General understanding of Steroids

      If you have read my last post about testosterone then you know that I foreshadowed a deep dive into Steroids....to paraphrase Ben Affleck's Batman, "Well....here I am." For article's sake I'll be looking at the performance aspect of Steroids. There is a medical aspect, but your here to read about the performance side of "juicing" instead of the medical side.

     When referring to steroids within the context of this post then I am referring towards Anabolic Steroids. Anabolic is in this context is a discussion about the cellular "buildup" process. Steroids are man-made synthetic derivatives of the male sex hormone. In the 1930's the effects of Steroids were tested. Exercises scientist soon found out that steroids in itself is a very poor ergogenic aid. In order to make it effective chemical modifications had to be made. During the 1940's and 1960's German chemist created what the world now knows as Anabolic Steroids. At first, Steroids served as an aid to German Soldiers to increase aggression. (Which in a way....it was a success. Increased aggressive behavior is an indication of Steroid abuse (Roid rage anyone?). The perfect example would be the Rafel Palmeiro testimony during the height of the Steroid era in baseball pointing his finger and emphatically saying, "I have never used Steroids....period." For full circle of conversation Palmeiro did in fact take Steroids during his career. 

    For full disclosure-Steroids do work. Steroids increase testosterone levels by 2 to 3 folds higher. By increasing testorone levels the body. Coupled with resistance training it Stimulates protein synthesis which increase muscle mass, strength and body mass. Bottom line if you want to get bigger and stronger lift weights and take Steroids. Generally, speaking Steroid uses "stack." various types of Steroids either by orally taking them or injecting them in large muscle areas i.e. the buttocks. On average users stack at least 3 agents in 5–10-week cycles. Steroid users typically fall into two categories: performance enhancing and body dysmorphia. Performance enhancement would be your athletes trying to get bigger, stronger and faster. History has several examples of athletes uses drugs to get better. Just google baseball players or Olympic athletes taking drugs to enhance performance. Body dysmorphia is the belief that big guys are internally viewed as small.

    Negative aspects of Steroids are increased aggression (touched on that earlier). Acne, smaller testes (which lead to decreased sperm count and slowed natural production of testorone). To stimulate testosterone production naturally some users, take Human Chorionic Gonadotropin or HCG for short. HCG is derived from the placenta of pregnant women. After roughly four days of administration of HCG then testosterone levels can nearly double.

The most obvious negative aspect of Steroids is that it is illegal. Do not take them.