CHAPTER 99

Anabolic Steroids

“Many of the old-time bodybuilders look remarkably good for their ages. I don’t think we’ll be saying the same about some of the walking science projects competing today when they get to be around 50 years old.”

– Nelson Montana, regular MuscleMag International contributor, comparing the bodybuilding superstars of decades ago with many of today’s bodybuilders who are heavy users of performance-enhancing drugs.

Despite the increased popularity of some of the newer drugs, steroids are still by far the most popular performance-enhancing drugs in bodybuilding. They go by many different names, including anabolic steroids, steroids, anabolics, juice, gear and roids. But no matter what you call them, these powerful muscle-building drugs are now ingrained in the consciousness of bodybuilders and athletes everywhere. It’s safe to say that these drugs are rampant at all levels of sport, from low-level amateur to upper-echelon professional.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are a class of testosterone-mimicking drugs that were first developed in the 1950s to stimulate muscle growth and treat males with endocrine problems. As news of the drug’s muscle-promoting properties became known, it wasn’t long before weightlifters, bodybuilders and athletes in other sports requiring strength and power started taking them.

Medically, these anabolic drugs are used for treating such conditions as delayed puberty, some forms of impotence, combating such wasting diseases as AIDS and cancer, anemia and osteoporosis. Despite their legitimate medical uses, the biggest market for most of these drugs is in sports, and the sport most closely associated with these drugs is bodybuilding. Virtually all professional and top amateur competitive bodybuilders use steroids. And for every pro or national competitor who uses them, there are probably a thousand recreational bodybuilders using them who will never even compete. But it’s not just bodybuilders who use these muscle-building agents. Many of the world’s top track and field athletes also use them. And such sports as football, rugby and powerlifting see rampant usage. Steroids have even made their way to Hollywood, and many of today’s biggest stars have used steroids to quickly get in shape for movies that required the removal of their shirts.

Distended bellies are now a common sight on bodybuilding stages.
Photo by Irvin Gelb

“Unless you either make your living from competitive bodybuilding or have serious potential to do so, I think you would be a fool to go on the gear. Steroids are illegal and they can cause many different health problems.”

– Lee Priest, popular bodybuilding pro, responding to a beginner’s question about using anabolic steroids.

HOW THEY ARE USED

Anabolic steroids can be taken in a number of different ways. The two most common are orally (swallowing a pill) and injection (using a hypodermic needle to inject the steroid into the muscle). Orals are easiest to use, but because of their chemical modifications they produce more side effects. Injectables require the use of a needle and all the risks that accompany breaking the body’s outer protective barrier. But this version is easier on the system, with fewer side effects. A third method of delivery involves a patch containing creams or gels that get absorbed through the skin directly into the body.

Cycles and Stacks

Most bodybuilders don’t just randomly pop pills and stick needles into their asses (at least the smarter ones); they combine the drugs into stacks and cycles. A cycle is a period of drug use followed by a period of nonuse. The most popular cycle would be eight to twelve weeks on and two to three weeks off.

Probably the most popular variation of this cycle is called the pyramid cycle. In this case the dosages start out low, gradually increase in potency, peak for a few weeks, and then start to gradually decrease. A drug-free period follows after this cycle before the user may start again. It’s thought that by arranging the dosages in this way, the body has time to adjust and avoid the side effects that sometimes occur. This type of cycle also gives bodybuilders and other athletes a better chance of passing drug tests.

Although the risks are greater the more they take, bodybuilders rarely take just one steroid in a cycle. Instead they take two or more drugs at the same time in what’s called a stack. Bodybuilders stack steroids because they find that drugs sometimes magnify each other’s effects by a process known as synergism.

SIDE EFFECTS

While the side effects attributed to steroids may have been exaggerated by the media, these drugs do present a risk. Most of the negative effects such as acne, oily skin and increased blood pressure are transitory and will disappear after the drugs are stopped. In women the effects of a deepened voice and masculinized genitalia may be permanent.

In males many steroids cause a suppression of the body’s natural testosterone levels. The reason is associated with a mechanism called biofeedback. Essentially, the body continuously monitors its own hormone levels. When levels reach a certain peak, the body shuts down production. Conversely, when levels drop too low, the body increases production. Since the body treats anabolic steroids as natural testosterone (this is after all what steroids are – synthetic derivatives of the male hormone) it shuts down its own natural production. The problem for users is that it may take the body weeks if not months to get testosterone levels back to normal after steroid use is stopped. In some cases it could be a year or more. During this time some, if not all, of the strength and size gains made while on the cycle may be lost. This is why most bodybuilders take another drug called hCG (human Chorionic Gonadotropin) after their steroid cycles. This drug stimulates the testes to begin testosterone production again, allowing levels to quickly get back to normal.

Roid Rage

So far the jury is out on whether or not roid rage exists. There is no conclusive proof to support its existence, but many in the medical community insist it is indeed real. Roid rage is probably not, however, responsible for every incident it’s blamed for. It seems every act of violence perpetrated by someone suspected of using steroids gets blamed on the steroids. For example, in June of 2007 wrestling superstar Chris Benoit was found dead of an apparent suicide after murdering his wife and young son. Despite the lack of evidence, the media is calling it a case of roid rage. Did steroids have something to do with this tragedy? We’ll likely never know. However, doctors do believe that if a person already has a psychological disorder then steroids can intensify the problem.

