Building a body that can compete at the highest level of professional bodybuilding requires an extraordinary level of human sacrifice, intense training, and good genetic luck. According to people knowledgeable in bodybuilding culture and its outcomes, this cannot be achieved without the use of illegal drugs and a willingness to pay the physical and mental price on the body.
The Difficulty of Obtaining a Professional Card
More than ten scientists, trainers, judges, and competitors interviewed for this report said that obtaining a professional card, which is the amateur ticket to joining the professional ranks, is very difficult without the use of anabolic steroids. When it comes to winning a significant title, many people laughed at this question.
The Impact on the Body
Although bodybuilding takes years of weight lifting and bulking every muscle, there is no need to show strength in front of judges other than the ability to hold poses on stage. They just need to look strong.
Health Risks
Some competitors, along with a growing number of young fans, mostly male, pursue this form through a reckless game of increasing and complicated pharmaceuticals that rise in danger as physical size increases at the expense of classic body shape. They use a variety of steroids and other drugs to build muscle, then add compounds aimed at burning fat, reducing appetite, or drying water from under the skin. They may compensate for the worst side effects with another set of drugs, vitamins, and supplements. The result can be strange bodies that look invincible but are often very fragile.
The Impact on Cardiovascular Health
Although many common drugs used in bodybuilding can affect the heart, steroids are suspected to be the main cause of dangerous cardiac hypertrophy that develops in some bodybuilders, according to a comprehensive statement from the Hormonal Society. The enlargement of the heart’s left ventricle and thickening of its walls can reduce its ability to pump effectively. High doses of steroids can also raise blood pressure, increase cholesterol levels, and heighten the risk of irregular heartbeat, blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes.
The Impact on the Reproductive System
Since testosterone is the primary reproductive hormone, some of the most obvious and well-documented effects of steroid use are seen in the reproductive system. Chaos begins in the brain, where the new hormones signal many hormones responsible for regulating reproductive organs that the body has an excess of testosterone.
The Impact on the Brain
Perhaps “hormonal rage” is not enough to describe the complex effects that steroids seem to have on the minds of some users. Researchers have linked steroid abuse to aggression, violence, major mood disorders, insomnia, depression, and in rare cases, psychosis and suicide. There is further evidence suggesting chronic dependency, with some studies indicating a decline in cognitive abilities among long-term users.
Other Organs
The bodybuilding lifestyle – even without the mix of additional hormones – is considered harsh on the organs, so bodybuilders often take a variety of vitamins and supplements to enhance liver, kidney, heart, and intestinal health. A high-protein diet and dehydration cause the kidneys to work harder, which can affect their function and cause damage and disease. Steroids and other drugs can harm the liver, which is the body’s filtration system. The liver is resilient and usually recovers, but long-term heavy steroid use increases the likelihood of causing lasting damage.
Training: Hours in the Gym
Heavy weightlifting is the preferred exercise for building muscle. Most top bodybuilders typically spend about two hours in the gym – sometimes more – five or six days a week, not counting hours spent coordinating and practicing poses that will showcase their best assets to the judges. They need nearly perfect lifting mechanics, according to Juan Pla, a former trainer for natural bodybuilding. Lifters with poor technique can suffer shoulder, neck, lower back, thigh injuries, and even tennis elbow. Torn tendons are common among steroid users. Tendons and muscles usually grow together, like matching pairs. But steroids can cause muscles to grow so large that the tendons cannot support them.
Nutrition
Nutrition: “Mental Game”
Bodybuilders train in two main phases: increasing muscle mass and reducing it. During the muscle mass increase phase, they consume large amounts of high-protein foods and drink protein shakes – up to 12,000 calories a day for some men. They may use appetite-stimulating peptides to help them eat these enormous amounts of food. They might inject insulin before meals to aid muscle building and mitigate the effects of heightened growth hormone on blood sugar levels. Insulin can cause significant drops in blood sugar levels, leading to confusion, seizures, and in rare cases, death.
Women: “Change Your Body Forever”
Steroids are inherently anabolic, so women who take them are likely to see changes in their appearance in addition to increased muscle size. Women’s hip and breast sizes often shrink as fat redistributes in a male pattern. Breast augmentation is common among female bodybuilders. Hair may grow on the face and chest in women. Male-pattern baldness can occur. Acne is common. The vocal cords may thicken, permanently deepening their voices. The external genitalia may grow larger and become elongated, a condition called clitoromegaly that often leads to cracking of sensitive skin. The jaw may grow larger or the brow may become more prominent in women who take growth hormone. Even women who do not take extra growth hormone may experience some facial changes, as steroids and testosterone stimulate the body to produce more natural growth hormone than usual.
Reasons
Money is rarely the motive, as only a few can live solely off bodybuilding. For some, the drive is competition. For others, it’s a shortcut they’re seeking. Some young bodybuilding competitors, thanks to social media, claim they resort to drugs as a pathway to instant gratification. They skip good training, nutrition, rest, and recovery fundamentals. For some, they seek success in places they weren’t meant to go. Some say they love being massive. Some bodybuilding competitors say they want to look like the awe-inspiring hulks. Others say they just want to be big.
Conclusion
Some bodybuilding competitors say they know that using steroids will shorten their lives by five years, hoping it will be much less than those who take more drugs. They say it will be worth it – “barely, but yes.”
Leave a Reply