For this week’s post, I’m going to take a more historical approach to the steroid issue and try to educate my readers about how exactly anabolic steroids came to be. The main figure in the rise of anabolic steroids in America was a man by the name of Dr. John Ziegler. Dr. Ziegler was a Marine, and he loved to pump iron (naturally). In 1954, Dr. Ziegler took a trip to the World Weightlifting Championships in Vienna, Austria. He was there as the doctor of his team, the York Barbell Club. Among the competitors at this Championship event were Russians, and at this time in American history, Americans were very leery about the Soviets. Ziegler noticed that the Soviets could lift ungodly amounts of weights, and wanted to find out their secret. He invited the USSR’s team doctor to a tavern for a little chat, and found out that the Soviets’ weightlifters were using artificial doses of testosterone to get bigger and stronger.

     When Ziegler got back to the United States, he immediately took action. He tried injecting straight testosterone into York’s weightlifters, but to no avail. The strength gains were negligible, and the York bodybuilders said that the shots made them feel strange. So, Ziegler went to work. He tried to develop a synthetic form of testosterone that would produce the results he wanted without the pesky side effects. He was ultimately successful, and his product, methandrostenolone, was released in 1958 (only four years after he first developed the idea!). This product was marketed as “Dianabol.” Ziegler began administering his product to the York bodybuilders (who willingly agreed, since they were already used to taking supplements to increase the benefit of weightlifting), and the results were incredible. By the early 1960’s, York bodybuilders were the beefiest in the country. Other bodybuilders around the world clamored for Dr. Ziegler’s “magic pills,” and they got what they wanted. Steroids had been born.

     The common misconception is that Dr. Ziegler was a bad man who unleashed a horrific monster onto our society. Yes, the steroids that he created have become an epidemic, and they have corrupted young adults everywhere. However, Dr. Ziegler stressed to the media that he did not intend for his drugs to be used how they are used today. He stressed to bodybuilders to take the drugs only in small doses, and was disgusted to find enlarged prostates and atrophied testes in the bodybuilders to which he prescribed the drugs. Eventually, Ziegler parted ways with York bodybuilding because he was so frustrated with how his drugs were being misused. Regardless of his intentions, Dr. John Ziegler undoubtedly let loose one of the most dangerous substances that our world has ever seen.

     I would like to take one post and dedicate it entirely to my personal feelings on the steroid issue. While some of the information I will present in this post overlaps with the information from my previous post, I feel that it is important that I try to tell you all as readers what I really think of steroids and the steroid problem on the whole. The most important thing that I have learned over the course of my studies this semester is that the steroid issue comes down to one thing: the importance of the individual. Regardless of what information we can supply to young adults about the dangers of anabolic steroids, the only thing that will truly determine whether or not a given young adult abuses these substances is his/her view of the importance of self. I think that this has been greatly overlooked in my blog and in articles everywhere. The thing that most people don’t understand is that steroid abusers are not that ignorant. They do know that steroids are harmful. Heck, they know that steroids could kill them. But to most of them, it just doesn’t matter. And as long as steroids are available to them, they will continue to use them. They feel that it is worth sacrificing their lives to look good, have big muscles, and assert their masculinity. They feel that if they cannot do these things, life is not worth living. And how are we as a society supposed to stop this? How can we change the minds of young adults everywhere and show them that life is worth living without steroids? This is the greatest problem that we face. The greatest problem is not that steroids are available online. It is not that young adults do not know the side effects of steroids. It is not that professional athletes are setting bad examples for young adults by using steroids. It is not any of these things. The greatest problem that we face is changing the mindset of young steroid abusers or young adults who are considering using steroids. In my 3^rd post (entitled “Real-life Steroid Stories: The Bad, The Worse, and The Ugly.”), I looked into some stories of young men who felt that using steroids was worth risking their lives. This is disconcerting and alarming on so many different levels. I cannot hope at this point in my life to try to provide an answer to such a difficult question. However, I think that all of these steroid laws and policies strictly prohibiting steroid use are not all that is needed to shoot down steroids. We need to get in touch with the individuals who use steroids, and we need to prove to them that there is more to life than using steroids. Hopefully, someone will figure out how to do this before it is too late.