Some steroid users do become more aggressive while on the juice, and those who are already idiots may become more idiotic than usual. Luckily most users channel their aggression toward the weights or out on the football field and not at their neighbors, friends or family members.

I should point out that the risk of side effects, including aggression, is related to the nature of drug usage. Users who take multiple drugs in high dosages for extended periods of time are at greater risk of developing health problems than someone who does a one-drug, six-week cycle. It’s also known that users of oral steroids are at much greater risk for developing side effects than those who use injectable steroids. The problem with many oral steroids is that they have been chemically modified to survive the harsh environment of the digestive system. This chemical modification (called 17-alklylization, because the changes are made at the 17th carbon position on the steroid molecule) places much more stress on the liver – the body’s primary detoxifying organ.

Gynecomastia

“Gynecomastia (or gyno) is a common problem in the bodybuilding world among both pros and amateurs. If you are using any compounds that elevate your testosterone, you are not only a candidate for gyno, you are also a potential candidate for breast cancer. Yes, breast cancer! Breast cancer is no different for men than women when the environment is the same. Men have the same breast tissue and potential for breast growth as women.”

– Mark Foster, MuscleMag International contributor, adding yet another reason individuals should think twice about using anabolic steroids.

One of the most unsightly scenes in bodybuilding is called gynecomastia, also known as gyno or “bitch tits.” As unflattering as the term is, this is essentially what the condition looks like – the teats on a female dog!

Gyno occurs when an enzyme in the male body, called aromatase, breaks testosterone down into the female hormone estrogen. The estrogen then stimulates estrogen receptors throughout the male’s body, including in the nipple region. Since this same enzyme can also break many anabolic steroids down into the female hormone, the risk of developing gyno is always present with heavy steroid stacks.

This condition is usually first spotted by the appearance of a slight swelling or a small lump under the nipples. If not treated it can grow into a very unsightly mass of tissue, often irreversible without surgery. If you take a close look at many of today’s top pro bodybuilders you’ll see numerous cases of gynecomastia – or the scars from the removal of breast tissue.

It’s for this reason that, besides the assortment of drugs that many pro bodybuilders use (i.e. anabolic steroids, insulin, growth hormone and thyroid drugs), many add the drug Nolvadex to their steroid stacks. Nolvadex is an estrogen blocker and helps reduce the risk of developing gyno during a cycle.

For those bodybuilders who develop the condition, things can get complicated. In some cases the condition will disappear after the steroids are stopped. Others find that post-steroid therapy with Nolvadex and other estrogen blockers will reverse the problem. In some cases, however, the only option is surgery. Besides the obvious cosmetic reasons for the surgery (most males like to fondle breasts, but not their own!) untreated gyno can turn cancerous.

The fatty tissue that was surgically removed from a man with gynecomastia.

THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW

Ask the average citizen what anabolic steroids are and they’ll say they are vile and deadly drugs used only by the depraved of society. The use of these drugs by adults for muscle building and fat loss is routinely labeled “drug abuse” and, not surprisingly thanks to the influence of the mainstream media, the average American puts steroid users into the same degenerate group as heroin or cocaine users.

Until the late 1980s, obtaining these drugs for muscle building and fat loss was relatively cheap, easy and safe. Doctors regularly prescribed them to athletes. If you didn’t want to go to your doctor, you could easily find some at the local gym and purchase a six- to eight-week supply for less than $100. But with Ben Johnson’s much-publicized positive drug test at the 1988 Olympics combined with the reclassifying of anabolic steroids as controlled substances in 1990, it’s not surprising that they became part of the drug war in 1990.

“Buying drugs on the black market is a sketchy venture. You never know for certain if what you’re getting is real. Even if it does have active ingredients, you can’t be sure the compound is indeed sterile.”

– Ron Harris, regular MuscleMag International contributor

Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990

The Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 added anabolic steroids to the federal list of controlled substances, thereby making the possession of steroids for non-medical purposes a criminal offense. The Act essentially put steroids in the same legal class as such drugs as heroin, cocaine and barbiturates. Individuals caught illegally possessing anabolic drugs – even purely for personal use – face immediate arrest and prosecution. Also, under this Act it is unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to possess these drugs for fat loss or muscle building unless they were obtained directly by a prescription from a medical doctor. Other subsections of the act include:

• A first-offense simple possession conviction is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to one year and/or a minimum fine of $1,000.
• Simple possession by a person with a previous conviction for certain offenses, including any drug or narcotic crimes, must get imprisonment of at least 15 days and up to two years, and a minimum fine of $2,500.
• Individuals with two or more such previous convictions face imprisonment of no less than 90 days but no more than three years, and a minimum fine of $5,000.
• Distributing, or possession with intent to distribute, is a federal felony.
• An individual who distributes or dispenses anabolic steroids or possesses with intent to distribute or dispense, is punishable by up to five years in prison (with at least two additional years of supervised release) and/or a $250,000 fine ($1,000,000 if the defendant is other than an individual). Penalties are higher for repeat offenders.

Photo by Jim Amentler