Anabolic steroids represent a very interesting proposition with many upsides and downsides. On the one hand, steroids offer to help us build muscle, lose fat and get the body we want. On the other though, they threaten to damage our health and see us ostracized from our communities. It’s like a Faustian pact, except in this case ‘immortality’ is not what’s on the table. Instead we’re asking ourselves: do we want to burn brightly but briefly? Or would we rather live a little longer and have the satisfaction of knowing we did it on our own.
This is a decision that only you can make but what’s important is that you understand all the different factors, all the effects and all the potential dangers.
Read on to learn the positive AND negative effects of anabolic, androgenic steroids.
What Are Anabolic Androgenic Steroids?
Before we proceed, it’s helpful to first understand a bit of the basics surrounding the nature of anabolic steroids. To this end, understand that androgenic steroids are steroids that work by affecting the androgen receptors. These are the receptors that are activated by ‘androgenic hormones’, those being things like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. Most anabolic steroids will fall into this category but not all.
Essentially then, this means that these substances cause the effects of heightened testosterone. As testosterone is the ‘male hormone’ this means that you can expect the results to be akin to ‘heightened masculinity’ and all that comes with that.
This means more muscle mass and fat loss but it also means heightened aggression, hair loss and potential acne.
Positive Effects
The positive effects then are that increase in muscle mass and fat loss. More specifically, increased testosterone means increased protein synthesis, which means your body will make better use of the protein you eat.
That means you still need to eat lots of meat and/or drink lots of protein shake and you still need to work really hard in the gym. It’s not enough to take steroids then just lie around the place!
But if you do train, then you can expect to see greatly accelerated results and greater hypertrophy (muscle growth) and strength gain. Natural lifters simply can’t achieve the same results as quickly and will reach a cut-off point much sooner.
All the IFBB pros use steroids quite simply because it’s impossible to get into that shape without them.
Negative Effects
But along with the positive effects of extra testosterone, you also get the negative effects: mood swings, restlessness, sweatiness, insomnia, acne, hair loss. It’s a little like going through puberty again!
More concerning still is that your body can become dependent on steroids, meaning that when you stop, you might require permanent HRT (hormone replacement therapy) just to maintain regular hormone levels. You can also experience issues like ‘Deca dick’ (impotence) or gynaecomastia (the formation of breasts – oestrogen levels often rise in conjunction with testosterone).
And on top of ALL that, steroids also place strain on the liver and heart – and in some cases might be lethal.
This is why many people will turn to alternatives such as the safe and natural products offered by Crazy Mass.
