This article was written by Matt

The boys in the gym have been juicing and you were wondering if steroids may help you notch up your bench press max too. However, the short sighted approach to taking steroids for muscle mass is a high risk habit that can come back and bite you in the ass.

What are Steroids?

Steroids are synthetic (man made) drugs that contain elements of testosterone, estrogen, progesterone and cortisol. They were originally produced in the 1930’s for their androgenic effects which had to do with sex hormones, particularly in males to treat such afflictions as hypogonadism (when your sack grows five times the normal size). Currently they are used for specific medical conditions as wasting away syndrome due to disease, delayed puberty and impotence. There are over one hundred types of steroids and some have also been combined with drug formulas that are beneficial in helping skin outbreaks, allergies and inflammation. Overall, steroids are illegal to use without a doctor’s prescription.

How Do Steroids Make Me Look Like a Muscle God?

Also in the 1930’s scientists discovered that the use of steroidal compounds increased skeletal muscle in laboratory animal testing. This is called an anabolic effect and quickly crossed over into to the weightlifting community and then into professional sports. In fact, some hypothesize that due to its underground anabolic use, professional sports never had the honest, natural component to validate so many amazing human feats that have become an integral part of sport history.

Stacking and Pyramiding

To lessen the physical and mental effects of steroids, many athletes, especially bodybuilders, have come up with the bright idea of mixing oral steroids with inject-able steroids. This is called stacking and is combined with cyclical dosing within a six to twelve week period called pyramiding. This practice has no scientific backing and was probably made up by some bug eyed, small balled, juice head with only one thing on his mind, to get big muscles so no one knew deep down he was a big pussy.

Risks
Steroidal use has been attributed to baldness, high blood pressure, shrunken testicles, liver/kidney/heart failure, reduced sperm count, puberty acceleration, increased cholesterol, jaundice, tumors, bad breath, cancer and ‘roid rage’ which is unpredictable, volatile anger.

Terms
Some slang terms steroids go by are: Pumpers, Stackers, Gym Candy, Arnolds, Juice and Weight Trainers.

Steroids may seem like a good idea for the moment given their fast results, however obviously the risks outweigh the benefits. You can feed your muscles naturally with all sorts of over the counter protein and amino acid formulas. In the long run it will not really matter if you have a six pack, bicep guns, or tree trunk legs, what will really make a difference is if you can make a decent living and take a good dump once in a while.

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