Science of Steroids
Over the better part of this century, athletes have sought to increase the natural performance of their bodies by using various means. And while most opted for the development of their muscle mass by using standard techniques, such as lifting weights, running, or other methods, some started taking to artificial substances, which rapidly promoted the growth of muscles and the expression of male traits teenage boys experienced at puberty. These substances, anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), most commonly known just as steroids, are actually a derivate of the testosterone male hormone. This is how they work.
The human body is designed in such a way that it has the ability to adapt itself to the harshest of environments. In order to do that, muscles in particular have to have the capability to increase their size over relatively-short periods of time. And this is the basic principle working out relies on. When we go to the gym and work out the biceps, for example, we actually create small tears inside the muscle fibers. These tears are, of course, repaired by the immune system.
The catch is that, upon repair, our body also compensates for the damage, by adding more material to the muscles than that ripped. If this process is repeated time and time again, then the muscle mass visibly grows, to the point where it becomes noticeable. In case of constant recurrence of the phenomenon, you will have the exact muscular mass you wanted before going to the gym.
However, steroids promote this kind of growth artificially, by simply traveling via the blood stream to the cells. There, they hook up to small portions known as androgen receptors, which pick up the molecules and carry them inside muscle cells. At that point, they combine with DNA and promote the release of a specific kind of proteins. These agents have the sole purpose of accelerating cell growth, and, in this case, they help muscle cells grow faster than they normally would.
Because this is an artificial process, the body is not always equipped to handle such massive and rapid changes – and that's why, in most cases, there are severe side effects, including elevated blood pressure, changes in cholesterol levels, and cardiovascular disease, as well as coronary artery disease. On the other hand, athletes can never be certain of what they're buying, because in some cases pharmacists have been proven to fill prescriptions for steroids that were approved for cattle use, and not for that of humans.
So, maybe under theses circumstances, it may seem like a good idea for those pondering on the thought of picking up steroid use to spend a little more time in the gym each week for the same results, rather than start down a slippery slope, which often leads to dire consequences.
Small nuts, big tits, roid rage.
When you take steroids you need to take more serious your training , steroids are useful only when you have low fat '%' to gain less water in the cycle, after you take blood check and liver and keydnees check positive!. Steroids will help you surpass your natural limits just don't take more the required by the doctors. And your dealer is not a doctor to take advice from.
as far as baseball bring the fences a little closer , and pro. wrestlng alot of those wrestlers have died from the 70s and 80s , its amazing how many, from doing steriods what else killed them , start working out when your young ,bike riding etc .even after you get your first car........
Excellent documentary, especially with the recent Lance Armstrong news. I completely agree with the statement at the end, that the real guilty party here are the spectators. They want athletic freaks, but they don't want to know how they do it. They want to stay starry eyed and naively believe good old hard work will get you anything you want.
I find it appalling that steroids are classified with the worst addictive narcotics out there, but it's a classic example of American knee jerk over reaction that tramples every shard of reason and logic.
it is a bit hypocritical for someone whose career was based on steroids to bash steroids. it sounds like sour grapes from old men.
hello, if my body makes more or less testosterone than the other guy then i have an advantage or disadvantage over under the other guy, in this case his or my use of steroids will then level out the field, so then why are people so against the use of these substances, or do they worship their natural alpha maleness so much that their envy of them makes the thought that if they used steroids they are not made by god or nature to be as good of an athlete some how because life did not give the needed gifts to get to their level of performance? yet we have a way to get anyone with the right motivation dedication to get where they want to be regardless of what their god or nature chose to genetically give them bypassing the fact some of you out there are high speed death machines trapped in douche bag bodies if this is you these were made for you and like it or not it does not change anything else with your training it is only added its an addition to all this
Judging by description "spend a little more time in the gym each week for the same results", the one who wrote it knows nothing about how muscles grow. And the mentioned side effects are not proven to be related to steroid use, some are proven to be related to the weight training itself and are temporary, while others (long term side effects) can't be directly connected to steroid use...