For this week’s post, I would like to explore the ways in which a young adult trying to build up muscle mass can do so without taking in illegal anabolic steroids. With all the talk about how horrible steroids are for a young adult’s body, some aspiring young athletes may feel stranded and confused. When a young athlete sees big home run hitters and fast runners taking steroids on television everyday, it may become disheartening to think of having to put in years and years of hard work instead of just injecting some drugs. However, there are fast, easy, and safe ways to build lean muscle mass fast. I investigated these methods, and this is what I found:

1.     First and foremost, an important aspect of building lean muscle mass is a healthy, well-balanced diet. This is a hackneyed phrase nowadays, but it really is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, regardless of whether you’re trying to build up muscle, bring your cholesterol down, or become a better runner. Balance your diet between proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals, salt, fat, and water. Eating vegetables and cereal are great ways to stay in shape and help balance your diet, and drinking a lot of water (especially if you’re always working out) is absolutely essential. Eating foods high in protein (such as poultry, fish, beef, pork, lamb, and lean meat) is important for building muscle mass. Make sure to rotate your food selections every day to ensure a high absorption rate in your body.

2.     Taking in fat can actually be a good thing. Some people who are trying to work out think that avoiding fats and simply carb and protein loading is the way to go. This isn’t the most efficient way to build muscle mass. Eat fat in a pre-determined time frame (so that you can control it). You can build muscle mass successfully without taking in a large amount of fat, but it will take longer. It is your choice whether or not the faster results are worth it.

3.     There are some safe bodybuilding supplements that you can take if you really are interested in getting the best results possible. The principle of building muscle mass is predicated around taking in more calories than you use to perform daily activities. Consuming whey protein is a great way to do this. You should consume whey protein before and after the workout; before the workout it gives you the energy to complete a fruitful workout, while after the workout it helps build muscle. Also, combining amino acids, glutamine, and creatine can help streamline the muscle-building process. The most important thing with these supplements is that they must be taken in the correct dosage amount. Over-consuming these supplements can lead to devastating results that are no better than the side effects of anabolic steroids.

If you follow these guidelines, as well as find some other safe, healthy tips, you should be in an excellent position to build muscle mass quickly and effectively without breaking the law or putting your body in danger. Good luck!

For this week’s post, I would like to take a look at a blog that I found online that deals with anabolic steroids. The blog can be found at http://www.isteroids.com/blog/. It is an extremely valuable and reliable source. Unlike Mike Meade’s blog (which I focused on in one of my earlier posts), this blog is based on a more professional website and deals with a wide range of issues, from steroid abuse in teens to steroid abuse in professional athletes to other issues related to steroids. Just to show an example of the range of issues that are covered on the blog, I will take a look at a few of the most recent posts that are on the blog.

October 21, 2008:

This post deals with supplement abuse and how it often leads to abuse of anabolic steroids. I found it quite ironic that I stumbled across this article, because my last post dealt with supplements and I have been reading into the subject quite a bit over the past few weeks. This post provides opinions from both sides of the story: those who think that supplements are “gateway drugs” to more hardcore steroids and those who think that athletes are smart enough to stay away from anabolic steroids while on supplements.

October 20, 2008:

This post is different from the post on October 21 in that it deals with steroid abuse that occurred in the Beijing Olympics. It is a very short post that questions the possible steroid use in the 2008 Games.

October 19, 2008:

This post is extremely relevant to the content of my blog. It deals with how the media is affecting youths by steering them towards steroid abuse (I am planning on focusing on this issue in an upcoming post). It touches on how the image of ridiculously overpaid athletes who use steroids can send the wrong message to America’s youth. The post then shifts to explaining why this is a bad thing; specifically, it focuses on the negative side effects of steroid abuse in youth as compared to adults.

