Find out Arnold's opinion on taking anabolic steroids and what courses he recommends to do for gaining muscle mass. This article will be useful for novice bodybuilders. We often hear that steroids pose a serious danger to the body. To understand how these statements are true, you should understand all the positive and negative qualities of anabolic steroids. At a certain point, you will reach the genetic limit for gaining mass, and at this time it will be a great temptation to use doping. Arnold's introduction to steroids today will help you make your choice.
What are steroids and how do they affect the body?
Since steroids are artificial analogs of sex hormones, it is with this that it is worth starting a conversation. You probably know that the main male hormones are testosterone and androsterone. They are responsible for sex drive, growth of genitals and weight gain.
Of course, the functions of sex hormones are not limited to this, but in relation to bodybuilding they are not of great importance. You should remember that it is the sex hormones that promote the growth of muscle tissue.
In every person, the sex glands can produce a certain amount of hormones. According to scientists, the normal average daily dose of these substances is five milligrams. However, with age, the rate of production of sex hormones begins to decline. There are many reasons for this, which we will not talk about now. We will inform you that a decrease in the concentration of hormones negatively affects the body and scientists decided to create artificial ones that can replace natural ones.
After their creation, the expected sensation did not happen, although many hoped so. It was assumed that thanks to the use of steroids, the man's body would be able to miraculously rejuvenate, which nevertheless did not happen, and steroids began to be used in traditional medicine to combat muscular dystrophy that develops in bedridden patients.
At this stage, doctors faced a rather serious problem - side effects. If, in principle, everything was good with the introduction of steroids to men, then side effects appeared in children and women. This is due to the high androgenic activity of the drugs. New studies began, as a result of which AAS were synthesized, which do not have a high androgenicity index. At the same time, they are very effective in gaining muscle mass.
The results of all the studies were published and bodybuilders are seriously interested in it. It soon became known that AAS affect the cellular structures of muscle tissue in the same way as the male hormone. They bind to receptors and activate protein production in them. But that's not all.
Steroids have proven to be powerful anti-catabolics and have been able to protect muscles from damage caused by cortisol. At the same time, they can rid the cellular receptors of the molecules of this hormone already attached to them and take the vacated place. As a result, the anabolic background sharply increases, and the catabolic background begins to decline. Thanks to the acceleration of the recovery processes, it became possible to train more often and more intensely. Also, steroids accelerate the production of red cells, which significantly increases the quality of oxygen supply to tissues. To summarize all of the above, steroids for builders seem to be a magical tool that allows you to gain mass and increase physical parameters. However, we all understand that everything has to be paid for, and AAS is no exception. The same baldness can be considered a simple misunderstanding in comparison with other possible negative consequences of using AAS. First of all, it should be noted the huge load on the liver, which can lead to disruption of the organ's performance. This only applies to tablets and injections do not cause severe liver damage, but not all athletes tolerate injections.
It should also be remembered that it is necessary to inject steroids often and that there will be injections marks on the body. Today it is very often said that the destruction of the liver by steroids can be prevented, but this is not true. First of all, this is stated by manufacturers and dealers who need to sell as many drugs as possible.
You might want to argue that the liver has a unique ability to heal itself. But it is necessary to remember the fact that nature relied on toxins of plant and animal nature, with which the liver will have to fight. The organ copes with them perfectly and is actually able to restore damaged cellular structures.
However, the liver copes with chemicals much worse and this applies not only to steroids. Any medication, like aspirin, causes severe damage to liver cells. Those who have used steroids can confirm that during the use of drugs, the immune system begins to malfunction and even mild hypothermia can cause a cold. This is precisely due to impaired liver function.
An equally important problem is the decline in sexual desire. During the course, there are no problems with this, moreover, libido almost always increases. But after drug withdrawal, sex drive begins to fade quickly. This problem is associated with the termination of the synthesis of endogenous male hormone, one of the functions of which is to regulate libido.
Moreover, the activity of the pituitary arch is suppressed by all anabolic steroids to varying degrees. It should also be remembered that in the body of each person, this process takes place individually. Often, athletes say that they have been using doping for several years, and there are no problems with their sex life. But the process of reducing the activity of the gonads can take years and the cessation of their work is only a matter of time.
It should also be noted that under the influence of a natural male hormone, sperm become more active, and an exogenous hormone makes them "stick together", which leads to infertility. Only you will make the decision on the advisability of using AAS. The purpose of this article was just an introduction to the topic of steroids from Arnold. We talked about the advantages and disadvantages of anabolic steroids, and you just have to decide what outweighs the scale.
What did Arnold say about steroids? Watch in this video:
