For many bodybuilding enthusiasts, the intense workouts, focused dieting, and periodic competitions are like a drug themselves. The power that comes from working hard and sculpting your body into something you could have only imagined can be intoxicating. But when exercise and diet carry a bodybuilder only so far, many will often use bodybuilding and steroids together to take their look to the next level - the long term effects of which can be devastating.



The connection between bodybuilding and steroids is one with a long history. Anabolic steroids are supplements that bodybuilders use to enhance their workout and diet - the use of which will quickly and significantly boost muscle mass. Steroids are able to achieve this rapid growth of muscle because they contain testosterone - a hormone naturally present in men and women that is responsible for the building of muscle. When testosterone is enhanced by the addition of steroids, its job function is increased.

Because men naturally contain more testosterone, they are able build more muscle mass than women. But when women bodybuilders add steroids to their diet and exercise regime they are able to build muscle mass on the same level as men. Many women who combine bodybuilding and steroids, therefore, will also begin to take on many male physical characteristics.

Bodybuilding and steroids is actually an illegal combination for many reasons. For one, those bodybuilders who use steroids have an unfair advantage over those bodybuilders who build their muscles naturally. In order to maintain a level playing field for competitors, it is necessary to ban the use of steroids.

But most importantly, the long term effects of bodybuilding and steroids have been shown to be disastrous. Linked to everything from acne and hair loss, to insomnia and depression, steroids can have physical ramifications that are simply not worth their use. Some of the more serious side effects include hallucinations, weak ligaments, high blood pressure, and even cancer. In more than one case, steroids have been linked to fatalities.

Bodybuilding is a sport of extreme discipline and sacrifice. For those who take it seriously, the power is in their hands - and only their hands. Bodybuilding and steroids, while attractive to those who are looking for fast results, can have disastrous long term effects impacting physical health and longevity.