Very shallow documentary.
Hey Vlatko, any chance of removing this spam?
Does this documentary glorify or disparage? Well in my opinion, even asking this question shows how unbiased this is. As with most drug documentaries on here, I believe it should be shown in every school throughout the world. As unlike documentaries, drugs do not follow borders or state lines.
The guy in the photoshopped thumbnail has larger breasts than I do. O_o
...anyways this doc just shows that the abuse of any drug can led to bad bedfellows and death. That's a no brainer...however, this doc fails to be straight forward on that fact. The interviewees are just saying this or that is bad for you... don't use it... ever. It's the governments' and the medias' manipulation technique to convince people to accept and support a police state. "Must banned this drug and the only way to do so is policing you people." I know some people can't see that because they are use to straight forward information and can't read between the lines or read the images deeply. They weren't educated properly on how. I agree with Artales... we need to encourage the cult of true wisdom and intelligence and stop this obsession with the physical which is so destructive of our society. We've lost so many talented and productive members of our society due to obtaining some idealistic/ fake physical image.
In my opinion, steroids should be legalized, both for everyday use and professional use. People have been warned about the effects, and if it's a risk they want to take, let them take it. It's like alchohol or cigarettes. We all know they have longterm effects on the body, yet people still drink and smoke. People might get suicidal or suffer from "roid-rage", but how many times haven't you seen drunk people fighting in the streets, or hear about young people committing suicide after being drunk.
For the professional use, I think it should be legalized completely aswell. If it becomes legalized, soon you won't be in atheletics unless you are on steroids, simply because you're not good enough, meaning that everyone takes them, and then they won't have an advantage. Then it will be "who dares to take the most roids", and alot of people will die, but who gives a s*** if they die, they chose to take them, they knew the risks, just like smokers.
Legalize it, and let people take the risks.
really, G4RY, what about individuals like Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln...Are these individuals considered freaks because there are not many with their mentality or will. Most people are not bodybuilders because it takes hard discipline and strenuous physical exercise. Most people cannot handle this type of work on their bodies and if you call me a freak for doing so thats OK with me cause I'll take it in a positive manner.
Freak, Unique, Rebel, unnatural, Supernatural, Large, Animal....stop im blushing.
Why would anyone want to take a drug to look like a freak? It's only other freaks that think that it looks good. Normal people are happy to look normal.
@Leonardo
"I say that the cult of the body and healthy beauty is a good thing for America, because it counteracts the effects of the cult of the enormous portion sizes..."
I say the cult of the brain is a good thing for America, because it counteracts the effects of the cult of the enormous testicles... :)
To clear up some of the ignorance, athletes that use steroids are at the very pinnacle of their sporting class not because of steroids, although steroids have pushed athletes further from the average citizen in performance, but because of their god given talent and hard work. When you consider that most athletes, especially in track and field, use steroids they have effectively created an equal playing field. Why do athletes use steroids? They do so, so they can keep up with the other guy also using them. This drives steroid use in professional sports (particularly track and field). What separates one athlete from the next isn't steroid use, (because they all use them) but genetics, and probably to a lesser degree differences in training.
Some commenters have hinted to the fact that society is shallow and there is a lot of merit to that. All humans want to be desirable, especially to the other sex, so we try and do anything in our power to become more desirable. Whether that be collecting material worth, or reaching prominent status, or just simply looking better. Those who have chosen the latter often see steroids as a way to enhance their own image. They are pushing the envelope to look better and bigger than the next guy. The irony is that males that use steroids excessively in the pursuit of the perfect image have actually made themselves much less attractive to the opposite sex. Studies have shown that women on average prefer a man with a good muscular build and lean tummy but nothing like you see in muscle magazines. As a species, our preoccupation with what we call shallow is what I think is a natural part of our psychology to attract a potential mate.
I myself have fallen victim to this. I have used steroids and have gotten great results and yes I would use them again. Your average steroid user isn’t that guy you see in the magazines, but normal guys that are probably carrying 20-40 more pounds of muscle than your average guy. They are generally guys with well-paying jobs that have successful careers. They aren’t your prototypical drug junkie.
