Anabolics have been popular among gym guests for years. They train for hours. The gym is their second home. Many of them, in addition to legal high-protein supplements, take anabolics (anabolic steroids), i.e. substances that support protein absorption. They count on the increase of muscle mass, often not knowing what the dangerous side effects of taking them may be.
Anabolicsis used by many gym amateurs, who often haveside effectsof their activities. But usually for a while. Tomek is 23 years old and passionate about the gym. He weighs 108 kilograms and is 170 centimeters tall. "I've lost a bit of weight recently because I had the flu," he explains. He is on a high-fat diet: for breakfast he eats two fried sausages, scrambled eggs with 6 eggs on a ham, and on a good day, he eats half a grilled chicken. There is one condition: not a gram of bread for this. - No carbs. It makes you fat, but it does not cause muscle growth - she adds. Two years ago he was taking methanabol and testosterone. - They are such boosters for beginners. Nothing dangerous - he shrugs his shoulders. He got it under the counter in his gym in Warsaw. - There's no problem getting them. You just need to know the right people. They offered them to me after my 30th visit to the gym. I started taking it and immediately felt like a young God - he says. Now, however, she assures me that she is taking nothing. Two years ago, his friend from the gym was hospitalized. He was taking the anabolic genotropin. After six months of treatment, he miraculously survived. - Then I was scared that something like this would happen to me. I gave up all the chemistry - explains Tomek. To have naturally great muscles, you need special nutrition (chicken, rice, vegetables) and a lot of exercise. Sculpting your muscles is exhausting work. That is why many gym lovers reach for accelerators, i.e. steroids anabolic, commonly known as coke.
- When you start taking them, your eyes swell. In 1.5 months, I gained five kilos. Then I found that I could not do without it. I had the feeling that there was no weight that I was unable to lift. It was only when I read how dangerous they are to my he alth that I stopped taking them - a well-built AWF student asks for anonymity.
Steroids "to the left"
It is easy to recognize a “coke breeder”: a mountain of muscles, disproportionatelyovergrown bars and acne all over the body. All because of the fashion promoted on television. The films with Rambo and Schwarzenegger create a positive image of a muscular strongman. - Girls like guys like that. For this he should have a good car and designer clothes - says another regular of the "Spartakus" gym. Claims he takes nothing. - Only natural remedies: BoboVita porridges for children and glucose with milk and cocoa - he explains. - You feel like drugs on steroids. You get the so-called kick. But it often has a negative effect on the psyche. Man becomes aggressive and hyperactive. Especially when you take a long time. Hence the high-profile cases that someone beat someone up - he explains.
Steroids are out of control in Poland, because the law does not prohibit their distribution and use. They can only be obtained with a prescription and with the consent of a doctor. The trade in anabolic agents is regulated by the Act on Pharmaceuticals, Medical Materials, Pharmacies, Wholesalers and Pharmaceutical Supervision. Only a pharmacy can sell them. Illegal importation and trade are punishable by a fine, restriction or imprisonment for up to two years. - In practice, it looks like the owners of gyms (especially those in the neighborhood where friends come) have them under the counter. And on the shelves, they officially offer vitamins, says Tomek.
Anabolics: side effects - heart attack, aggression
The press describes young people who committed criminal acts after taking steroids. Wojciech K. from Katowice took steroids from the age of 18. He was a bodyguard in one of Katowice's discos. He stopped when he beat a man unconscious. 19-year-old Rafał Z. from Mysłowice was hospitalized in a pre-infarction condition. Yet another amateur of muscle mass gaining aids died after an overdose of steroids. He was 19 years old. His parents said they hadn't noticed he was taking anything. They were glad that they had a son as big as an oak tree. - Most often it is taken by young, ignorant people who want to impress their friends and girlfriends. Therefore, the season for steroids is spring, because lovers of strength sports want to "grow up" quickly in order to present their muscles in the swimming pool in June - explains Wacław L. Gajewski from the Warsaw gym in Praga. However, the pursuit of such an ideal causes constant dissatisfaction with one's appearance. Increasingly, doctors are talking about bigorexia (obsession with being muscular) and muscle dysmorphia. Their most characteristic symptoms are intense exercise at the gym at the expense of social and professional life, and avoiding showing up in public. Affected people lead to extreme gains in fat mass just to gain weightbody. However, the effect is the opposite: the bigger they are, the worse they look. However, they still cannot stop themselves from eating, taking any supportive measures (vitamins, high-protein nutrients). Tissue growth still does not satisfy them. Then they reach for steroids. And here the nightmare begins.
ImportantAnabolic androgenic steroids are synthetic compounds, derivatives of testosterone, a natural male hormone with a strong anabolic effect, which stimulates the absorption of protein and thus stimulates the bones and muscles for rapid growth. They were created as drugs that restore hormonal balance and support recovery after severe injuries. Testosterone is also responsible for the development of external and internal sexual characteristics, i.e. it has an androgenic effect. That's why men have a low voice and a more hairy body.
The effects of taking anabolics: alopecia, acne, liver diseases, cancer, depression
Steroids allow athletes to train more intensively, because they affect metabolism and enable the conversion of adipose tissue into energy. Due to their androgenic effects, they intensify male features, e.g. alopecia and acne. They can also cause attacks of aggression, deep depression and provoke suicide attempts. The long-term effects of taking anabolics include liver diseases, accelerated atherosclerotic changes resulting in heart attacks and congestion. The use of steroids can cause lung cancer, liver cancer and prostate hyperplasia. Strengthening male features leads to the development of gynecomastia, i.e. breast enlargement, and sometimes impotence and infertility. This is because the body is filled with huge doses of compounds that work like testosterone, and stops producing it. In adolescents, taking coke inhibits growth.
Taking steroids (without the approval of a prescription doctor) is prohibited. However, many men can get them on the black market. They become experimental rabbits because they decide on the type and doses of the preparations they take. They are often unaware of their side effects. Some of the effects of using these agents are visible only after several years of taking them.
What instead of anabolics?
You can build muscle mass quickly, though much less spectacularly, by taking creatine and HMB - synthetic agents similar to steroids; CLA - a fatty acid that helps to achieve an appropriate body weight and accelerates the elimination of adipose tissue; L-carnitine - facilitating fat burning.
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