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.
If that really happens then being a professional athlete will mean nothing. Rather then being considered the best athlete you will just be considered the person that is to damn lazy to do it the proper way.
I agree with legalizing the drug(s). However, I disagree with athletes using it to enhance profession. I agree full hearty with mcdscott. It underminds the profession and insults those who actually worked hard to reach their full potential. It's like allowing students to use calculators during a test that measures if they learned the concept of basic addition and subtraction... it creates lazy and unintelligent members of society. People ought to be rewarded for hard work not because they cheated.
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.
but come on dont use roids ive been stuck at 165 for 3 month so i added my milk on top of everything and eat mad carbs and just hit the gym twice f--kin steroid pussy fake muscles
When I was into body building but constrained by being an obvious "hard gainer" I tried lots of training and nutrition ideas, the one diet that seemed to pay off was what one guy described to me as the "all red meat" diet. No you don't only eat red meat, but you try to consciously consume as much as you can. Steak for breakfast with eggs, hamburger for lunch, even eat a big steak right before you go to bed as as long as it's not too many calories for your body to use soon it won't convert to fat.
You also have to break out if the mold of thinking whatever the big guy in the gym does will help me. Find a guy who looked like you a few months ago and is now noticeably bigger.
In those days I trained at Gold's Gym in San Diego right next to Achim Albricht, Sonny Schmidt, Big Jim Quinn and Milos Sarcev. It was quite obvious these guys were both genetic freaks and on steroids, I remember one of the more candid trainers speaking about them and Dorian Yates in particular, saying Dorian could push a broom all day and not look much different than he did then.
What they were doing and eating had little relevance toward most of the rest of us. The biggest scam was Weider magazine's constant use of endorsements by pros for advertisers selling protein powder and the like, one month Milos appeared in an ad proudly showing him holding this outrageously expensive, horrible tasting powdered cardboard and dirt mixture (tastes that way at least) and he laughed at the fat check he was paid and word around the gym was he had used it just once after they comped him some as part of the contract and he spit it out after tasting it.
The ad made it sound like all his muscle came from using that product.
I did find the Arnold Schwarzeneggar encyclopedia of bodybuilding to be a reliable and helpful reference. Weider's rags are best used for puppy training, fully useless and most of the "expert" famous columnists are egotistical dopes arguing their way is best, silly for the above explained reasons.
(I was once confident I would be into bodybuilding until death. That ended one day when I was doing incline press on a smith rack, felt strong that day, threw an extra ten on each side going for six. On the third rep I turned my head left to look at the mirror and check my form and heard a pop, lucky the smith rack caught the bar for me. I don't know what I injured but it was moderately painful, and I could never pick up a 45 plate without almost dropping it from the pain. Kept trying to go back and train for two years but it persisted. Today 15 years later I have severe scoliosis, possibly related?)
The moral of the story is don't turn your head doing an incline press.
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.
That's the stupidest thing I've read all day.
I've got a real funny feeling that your a dude that sits in a chair all day watching sports, drinking beer, with a 56inch waste line, and when boxing comes on, say a pro fight, You yell out how you'd a done this or you'd a done that, and how you'd a beat that dude. what dose normal look like, Chubbs?
I bet your e-peen just grew two inches with that rant. HA! Who's the "chubbs" sitting in a chair now?
George Boy once stated in an interview... "What is normal to you is normal." Anyways I don't think insulting someone you don't know doesn't help or defend weight lifters and body builders in the right matter. If anything it may hurt them because you're pretending to represent them and making such statements that just encourage/empowers the stereotypes and prejudices that weight lifters and body builders face... it doesn't help them at all.
I agree that some body builders take it to the extreme and don't even look human anymore. However, I don't think ALL body builders are freaks... that is generalizing a group. There are actually some hot looking body builders, and they're smart too... I've seen two who were taking astrophysics and calculus with physics, including knowing how to solve derivatives. Some people need to stop stereotyping other people who they don't know at all, especially towards body builders.
@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...
