I do not recommend steroid use. For myself and the majority of trainers, anabolic steroids simply aren’t a good choice. I do, however, understand that despite the potential side effects and ethical questions (as related to athletic competition), there will be those who conclude that the risks are worth the rewards.
This page serves as a last ditch effort to convince you to keep your bodybuilding natural.
If my argument fails, hopefully it will convince you to spend a great deal of time and effort educating yourself about safe (or as safe as possible) steroid use so that you do not abuse them, something that could literally cost you your life.
The decision to use bodybuilding steroids should not be taken lightly. Too often people begin use for the wrong reasons and under false impressions of the powers of the drugs. They don’t bother to properly educate themselves on the subject. They are unprepared and can pay unnecessary health and legal consequences.
I don’t have a problem with a mature, responsible person choosing to use steroids based on an educated point of view.
However, I do have a problem.
This Is My Problem With Steroids…
I do have a problem with the 6’0″ tall 135 lb. guy thinking that the only way he is going to gain muscle is through steroid use. I get emails from these guys all too often. They are disasters waiting to happen
If you are this guy, what you need to do is EAT and TRAIN consistently. Create a calorie surplus and a reason for the body to add muscle and you will get results.
There is a misconception that steroid use is just popping a couple of pills and waking up a week or two later with your IFBB card. This undoubtedly comes from the public’s perception that steroid using athletes owe all their success to the drugs. I’m not trying to under-emphasize the role steroids can play in someone’s ability to add massive amounts of muscle (it is undeniably great), but it isn’t the whole story.
Ronnie Coleman is definitely huge but to think he got that way solely from the use of steroids is misinformed. He is also well-known for his ability to constantly eat, constantly providing his body the necessary nutrition.
Barry Bonds made some remarkable progress from the time he began using. And you won’t find a shortage of people to say bad things about him but you won’t ever hear anyone questioning his training discipline or intensity.
Steroid results require a huge commitment, one that the majority of people don’t want or even need to take to get reasonably impressive results.
Listen to responsible and experienced steroid users – they will tell you that if you don’t have the knowledge and discipline it takes to first attain significant results through natural training, you have no business considering steroid use. If you are not very near your natural genetic potential, you shouldn’t consider using.
Choosing to use anabolic steroids to better one’s body doesn’t make one a horrible person. For those whose dedication and desires reach the highest levels, those who are intelligent enough to become responsible users, steroid use can prove to be a safer and more effective way to realize their goals as compared to other more accepted practices of physique enhancement (i.e. surgery).
Five Wrong Reasons for Steroid Use
Some wrong reasons to conclude that steroid use is for you are listed below:
- Under the age of 23 – Under this age (and even in some cases a few years beyond it) and there is the very real chance that you are not done growing. Using at this time means you face the very real risk of having your growth plates closed prematurely and whatever you achieve with anabolic steroids will ultimately be less than you could have achieved had you waited until you were done growing.
Just beginning weight training – If you are just beginning to train your body, this is not the time to mess with anabolic steroids. The best results attained from anabolic steroid use occur in experienced trainers who have mastered lifting technique and who are dedicated dieters.
A minimum of 2 years of dedicated bodybuilding dieting and training should be in your immediate past before the thought of steroid use is considered. This does not mean that you have trained two times a week for a couple of years, only missing about 50 scheduled workouts, and downed a couple of protein shakes. It means that you don’t miss workouts, that you rarely deviate from a muscle building diet and you have made some very impressive gains naturally and now are nearing your genetic potential (though you are likely still far away from it).
Consider 2 years as an absolute minimum, many experts and pro-steroid people recommend more, as much as 8-10 years.
The results of bodybuilding steroid use, like the results from any bodybuilding supplement, are highly dependent on training and diet and if you do not have knowledge, dedication and experience in these areas you are unlikely to achieve the results that can possibly justify the risks and the costs.
You believe yourself when you tell yourself, “I can’t gain any weight or muscle no matter what due to my metabolism and genetics, my only hope is steroids.” – This is a complete lie.
Your troubles (assuming good health) instead are a result of you not being able to consistently eat an excess of calories and/or train sufficiently. If you can’t eat beyond your maintenance diet on a consistent basis, if you can’t train intensely, not even steroids will help you. They are not magic, they can’t create something out of nothing. You still have to supply them with something to build with and a reason to do so.
Normal frustration with a lack of gains – Bodybuilding can often prove to be a frustrating pursuit. Rarely are gains consistent, rather you tend to get times where gains seem to come easily and other times when you seem endlessly stuck at a plateau. Plateaus are part of the sport for both natural trainers and steroid users. Learning to break through plateaus comes from experience and the only way isn’t through drugs.
If you are not making consistent gains, try changes in your diet, supplementation, weight training program, and tracking practices. Try a radically different approach, try a completely new program. Pages on this site can give you some suggestions.
Feeling safe from side effects because you know a user who is not experiencing any – We are all unique. Doctors cannot predict the side effects you will have to a prescribed drug; they can only make you aware of the potential side effects. All people react differently to both the positive and negative effects of drugs.
One person may gain big muscle and never experience any of the harmful side effects of anabolic steroids whereas another person, on the exact same dosage of the exact same drugs, may experience great problems.
The majority of trainers should choose not to use bodybuilding steroids. They simply aren’t a good option for anyone but the most dedicated. In my own case, they are not something would consider in my own personal quests to gain weight and muscle. The reasons for this go beyond just the horrors of the potential side effects or the ethical and legal questions.
To me, bodybuilding is a sport where the only competition is myself. There are enough gains to be gotten through hard work and proper nutrition and these gains undoubtedly leave me with a greater sense of accomplishment than would those that could happen with the help of bodybuilding steroids.
For Those That Choose To Use…
If you do decide to use bodybuilding steroids, you must do extensive research and educate yourself about their proper use. Many of the horror stories you hear about anabolic steroid use come from use that is plain ignorant. Taking the advice of the big guy at the gym is a recipe for disaster.
Read everything on the subject you can get your hands on. Never rely solely on the advice of someone with dubious credentials. Have a qualified doctor supervise your use and monitor your health.
What Are The Better Options?
Again, most people shouldn’t look any further then natural bodybuilding techniques. Putting together a complete program is the key to impressive natural muscle gains. When your diet is good, your training is good and your rest is adequate, you get results.
For help in getting these factors in place, review the rest of this site as well as other bodybuilding resources. Check out the Muscle Building Program Reviews section for some excellent total program choices.
Couple more articles you may like…
“How Do I Gain Weight?”
The quick version of the basic diet and weight training principles that lead to healthy muscle and weight gain.
HGH Supplements: Separating Facts From Fiction
Learn about Human Growth Hormone’s role in muscle building and why the enhancers and releasers aren’t a good investment.
