The facts about anabolic steroids
Anyone involved in the world of bodybuilding, and competitive
sport generally, will understand the pressures that go with
striving to achieve optimal performance. Sometimes athletes feel
they cannot reach their peak without artificially enhancing their
powers of recovery from intensive training. One way to speed up
this process is through the use of anabolic steroids. In this
article we'll examine what anabolic steroids actually do. In a
second article we'll focus on the dangers associated with steroid
use.
The main active ingredient in steroids is testosterone which is
well known as the major male hormone. Testosterone affects the
body in two ways, either as an anabolic or an androgenic
influence. The anabolic action helps build body tissue by
increasing lean muscle mass and bone density. The androgenic
actions are those that affect secondary gender characteristics in
men.
In recent years research has provided some interesting
information in relation to testosterone:
1. It affects muscle size through muscle fiber hypertrophy with
an increase in the cross-sectional area of muscle fiber.
2. It takes a dose of at least 300 milligrams of testosterone to
raise the body's level above normal.
3. It acts directly on the muscle itself.
4. It stimulates the release of growth hormone.
5. It has an anti-catabolic effect.
From these facts we can deduce that testosterone is an effective
aid to muscle building and that it must be taken in significant
quantities to have this effect. As far as bodybuilding is
concerned the science beyond this is somewhat limited as most
users base their steroid regimes on little more than trial and
error or the advice of 'veterans'. Due to the illegal nature of
steroid use little scientific data exists to confirm the
effectiveness of the many steroid supplements in use.
It is perhaps the tendency of some bodybuilders to use a
combination of powerful steroids and other drugs that presents
the very real dangers that have sometimes led to tragic
consequences.
Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com
website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all
levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Advice to
learn more about the issues covered in this article.
See Also:
Index of All Body Building & Fitness Articles
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