Every proffesional bodybuilder and the vast majority of amateur bodybuilder use anabolic steroids. With today's knowledge of training, nutrition and supplementation, it is impossible to achieve a physique on par with what you see on the Olympia stage without seriously abusing anabolic drugs.

It's my personal opinion that the decision to take or not take anabolic steroids should be left in the hands of the individual. The United States federal government disagrees with me and as of today, it is illegal to possess or use anabolic steroids without a doctor's perscription. Burn victims and patients suffering from AIDS are occasionally perscribed mild anabolic steroids, but it's pretty unlikely you'll be able to talk your doctor into perscribing 400mg/week of Deca-Durabolin for muscle building purposes.

This page is aimed at those bodybuilders who are thinking of chemically-assisted path. I don't attempt to encourage or discourage their use, only to lay the information out there for the reader to analyze on their own.

How Steroids Work

Introducing steroids into your system upsets the balance between testosterone and other endocrine hormones and launches your body into an extremely anabolic state. The steroid molecules attatch to cortisol receptor sites on the muscle cells and prevent cortisol from catabolizing any lean mass. For nitpickers, the action of most steroids is really more anti-catabolic than anabolic.

Who Should Stay Clean

Bodybuilding is sort of a unique sport in that it's not considered cheating to use illicit pharmaceuticals to get an edge on the competition. However, using anabolic steroids in any other sport is the surest way to end your career. Witness Ben Johnson. If you are a competitive athlete and you take anabolics to improve your performance you not only cheating your opponents, but you are cheating yourself out of the satisfaction of knowing that you can beat them on a level playing field.

Teenagers and bodybuilders in their early to mid-twenties should be especially wary of anabolics. At this age, the male body is already producing peak levels of testosterone and the body is primed for growth provided you treat it properly. Build your base of muscle drug-free because introducing anabolics at that stage is not only redundant, but dangerous.

Female athletes should definitely not take steroids. The androgenic side effects of most anabolic steroids like facial hair, a husky voice and an enlarged clitoris are usually enough to deter most would-be steroid users. However, if this is not enough, there are a host of other complications and side-effects that you probably don't want to get involved with.

Typical Gains

Most bodybuilders experience their greatest gains in their first cycle of steroid use. I know of one individual who put on 10lbs of muscle and added 20lbs to his bench in only 10 days using a stack of Sustanon and Deca-Durabolin. Sustanon is a pretty hard-core drug so these results are pretty exceptional. However, it's not at all unusual to see someone gain 30lbs on an 8 week cycle.

The problem is that after a cycle, your body crashes into a very catabolic state and you begin shrinking. Most bodybuilders find it difficult to keep the gains they make which is why supplements are still popular with the drug using crowd for ameliorating this "crash" at the end of a cycle.

The reason for the muscle disappearing is that while you're on anabolic steroids, your body shuts down it's natural production of testosterone in a desperate attempt to regulate hormonal levels. When you go off the drugs, it takes a while for your testicles to ramp up testosterone production. It is for this reason that many bodybuilders add less androgenic drugs at the end of a cycle as they ease down on the dosage of the heavier steroids.

Side Effects

There are a number of short term side effects associated with steroid use. A lot of milder steroids don't have very serious short term effects, but the more serious steroids like Sustanon and Dianabol put you through the wringer during and immediately after a cycle.

Water retention, acne, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, sweats, oily skin and shrunken testicles ought to be expected when you're on a cycle. Steroids aren't fatal over the short term--you don't hear of anyone dying from a steroid overdose--but they can be fatal over a long duration of abuse. Witness Andreas Munzer.

Liver damage and heart problems are the two most serious ailments that strike those who have a long history of steroid abuse. These conditions can kill you.

The Bodybuilders Arsenal

Some of the most common anabolic drugs are briefly described here. I am not a steroid expert, and anyone considering using any of these substances should examine these drugs in much more detail.

Deca-Durabolin

The most popular anabolic steroid. Mildly androgenic, moderately anabolic. Few serious side effects over the short term. Comes in pre-loaded ampules. Dosage is typically between 200 and 400mg per week.

Dianabol

A very potent oral steroid. Causes huge gains in strength and size, but very damaging to the liver. Water retention, acne and a host of other side effects. Dosage can ranges from 3 to 8 tabs a day.

Winstrol V

This is actually a veterinary drug. It's not very androgenic at all and it doesn't aramotize into estrogen, but don't expect the kind of gains you'd see from Dianabol or Sustanon.

Sustanon

This stuff is a composite of four different synthetic testosterones. Causes spectacular gains in muscle size and strength along with commensurate side effects. Sustanon is an injectable steroid. One preloaded ampule per week is typical dosage.

Primobolean Depot

This is a relatively safe steroid (as steroids go, of course). Mild gains and mild side effects. Injectable and oral forms exist. 200mg per week of the injectable form is typical dosage.

Insulin

Insulin is sort of the bodybuilding frontier. If you were curious how Nasser El Sonbaty managed to add 25lbs of rock hard muscle to his 250lbs foundation in a single year, the answer is insulin. The relevance of this drug and how it relates to body building is best described on the exogenous insulin page. It should also be noted that while anabolic steroids won't kill you overnight, insulin can. It is listed here only for completeness and I don't recommend anyone doing it without doctor supervision.

Growth Hormone

In addition to spurring the growth of new muscle cells, growth hormone appears to enhance fat burning. It is most effective when combined with some kind of anabolic steroid to spur growth in the nascent muscle cells. Growth hormone is not without risk and it is very expensive. Dennis Newman's career was effectively and ended (and nearly his life) when his years of growth hormone abuse resulted in bone cancer.

IGF-1

Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 is one of the most potent drugs ever conceived for muscle growth. However, it is spectacularly expensive: $175 for 25 micrograms. You won't find your neighborhood gym peddler pushing this stuff. I credit IGF-1 for moving the Olympian's average weight from around 225lbs to close to 270lbs.

How to Get Steroids

There isn't anyway to order steroids over the 'net. Afterall, they are a class III controlled substance. It's becoming more and more difficult to use foreign mail-order companies to ship anabolics into the states because the DEA has really been cracking down on that activity. I know of two individuals who used to order from outside the country before a they narrowly avoided being caught in a sting operation.

There really is only one way to get steroids if you are not an AIDS patient. Join a gym with a lot of unaturally large guys in it. Bide your time and get in with that crowd. Subtly let them know your interested in their source and with luck, they'll take you into the fold and help you hook up. Be careful, though. There are a lot of counterfeit steroids out there and it pays to know how to recognize them. I recommend Bill Philip's Anabolic Reference Guide or The World Anabolic Review both of which are available from Muscle Media 2000. I receive no compensation from any of the companies that I mention on these pages.

What the Pros are Doing

The competitive elite bodybuilders of today are using steroids and other anabolic drugs in absolutely insane doses year-round. They are combining several anabolic steroids, insulin, growth hormone and IGF-1 in the off-season to acheive the spectacular physiques you see in the magazines and on stage.

If you have any aspirations about getting rich off of bodybuilding, you might as well forget it now. To get as good as the top guys are takes a fantastic monetary investment in drugs. Most of these athletes put their 70 or 80 grand in prize-money right back into drugs. Do it for the love of the sport and for the thrill of striving towards ultimate physique, because you're bound to be dissapointed if you do it for money.