As you can clearly see, this blog is frequently updated and provides varied, reliable information. It is a great tool because it provides different information each day that can vastly add to an individual’s knowledge of the steroid problem on many levels. I strongly encourage any and all of my readers to take a look at this site and see what it’s all about.

For this week’s post, I would like to touch on another aspect of the steroid problem that is often overlooked. Oftentimes, “hardcore” anabolic androgenic steroids aren’t the only harmful substances that young adults (athletes in particular) are pumping into their bodies. Supplement abuse is a related issue that is catching young athletes by surprise. I first became aware of this issue during an interview with Dr. Kevin Conley, the Vice Chairman of the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh. I interviewed Dr. Conley because I wanted to find out more about anabolic steroids and how the issue of their abuse is being addressed at Pitt. However, at the end of the interview, Dr. Conley brought up the issue of supplement abuse and explained it to me. The supplements that Dr. Conley addressed to me and that I would like to discuss in this post are of the dietary and bodybuilding type. Supplements can provide vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to those who intake them. They can also help promote the building of lean muscle mass as well as the loss of fat.

There are several reasons why supplements can be dangerous. First off, Dr. Conley informed me that very often, supplements contain substances that can cause an athlete to test positive for anabolic steroids during a steroid test. This, of course, can spell disaster for any young athlete. It is extremely difficult for a young athlete who unknowingly took in a banned substance that was contained in a supplement to prove that he/she is innocent and did not take anabolic steroids. Also, there is the risk of an overdose. Many supplement users look at the results that they get from taking supplements and decide, “Hey, if I’m taking x amount of this supplement and getting these results…if I take double what I’m taking, I’ll get even better results!” Wrong. Overdosing on supplements can have the same sort of effects as anabolic steroids. Supplements may look nonthreatening, but the same liver and kidney damage can occur from overdosing. The worst part of the supplement problem is that if you thought anabolic steroids were easy to obtain (see my previous post- http://bjc36.edublogs.org/2008/09/15/bulk-up-me-easy-as-1-2-3/), supplements are about a hundred times easier. Walk into your local GNC or other health store and you’ll see the shelves stocked full of supplement after supplement, from creatine to “Muscle Milk” and beyond.

            You may be thinking, “Well, I’ve taken supplements to help in my workouts, and nothing has happened to me. As a matter of fact, my dad took supplements throughout his entire childhood and nothing has happened to him yet!” Ok, you’re probably not thinking that, but let’s assume for the sake of argument that you are. The fact of the matter is that supplements are often not a huge threat or danger. If taken correctly (correct dosage amount and frequency, right combination of supplements, etc.), supplements can not only be safe, but can be very helpful to the body. The problem is that many young adults simply don’t use discretion. And just like steroid abuse, this problem could be the downfall of many of them.

Here are just a few links (there are countless articles online dealing with this issue, so these barely scratch the surface) to articles of supplement abuse for further reading:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/29/eveningnews/main527399.shtml

http://www1.ncaa.org/membership/ed_outreach/nutrition-performance/about/articles/supplement.html