@ez
its just hard for me to believe that you can get cancer from a synthetic vertion of something your body naturally produces. if you can link some studies that show it, then ill believe. they are legal across most of europe. the us just banned roids to keep them out of baseball. sick people with aids and cancer take them without any ill effects. so how does the drug know your not sick and give you cancer. i think the plaque build up is real only cuz you have to eat like 5x what a normal person eats. so you get plaque build up 5x as fast. but the cancer part, i just dont see it. i think they do have an addictive element in the fact that you see results so fast after your first cycle, but once you get your goal, you wont take them, at least as much.
One of my Good friends killed himself just like the Guy in this doc .. I do believe steroids can lead to depression very Good Doc Thanks
POWERTHIRST!
@ moscow
I don't really care about this issue, only the bigger issue that it is a symptom of. Which is body image and how and why we idealize such unnatural body shapes. It isn't healthy for kids to grow up wondering why they don't look like this or little girls growing up looking at super models and then starving themselves to get the unnaturally skinny look. As far as someone wanting to look like this, I don't get it but that's their business. As long as they don't feel they must look this way to be successful, who cares.
@ RazorDiamond
I can agree with some libertarian stances but not all. Legalizing truly dangerous drugs like meth or crack I just can not support. I work with addicts so I see the damage done by these types of drugs, we can not trust people to use them safely or responsibly. The addiction epidemic has proven that to me. I refuse to declare an ideaology like libertarian or democrat or republican, I would rather judge each issue on its own merits. But more and more people seem to be clinging to some blanket theology that I think blinds them and forces them into certain opinions. On some issues I am libertarian, on some democrat, on others republican- I think everyone is really like this inside. But they declare themselves to be this or that and then have to take that stance, even if it offends common sense to do so.
@ James
I haven't really made an arguement James. All I said was that I could not find any info on the DEA or the FDA saying they do not want to see these drugs regulated and monitored. Then I said I felt we should regulate and monitor. Then I raised a question about body image. The only assertion I made is that i do not think marketing really drives our reaction to certain body images. I think they merely use what we already respond to. But hey, if I offended you some how or made some statement you want to rebut, go for it.
@ Leonardo8
Who cares really?
I don't think you have to be mentally r*tarded or stup*d to lift weights or be a bodybuilder.
although, from what you say maybe in Brazil the average buff guy is of lesser intemperance.
it's a personal choice and i don't see why people give a sh*t. so what if a dude is massive?
Also, it's a bit of a myth that steroids are an easy fix. getting big is still hard, regardless. it requires dedication, but the average steroid user doesn't look like some bodybuilder, that's also a myth
oh and thanks for uploading!
Dont abuse them use them!
obviously nothing will be safer than training naturally, but in my gym the people who (say they) dont do steroids, do everything else instead, which actually works out more expensive and in the long run is probably going to do similar amounts of damage to their body anyway...
if you hit 40 years old and take steroids to keep your testosterone levels at your previous levels, then it can actually keep you healthier and more youthful for longer, so we shouldn't ban them, we just need to be educated properly on them!
peace :D
@ez
Indeed, as far as the practical side is concerned, legalization and regulation would be the way to go.
I think it should be clear to everyone how warped and narrow our appearance-based society is these days, having that said, i'm a libhertarian, i truly believe that if somebody wants to use any type of drug, it should be within their choice to do so in a relatively safe way, the only way to reach that goal is to legalize and regulate...
@EZ I would like to address some of your arguments made here, but I would be jumpin in without having seen your film yet, so I will give you that first and later come back to this and respond! I know how easy it would be for others to not even wait and start talking without attending to the video first and I won't do that.
@ RazorDiamond
Precisely why I say that regulation is needed, not doing away with the drug. As far as I can see no one is saying we should get rid of steroids, only make sure they are not abused or used for the wrong purposes. Surely you do not think we can just trust everyone to use the drug only when legitimate need arises and in the correct amounts. The world has already proven this is not the case. Without regulation and laws to guide usage we will end up with gross misuse and abuse.
Of course we should also get to the root issue here, why is body image so important to people. So important that they would harm themselves, or at least risk harm to themselves to obtain their ideal body. Are we this superficial as a species, if so why? I think we are that shallow. But it goes deeper than that. Marketing uses these super thin models and brawny guys to sell products for a reason, because we as a people respond to these images. So why do we respond to these unnatural and non healthy images? Where does our definition of what beauty is come from. Many would say from the marketing industry but I disagree. They simply use the images we respond to. Its like blaming networks for showing stuff that promotes negative behaviors. They only show what we watch so it falls back to us, we are driving this insanity.
