Steroid Juicing

Actors, models, Professional Bodybuilders, Professional Athletes; what do these people have in common? Steroids, I mean at least a handful of them have been accused of using Steroids. This came to mind because recently, UFC Fighters Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca have been accused of juicing. May I mention the tragic loss of Wrestling Icon Chris Benoit and his family which, is linked to Steroids. Being a fitness buff a few years back, I share some experiences on people who juiced and insisted on selling me Steroids.

A few questions came to mind; first, What do Steroids do to the human body; Second, How come people have been using these in light of it being banned; and thirdly, What are the negative effects of using Steroids.

Steroids, specifically Anabolic Adronergic Steroids are a synthetic (not natural) derivative of the natural hormone testosterone. The Greek equivalent of Anabolic is "to build" while Adronergic is "masculine"; so put them together and poof; a muscle building drug. The specific action of Steroids are broken down into four; It binds with Androgen Receptors in the body, Increases the bodies Protein Synthesis, and increases Recovery rate and Decrease Muscle Wasting. Therefore, Anabolic Adronergic Steroids builds more muscle and increases muscle healing/recovery.

In light of the second question, to clarify, there is a legal usage of Steroids, for example, AIDS patients use Steroids to decrease muscle wasting. But we will concentrate on the illegal usage of this substance. Most people use Steroids generally to look good. Steroids is not only a short cut, but also a means to go beyond the genetic physique to acquire a muscular body. If you have worked out for years, you will realize that we are born with a body structure that has limitations on packing more muscles. Steroids is the key to get that muscle growth. How about Professional Athletes? There hasn't been a correlation between Steroid usage and increased agility, skill or cardiovascular capacity; then why the heck do these athletes use them? The answer lies in its muscle recovery properties; faster recovery time means more time to train for the sport. And not to mention injuries can benefit from the increase muscle recovery time of Steroids.

Lets go to the side effects, this is the fun part. I won't enumerate all of them, but discuss the significant ones. Lets first mention the Physical effects for Males, Females, Adolescence and everyone in general. Male users, there will be bigger breast (like women's breast) and there is an increase risk of Prostate Cancer along with aging. There is a progressive incidence of women using, these women will suffer from breast reduction, deepening of voice, a more masculine jaw. Its more prone to use these substances during adolescence, when you don't care about consequences, well this group will suffer from stunted growth (the bone matures prematurely). For all users, Heart Enlargement, Blood Clots, Increase Blood Pressure leads to my favorite, the Grand Daddy, Heart Attack or Stroke. There is also a Psychological side effect which, is temporary; there can be periods of Euphoria or Depression and most notable are fits of rage. Rage during Juicing has been linked to tragic deaths such as Chris Benoit and his family.

I mentioned earlier that I share experiences around people who juiced. Steroids were circulating like candy in a couple of gyms I attended, some Instructors were aggressively marketing Steroids to me. In the end, I was so much of a coward to try juicing, I still am.