http://soundmedicine.iu.edu/segment.php4?seg=59

http://thomasjmoore.com/pages/dietary_main.shtml

For this week’s post, I’d like to take an opportunity to link my readers to an interesting and informative blog of one of my classmates, Mike Meade. Mike has taken an approach similar to my approach in that he is focusing on steroid abuse in sports. However, Mike’s blog differs from mine in that he is looking not only at steroid abuse in young adults and collegiate sports, but also professional sports. Mike is focusing on the integrity of sports and how we can help preserve it. I feel that it is important for my readers to get another view of the matter. While I focus primarily on steroid abuse in young adults, and my main objective is to convey the dangers of steroid abuse rather than its actual effect on the games that steroid abusers take part in, Mike takes an alternate viewpoint. When coupled with the posts in my blog, Mike’s blog adds another aspect to the steroid issue and shows that not only are steroids harmful to the body, but also they are harmful to the world in general. Steroids have created a horrible situation throughout the sports world, from professional baseball (MLB) to track and field. I feel that it is essential that I focus in on steroid abuse in young adults in order to avoid jumping around in a seemingly random fashion from topic to topic, but I think that Mike’s issue is essential because it takes a look at the next step in the progression of the steroid problem. Once the college students and student athletes come out of college, those that were most successful in their respective sports (regardless of whether or not they used steroids) could possibly move onto a professional level sport. If you at all follow sports, you know the ramifications that steroids have had on professional sports, particularly the MLB and track and field, in the past few years. The Mitchell Report has wreaked havoc upon the integrity of Major League Baseball, and star track and field athletes like Marion Jones have been thrown behind bars and stripped of medals because of their illegal abuse. My hope, and the hope of millions of others around the country, is that improved education of high school and collegiate students on the subject of steroids will lead to less and less abuse, until eventually illegal steroid use will be eliminated. Not only will this prevent damages to the growing bodies of young adults, but through a trickle-down effect (or, I guess, a trickle-up effect), steroid abuse in professional sports could become obsolete. Of course, we cannot guarantee that these major league athletes who are making millions of dollars will not defy the education that they received in college and abuse steroids anyway, since the stakes are higher. But, it can’t hurt. I sincerely advise you to take a look at Mike’s blog so that you can make a connection between the problem of steroid abuse in young adults with the problem of steroids corrupting the integrity of professional sports.

For this week’s issue of my blog, I would like to focus on a part of the steroid problem that is quite often overlooked: the distributors of steroids. Heck, we can talk about athletes, young and professional alike, abusing steroids. We can try to put the blame on these young men and women who are trying to get an edge on their competitors. But, when it really comes down to it, the underlying problem in the issue of steroid abuse is the distributors. An article on the Science Daily website (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080617160837.htm) from June 2008 explains this further. The article explains that a lot of distributors advertise human growth hormone (hGH, an illegal performance-enhancing drug in collegiate and professional sports) positively, because, of course, they are trying to bring in sales. The anti-aging and age-management industries are pushing particularly hard in this respect. Their campaigns that proclaim the benefits of hGH often leave out the risks and dangers that “far outweigh the clinically demonstrated insignificant benefit in normally aging individuals.” hGH, unfortunately, cannot be effectively eliminated completely, because there are cases in which the hormone is necessary. Like most steroids, when used in a therapeutic setting, hGH can be beneficial and even necessary in treating adults and children with certain diseases or other cases.

            The main point here is that the problem in steroid abuse is not always limited to the abuser, but very often this problem is augmented by false information supplied by the distributors of these drugs. Experts believe that in order for the problem of steroid abuse (in this case, specifically hGH) to subside, the public must be accurately informed by people like their physicians and proven scientists who do not have a vested interest in hGH about the health risks and illegality of the drug.

            In the end, this part of the problem is difficult to solve. Because hGH and other performance-enhancing drugs DO have legal and necessary uses in the medical community, it is impossible to eliminate them completely. However, because the companies who make them and the dealers who sell them benefit immensely from increased sales, false or benefit-exclusive advertising often leads to misinformed use by the public. The most obvious solution? Inhibit the sale of these harmful drugs directly through the companies and dealers who benefit from the sales. Restrict sales only to proven physicians and scientists who know when and how they should be properly used. Unfortunately, it is near impossible to control any substance, whether it be steroids, marijuana, or cigarettes, to that extent. Until we can figure out a way to do that, however, the problem of misinformed steroid abuse will persist to no foreseeable end.

