By Buvnesh

What is a steroid?

Anabolic steroids are man-made substances used by an individual to increase their performance, increasing muscle-mass and various other reasons. Steroids mimic natural hormones present in one’s body.

Within a day of using steroids the genes in our body changes, Anabolics enter the cells and attaches itself to our DNA as it is very easy for a steroid particle to enter our cells and bind with the androgen receptor and enter the nucleus. This happens at a large, which activates number of genes together and increase protein synthesis. This in return results in more nuclei in certain muscles.

All anabolic steroids available in the market are androgens, meaning they all are testosterone derivatives.

Earlier in the day when I started to workout, all I knew were protein shakes and sweat in the gym. But now-a-days when any Individual hits the gym, the first thing they have in mind is steroids and why is that? This is because the results are mesmerizing; that is what allures you, attracts you to it and you completely neglect the side effects. But one thing you should know is that the after-effects awaits you right in the corner and it won’t be easy on you.

Before, protein shakes and bodybuilding went hand in hand but in today’s era, hitting the gym means to inject steroids or to take anabolic tablets. And that has given this beautiful sport a bad name, and that breaks my heart.

Bodybuilding is about hitting the iron, pumping those weights till you can do no more, till your muscles cannot store the pumps. And even after that stage of muscle failure you feel like doing more and more. That is bodybuilding for me, and for many other athletes out there.

One thing which is very obvious is that, by using steroids you are putting in substances that are already produced by your body. Since you are doing it synthetically it stores as excess in your body. After a period of time your body stops responding to the steroid. This also stops the natural production of hormone in our body and hence the production is completely shut.

How do Steroids Work?

Anabolism means “to Build Muscle” and Catabolism means “Breakdown of Muscles”. Bodybuilders or athletes use anabolic steroids to build muscles and avoid catabolism.

When a bodybuilder or any person uses Anabolic Steroid his/her capacity to build muscles increases. And how is that? It’s simple because your muscles absorb each and every gram of protein consumed by you. Hence, your muscle protein synthesis increase and you start building lean muscle mass.

The main role of steroids when it comes to bodybuilding is to build muscle or to increase muscle protein synthesis. Muscles are made of fiber and protein. When you workout, you voluntarily break down your muscles. Your muscle fibers tear and require healing. Having a protein shake will definitely help you, but to repair any muscle it takes 24-48 hours depending on the size of the muscle group.

Example:

When you work on biceps, a smaller muscle group, it takes 24 hours for your biceps to recover after having a protein shake. Once you are under the influence of a steroid, this 24 hours will reduce to as low as 14-16 hours. That is how effective a steroid is.

A steroid increases muscle protein synthesis and reduces muscle breakdown, a very important thing when it comes to building muscles.

Who is it for?

Anyone and everyone, from a professional athlete to a normal person can use steroids. If you ask me, if it is necessary, well my answer is not really.

Performance enhancing drugs have been known since a very early era and have been used by competitive athletes.

Our body’s capacity to endure/ repair is limited and one requires a push after a certain point of time and that is when people opt for steroids.

Side Effects of Steroids:

Using steroids has some permanent damages that it causes to your body such as enlargement of your heart, partial or permanent failure of kidneys, liver damage, high blood pressure which makes a person prone to a heart attack.

Females who use testosterone may experience enlargement of clitoris, increased libido and showcase male like features like deepening of voice, facial structure changes and excess growth of hair on face and body.

Similarly, men who use steroids may increase libido, permanent or partial shutdown of the body’s capacity to produce testosterone.

Anyone who uses steroids would display sudden signs of anger aka “Roid Rage”. They show signs of mistrust and become highly skeptical. Hallucinate every now and then. Some other side effects include hair fall, oily skin among others. These are some known side effects but Steroids do more bad than good. Although the results are mesmerizing; the side effects are worse.

Bodybuilding is more about lifting heavy than injecting heavy. So go heavy on weights and not anabolics.

SAY NO TO STEROIDS.

In case you have any queries related to supplementation or fitness related queries, feel free to contact me and I’ll be more than happy to help you.

Until then, keep grinding. 

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