Steroids 101: Things Everyone Should Know About Anabolics
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Today we have to sit down and have a serious discussion. Whether you are active in the fitness community or not, you’ve definitely heard about anabolic steroids and the benefits that you can get from taking them.
You see athletes using them to get an advantage in sports, and if you want to compete in the strongest bodybuilding tournaments, you are going to have to be taking some form of steroids.
The big issues I have with this however is simply that steroids are terrible for you and your body. Sure they are going to get you stronger in a short amount of time, but it is not worth the amount of stress and problems that you are putting on your body.
In today’s post, I’m going to be talking about what steroids can do for you as I do want to provide you with all the information, but I’m also going to spend a large chunk talking about the dangers of steroids.
I firmly believe that no one should ever use steroids and that hard work and determination can help you reach your goals, not a needle in your rear.
So why don’t we jump into things and first understand why people use steroids in the first place and how they work.
How Do Anabolic Steroids Work?
Explaining it in the simplest way, anabolic steroids work to imitate the properties of naturally occurring hormones that are in your body.
They are able to activate testosterone receptors which as a result causes metabolic reactions which leads to an increased production of muscle tissue. Steroids also bind with cells and tell them to produce far more testosterone than what is needed.
Why Do People Use Steroids
There are many reasons why people will look to use steroids, even if they understand the harmful effects that it can bring on the body.
Here are a few of the most common reasons:
Confidence
I’m all about getting bigger at the gym, crushing your previous personal bests, and finding ways to improve, but I’m not obsessed with it.
There are unfortunately some people at the gym whose whole identity is built around getting as large as they possibly can.
Realistically, you will reach a plateau if you are all natural with your lifting. The human body can only build so much muscle with what is available.
Taking steroids however can give them that extra boost they need to build muscle and along with that, gain confidence.
I wish people didn’t have that mindset, but building confidence through muscles is one of the biggest reasons why people use steroids.
To Work Out More
One of the benefits to steroids is that your muscles recover much quicker than they normally do. As a result, you are able to pump out workouts on the same muscle group almost every day.
The more you are able to train something, the more it is going to grow, it’s as simple as that.
To Get a Performance Boost
This alludes to what I was talking about earlier. There are plenty of sports where being strong is important to succeed.
Baseball is known for having one of the biggest issues with steroid abuse as hitters use it to get extra flight on the ball.
To these athletes, the stress they are putting on their bodies is well worth the amount of money that they can earn through increased performance.
t’s a sad reality, but a lot of times the performance boost is money driven.
Now, I’d be doing a disservice to myself if I ended this article right here when talking about steroids. I’m not going to lie, some of the advantages do sound pretty awesome. Being able to workout the same muscles almost everyday?That sounds awesome. Don’t let this fool you though. Steroids have a TON of negative aspects that will change your life forever.
If you read anything in this article, please read this next line:
I AM AGAINST THE USE OF STEROIDS AS THEY ARE HARMFUL FOR YOUR BODY
Don’t just take it from me though, let’s take a look at some of the medical side effects that are going to cause some issues for you and your body.
The Negative Side Effects of Steroids
There are a variety of undesirable side effects that you are going to be getting when you take steroids.
Some of these are going to have severe implications on the rest of your life, and some of them are going to affect your appearance or even your personality.
No matter what the effects are, you should look to stay away from anabolic steroids for these reasons.
Kidney Failure and Kidney Problems
I spoke with a certified medical professional and I was told that they can cause either future kidney problems or kidney failure.
Kidney failure can be fatal if you don’t receive a transplant and kidney problems can carry about a whole new set of side effects. Do you really want something like this affecting you for the rest of your life?
Liver Damage
Just like the kidneys, you are going to be putting a huge strain on your liver if you are taking anabolic steroids.
This damage is exponentially increased if you are abusing alcohol as well, as you are now using two substances which are harming the liver.
Just like with kidneys, if your liver fails, your life is going to be at risk.
An Enlarged Heart
There are people who naturally have an enlarged heart, and then there are those who suffer from it because of steroid usage. An enlarged heart works harder than it should be and eventually burns itself out.
Our body’s organs do have expiration dates and will start slowing down as we get older.
If you take steroids, you are going to find your heart failing and slowing down much sooner than normal.
These are some of the severe effects of steroids that you are going to see in both men and women. Now I’m going to mention some of the sex specific effects of steroids.
Side Effects For Men
Anabolic steroids will start to kill your sex drive, especially when you start to stop using them. Your testicles are going to shrink and shrivel up and your sperm count is going to decrease heavily as well.
In some cases, a male has gone fully impotent as a result of steroid usage. The worst on this list however is prostate cancer, as that is something you never want to get.
Side Effects For Females
As anabolic steroids are used to increase testosterone production, you can see many male body traits start to form.
Things like facial hair and a deeper voice are all a result of a female taking anabolic steroids.
Your appearance will definitely be affected and is that something you really want to happen because of anabolic steroids?
Closing Thoughts
I have made it a point to keep saying this because I would hope that none of my readers use steroids. There are plenty of ways that you can get strong and get the body that you want without turning towards anabolic steroids.
Yes, it will take longer, and it will take more commitment, but you will be much healthier and happier as a result.
For me, it’s all about the grind, the motivation, and the passion. I don’t believe in shortcuts, especially if you are going to be damaging your body. I have plenty of articles on the website about how to get strong in a natural manner.
With the right mindset, you can overcome any obstacles, you don’t need steroids for that reason. I’ve seen lives changed because of steroid use, and I would never want to see that happen to anyone else.