The sheeple are never dissapointing.... Sustanon is given to recovering cancer patients people, now we wouldnt give lethal drugs to make sure a formerly dying patient recovers quickly and solidly.....
Get real folks, as is the story with ALL drugs, danger lies in the level of responsibility with the practicing user.
@ DeathSSghosT
I looked and looked for any thing about the FDA or DEA saying steroids should not be regulated, I found nothing. What i did find is that these are extremely dangerous drugs that definetly need to be regulated and controlled. Anyone that takes his or her performance in a sport this seriousely, that they would risk the effects of these drugs, needs psychological help. Unless you are a professional athelete and your very livelyhood is tied to performance, I just don't get it. And even in that case they need help to show them that these drugs are not the answer. What ever happened to disciplined training and exercise. Now we want to get it in three days and it be easy, the world has succumbed to this pop culture attitude of everything for nothing and right now not later. It sick if you ask me.
Pass the sick bag... that thumbnail has got to be photoshoped
so sad to see people have their achievements taken away
even if they took steroids . i don't aprove it , but i can imagine the shame and pain of winning and losing at the end
wtf, part3 12:36 "natural bodybuilders".... the woman is 100% on steroids she has so androgenic face. The man has pushed out stomach, that shows abuse of steroids.
Steve Michalic telling b@##$%^&.
There is a planet in a nearby star system that has critters that make these guys look skinny.
all i wanna know is if they shrink your package..all other risks are kinda worth it, if u live healthy and use it for a short period.
Oops. That's what I get for just looking at that small pic!
Thank you because I was really starting to wonder how far the whole bodybuilding sport has gone since the last time I saw any examples from competition. I was going to watch the video later. I still will.
;-P
@ james, welcome to photoshop :D
Wow, that thumbnail for the movie is disturbing! How does one look at that physique and say it is an example of human strength? That is a grotesquery of the human body, not an example by any means! It isn't even attractive!
@craftyjoe
Young people advertise themselves, in pursuit of sex, jobs, recognition and so on, in a stressful and competitive environment.
For that they will use what is easiest, most natural and most available. For some, money is the way to go. For others, smarts is the way to go. For some, the creative arts are used to get attention. For those that don't have none of those things, building an attractive body is cheap and easy.
In 6 months with roids, diet and proper training a person can get a body that requires 4 years to get otherwise...... not bad if one's intelectual peak is to calculate tips, daddys first name isn't sheik, and the ride is a corolla. I personally think it is a good deal, at par with other things people do to get attention, like overworking to get the nicest car, or drinking or joining that church, or getting in debt.... life is pretty shallow for most westerners I think.
This is the reality here in Brazil. It means that if you want that hot girl.... you need something special.... and it is usually not your brain...
@tyler; Was your friend the guy from the title page picture? That dude has a bigger rack than half of the Victorias Secret girls.
my friend had to have a breast reduction at 20 years old
get the doc bigger stronger faster please.
i think i agree with the dea fda assessment that steroids shouldn't be regulated. they are alot safer than alcohol. in fact, tobacco and alcohol should be the benchmark for the legality/illegality of any substance
i come from england. and thankfully its not really the done thing here. what i dont get is how insecure one must be to do this sort of s*** , to oneself ? i was born perfect been that way ever since ... we all were. that is unless mcdonalds has got hold of you along with the colonel and turned you into a piece of poop!
peace
Brad Lupton, my friend was another steroid victim!
So my good frined Steve Courson. His heart gave, but he was lucky to be killed by a tree instead of agonizing.
Those who pretend that steroids don't kill you in the end, are full of bull!
I quit the world of bodybuilding when I was being pushed to do steroids. Never did, but I witnessed the downfall of many!
Steroids should be banned and those who encourage the use, should be jailed!
Where I come from you walk into any gym and get recommendations from a trainer about cycles and stacks. It is just normal thing to do, even for some girls. I know some boys and girls that are 16 years old and use them. Plus, anyone can just go to pharmacies and get them, like Winstrol or Deca or even the stupid used for horses which I forget the name now.
mental! good doc