What Are Steroids Used For
What Are Steroids Used For , steroids have been used in the world of fitness and bodybuilding for their muscle growth–enhancing effects for quite some time. The benefits versus the risks debate of doping (steroid use) is an ongoing debate and are likely to remain in this state of limbo for the foreseeable future.
There are certainly some of you who know of steroids users and have seen the effects of muscle gain and ‘roid rage’ (not to mention the endless list of other negative side effects) in action. Although, many have noted that the reason for steroids being a ‘taboo topic’ is that there is a vast amount of research still needing to be conducted in order for the long–term side effects of the drugs to be further explored.
What Are Steroids Used For – What are Steroids and how do they work?
Steroids are basically synthetic testosterone, which is a male hormone. Steroids help in protein synthesis and also promote muscle development. The term ‘steroid’ has a number of different meanings.
Simply put, steroids, which are often hormones that your body produces naturally, are chemicals. Steroids, or hormones, produced by our bodies aid in the functioning of tissues, organs, and cells. On the other hand, steroids can also refer to forms of medicines that are man–made (synthetic).
The dictionary defines steroids as part of a large class of organic compounds containing a characteristic chemical structure that consists of four rings of connected carbon atoms. This includes alkaloids (naturally occurring chemical compounds such as morphine),hormones and vitamins.
When we stay “steroid,” what we really mean is “anabolic steroid,” which is a man–made substance that has similar effects to testosterone in the body, including increased muscle growth and recovery, strength, and leanness.
Steroids accomplish this through various different mechanisms, but the net result is the same: protein synthesis rates are greatly increased or protein degradation rates are greatly reduced or both, which results in rapid muscle growth.
The mechanisms whereby body fat levels are reduced or suppressed vary from drug to drug and aren’t worth diving into here, but just know that’s part of the “package” that steroids deliver.
While testosterone itself is the best–known steroid, there are many others that are quite
popular among athletes and bodybuilders, like…
- Nandrolone
- Stanozolol
- Trenbolone
- Oxandrolone
- Deca Durabolin
- Dianabol
- Methandrostenolone
- Boldenone
- Oxymetholone
- Drostanolone
What Are Steroids Used For – Why so many different types of drugs, you wonder?
Because each has unique profiles in terms of potency, toxicity, side effects, and synergism. They and others are combined in various ways to create different types of steroid “cycles” for different purposes and goals.
What Are Steroids Used For – How Effective Are Steroids?
Many steroid users would like you to believe that their superhuman bodies are more a result of hard work than drugs, but this just isn’t true.
Yes, it takes a lot of hard work to build a top–tier physique but it also takes a lot of drugs.
The reason for this is quite simple: you can only build so much muscle and get so lean
naturally.
But before we talk about natural limits to muscle growth and fat loss, let’s take a brief
look at the facts of how powerful steroids really are.
One study conducted by scientists at Maastricht University found that, during a period of ten weeks or less, the average muscle gains in people doing resistance training while on anabolic steroids ranged between 4 to 11 pounds. The most impressive amount of muscle growth researchers found was nearly 16 pounds of lean mass gained in just 6 weeks of weightlifting with steroids.
If those numbers don’t boggle your mind, consider this: the most accurate science–based models of natural muscle growth predict that men can gain no more than 20 to 25 pounds in their first year of weightlifting (and women can gain about half that).
Thus, with the right steroid cycle and training and diet regimen, you can do in just 2 to 4 months what would take a year to accomplish naturally.
What Are Steroids Used For Muscle growth and strength aren’t the only benefits of steroid use–they also help keep you lean.
Research shows that testosterone directly inhibits the creation of fat cells, which helps explain why higher levels of testosterone are associated with lower levels of body fat, and lower levels of T with higher body fat percentages.
And, as we’ve mentioned, that’s just testosterone. Several other steroids also promote a leaner, more muscular physique and, when combined properly, are incredibly powerful in this regard.
What Are Steroids Used For – How Much Muscle Can You Build Naturally?