For this week’s post, I decided it would be interesting and beneficial to take a look at a few videos online documenting real-life steroid stories. Firstly, I think it brings additional facts forward, but most importantly, seeing real people affected by steroids is the best way to better understand the magnitude of the problem. Regardless of how many statistics I throw at you, it’s hard to truly understand why we should care unless we take a look at real events with real people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOUsrpT3gXY

This is one video that I found to be particularly interesting. Its main focus is bringing the problem of steroid use in kids to the forefront. It takes several real-life examples and uses them to help people see that this problem is real. Titled “RIPPED: KIDS AND STEROIDS,” this short video documents the story of a young man named Matt Barnes. Matt is a guy who loves to work out, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. However, he uses steroids to achieve the best results. He explains to the reporter, Kenny Beck, how he developed a “hair-trigger temper” and saw his joints deteriorate before his very eyes. Luckily, he stopped using steroids. However, it wasn’t because of these terrible side effects or because he knew it was wrong. The only reason Matt stopped shooting up on steroids is because the Department of Homeland Security actually came to his dad’s workplace and stopped him, because they had been tracking his steroid purchases overseas. Wow. The worst part is, Matt says at the end of the video that he can’t wait to get back on the drugs.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pU3E8DuLZw

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp5qXtERGHY

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITG-IbHEYEE

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0dmXRAKieQ

Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxzhclOpWiw

The links above are to the five separate parts of a documentary called “The Man Whose Arms Exploded.” I would like to start off by making it clear that these videos are extremely disturbing and contain very strong language and images. I was just looking around the Web for some videos that document real-life stories, possibly about kids who have experimented with steroids. However, what I found was one of the most powerful videos that I have ever watched. To completely summarize this about 50-minute compilation of videos would be impossible, so I’m just going to touch on the most striking aspects. The main focus of these videos is on a man named Gregg Valentino, one of the most prominent body builders to ever live. His biceps, at their prime, were of record-breaking magnitude. Unfortunately, his initially small steroid dose progressively became larger and larger, and got to the point where he developed an intense infection in his bicep. To put it nicely, his arm “exploded.” He needed intensive surgery, and nearly died. He became involved with gangs and dealt with people (specifically his girlfriend) who had been arrested more than 10 times for dealing drugs. Steroids completely ruined Gregg’s life. Steve Michalik, former Mr. Universe, also speaks in Part 4. He explains how when he started using AAS in his early 20’s (note this is in the age range of college students), everything seemed fine. However, over the years, he developed problems, and eventually experienced a massive heart attack. He lost 80 pounds almost instantly in the hospital, and had to spend a significant amount of time in the mental hospital because he completely lost his mind from the cold-turkey withdrawal from the drugs. He makes it very clear in the video: even the smallest bit of steroids, as little as one cycle, can take over your body and trap you in an endless loop of steroid abuse. All of the subjects in this video began using steroids at a young age, in their late teens or early 20’s. I highly advise that all of my readers take some time to watch these videos for themselves, because I feel extremely confident that anyone who sees what happened to these innocent individuals will never abuse these horrible drugs. Ever.

            When confronted with the issue of steroid use in teens, have you ever sat and wondered how teens so easily obtain these precious drugs or why the government hasn’t cracked down on the steroid black market? If your answer is yes, you’re not alone. I decided to do some research on how to buy steroids and, well, it wasn’t really very much research at all. I read an article on the New York Times website about the ease of obtaining anabolic androgenic steroids, and I was extremely shocked to see that AAS are often sold on kid-friendly websites such as MySpace.com. We all know that for the most part, 35-year old bodybuilders aren’t checking their MySpace pages every night to see what the hottest deals on steroids are. Nope, sellers who post their steroid deals on MySpace.com are looking for one thing and one thing only: fresh meat. As sick and exaggerated as this may sound, one must admit that it is the truth. The vast majority of MySpace.com users are in their teenage years (with the bulk probably being 13-17 years of age, but many in their late high school and college years). As the aforementioned article indicates, the focus of making the Internet safe for kids has been on mostly pornography and predators. The government is trying (or at least we assume) to make pornography less accessible to minors and predators less of a threat to unassuming kids. However, not nearly enough emphasis has been put on preventing these drug dealers from selling drugs to teens online. It is most likely for this reason that we have such a huge steroid problem today. Sure, some people, even kids, obtain their steroids from guys at the gym. But without a doubt, many users, especially kids, buy their products online. This is, of course, because they can do it without anyone knowing about it. If we could just eliminate this incredible ease of access, we might be able to begin to combat the growing problem of steroid use in teens.