I think the concerns in this video are a bit exaggerated. You can’t take case studies and extrapolate to the rest of the population based on it. Do people normally suffer heart attacks at mid-30 to late-40? No, but people do die from it in that age range and don’t take steroids. It’s a big leap of faith to claim that 3 steroid using individuals that suffered early heart attacks and died as a consequence was the result of steroid use. They may have suffered heart attacks anyway. Steroids causing cancer is also not substantiated fact. You can’t point to one individual and say look he has cancer and also used steroids therefor it was the steroids. There are also a lot of steroid users that have never had cancer. The jury is still out on that one.
@Leonardo
I think it's trenbolone :)
My say is steroids have not been researched enough to reach conclusions and there are strong indications that they might be dangerous. I am against making things illegal, people have personal responsibility and THAT is very important for people's well-being! Besides I don't think it 'works' and this is proven everywhere. It just makes for less capability for honest research in this case and more problems due to illegality and criminality.
Of course children and mentally disordered are an exception and they should be protected. I can't say much more because I haven't used them myself, though I am about to after 4 years of strict natural bodybuilding, dieting etc. I'd say only over the age of 21, use pct goddamnit, be reasonable with doses don't go all year on or sth.
And still it's your own risk. Don't blame the steroids because you were stupid enough to take them.
If you can't protect yourself you should get yourself declared mentally impaired and opt for a counselor. Don't be bothering the rest of the population by throwing your dignity out the window right along with your health, whining at government or sth. Some people are just asking for it. If you think it's a good idea to operate a jet plane while under dosage of a 1000ugs of LSD combined with 750mgs of MDA and a bottle of vodka, you deserve to crash. I'm not going to feel sorry for you.
Nobody else is going to make me feel sorry for you. It's just that f@#$%^& simple.
@eetwo I second that!
Interesting Doc. Don't like the amazon look on women though, they should be soft and feminine. Yes? @420 Vision:
If you dont have God given ability to perform well in your chosen sport do something else .CCCCCHHHHEEEAAATTTEEERRRSS!
This documentary leaves me with one impression: there is use and then there is abuse, something that applies to all drugs (except maybe psychedelics).
Unfortunately the film fails to explore this issue in any depth and instead it spends time with irrelevant horror-stories that reveal nothing about the true dangers of responsible and restrained steroid use (which is the only use I'm interested in hearing about) as opposed to steroid-abuse. It is after all common sense that excessive use of almost anything will do harm.
I'm taking a pro-hormone at the moment and think it is the way to go. I can definitely see improved gains. The good thing is that it's legal and the side effects are minimal. Nor-19-andro is what i'm taking.
I say that the cult of the body and healthy beauty is a good thing for America, because it counteracts the effects of the cult of the enormous portion sizes which makes for the chunky and unpleasant eye candy that adorn american cities.
Discounting the rare cases of anorexia or morbid obesity, which have nothing to do with magazines ads showing super models, people simply are out of shape in this country and need the example set by them, just as much as they need see the 400 pounder sitting on a bus stop bench.
No drug says 'I have a huge Ego!' like roids.
Do psychedelics!
Last part is missing :(
@leonardo
ok , i get ya.
although most women dont like the bodybuilder look, they like the underpants model-with-abbs effect.
serious or even semi serious weight lifting can help teach people to plan and set goals tho, it's a lot like learning a language in a way, given that it's an ongoing process
@moscow
I got nothing against being big or strong. It is something I look up too in a way.
What I meant by guys being stupid, is in my experience most people have no other special interest, intelectual or financial profligacy to become interesting in a competitive world. Thus bodybuilding comes up strong as a tool of attracting the opposite sex, making friends, fitting in in cities with a beach/sports culture and so on. I am all for it.
As I have written I am not even completely against the use of steroids under the supervision of a doctor, just as I am not against breast augmentation so I don`t have to deal with saggy knockers...