How many times have you heard actors say they gained 30 or 40 pounds of muscle for a film in a matter of months? You sit there in disbelief, wondering what type of diet and training program they were on, who their trainer is, and what you have to do to bulk up and mimic their ripped physique by next month.
Well, we’re here to break it to you easy: It’s virtually impossible for somebody who’s been training regularly to gain 30–40 pounds of muscle in a couple of months or even a year. The only person with the ability to potentially gain 18-20 pounds of muscle in a year is a gym newbie—someone who’s never lifted weights or trained before.
What Are Steroids Used For -Why? Their genetic muscular potential hasn’t been activated yet. In other words, they haven’t even approached their greatest gains.
An experienced trainee, on the other hand, has hit or neared his potential, making lean muscle, fat–free gains much slower.
According to Aragon, advanced trainees near their genetic potential are lucky to gain 0.25% to 0.5% of their total body weight gain as fat–free muscle per month. That makes the 10–pound–gain claims of already ripped celebrities seem outrageous, right?
It’s rare to see a natural bodybuilder or fitness enthusiast close to their genetic muscular potential gain more than 2–3 pounds of lean muscle in a year. This is why it’s an accomplishment when experienced bodybuilders manage to gain 7–10 pounds of fat–free muscle in a year.
Provided that they follow a sensible, structured diet and training program, a 150–pound beginner fitness enthusiast in Aragon’s model can potentially gain 18–27 pounds of lean muscle per year. A 170–pound intermediate fitness enthusiast can potentially gain 10–15 pounds of muscle.
Any time you’re on a bulking program where your goal is to put on muscle, it’s inevitable that you’re going to gain a little fat. Just make sure that fat gain is minimal.
Once you can separate the myths from the truth about natural muscle gains, you’ll be on your way. Train hard, eat healthily, be patient, and it will happen!
What Are Steroids Used For – What are the positive effects of steroids?
Everything has a good and a bad effect. We have heard the saying that excess of everything is bad. This is implemented for the steroids too. Steroids are the drugs that are used for the development of human body. Steroids have a very bad reputation in the society and have been the topic discussion.
Steroids are known to have several positive effects on the human body, and when administered in the right proportions by licensed professionals they are unlikely to cause much harm to the individual. Some of these positive effects of steroids are discussed below:
- What Are Steroids Used For – Steroids are known to increase recovery times in individuals dramatically. Cortisol is a hormone which is produced by our body to help it handle stress. Cortisol is responsible for causing damage to muscle tissues and slowing down the time taken for a human body to recuperate. Steroids are known to regulate the production of this hormone when an individual’s body is stressed. This helps bodies to recover from sustained injuries a lot faster than normal and allows more stamina while an individual is exercising.
- What Are Steroids Used For – Another positive effect steroids are known to have is that they increase the muscle size of the user. Steroids multiply the nitrogen content in the human body. Increased nitrogen levels facilitate higher production of protein in the body which is a critical factor in the development of more muscles. Muscles will start to develop without exercising them but a rigorous training regime could produce dramatic results.
- What Are Steroids Used For – Steroids are also known to greatly reduce body fat in the human body. Although no particular reason for this has been determined, general speculation suggests that steroid users lose body fat because of a sustained increased in their metabolism rate. Several medical experts have reported that steroids tend to accelerate the power producers in cells known as ‘Mitochondria’ that are known to oxidize fat. According to them, this increased production of ‘Mitochondria’ is how steroids help users cut down on their body fat.
- What Are Steroids Used For – Steroids have the notorious reputation of causing several medical complications in human beings, but many fail to give credit to these drugs for their contribution in the treatment of several dangerous medical conditions. ‘Teriparatide’ is a steroid being used to treat ‘Osteoporosis’. It tends to prevent fractures by strengthening the bones of the patient. Arthritis and several other forms of cancer are known to be treated with controlled administration of steroids in the patient’s body.
- What Are Steroids Used For – Steroids are also responsible to regulate an overactive immune system which may cause unnecessary inflammations.
