Anabolic steroids are an unavoidable subject when you talk about gaining weight and muscle. As long as strong and muscular remain desired traits, as long as professional athletics offer fame and fortune, as long as society seeks the “quick fix,” steroids will remain. They aren’t going anywhere.
Steroids offer the easy way to big muscle gains and the chance to thumb one’s nose at genetic limitations. Used properly, they may provide these things but those who have fallen prey to an abusive pattern of steroid use and/or to their unpleasant side effects will present a different story.
Even on a site dedicated to natural bodybuilding, ignoring that anabolic steroids exist and what they do seems a bit silly. For better or (most likely) worse, people looking to bulk up know about them and some are going to consider their use.
This site’s steroid pages are intended to provide some basic information about them and some reasons why most people should never consider their use. Those who, with complete knowledge of the risks, insist on using should use extreme caution and make every effort to educate themselves on proper use (which won’t by any means guarantee the avoidance of all harmful side effects but can certainly limit them).
What are Anabolic Steroids?
Steroids is a general term for a class of strong drugs containing hormone-like substances. Anabolic steroids (the technically correct name is anabolic/adrogenic steroids) are synthetical derivatives of male sex hormones called androgens, such as testosterone or nandrolone.
They are legally available in the United States by prescription only and are used in the treatment of certain muscle-wasting diseases. Illegal use is believed to be rampant in professional bodybuilding and other professional sports.
What Do They Do?
Anabolic steroids produce both anabolic (muscle-building) and androgenic (masculine characteristics) effects. The anabolic effects of raising testosterone levels include affecting protein synthesis to facilitate more rapid muscle growth.
The increased presence of the hormones directs the body to use a greater amount of ingested calories to add more lean muscle mass and less fat tissue. They signal androgen receptors located throughout the body to build. Anabolic steroid use will also minimize recovery time and inhibit muscle breakdown.