            This is all very concerning, but MySpace.com might not even be the easiest way for kids to get hold of AAS. It is quite simple: just like anything these days, a simple search on Google will bring up endless possibilities of purchasing steroids. I played the role of an interested buyer, and within literally seconds, I was staring at the “Add to Cart” button for a package of Winstrol, a commonly abused AAS. Take a gander at this… does it get any easier? As if reliable AAS weren’t dangerous enough, many kids get themselves into trouble by purchasing fake drugs through phony websites. Who can really be sure that drugs from www.steroids-pharmacy.com or www.buysteroids.com are the real deal? And the bottom line is: even if they are, we need to get rid of them. Eliminating steroid availability on the Internet would be a huge step forward in the fight against steroid abuse. We can only hope that someone more influential than I will take notice of this point as well.

This image has the caption “Get the shredded look you’ve been wanting while putting on more muscle with every workout!” under it on www.buysteroids.com. It doesn’t seem to mention the damage that can be wrought upon an unassuming teen who may purchase it.

            Steroids: What are they? What do they do? Why do people, especially young adults, use them? Why are they considered “bad” in the public eye? How can we address the issue? All of these questions are imperative, so we must do our best to answer them. However, this is easier said than done. The issue of steroids is not limited to those guys you see on TV: Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Roger Clemens, and many others. No, unfortunately steroid use pertains primarily to young adults in the age group of 17-27. It is during this period in a man or woman’s life that they often feel the need to either bulk up (for a sporting event) or just to look good (more or less to attract the opposite sex and/or, in the case of males, appear more “manly” to their peers).  Anabolic androgenic steroids are an easy way for these young adults to achieve just that. Before I delve deeper into the issue in my future posts, I feel that it is essential that my audience be acquainted with exactly what an anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) is, and what it does to the body. AAS have three main mechanisms of action: They help metabolize ingested proteins, they help synthesize skeletal muscle, and they induce euphoria and decrease fatigue to allow for longer, more powerful workouts. There are several methods of taking in steroids, as well as several schedules on which to use them. AAS can be directly injected into the muscle, taken in by mouth, implanted with a pellet under the skin, as well as applied to the skin via a gel or patch. A practice called “cycling” is common in steroid abuse, in which an abuser will alternate periods of 6 to 16 weeks in length of high dose use of steroids with periods of low or no use.  Another possibility is a process called “pyramiding,” in which an abuser slowly escalates steroid use until he/she reaches a peak amount at mid-cycle, then he/she tapers the dose toward the end of the cycle.

            Steroids may induce muscular growth and more efficient workouts, but their negative side effects are horrific. Some side effects include severe liver damage, harmful changes in cholesterol levels, acne, violent mood swings, high blood pressure, and damage to the heart (specifically the left ventricle). Not only that, but steroids have terrible emasculating side effects in females, including hirsutism (unusual hair growth), long-term amenorrhoea (cessation of the menstrual cycle), and ovarian cysts, as well as less serious side effects such as deepening of the voice and shrinking of the breasts. In males, the endocrine effects mostly include testicular atrophy, gynaecomastia (enlarging of the breasts), and even sterility.

            “Why,” you may be asking, “do some people take steroids for medical purposes and not experience any of these side effects?” This is because most steroid abusers use a stunning 50-100 times the amount of steroid that is needed to replace physiological steroid concentrations. Think of eating 50-100 times the amount of food per day that is recommended, or taking 50-100 times the amount of aspirin that is printed on the back of the bottle. The effects would not be pretty, to say the least.

            While I would have loved to impart some of my opinions on steroid use to my audience in my first post, I again would like to emphasize the importance of knowing the enemy, and in this case, that enemy is AAS. Therefore, I feel that it is of the utmost importance to set forth some facts about steroids before delving deeper into the issue.