- What Are Steroids Used For – Steroids have proved to be a positive accelerator of red blood cell production. Red blood cell concentrations are directly dependent on the blood’s oxygen–carrying capacity and an increase in production will clearly have numerousadvantages for the body, including the treatment for anemia. This positive effect, however, is always mentioned but and not duly acknowledged.
- What Are Steroids Used For – Steroids greatly enhance athletic performance for the user. Users will experience more energy and stamina levels after they have used steroids. They will also find the training and the ability to push towards new limits during training easier. An unprecedented intensity is felt by the user.
- What Are Steroids Used For – Steroids also improve a user’s physical strength and his endurance levels. This is one of the reasons why bodybuilders are greatly attracted toward steroids.
- What Are Steroids Used For – Steroids are a boon for males who are having sexual performance problems. Testosterone replacement therapy is a procedure that involves introducing testosterone to those bodies which are not capable of producing them anymore at the required levels. The testosterone is administered through steroids. Since testosterone production differs from person to person, there is no set standard for the amount of testosterone a body needs to produce. However, external testosterone administration has helped males and have shown positive acceptance among users.
- What Are Steroids Used For – Steroids are given to HIV positive and cancer patients. Steroids have helped to restore appetite and have even helped to regulate decreasing muscle mass in HIV and cancer patients. Due to this, such patients have the opportunity to be in better health and have an enhanced feeling of well–being.
- What Are Steroids Used For – Steroids introduce the user to an unprecedented improvement in physical prowess which can influence some of them to abuse steroids in the quest for perfection. This is how they are likely to end up experiencing the many side effects of steroids.
What Are Steroids Used For – What are the negative effects of steroids?
Anabolic steroids are powerful hormones. They affect the entire body. Some of the side effects are common to all users. Other side effects are specifically related to your sex and age.
Steroid use can alter the normal hormonal production in the body. Most side effects can be reversed if the drugs are stopped, but some, such as a deepened voice in women may persist. Common side effects of steroids may include:
- Hair loss
- Oily hair and skin, severe acne all over the body
- Liver disease (cysts and tumors are commonly seen)
- Heart disease (stroke and heart attack)
- Kidney disease
- Mood changes, increased aggression (roid rage), suicidal tendencies, depression, and irritability
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- High cholesterol
- Gynecomastia (this is the abnormal development of breasts or mammary glands
in men, also known as ‘man-boobs’) - Infertility in men and women
- Testicles shrinking
- Azoospermia (this is semen that does not contain sperm)
- Menstrual irregularities (this is seen in women who use steroids)
- Stunted growth in teens
- Risk of bacterial or viral infection as a result of unsterile injections
- Excess body and facial hair
- The deeper voice in women (and men), this is known as dysphonia
The side effects of steroids are a result of the excess amounts of testosterone administered to achieve muscle growth, aerobic capacity, and power which affects almost every organ and system in the body. Any drug that affects or changes the homeostasis (the inner workings and systems of the body) of one’s natural state, will have an impact.
Along with the side effects of steroids, it is important that you keep the following points in mind:
- Not every person doping (using steroids) will experience all of the side effects
- Some steroid users will experience some of the side effects and not suffer from a number of others
- There may be some steroid users who experience very little side effects, and some who do not experience any, bear in mind, most users will experience at least one of the below side effects
- The severity of the side effects will vary between individuals
- The side effects are dependent on several different factors and depend on the individual’s own body
- For these reasons, these side effects are referred to as potential side effects.
What Are Steroids Used For – Conclusion:
The fitness industry is riddled with athletes taking steroids, and many fitness competitions for bodybuilding for both men and women are not regulated and do not test the athletes for steroid use.
The playing field is then open for those wishing to gain a competitive advantage through the use of steroids. The mentality then begins to form amongst said athletes of “short–term gain and long–term reward” when it comes to competing, however, a number of steroid users still ignorantly ignore the various long–term side effects of steroids and believe themselves to be immune.
By taking steroids, we are fighting the natural process of our metabolism and bodily functions, upsetting the balance of hormones and in turn, taking a shortcut that denies our body of the natural strength, muscle and growth path that it was genetically designed to take.