Myths About The Effects of Anabolic Steroids

What are the most common myths about the effects of taking anabolic steroids? just how much do they enhance athletic performance and muscle mass?

There is so much supposedly common knowledge about steroids, however most of it is just massive misunderstandings about the effects of them. I wanted to address and list some of the most common myths in this article.

I have never taken steroids myself, however I have known and trained with others that have, plus I have over 15 years of weight training experience and I know what can be achieved naturally.

How effective are they for the average guy or beginner?

For the average weight lifter or beginner they will give around 2 – 3 times greater results. For example, if someone was to start regular weight training (naturally) they may gain 5 pounds of muscle mass in a 6 month period. While using steroids this would most likely double or triple their gains, so around 10 – 15 pounds of muscle mass gained in the same 6 month period.

This is a 100 – 200 percent increase which seems like a lot. However that percentage massively decreases when talking about professional athletes and bodybuilders where extreme training, diet and great genetics play a massive and bigger part.

Myths about the effects of anabolic steroids

The exaggerated effects of steroids in professional bodybuilding

This is the most common and my favorite myth to debunk. Despite popular belief steroids are not a magic drug, they cannot transform the average guy into a muscular ripped hulk like creature. The truth is, successful bodybuilders have the right genetics to achieve what they do. Plus lots of hard work in the gym and the right type of diet.

Experts that study the effects of performance enhancing drugs on sports professionals say that they only give around a 5% performance boost, or muscle mass increase. This can increase to 10% for heavy users of steroids, so the idea that someone can’t achieve a ripped bodybuilder like physique without steroids is nonsense. Yes they will increase muscle development, but at the very least 90% of what you see in the biggest, most ripped body builder is natural, they have the right genetics, diet and training to make it possible.

Genetics

Bodybuilders have large quantities of fast twitch muscle fibers which respond much better to weight training, compared to slow twitch muscle fibers. Fast twitch fibers also allow for more explosive bursts of power like sprinters. This is why sprinters often have well muscled upper bodies. However the disadvantage of fast twitch muscle fibers is that they fatigue and drain quicker, and they’re also more prone to muscle soreness.

When you see those pictures of bodybuilders with veins popping out everywhere, keep in mind that they are doing certain things to make themselves look as muscular as possible. Dehydrating themselves is one trick that improves definition, as well as oiling themselves up and applying fake tan. However the most important thing that they do is getting a pump. So before a photo shoot, competition or whatever, they will be working out just minutes before they appear on whatever it is they are doing. This pump makes a massive difference, increasing muscle size and blood flow considerably making those veins pop out.

They will build muscle without training

In this world of instant gratification, people want things quickly without working for it. Some of these companies look to take advantage of this quick results culture. Misleading advertising adds to the misconception that people have about steroids and muscle development in general.

Even with steroids, someone still needs to train hard and eat well to get good results, there is no getting around this, there is no magic pill.

Women will turn into men  

Yes steroids can have undesirable effects on women such as unwanted hair growth, deepening of the voice and they can enlarge the clitoral area. However there are many different types of performance enhances and it depends greatly on how long they are used for. Under reasonable use any side effects are almost always reversible.

Personal thoughts

Do it the natural way! Work hard with good technique, eat well and in time you will get results. You don’t need steroids, their effectiveness is massively exaggerated and they could potentially harm your health, its just not worth it. Not everyone has the genetics to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jay Cutler and drugs won’t get your there, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get great results.