They may also be used for help individuals gain weight for chronic nutritional deficiencies or AIDS wasting syndrome, improve protein synthesis, and nitrogen balance.